Barnabas aid May June 2017

barnabasaid.org

BARNABAS FUND - AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH

MAY/JUNE 2017

BARNABAS AID - HOPE AND RELIEF AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH - BRINGING HOPE TO SUFFERING CHRISTIANS

EGYPT

Supporting persecuted believers for 22 years

UGANDA

Pastor faithfully walks the hostile road

From first to final steps Supporting persecuted believers in Egypt

NEW PULL-OUT SERIES

A history of Christian persecution, part 1: Jesus

What helps make Barnabas Aid distinct from other Christian organizations that deal with persecution?

We work by:

●● directing our aid only to Christians, although its

benefits may not be exclusive to them (“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Galatians 6:10, emphasis added)

●● aiming the majority of our aid at Christians living in Muslim environments ●● channeling money from Christians through Christians to Christians ●● channeling money through existing structures in the countries where funds are sent (e.g. local churches or Christian organizations) ●● using the money to fund projects that have been developed by local Christians in their own communities, countries or regions ●● considering any request, however small ●● acting as equal partners with the persecuted

Church, whose leaders often help shape our overall direction

How to find us USA 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1 (866) 936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email usa@barnabasaid.org UK 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718 From outside the UK Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718 Email info@barnabasfund.org Registered charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536 For a list of all trustees, please contact Barnabas Fund UK at the Coventry address above.

●● acting on behalf of the persecuted Church, to be their voice – making their needs known to Christians around the world and the injustice of their persecution known to governments and international bodies

We seek to: ●● meet both practical and spiritual needs ●● encourage, strengthen and enable the existing local Church and Christian communities – so they can maintain their presence and witness rather than setting up our own structures or sending out missionaries

Email usa@barnabasaid.org

●● we are called to address both religious and secular ideologies that deny full religious liberty to Christian minorities – while continuing to show God’s love to all people ●● in the clear Biblical teaching that Christians should treat all people of all faiths with love and compassion, even those who seek to persecute them ●● in the power of prayer to change people’s lives and situations, either through grace to endure or through deliverance from suffering

●● tackle persecution at its root by making known the aspects of the Islamic faith and other ideologies that result in injustice and oppression of non-believers ●● inform and enable Christians in the West to respond to the growing challenge of Islam to Church, society and mission in their own countries ●● facilitate global intercession for the persecuted Church by providing comprehensive prayer materials

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

(Matthew 25:40)

You may contact Barnabas Aid at the following addresses Germany German supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund via Hilfe für Brüder who will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt.

Please mention that the donation is for “SPC 20 Barnabas Fund”. If you would like your donation to go to a specific project of Barnabas Fund, please inform the Barnabas Fund office in Pewsey, UK. Account holder: Hilfe für Brüder International e.V. Account number: 415 600 Bank: Evang Kreditgenossenschaft Stuttgart IBAN: DE89520604100000415600 BIC: GENODEF1EK1 New Zealand PO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz

To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted.

Thank you for your understanding.

Published by Barnabas Aid Inc. 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101

We believe:

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for stories and images used in this publication. Barnabas Aid apologizes for any errors or omissions and will be grateful for any further information regarding copyright. © Barnabas Aid 2017

Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland PO Box 354, Bangor, BT20 9EQ Telephone 028 91 455 246 or 07875 539003 Email ireland@barnabasfund.org

Singapore Cheques in Singapore dollars payable to “Olive Aid Trust” may be sent to: Olives Aid Sdn Bhd, P.O. Box 03124 Subang Jaya, 47507 Selangor, MALAYSIA

Australia PO BOX 3527, LOGANHOLME, QLD 4129 Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email bfaustralia@barnabasfund.org

Singaporian supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund online via Olive Aid Trust: Beneficiary: OLIVE AID TRUST Bank Name: United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Berhad Swift Code: UOVBMYKL Location: KUALA LUMPUR Account Number: 140-901-654-0

International Headquarters The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org

To donate by credit/debit card, please visit the website www.barnabasaid.org or phone 703 288 1681 or toll free 1 866 936 2525

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version®.

Front Cover: An Egyptian school student pictured using scriptural literature funded by Barnabas © Barnabas Aid Inc. 2017. For permission to reproduce articles from this magazine, please contact the International Headquarters address above.

J

esus commanded His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 to go and make disciples of all nations. Thankfully, there are many Christians who have obeyed that command and have traversed the earth preaching the Gospel. Rightly they have rejoiced with their friends, supporters, and prayer partners.

Many, in closer adherence to Christ’s words, have gone on to make the converts into disciples, by teaching them the faith and how to live for Christ. Sadly very few have seen the need to nourish and care for their converts, or for the descendants of those converts, many of whom pass their lives in abject poverty and suffering. Rather, they saw their responsibility as to preach the Gospel and to plant churches. As long as the new Christians were well taught, the preachers and church-planters had little concern for their physical welfare or economic well being.

In John’s Gospel, chapters 13-17, we can read our Lord’s closing instructions to His disciples, a prelude to the cross and resurrection. He gave them a new commandment: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 NRSV). This commandment, which could be called the eleventh commandment, is repeated in subsequent passages (John 15:12,17).

John took up the theme in his first epistle. “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” (1 John 3:17). There is no contradiction between preaching the Gospel and making disciples on the one hand and loving the brethren and caring for them on the other hand. Both go together. To preach the Gospel and not to care for the converts is to ignore the eleventh commandment. Equally, to care for physical needs without recognizing our calling to evangelize is defective theology. Both are disobedience.

Barnabas Aid is unusual. We believe that our calling is to fulfill the eleventh commandment while at the same time supporting those who are engaged in mission and evangelism. We believe that it is laid upon us, as Paul writes in Galatians 6:10, not only to do good to all but especially to help the household of faith. Our calling at Barnabas Aid is to focus on Christians and Christian communities, to support and strengthen them in their hour of need, whether it be the Christians of Syria facing genocide, or Zimbabwe where we are providing a million meals a month, or now in Uganda and Kenya gripped by famine. Wherever the body of Christ is in need, we are there to minister to her and to fulfil the eleventh commandment. This eleventh commandment is the litmus test of Christian life and witness.

Our first loyalty is to God. Our second loyalty is to our Christian brothers and sisters. All other loyalties come lower down.

To preach the Gospel and not to care for the converts is to ignore the eleventh commandment

Barnabas Aid’s work among Egypt’s Christians

4 8

Testimony 1

Ugandan pastor defies danger to preach the Gospel

10

First Bible

South-East Asia: Pastor’s Bible is answer to 65 years’ prayer

Pull-out

Obeying the eleventh commandment, a new overarching mandate

4 Feature

A History of Christian Persecution

part 1: The persecution of Jesus

11

Newsdesk

12

Testimony 2

14

Compassion in Action

16

Project Feature 1

17 17

Christian convert dies after 17 hours in cold pond

An Afghan Christian recounts his journey of faith

“I have got a freedom from my fears”

USA: sharing the Gospel with Muslim refugees

Project Feature 2

South-East Asia: new skills offer path to a brighter future

18

In Touch

Key dates for your diary; leaving a legacy; and more

Barnabas Aid May/June 2017 4

From first to final steps Supporting persecuted believers in Egypt

Barnabas Aid has been supporting Egyptian Christians for 22 years, including providing water pumps for impoverished Christian families

Simple beginnings

Barnabas Aid has been supporting Christians in Egypt continuously for 22 years. Our project number 001, back in 1995, helped desperately poor Christian families in rural Upper Egypt; just $18 a month was enough to provide a family with a nutritious diet in a part of the country where many Christians live in single-room houses without running water or electricity.

