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“You cannot bring your phone inside. Absolutely no photos!” | ||||
| Earlier this year, a VOM staff member traveled to the Middle East to meet persecuted Christians and determine the best ways to help them. While there, he was invited to a baptism service. But the invitation came with restrictions — no photos, recordings or cellphones allowed. If the baptized Christians’ newfound faith was discovered, they would likely be killed. The VOM worker was in awe as he watched 16 new believers receive baptism, leaving their old lives behind for new life in Christ. Among the new Christians were former Sunni and Shia Muslims, former Yazidis and former Druze. One of the new believers had been an imam, or Islamic leader, before coming to faith in Christ. Another was a former criminal and prisoner. And yet another was the widow of an ISIS fighter, an Islamist “martyr” who died trying to establish an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and northern Syria.
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| After her husband was killed, the woman received a monthly stipend from ISIS. It was the only way she could survive. But when ISIS learned that she had left Islam to follow Christ, the monthly stipend ended and she began to receive threats on her life instead. She immediately went into hiding. Today, she is one of the thousands of persecuted Christians in the Middle East whom VOM helps through the generosity of Christians like you who give to support our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. We invite you to pray for new Christian converts from Islam — for their growth in faith and for their boldness and safety as they share the gospel at any cost. We also invite you to prayerfully consider how you can help. Your gifts assist in meeting the spiritual and physical needs of persecuted Christians who are willing to lose everything on this earth, including their lives, but refuse to deny Christ.
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