Last week, I introduced you to Jake, the character whose voice I blog through each week. Jake discovered the stories of many persecuted Christians this past year. Today, I’d like to share a few more of their stories with you.
An Unidentified Woman in Nigeria
It happened in June, 2006. A woman in Nigeria met with a group of kids and told them how Jesus had lived with men long ago, and how he had died to pay for all the things every one of us has done wrong, including them. And, she explained how Jesus came back to life, proving he alone is God. She gave the kids some things to read more about Jesus, then she left.
But, as soon as she was gone, some men who had seen her talking to the kids came and asked the kids what she had said. When they heard that she had told them about Jesus, they decided she had to be killed. They don’t want anyone to talk about Jesus as God.
The leaders got hundreds of people to search for the woman. When they found her, they attacked her. But, police rescued her and took her to the police station. The mob threatened to attack the police station, so the police tried to smuggle her out a back door. But, they couldn’t get away. There were too many people in the mob. Three police officers had been hurt. And, the police left the woman behind. The mob killed her.
All this woman had wanted to do was help kids understand how much Jesus loves them. And the crowd killed her, before the police even had a chance to get her name or find out where she was from.
Last April, 17-year-old Gamal Massoud was sent to jail for supposedly posting cartoons on his Facebook account that insulted the main religion of Egypt. He has said he didn’t do it, and some people aren’t even sure he has a Facebook account, but it didn’t matter. Mobs became angry and rioted. They even destroyed his home and the homes of some of the other Christians in his town. And the court blamed Gamal for starting the riots!
The judge gave Gamal the longest sentence he could—three years in jail. And that’s for something people aren’t even sure that he did! As for the crowd that destroyed Gamal’s home, and the homes of the other Christians, none of them have been arrested.
Ms. Lan is an evangelist who lives in Vietnam and shares the love of Jesus with everyone she can. She used to be an official in the Communist Party, but in 2010, she accepted Jesus as her Savior. She began telling people about Him and what He was doing in her life. And fifty people decided to believe in Jesus!
This made one of the villagers, a man named Khoan, very angry. On November 13, 2011, Khoan, his son, and a gang attacked Ms. Lan and other Christians who had gathered for a special service for church leaders at her home.
They smashed and destroyed everything they could. They ruined the motorcycles the pastors use for traveling to the other villages. They destroyed a vegetable garden Ms. Lan needed for food. And, they hurt Ms. Lan and the others who were there.
After the terrible attack, she was taken to three different hospitals, along with two other Christians who had been very badly hurt. But, at all three hospitals, the doctors said she and the others were fine and sent them away. Many times, when doctors in Vietnam know someone has been hurt because of their faith, they will not examine them or help them. On November 18, five days after the attack, the staff at one hospital said there would be no examinations until the next Monday, November 21.
The church leaders made the decision to attempt to take Ms. Lan and the others 1,000 miles south to Ho Chi Minh City. They knew the government hospitals still might not help them, but they hoped that even if they wouldn’t, they would find a doctor in a private hospital in the city that would take pity on these hurting people and take care of them.
With God’s help, they did find a doctor who admitted Ms. Lan to the hospital. The doctor also examined the other two Christians and took care of them. They found that Ms. Lan had a very badly broken bone and internal injuries.
Khoan and the others were not arrested. They promised that if they could, they would kill Ms. Lan if she ever went back to her home.
That was the last story the news reported about Ms. Lan. We don’t know what happened to her after she was able to leave the hospital. But, we know that God knows where she is, and we know that He loves her and will help her be strong.
If you’d like to join Jake on his adventures, he is currently traveling All Around India. We’d love to see you at Exploring With Jake.
As a special Christmas gift, please check out A Martyr’s Christmas Unit Study, downloadable for free at http://writebonnierose.com/category/freebie-collections/.
Bonnie Rose Hudson lives in central Pennsylvania. Along with spending time with her family and writing, making kids smile is her favorite thing to do. Her heart’s desire is for every child to feel the love of God and know how special they are to Him. She creates curriculum for SchoolhouseTeachers.com as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s® Star Contributors Team and would love to tell you more about how you can join the team. Please stop by and meet the star of her children’s series at Exploring with Jake, or visit her at her author’s website at http://writebonnierose.com/.