The Christian community in Egypt is one of the oldest in the world. According to tradition, the Apostle Mark, writer of the gospel, founded a church near Alexandria in the first century. Egypt became an important center of Christianity, but after Muslim Arab armies conquered the country in 640 AD, the Christian community became increasingly marginalized: Arabic was soon declared the state language, replacing the Coptic language of the Christians, who were descended from the Pharaonic people of ancient times. The number of Christians declined and today they comprise around 10% of Egypt’s population.

Barnabas Aid May/June 2017 5

1,950

children’s Bibles and

105,300 Scripture coloring books

Barnabas Aid is encouraging young believers in their faith

Education

Learning together with other Christian children

Early years

Children from the minority Christian community face discrimination and persecution in Egyptian government schools, sometimes even from teachers.

Although President al-Sisi’s government has taken steps to amend the school curriculum, textbooks have for many years incited violence against Christians and ignored the ancient history of Christianity in Egypt. Barnabas has helped build and fund Christian schools and kindergartens, so children can study in a safe environment where their faith is encouraged rather than belittled.

From the start of a believer’s life, Barnabas Aid provides assistance. Our support has enabled three kindergartens in Upper Egypt to obtain playground equipment, classroom furniture, and resources, improving the quality of early years education for more than 200 young children from poor Christian families. The kindergartens’ curricula include daily Bible teaching to encourage and inspire the children in their faith. Barnabas has also helped to provide 1,950 children’s Bibles and 105,300 Scripture coloring books through local churches, as well as a 36-page children’s magazine, comprising Bible stories and activities, with a distribution of more than 13,000 copies each month.

Barnabas has recently helped construct four Christian schools, which will enable several thousand children to obtain a good education in a Christian environment.

Barnabas Aid has also provided scholarships for 30 underprivileged teenage girls so they can attend a Christian school; the girls had faced discrimination from other pupils and teachers in their government school and had been sexually harassed in the street for not adhering to the Islamic dress code.

In addition to giving Christian children access to Christian schools, we have also helped provide the after-school tuition that is so vital for all who attend government schools. Barnabas is funding the building of an education center for especially poor Christian families whose children are at risk of becoming child laborers. Here they will get help with their homework during the school year, and during the school holidays will have opportunity to do arts and music that they would never otherwise be able to do. We have also provided after-school classes in another place, for children whose parents are illiterate.

The “garbage city” of Cairo is home to many Christians. They earn a living by sorting through rubbish, including hospital waste, with their bare hands.

As a result, diseases such as hepatitis C and rheumatic fever are common; there are also many disabled children. Barnabas has funded the construction of “The Center of Love” in this area of the city. This center provides an education and medical care for disabled and chronically sick children. Such children are usually seen as an embarrassment to their families, but the center also teaches the parents not to be ashamed of their children; before the establishment of the center, many families would hide children with disabilities, but now parents can be seen walking hand in hand with them in the street.

We have also funded a school of nursing as well as clinics and hospitals.

Many Egyptian Christians live in abject poverty; installing basic utilities, like running water or electricity, can transform the quality of their home life. This Christian praised God for her “lovely home” which consisted of one room with a bed, seating, a small table, and – the thing that made it very special– a cooker. She shares a tap and toilet with several other families.

Barnabas Aid is helping with some basic repairs to the building

At home

Christians in a “garbage city” had been able to earn a living by keeping pigs, until the government ordered a cull in 2009

In work

Egyptian Christians face discrimination in employment, part of a cycle of persecution and poverty in which they are often trapped.

Many undertake some of the most menial jobs.

“Gideon” worked as a cleaner, removing rubbish, but the meager wages were not sufficient for the 21-year-old to support himself following the death of his parents. With the help of a shortterm loan provided through Barnabas Aid, he bought some lambs, selling them at a profit within a few months. He now keeps goats and sheep to supplement his income – the animals live in a shelter on the roof of his house.

In 2009, many “garbage city” Christians lost their livelihoods when the Egyptian government ordered the slaughter of the pigs which they kept and fed on waste food from the garbage heaps. The government’s ruling that all the country’s pigs should be killed was claimed to be a precaution against swine flu, but UN experts stated at the time this was unnecessary. Muslims do not keep pigs, the cull directly targeted the Christian minority. Funding from Barnabas enabled many of the “garbage city” Christians to establish small businesses to support themselves.

Barnabas has also established a sewing training center for young women in a particularly poor area, providing them with free professional training for six months and the opportunity to sell their products in local Christian-owned shops. This year we have helped to purchase an embroidery machine to expand a workshop which gives employment to 100 Christian women in a remote rural area; the workshop’s profits go to assist the needy.

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homes connected to mains electricity

The cost of setting up young couples for married life can be prohibitive for impoverished Christian families. Simply buying basic essentials such as a refrigerator, bed, cooker, or even new clothes to wear on the wedding day may be completely unaffordable; some Christians in Upper Egypt are even poorer than those in Cairo’s garbage city. Barnabas Aid has assisted with marriage funds for scores of young Christian couples. We have also installed water connections for 162 families – meaning that women and girls no longer have to collect and carry water several times a day – in addition to supplying 95 toilets, including 28 for widows who live in an isolated village on the banks of the Nile in Upper Egypt.

We have also connected 37 homes to electricity, enabling families to install fans to give respite from the heat – summer temperatures in Upper Egypt regularly reach 104F degrees– and lighting, making it easier for children to complete their homework after dark.

Feeding

Our project partner writes: “The food given [to the Sudanese refugee congregation] … represents our fellowship, love, solidarity, and unity in one body of our Lord Jesus.”

Some Christians face a daily struggle to survive.

In the last two years (2015–2016), Barnabas Aid has helped at least 7,210 Egyptian Christian families and a further 2,029 individuals through church-run feeding projects in various parts of the country. Although the projects mainly provide food, we have also helped meet medical costs and other pressing needs.

The value of Barnabas Aid’s food relief support between 2003 and 2016 totalled more than $3.5 million. Provided through local churches, this regular, monthly assistance with basic needs has had a transforming impact on the lives of thousands of Egyptian believers who would otherwise often go hungry. Barnabas also supports a weekly community meal for a congregation of Sudanese Christian refugees.

Times of trial

The Christian community in Egypt has faced centuries of persecution. After the overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013, Egyptian believers were the targets of a massive wave of violence, which saw more than 60 churches torched and the destruction of countless Christian homes and businesses. Although the minority Christian community has received strong support, both vocal and practical, from President al-Sisi (Morsi’s successor), Islamist attacks on Christians and local violence against believers, particularly in the context of church construction, continue.

Barnabas Aid supports believers through trying times of trial, providing emergency assistance following specific attacks. In 2011, Barnabas helped cover medical bills for Christians who were attacked while demonstrating against the destruction of a church: this included reconstructive surgery for a man shot in the mouth and three operations for a believer who was stabbed and beaten. In 2012, Barnabas provided food, clothing, and rehousing for believers forced to flee Alexandria following a series of bombings. In 2016 alone, Barnabas Aid supplied more than $44,000 to help Christian communities repair houses which had been damaged by anti-Christian violence. Barnabas is giving support to the families of the 21 Egyptian Christians beheaded on a Libyan beach

by Islamic State in 2015; the men had been kidnapped while working in Libya. The 13 widows left behind and the elderly parents of the other eight martyrs are receiving ongoing monthly assistance. Each widow receives the equivalent of $62 per month to help cover daily needs, including food and medical costs, children’s school expenses plus stationery, school uniforms, and lunches.

$44,000

Barnabas Aid is supporting the families of the 21 Egyptian Christians murdered by the Islamic State on a beach in Libya in 2015

Barnabas has funded the refurbishment of the warehouse facility of the Bible Society of Egypt

Holding firm in the faith

Egyptian believers greatly value the encouragement they receive from Christian literature and media, which helps them endure the contempt, discrimination, and violence they receive at the hands of the Muslim majority. Barnabas Aid has constructed a 21,500 square foot studio on church-owned land for one Christian satellite TV station, which broadcasts programs to support the Egyptian Christian community and reach wider Egyptian society; the affordability of satellite TV in Egypt makes it easily accessible. Barnabas also supports many literature projects with the Bible Society of Egypt, and has also funded the complete refurbishment of a warehouse for the Bible Society.

to help Christian communities repair houses last year

Elderly care

Elderly Christians can be extremely vulnerable. In May 2016, Souad Thabet, a 70-year-old Christian grandmother, was stripped naked, beaten, and paraded through the streets of her village in southern Egypt by a Muslim mob, after a rumor circulated that her son was having an affair with a Muslim woman. At the time of writing, prosecutors have reopened her case, after initially dropping it citing a “lack of evidence.”

Retired clergy often have no family members to look after them. We have assisted with the construction of a residential home for retired clergy, which aims to provide the care they need in a peaceful environment.

Into Glory

Barnabas Aid assists a Cairo-based project which helps Christians with serious medical needs such as cancer or kidney failure. When poor Christians travel from rural areas to the capital city for medical treatment, they can stay at this project’s accommodation. If they have no family nearby who can provide them with food during their stay in hospital, the project looks after them, and also supports their families if it is the breadwinners who are unwell. It also arranges funerals for very poor Christian families, and gives a Christian burial to believers who die in a hospital and have no relatives to claim the body.

FAITHFULLY

WALKING THE

HOSTILE ROAD PASTOR UMAR MULINDE

“I remember seeing these [Muslim] extremists charging at me, their faces deformed with bitter hatred, ready to take my life,” Umar Mulinde reflects. “My mind was racing; I couldn’t help thinking how these rogues were going to cut me into pieces. As they drew closer to the platform [he was speaking from], I felt a surge of boldness in me and I rebuked them, saying, “What you are trying to do is very wrong and you are now fighting with the hand of God whose Gospel I’m preaching!”

The group’s knife-wielding leader promptly stopped, turned around and ordered the others to follow. Umar gathered himself and resumed speaking. It is one of more than twelve assassination attempts the 42-year-old Christian from Uganda has survived.

Dreams and debates

Umar Mulinde, a former sheikh (qualified Islamic teacher), first heard the Gospel in 1990. “It touched me, but I could not believe because I feared,” he recalls. “I feared to be persecuted; I was dependent on my family.” Umar comes from a prominent Muslim family. He is the 52nd child of his father, who was a personal friend of Idi Amin Dada, Uganda’s brutal Muslim dictator from 1971 to 1979. Uganda’s population (around 37 million) is mostly Christian,

but there is a growing Muslim minority (at least 15%) which is very dominant in society.

Three years later, Umar had a series of dreams in which his hands and legs were in chains, with someone next to him explaining that to survive he needed to become a Christian.

On Easter Sunday, Umar went to church. “Everything in church was new. Women mixing with men and worshiping God together. I cannot tell you what they preached – I don’t

remember. I was looking at the way they were clapping hands – it was a strange thing as [far as] Islamic worship is concerned.” Umar gave his life to Jesus then and there.

He was immediately disowned by his family. “To them it was as though I had already died and whoever would end my life was sure to get a reward from Allah,” Umar explains. According to sharia (Islamic law), apostasy is punishable by death. The Muslim community continually pressured him

to return to Islam. Threats were made and bribes were offered. Sheikhs were enlisted to debate with him, to try to convince him that Christianity was wrong. But Umar stood firm. “When it finally dawned on them that they would not be able to take me back,” he says, “they decided to kill me.”

Hostile territory

Umar developed a friendship with two other converts, both involved in evangelism. Their first meeting together was to leave a lasting impression on Umar. “What came out of our meeting was a resolve to preach the Gospel of Jesus to the hurting world,” he remembers. “That meeting ushered me into another world, the world of winning souls to Christ.”

It’s a world Umar has boldly entered, preaching before thousands and engaging in public debates with Islamic experts, leading many Muslims to Christ. He is also active in the political sphere, helping resist attempts to give more power to Kadhi (sharia) courts. Muslims are pushing for this on matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance, but Christians are concerned it could promote Islamic extremism and pave the way for a wider application of sharia in the country.

The territory Umar walks is immensely hostile, with the nature of his ministry and his own conversion making him acutely vulnerable to attack. He has been shot at and had spells cast on him. One assassination attempt was foiled after God revealed to Umar in a dream that there was a plan to kill him during a forthcoming meeting.

On Christmas Eve 2011, Umar was the victim of a horrific acid attack outside his church, causing facial disfigurement and leaving him partially blind in his right eye. One of the attackers shouted, “Allahu Akbar!”

Barnabas Aid assisted with medical costs during his lengthy recovery period. “It’s really a miracle that I am back doing things as I used to do them before,” he says.

In 2000, the police investigated complaints that Umar preached “with intent to wound religious feelings,” a crime punishable by a year’s

imprisonment. Umar maintained his innocence, saying that he wanted to be faithful to his testimony and never intended to anger Muslims. He also highlighted Uganda’s constitution which gives citizens the freedom to change their religion and promote it. Umar said the accusation, which eventually came to nothing, “indicated a new chapter in Ugandan history” because “the police had never arrested or summoned anyone for annoying Christians, yet frequently Muslims from their mosques use loudspeakers to transmit messages claiming how Jesus is not the Son of God, even ridiculing His death and resurrection.”

The vision

It is not uncommon for Christians to be wary of new converts from Islam – as the disciples were when Saul (later Paul) became a Christian in Acts 9 – for fear of being deceived and exposed to attack.

“The Muslim community is hunting you, but your Christian brothers are suspicious,” Umar explains. “At that moment is where we lose many Muslim converts.”

Some Christians viewed Umar with suspicion when he was converted.

But, like Saul who had the support of Barnabas, Umar had Abbas who welcomed him into his home as he began his Christian life. “If I had not had this man,” he wonders, “what would have happened to me?”

It is this question that inspired a vision. “Islam is not only a religion of the mind, it is a bond,” Umar stresses.

“When they [Muslims] get converted they lose business, their economic life, and their social life. We are looking at someone who has no work, who is jobless, who is hiding because someone wants to harm them.”

So Umar set up a discipleship and social support center for converts, helping ensure they are equipped spiritually, emotionally, and practically to survive and flourish in their new faith. The center currently serves 60 adults and 50 young people from Muslim backgrounds. Barnabas Aid helped finance the center’s construction costs and since then has assisted with its operating costs.

Ever since his heart was captivated

by Christ, Umar Mulinde has faithfully walked “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4) many times.

His life is a glorious testimony to the incomparable love and power of God, who has always delivered Umar and gone on to use him mightily.

The discipleship and social support center

Discipleship and training at the center Umar Mulinde UK Speaking Tour May 14-28, 2017 Dates confirmed at the time of going to press: Sunday, May 28 – Castlereagh Gospel Hall, Belfast, 11:15am Sunday, May 28 – Enniskillen Presbyterian Church, 7pm To find out more about these events in Northern Ireland, email ireland@barnabasfund.org or phone 07875 539003 For other meetings with Umar Mulinde in the UK, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/bf-events Project reference 56-1091 Umar Mulinde’s ministry to converts

Barnabas Aid May/June 2017 10

An answer to prayer after 65 years Pastor Khi : “I prayed for a Bible for 65 years and three months. How great is God!”

“I

accepted Christ on December 24, 1949.

From that time I always prayed to have a Bible … I started praying January 1, 1950. God answered my prayer on March 29, 2015 … As soon as I received the Bible on March 29, 2015, I started reading it. Now [October 2016] I have finished reading from Genesis to Revelation four times, and now I have reached the book of Job chapter three for my fifth read through.”

“Khi,” from a minority people group in South-East Asia, pastored churches for many years, but never owned his own Bible. Every time he tried to obtain one, it was confiscated by the authorities.

“Five times I went [across the border] and bought a Bible, but two times the border police [of my country] took my Bible away from me and burned it up. Three times the border police took my Bible and destroyed it by throwing it into the river.

So I could never get my own Bible.”

With the help of Barnabas Aid, in the last two years, tens of thousands of Bibles in various local languages have been distributed in the region. They have had a transformative impact on church ministry and the lives of individual believers.

The Bible distribution has greatly encouraged and inspired believers; one church now has 15 home groups instead of two One pastor joyously told Barnabas Aid partners, “What a wonderful change has happened in my church through the Bibles you freely distributed … Sunday worship services are now four hours long, because people are sharing testimonies of the great blessings they are receiving in their families and their personal lives through reading the Bible. They also share how God shows them in the Bible the way to live and how great God is in their lives.” Without their own Bibles, some pastors’ only previous access to Scripture was hand-copied from Bibles in other churches they had visited.

Another church leader, whose congregation has grown from 15 to more than 150 people since the Bible distribution, said, “Thank you for your donations. All our people are stepping into a very bright future because you

have opened our eyes by the Word of God” – most are impoverished subsistence farmers, who eke out a living from the land and have faced years of repression at the hands of the government.

Although the new Bibles have brought great joy, the Christian community still face challenges and churches still lack other Christian resources.

Pastor Khi says, “I am still praying for hymn books. I started praying in 1985 for hymn books, but still not yet.

I strongly believe that God will answer these prayers in His time. After I prayed for 65 years, God answered my prayer for Bibles. So 31 years of praying for hymn books is still not a long time.”

Project reference XX-1042

A History of

Christian Persecution 1

The Persecution of Jesus

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. (John 15:20) O sacred Head, now wounded, With grief and shame weighed down, Now scornfully surrounded With thorns, thine only crown.

T

he persecution of our Lord, of which Christians have sung in their hymns ever since He lived on earth, was foretold hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. The pain, shame, and rejection of the “man of sorrows” are described with almost unbearable clarity by Isaiah (chapter 53). And even earlier, David wrote of the hideous details that later believers recognized in the crucifixion – the pierced hands and feet, the people staring and gloating, and the heart-rending cry of the abandoned Son, who in His extremity could no longer remember the eternal purpose for His agony of body and spirit: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22) When a baby, just a few weeks old, more prophecies were given about what Jesus was to endure before His work on earth was finished. He was to be “a sign that will be spoken against,” said old Simeon to Mary, adding, “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

(Luke 2:34-35) Some 30 years later, Jesus began His ministry and was soon beset with misunderstanding, hostility, attempted assassination, plots, betrayal, and desertion by his closest circle of friends. In Gethsemane we are privileged to get a glimpse of His mental and spiritual anguish as He wrestled with the literally dreadful

burden of foreknowledge of what was to come (John 18:4). He who was pure and perfect would within hours be carrying the weight of the sins of the world, and dying slowly by the most painful method the Romans had devised. It is little wonder that His sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44).

All these precious truths are well known to Christian believers. Less well known is the outrageous injustice of the legal process to which He was submitted between arrest and execution.

Two legal systems accomplished His destruction

The Gospels record many details about the series of court trials that our Lord Jesus faced in the hours before His crucifixion. His case was batted to and fro between two legal systems, religious, and secular – the ancient law of Moses and the law of Rome, which by this time was highly developed. As H.B. Workman says, “to accomplish His destruction they were both violently wrested into injustice.”1 The Jerusalem Sanhedrin was the supreme Jewish council and court of justice which, in New Testament times, comprised up to 70 scribes, elders, priests, and other respected citizens, presided over by the High Priest, making a maximum membership of 71. A quorum of 23 had to be present to conduct any business. The Jerusalem Sanhedrin had no jurisdiction in Galilee, so it was not until Jesus crossed into Judea that He came under their control.

Of course, at this time both Galilee and Judea were part of the Roman Empire and thus the Roman

ii Barnabas Aid May/June 2017

authorities had ultimate power. It was Roman policy to govern through local institutions and in Judea they sought to appease local feeling as much as possible. So the Sanhedrin was allowed to exercise their judicial functions.

The only thing they needed Roman permission for was to enact a death sentence; this permission was usually granted by the Roman procurator (governor) more or less automatically, in line with the policy of pleasing the local people.

Legal arrest

Jesus was arrested on the Thursday night. This was apparently a legal and legitimate arrest by the Sanhedrin, on the charge of causing a riot in the Temple when He threw out the money-changers. The Sanhedrin obtained from the Roman procurator, Pilate, a detachment of Roman soldiers to back up the Temple police when making the arrest. Perhaps the Sanhedrin feared that the Galileans around Jesus would not recognize the authority of the Sanhedrin. Or perhaps they feared that the Temple police might hesitate to arrest the man whose words they must have heard and whose deeds they may have seen. The Roman soldiers were not inhibited by any prior experience of Jesus and duly arrested Him, handed Him over to the officers of the Sanhedrin and left the scene.

Illegal interrogation

Jesus was then taken before Annas to be questioned (John 18:12-13,19-24). This was strictly against Jewish law, which banned any preliminary private interrogation. Annas was a former high priest who had been deposed by the Roman procurator about 15 years earlier for carrying out a death sentence without getting the procurator’s permission.

However, he appeared to retain immense authority in the eyes of the Jewish community, presumably because in Jewish law a high priest is appointed for life. Indeed he was still sometimes called “the high priest.” Annas would have taken a personal financial hit from Jesus’ action in throwing the money-changers out of the Temple.

Illegal trial – guilty verdict

Next Jesus was taken before some members of the Sanhedrin, headed by the actual high priest, Caiaphas, who happened to be the son-in-law of Annas (Matthew 26:5767). Assuming that at least 23 members had assembled, this was marginally less illegal than the hearing before Annas.

However, it was against Jewish law to hold a trial at night.

It was also against Jewish law to hold a trial for a capital offense on the eve of a Sabbath or to hold any trial during a major festival (such as Passover). Furthermore, it was against Jewish law to accept testimony from witnesses who disagreed with each other even slightly (Mark 14:56).

Another short hearing was begun at daybreak, but no witnesses were called, which broke the Jewish laws requiring two or three witnesses and forbidding the use of the accused’s confession. So, this hearing was in effect just the formal announcement in daylight of the decision taken during the night (Luke 22:66-71; Mark 15:1). A further contravention of Jewish law was the fact that the

Sanhedrin did not adjourn for twelve hours before giving their guilty verdict, as required in cases where “guilty” would lead to a death sentence.

Legal trial – not guilty verdict

As we have seen, the Sanhedrin had to get their death sentences rubber-stamped by the Roman procurator. These requests were usually just nodded through and probably would have been this time as well if the Sanhedrin had stuck to the charge of blasphemy on which they had found Jesus guilty (Mark 14:64). However, when they brought the case to Pilate they changed the charge from blasphemy to treason. This might have been because they did not want Jesus to die by stoning (the punishment laid down in Jewish law for blasphemy) but by crucifixion, which was reserved by the Romans for executing slaves, and the worst criminals. Such a shameful death would put to an end, they probably reasoned, the ridiculous messianic pretensions of this Galilean.

Once the charge of treason was mentioned, Pilate could not consider the matter an internal Jewish religious issue. He was obliged to hold a formal trial himself and look at the case again without reference to the Sanhedrin’s findings. High treason against the emperor was the most serious offense in Roman law. In Latin it was crimen laesae majestatis (the crime of lèse-majesté), often called majestas for short. Previously, in the days when Rome was a republic, majestas had covered any crime against the Roman people or their security. When the republic came to an end and Rome transitioned to rule by an emperor (who gradually came to be regarded as a god), the law of majestas – ­ being both broad and vague ­– became a powerful instrument of repression and tyranny. Disrespecting the emperor or his statue, whether by words or actions, were obvious breaches of the majestas law (and a major difficulty for the early Christians) but an ingenious lawyer could even make tax issues into majestas issues, thus incurring the penalty of banishment or death.

When the Sanhedrin first brought Jesus before Pilate, they tried to get Him condemned on a general unspecified warrant (John 18:29-30). Pilate refused to consider such a case, so they had to formulate a specific accusation and came up with three charges: subverting the nation, forbidding the payment of taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be a king (Luke 23:2). According to Roman law, each charge of an indictment had to be tried separately, and Pilate evidently decided to focus on the third as being the most comprehensive and important – important enough to carry a death sentence.

The trial before Pilate seems to have been brief. Jesus entered a plea known in modern law as “confession and avoidance” i.e. admitting to the allegation but adding further facts to neutralize the legal effect of what has been admitted. So Jesus admitted that He was a king but explained that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36-37). Pilate concluded that this was merely a Jewish religious matter after all and announced his verdict: not guilty. “I find no basis for a charge against him.” (John 18:38)

Barnabas Aid May/June 2017 iii

Overturning the legal verdict

Pilate had conducted the trial properly according to Roman law. His principles began to waver in the face of the outraged Jewish leadership and the baying mob. Hearing the word “Galilee” (Luke 23:5) he seized the opportunity to try to send the prisoner to the jurisdiction where the “crime” had been committed instead of where He had been arrested.

Galilee did not have a Roman procurator in charge but was ruled instead, with Rome’s permission, by a local king, Herod Antipas, one of the sons of the Herod the Great.2 If Pilate had done this before announcing his own “not guilty” verdict, it would have been a legal move. Doing so after having already acquitted the accused made it a complete travesty of justice.

Herod Antipas happened to be visiting Jerusalem at the time, so it was a simple matter for Pilate to send Jesus over to him. Prudently, however, Herod avoided getting involved with a charge of majestas and simply ridiculed and mocked the prisoner before sending Him back to Pilate. Then what was perhaps a still deeper mockery occurred, this time a mockery of Roman justice. Buss has described it as “a veritable phantasmagoria of injustice and brutality to the accused, of alternate conciliation and expostulation towards the prosecutors, ending in the defeat of the Judge.”3 Normally, when pronouncing a death sentence, Roman judges would call the sun to witness the justice of their acts. Pilate, however, when he finally yielded to the crowd, followed a Jewish practice and washed his hands, throwing the responsibility of the execution on to them (Matthew 27:24-26). So, although Jesus had been formally acquitted a few hours earlier according to proper Roman justice, He was now informally condemned to death by crucifixion for the crime of majestas.

Torture and death

One thing Jesus had escaped so far in the judicial process was torture; Pilate had not flouted Roman law to this extent. Now Pilate “had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified” (Matthew 27:26). A world of agony lies in the word “flogged” for it was carried out with leather thongs loaded with balls of lead or bone spikes.

Finally we come to the crucifixion itself, a method of execution deliberately designed for maximum pain, from which the English word “excruciating” is derived.

The notice fastened to His cross made clear the charge of majestas: “Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.”

Who was responsible for His death?

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?

Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!

‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee; I crucified thee.

FOLLOWING IN HIS STEPS (1 PETER 2:21) For 2,000 years, Christians have found strength in times of persecution from the knowledge that Jesus understands what they are going through. He not only knows because

He is omniscient, He also knows because He Himself suffered. He knows from His personal experience. The wonder and glory of the Son of God who suffers may leave us speechless – ­ and often baffles followers of other religions – but it is one of the main sources of endurance and consolation for Christian believers. Although we can never know the spiritual suffering of bearing the sins of the whole world, our Lord’s physical and psychological suffering reflect what His faithful followers have experienced from the first century until the twenty-first century, sometimes in surprising detail.

Many Christians know what it is to be rejected, despised, alone, falsely accused. Some have been betrayed by close colleagues in the ministry. A Romanian pastor discovered recently that for many years his assistant pastor had been methodically reporting on him to the secret police.

Falsely accused Christians are beaten and tortured while in custody, hounded energetically through the courts, or yielded up to angry mobs. In Pakistan, India, and Egypt, where the law enforcement and judiciary are intimidated by frenzied crowds deliberately whipped up by religious leaders, it is rare for Christian victims to get justice; sometimes they are even arrested while their attackers go free. How often have civil and religious authorities combined to persecute Christians. In Malaysia today, Christians from a Muslim background know well the problem of their cases being passed to and fro between the secular courts with greater powers and the religious (Islamic) courts who are more strongly against them.

The sweeping charge of majestas on which Jesus was condemned is akin to the charges faced by many Christians today. In countries such as Sudan and Iran, Christians are charged with “crimes” like treason or espionage simply for believing in Christ, living as His disciples and sharing their faith. It also happens in places like North Korea and various Central Asian republics ruled by individuals who have developed a personality cult around themselves that is almost a religion, and who cannot tolerate anyone who worships someone else. “Public order” is another pretext often used by governments to crush Christian witness.

Many of Christ’s followers have been crucified, starting, tradition says, with the apostles Peter and Andrew. In the Armenian, Syriac and Assyrian Genocide a hundred years ago, crucifixion was one of the many barbaric methods used by the Turks and Kurds to kill the Christians of the Ottoman Empire. Even in our generation some Christians are crucified; reports in recent years have come from Iraq, Syria and Sudan, for example.

Today Christians walk the way of their Master Jesus – kangaroo courts and all. But those who endure physical, mental, and emotional pain for His sake, whether or not it leads to martyrdom, can be sustained by the knowledge that their Lord and Savior endured the same opposition from sinful men (Hebrews 12:3). As they bear ridicule and disgrace, they can remember that He scorned the shame of the cross (Hebrews 12:2). As their bodies are broken, maimed or burned, they can take comfort and hope in the fact that His wounded body is now glorified in

iv Barnabas Aid May/June 2017

(Revelation 5:6) as He intercedes for His suffering people, perhaps showing His pierced hands and side as if to say, “Father, help them, protect them – this is the price I have paid for their salvation.”

1 Herbert B. Workman Persecution in the Early Church: a chapter in the history of renunciation, 1906, London, Charles H. Kelly, p.10.

2 Judea and Samaria had been ruled by another son of Herod the Great until AD 6 when, unable to bear King Archelaus’s cruelty any more, the people asked the Romans to remove him and rule them directly through procurators sent from Rome.

3 Septimus Buss, Roman Law and History in the New Testament, 1901, London, Rivingtons, p.224.

The shame of crucifixion Crucifixion was apparently invented by the Persians, the first known usage being in 519 BC when King Darius crucified 3,000 political opponents in Babylon.

It was then adopted by Alexander the Great and his successors including the Seleucid Empire (which covered the Levant), and later by the Romans.

Romans considered crucifixion the most shameful method of execution, and it was therefore, rarely applied to anyone with the status of Roman citizen unless they were guilty of treason. Jews, likewise, considered it supremely shameful because “cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21: 23; Galatians 3:13). The Hebrew in Deuteronomy 21:22 could be translated either that the person to be executed “is put to death when you hang him on the tree” or that he “is put to death and thereafter you hang him on a tree.” In other words it is unclear whether the person is to be hung alive on the tree until he dies or whether he is executed first and then his corpse hung on the tree (or pole or cross – alternative meanings of the Hebrew word “tree”).

One of the longest of the “Dead Sea Scrolls” is known as the Temple Scroll. It is the work of a Jewish scholar from the second century BC who created a new edition of the laws of Deuteronomy, incorporating verses from other parts of the Torah as well as priestly teaching from his own time. Here

is his expanded version of Deuteronomy 21:22-23.

If a man informs against his people, delivers his people up to a foreign nation and betrays his people, you shall hang him on the tree so that he dies. On the word of two or three witnesses shall he be put to death, and they shall hang him on the tree.

If a man commits a crime punishable by death, and he defects into the midst of the nations and curses his people, the children of Israel, you shall hang him also on the tree so that he dies. And their bodies shall not remain upon the tree, but you shall bury them the same day, for those who hang on the tree are accursed by God and men, you must not defile the land which I gave you as an inheritance. (Temple Scroll 64:6-13) So the Temple Scroll states clearly that someone who betrays or curses his nation should be executed by being hung alive on the tree. Rabbinic sources show that this phrase primarily meant execution by hanging on a pole. Crucifixion was another form of hanging someone on a tree.

BARNABAS AID HOPE AND RELIEF FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH USA 6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101 Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1 (866) 936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email usa@barnabasaid.org New Zealand PO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805 Email office@barnabasfund.org.nz

UK 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX Telephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718 From outside the UK Telephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718 Email info@barnabasfund.org

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International Headquarters The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030 Email info@barnabasfund.org © Barnabas Aid Inc. 2017

Barnabas Aid May/June 2017 11

Illiterate evangelist accused of written “blasphemy” cleared PAKISTAN

Independent report highlights UN’s failure to protect Christians UN

An independent report released by ADF International in January highlights the continued failure of the UN to protect Christian religious freedom, or align with other international organizations to declare that Islamic State’s actions against Christians and other minorities constitute genocide. The report also outlines how UN support for the criminalization of the criticism of certain religious beliefs, specifically in relation to Islam, has been used as a justification for oppressive blasphemy laws.

Babu Shahbaz Masih Babu Shahbaz Masih – the illiterate evangelist from Lahore arrested in December over accusations of “blasphemy” after pages of the Quran with his name written on them were found in the street – was cleared of all allegations and released in January. However, police have advised Babu and his family not to return home, as local Muslims are still pressing for him to be charged.

Pastor first to be deported under draconian Soviet-era anti-terror laws RUSSIA

A Protestant pastor became the first person to be deported under Russia’s amended anti-terror laws which came into effect in July 2016. Among many new restrictions, they introduced sanctions against “foreigners conducting missionary activity.”

Pastor Victor-Immanuel Mani, an Indian, was deported in February, separating him from his Russian wife and young child. He is appealing. At the time of writing, of the 53 prosecutions brought by authorities under the revised laws, 29 have been against Christians.

Christian convert dies after 17 hours in cold pond INDIA

Authorities demolish two “illegal” churches but leave mosques standing NIGERIA

Authorities demolished two churches in Jigawa State, in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria, on January 11, claiming that they were illegally built in residential areas. However, the church buildings had stood for over 17 years and mosques built in the same locality were not demolished.

No formal notification was given ahead of the demolitions. The authorities said the churches had “failed to obtain permit from the relevant agency of government.”

However, the churches had applied for permits but were refused them. Church leaders have raised concerns that the demolitions are part of efforts to remove the Christian community from the region.

At least six Christians murdered in Al Arish; IS threatens to eliminate country’s “apostate” Christians EGYPT

Christians in India are a minority and regularly encounter persecution Bartu Urawn, a 50-year-old Christian convert from Jharkhand state, India, died on January 20 after being cruelly punished for refusing to renounce his faith. Bartu and his family converted to Christianity from the tribal religion Sarna Dharam ten years ago. After previous re-conversion efforts failed, local villagers bound and immersed Bartu and his wife in a cold pond for 17 hours, during which time Bartu was pushed to renounce his faith.

“I will not deny Christ … I will continue to believe until my last breath,” Bartu repeatedly said. After being pulled out both fell seriously ill. Bartu died shortly afterwards. His wife survived.

At least six Christians in the northern Sinai town of Al Arish were murdered in less than four weeks between January and February. By the beginning of March, nearly 200 Christian families had fled Al Arish – almost all the Christian community there.

In February, Islamic State (IS) released a new propaganda video threatening to eliminate Egypt’s “apostate” Christians and “liberate Cairo.” The video also included a pre-recorded statement by the IS suicide bomber responsible for the attack at a church in Cairo in December 2016, in which 27 Christians were killed.

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Joy and contentment in the face of danger One Afghan Christian’s journey

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16

I

am so delighted that I am one of those who has eternal life, as I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, knowing that it’s all by His grace. My name is Adib and this is my story: I was born into a Muslim family in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1986. Shortly afterwards my family moved to Mazar city. When I was in high school I had a passion to learn English. I joined different English classes at different centers in Mazar. Later on, I taught English in language schools, while also being employed by companies in my city. I also had the opportunity to study English with an international NGO. An American teacher used to quote verses as

part of our lessons. We did not know they were from the Bible, but he was sharing the mystery of the Gospel with us.

In January 2006, during a class party, I told him that I liked the quotations he shared with us in the class and asked him to tell me more. He told me they were from the Bible and invited me to come to his home and study on Fridays; he also gave me a Bible. As the Bible says, the Word of God is powerful; the Holy Spirit was working in my heart.

Before, I was devoted to Islam, but after one month of studying I was convicted of the truth of the Bible and committed my life to the Lord, realizing that only Jesus can be my personal Lord and Savior.

One day, the American asked me if I wanted to go to an underground church, which met in an English language center in Mazar. Since I had not met another Afghan believer until that time, I thought I was the only Afghan believer in the country. I went and saw that the church was full. I was very happy that we were worshiping together with other believers and after attending for a month I was baptized.

Since Afghanistan is an orthodox Islamic country, conversion is a serious crime. The punishment for Afghan men is death and the punishment for women is life in prison, in accordance with the Afghan constitution which is based on Islamic sharia law. The government came to know about our fellowship and began to investigate the church, but they had nothing conclusive. Then one man pretended to be a “seeker,” but he was a spy and gave a list of those who attended to the government and they shut the center.

They began to follow and arrest those whose names were on the list. Since the news about the fellowship spread out all over the city we were exposed to all people. My family asked me to repent and return to Islam. That was impossible for me because I did not want to lose my salvation, so they rejected me and forced me from home. Since my name was on the list I was forced to escape from Mazar to Kabul. I went to my friend’s house in Kabul. I had shared the Gospel with him when he was in Mazar, when we had taught at an academy together,

but he refused to accept and later moved to Kabul. I found him and shared my story and he told me that I could stay in his home until my situation cleared.

After some weeks, I got to know that some of my friends from the fellowship had already gone to India and joined the Afghan Church there. Since my life was in danger in Afghanistan, I could not spend all my life in my friend’s home, or imprison myself in a room. I decided to get an Indian visa. I applied for it and fortunately I got it. I booked a ticket for myself and flew from Kabul to India on December 22, 2008.

“... the Holy Spirit was working in my heart.

Before, l was devoted to Islam, but after one month of studying I was convicted of the truth of the Bible and committed my life to the Lord” In India I found Kamal, one of my friends from Mazar, and he took me to the Afghan Church. I was introduced to the pastor and believers and, since I had a passion for the Word of God and wanted to learn the Bible, the church organized for me to study Expository Preaching and Practical Theology with a Bible Institute.

I studied for two years and after that I and my Afghan friend, who was also a student there, were welcomed to join the ministry. The institute started a vocational center for Afghans and we had the responsibility of sharing the Gospel through our evangelistic programs and classes. Bible college and being in the ministry changed my life. It was a good to apply what I learned to be a help for the Afghan Church.

Since the Afghan Church is newly established, there are very few well trained Bible teachers. Our study experience was a great help and blessing as we were able to preach the Bible, teach other believers and lead spiritual affairs.

On September 5, 2014, I, along with Kamal and another Afghan friend, was arrested by the Indian police for evangelizing and distributing Bible tracts. Since sharing and preaching is not a crime in India, we were unfairly charged on some false charges, and as a result of that I spent five months in jail before being released on bail. The only charge that stands against me is visa related: Act 14 of the Foreign Law declares that I should be punished either by a five-year imprisonment or forcible deportation to my home country because I do not have a visa. I am a recognized refugee and have the right to live in this country, but since India is not a signatory of the Refugee Convention, my stay is considered illegal, even though we are officially recognized as refugees by the UN. If I am deported to Afghanistan I will definitely be arrested and killed because I have been rejected by my own family and the Afghan government is looking out for me and all those whose names are mentioned in the Mazar church list. There was a TV show about Afghan converts which spoke against the Afghan Church in India and Afghan believers (including myself and Kamal) and our picture was shown; the Afghan Parliament and Senate even discussed us – they called us apostates and they condemned us to death. Not only that, they asked the Indian Government to deport us so that the Afghan courts could punish us.

I cannot go back to my country. I will definitely face execution by the Afghan Muslim government.

Now in spite of the problems and trials which I mentioned above, I have joy and contentment which is from the Lord Jesus Christ. As Scripture says: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4

Barnabas Aid assists the community of Afghan Christians in India to which Adib belongs.

Vital food relief for Iraqi Christians fleeing conflict and persecution “What have you eaten today?” a young Iraqi Christian girl in Jordan was asked after she fell. “Nothing,” she replied, “It’s not my turn.”

These words highlight the scale of need facing Iraqi Christians forced to flee their homes because of conflict and anti-Christian persecution by Islamic State and similar groups.

They also show why Barnabas’ assistance is so important.

A typical monthly family food package for Iraqi Christians displaced to Iraqi Kurdistan or living as refugees in Jordan includes: oil, tea, lentils rice, sugar, milk, and salt, and can cost between $15 and $20.

Iraqi Christians avoid the normal camps for internally displaced people or refugees for fear of threats and violence from the Muslim majority in these camps. They are therefore dependent on churches and charities to help them.

PROJECT JOSEPH FEEDING OVER 100,000 PEOPLE IN KENYA AND UGANDA In response to the growing famine across parts of Africa, Barnabas Aid has extended Project Joseph to Uganda and Kenya, with grants to provide food aid for over 100,000 people including some 70,000 South Sudanese refugees.

Starvation beckons for millions in east Africa, as extreme weather conditions have led to crop failure, dried up water sources and dying livestock. At the time of writing, cholera is spreading in South Sudan. Disease is feared in Kenya too, as people weak with hunger cannot dispose of the carcasses of their dead animals. People are eating poisonous fruits which have to be boiled for hours to make them safe. In Uganda, where over 700,000 South Sudanese refugees have recently arrived, fleeing from the famine in their own country, food prices

Lining up for food from Barnabas in Uganda, where people are eating termites and searching for lungfish in dried-up swamps Iraqi Christians in Jordan with food that Barnabas Aid helped provide

Working through churches and Christian ministries, Barnabas Aid is assisting some of the neediest with maize and beans, in some cases with cooking oil too.

When planting time arrived in March, people had no seed left, as they had eaten it. Barnabas also provided maize and bean seeds for 600 of the stronger families in Uganda i.e. those who would be physically able to plant it. The cost per family was $8.10. Half the families also received ground nut seeds. With favorable weather conditions the first harvest will be in June.

Food supplies in Kenya, just before loading on trucks for distribution

$330,495 to give life-saving food to 105,500 Christians in Uganda and Kenya $7,790 for maize and bean seeds (including transport costs) for 600 families in Uganda; half the families also received ground nut seeds

$64,915 towards providing food relief for 7,200 Iraqi Christians in northern Iraq and Jordan for three months Project reference 20-246 and 20-383

are spiraling rapidly; this in turn will affect Kenya, which imports much of its food from Uganda.

Just $1.25 a week can provide food to keep a Ugandan Christian alive

Project reference 00-1313 Project Joseph

West African radio station supporting converts keeps broadcasting Barnabas has helped pay the operating costs for a Christian radio station broadcasting to a Muslimmajority region in a West African country. The station has two million listeners and is a lifeline to converts from Islam who – because they often do not attend church for fear of persecution – rely on it for teaching and encouragement.

The station also serves as an outreach tool. An imam called during one broadcast, saying, “I and my family listen to your program every week.

We now understand that Jesus is not only a messenger of God but the only true Son of God through whom we can receive salvation.”

The station’s success has prompted many Muslims to call it “anti-Islam.”

Staff have received threatening phone calls and been verbally abused.

Muslim businesses have stopped advertising on it, resulting in a steady decline in revenue that Barnabas’ grant has now helped to alleviate.

A grant from Barnabas has enabled this radio station to keep broadcasting to strengthen converts from Islam

$12,650 towards operating costs for Christian radio station in a West African country Project reference XX-1306

Self-sufficiency for persecuted Senegalese converts A revolving microcredit loan program in Senegal, supported by Barnabas, has enabled nine Christian converts from Islam to begin earning a stable living for their families. The four men and five women have been rejected by their wider Muslim family and community because of their new faith, so cannot rely on them any more for financial support and employment.

Each new Christian started with $753, 10% being their own contribution and 90% a loan repayable over 16 months.

The repaid loans will provide funds to expand the loan system to help others.

New businesses begun by the converts include hairdressing, dressmaking, shoe repairs, selling fish products, fabrics, agricultural projects, and charcoal making.

“Unanimously, the beneficiaries thank Barnabas Aid for helping them regain their human dignity and allowing them to continue safely in their faith in Jesus,” writes a Senegalese pastor.

“I have got freedom from my fears” Barnabas Aid helped finance five three-day retreats for a total of 78 Christian leaders in a central Asian country where Christians experience severe pressure from authorities and local Muslims. In fact, some leaders who had planned to attend the retreats could not do so because of police raids and investigations.

Church leaders in this country are isolated and often arrested and fined. Hostility from society, especially in rural areas, makes it very difficult both to minister in their communities and to get jobs to support their families.

“I dreamed a long time and prayed that God gives me some rest and I have got this during this training,” “Marat” explains. “Faruk” adds, “I met brothers from other churches who I didn’t know before. My love to brothers in Christ has risen greatly and I began to treasure the Body of Christ more.”

“I understood that if we take part in Christ’s suffering we will take part in His glory. It gives me power to continue my ministry.”

Marat, describing what he learned at the Barnabas-supported retreat.

This convert set up a cattle-fattening business

$5,010 contribution towards microcredit loans and training costs for nine Senegalese converts Project reference 45-1096

“Sarmat” arrived fearing “for my brothers and sisters, for my family, for myself.” Following a session on overcoming fear, Sarmat joyfully declared, “I have got freedom from my fears.”

$15,565 towards financing retreats for pressured Christian leaders in central Asia

Barnabas Aid May/June 2017 16

‘You shared the Gospel with me, and now I believe.’

Mission to Muslim refugees in the United States

“Paul and Debbie Newheart” are a Middle Eastern couple living in a busy, diverse city in the United States. Their hearts’ desire has been to reach the unreached and love the unloved, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, making disciples and then training leaders from among the new believers.

Barnabas Aid has been supporting them in their ministry amongst refugees.

L

ast year Paul and Debbie gave out 1,100 New Testaments in Arabic and Farsi and 500 copies of a DVD about Jesus.

They also helped 60 refugee families in need of furniture and household items; such practical help is vital for newly-arrived families who are often traumatized, have limited funds, don’t speak much (if any) English, and find it difficult to establish themselves, let alone find a job and earn an income.

Meeting people’s material needs provides an opening for Paul and Debbie to share the Gospel, praying that Jesus will meet their spiritual needs too. Sometimes people will keep talking with them into the small hours of the morning, as they are so keen to hear the Gospel. They have many encouraging testimonies of how the Lord Jesus has drawn Muslims in America to Himself.

A family comes to faith

Debbie writes, “It’s always encouraging to hear someone call and say, ‘Do you remember me? You shared the Gospel with me, and now I believe.’ ” Paul had received just such a phone call from “Malik,” an Iraqi refugee. Paul had

Life for refugees who are resettled in the United States can be very hard.

There is a small government grant for each refugee. Several agencies contract with the federal government to provide refugees with initial support and training to enable the newcomers make a home, learn the language and deal with life in a new culture. They have just 90 days to demonstrate that they can support themselves. bought Malik furniture and given him a Bible. Initially, he had not wanted to know anything about Jesus. What Paul shared took root. Malik saw Jesus in a dream. Jesus was sitting on His throne and was looking at him. Malik mentioned Jesus challenging him because he had not wanted to hear the Gospel and he had put away the Bible that Paul gave him. In the morning when he woke he called Paul and told him that he wanted to follow Jesus.

He also asked Paul to share the Gospel with his wife. The whole family came to faith and are now following Jesus.

“Praise the Lord for this family that’s saved today!” wrote Debbie, rejoicing at this great news.

“Aysha” from the Middle East, as she was baptized

Turkish students at Paul & Debbie’s house.

Typically, a meal is followed by Turkish coffee and board games; towards the end of the visit, the couple pray with their guests

A seed sown brings a harvest

Six years ago, Debbie shared the Gospel and prayed with “Layla,” a Turkish woman in Las Vegas, but the woman lived a comfortable life and was uninterested. Debbie persevered, kept in touch and prayed with her on occasion. Layla became seriously ill. Doctors were unable to help her.

Remembering that Debbie had told her that Jesus can heal, Layla sought out a church and asked for prayer. She told Debbie that she not only received healing, she also became a believer and is now a follower of Jesus.

Project reference 54-363

New skills offer path to a brighter future

“S

ue” is a young Christian woman of 20 from a disadvantaged group in south-east Asia. She was raised in a poor Christian family alongside seven brothers and two sisters. To help the family make ends meet, she had to leave school at age 14.

It has been encouraging, writes our project partner there, to see how hard-working and devoted she is. She has never forgotten how tough her early life was and she has a burning desire to help other young women from similar backgrounds.

Two years ago, Sue received funding through Barnabas Aid which enabled her to train as a seamstress and then train five other young Christian women to generate a sustainable income for themselves.

During their training, the women learn first to make school uniforms which are donated to young children from poorer families. Once this is mastered, they then progress to

tackling more challenging items like shirts and jackets.

In December 2016, a local church youth group blessed believers with a Christmas performance and the sewing

“I am so proud and happy to be able to get trained as a seamstress so I can have a good future helping other ladies from outside villages. Most of the girls in our villages get married very young at 14-16 years old because we need a big family to help work in the mountains as it's so hard work.” – Sue project was delighted to be able to help by making beautiful matching skirts, called sinh, for the event.

Each of the five women has been given a sewing machine so that they can start their own small business in their local communities. They use sewing machines operated by foot

Clockwise, from top left:

Sue (right) teaching her new craft Handbags made by the ladies Sue (left) painting the sewing room extension The seamstresses used their new skills to make skirts for a Christmas event Hard at work in the sewing room

pedals as there is no electricity supply in some of the remote villages where the women live.

Sue recently helped to paint an extension to the sewing building where two more women (seven in total) can train. The seamstresses have started making handbags and other items to sell in the local markets and have asked for help to sell their products overseas.

Another sewing project has been initiated this year with a church further north, where four women are being trained. Barnabas Aid has provided four sewing machines, a button press and cross stitch machine.

Acquiring a skill such as tailoring is of great benefit to these women in a country where Christians can be severely harassed and persecuted, often having their livelihoods removed. It offers a way out of the cycle of poverty and a life of grueling farm labor in which they would otherwise be trapped.

Sue says that the training has changed the future for her and those she trains.

Project reference XX-1174

Barnabas Aid March/April 2017 18

In Touch

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Suffering Chu rch Action Week 2 017 dates for your diary Suffering Chu rch Action Wee k this year runs from October 29 to Novem ber 5. The theme is “I am not ashamed ,” taken from Romans 1:16. T he Barnabas A id Internationa Day of Prayer l for the Persecut ed Church will Saturday, Nov be ember 4.

Leaving a legacy believe in.

Your will is a testament to what you blessings the ing It can be a way of acknowledg g your urin ens or you have received in your life, live ice, just values, such as compassion and supporters on after you are gone. Many of our If you s. will r include Barnabas Aid in thei ng relief vidi pro share Barnabas Aid’s vision of lly erfu pray se to the persecuted Church, plea .

Aid consider a legacy for Barnabas Your local Barnabas office can advise you, and can send you a guide to providing for our persecuted brothers and sisters in this way (addresses inside front cover).

Mission Statement

The mission of Barnabas Aid is to support Christians where they are in a minority and suffer discrimination, oppression and persecution as a consequence of their faith. Our goal is to strengthen Christian individuals, churches and their communities by providing material and spiritual support in response to needs identified by local Christian leaders.

We do this by making their needs known to Christians around the world, and encouraging prayer, advocacy and financial giving in support of these brothers and sisters in Christ, working with existing local Christian organizations.

Barnabas Aid channels this flow from donors to the needy recipients with a minimum of overhead. All gifts are monitored to ensure they are used in line with the stated need.

In accordance with biblical teaching, we believe that Christians should treat all people of all faiths with love and compassion, even those who persecute them.

Alternative gift card if you would like to make a donation as an alternative gift for a friend or relative, we can supply you with an attractive “Thank you” card, which you can send to the person for whom you have made the donation. Please fill in the details as you would like them to appear on the card.

“Dear............................................... A gift of $ has been received on your behalf from..............................................................................

This gift will assist Christians who are persecuted for their faith. With many thanks on behalf of the persecuted Church”

Mag 05/17

PLEASE USE THESE GIFTS FOR Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund) Other................................................................................. *

HERE IS MY SINGLE GIFT OF $ .........................................................................................

I enclose a check payable to “Barnabas Aid” Please send information about donating by electronic check (US banks only).

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RECURRING GIFTS For US supporters who would like to give regularly Amount $..................................................................................

Check here if you do not want the amount to be stated on the card

Starting on (date) .............................and then every month/quarter/year (circle as applicable) until further notice.

Check here if you do wish details about the project to be included on the card

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Please state your preferred card choice (see below): ...

If you would like to have the card sent directly to the recipient, or if you would prefer to receive blank cards and fill them out yourself, please contact your national office (address details on inside of front cover).

If you would like more cards, please photocopy the form or attach a separate piece of paper with the details for extra cards and send it with your donation. You can also call your nearest Barnabas Aid office with the details and donate by credit/ debit card over the phone.

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This Recurring Gift is a new one / in addition to / replaces an earlier Recurring Gift in favor of the Barnabas Aid (circle as applicable)

Please send this form to Barnabas Aid and not to your bank Please return this form to Barnabas Aid at your national office or to the US office. Addresses are on the inside front cover. Barnabas Aid will not give your address or email to anyone else.

Phone 703-288-1681 or toll free 866-936-2525 or visit our website at www.barnabasaid.org to make a credit card donation. *We reserve the right to use designated gifts for another project if the one identified is sufficiently funded.

You can save a life in Africa

for less than a weekly bottle of coke

Just $1.25 is all it takes to feed a Christian in Uganda for a week. Please go to www.barnabasaid.org/projectjoseph and be a lifesaver for someone today.

PROJECT

JOSEPH

Turn to page 14 to read more.

FIGHTING THE IDEOLOGICAL WAR

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To order these books, visit www.barnabasaid.org/shop. Alternatively, please contact your nearest Barnabas Aid office (addresses on inside front cover). usa@barnabasaid.org

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