by Jim Jacobson on August 23, 2011
For the past several years, CFI has shared with our supporters the exciting milestones of dozens of Karen refugees who have made their home in the United States. After decades of living in fear, oppression, and desperate poverty in Burma or overcrowded refugee camps in Thailand, many persecuted Karen have successfully built new lives for themselves and their families right here in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
For many Karen immigrants, CFI’s Freedom Inn has been a critical part of their transition to life in the United States. At the Inn,… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on August 18, 2011
When Michigan’s Christian radio station, Smile FM, recently launched a promotion asking listeners to nominate various non-profit organizations that are making a positive difference in Michigan, it wasn’t long before a caller nominated CFI’s ministry.
CFI was featured on the “Making a Difference” tour on Friday, August 12. The station broadcasted its live morning show from CFI’s Sault Ste. Marie headquarters and encouraged listeners to participate in CFI’s service project, “Give the Gift of Encouragement,” by writing letters to persecuted Christians overseas. Many visitors stopped by the office and participated… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on
CFI President Jim Jacobson was featured on the G.Gordon Liddy radio program on Radio America Network discussing the abduction of an American businessman Mr. Warren Weinstein from his townhouse in La Hore, Pakistan. Mr. Weinstein has not been heard from since the day he was snatched from his home. Mr. Jacobson painted a grim picture about the dangers faced by Americans who travel to this part of Pakistan. The attached transcript of this very informative discussion with Mr. Liddy is very sobering and informative. Mr. Jacobson has been to Pakistan… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on August 17, 2011
Asia Bibi, the Christian wife and mother who was convicted of blasphemy charges in Pakistan, has remained on death row since her shocking sentence was handed down in November 2010.
Although her case has sparked international outrage and demands for the repeal of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, Asia’s sentence has not yet been commuted – because, even as thousands of Christians and human rights activists are calling for her release, thousands of fundamentalist Muslims are still calling for her execution.
A local Muslim leader has offered a $6,000 reward to… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on August 15, 2011
An American citizen has been kidnapped from his temporary home in Lahore, Pakistan, according to police officials and the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan.
The man, who has been identified as Warren Weinstein, was abducted from his home in an area called Model Town by six masked gunmen on Saturday, August 13. Weinstein, who is employed by the Virginia-based consulting firm J.E. Austin Associates, has resided in Pakistan for the past seven years while working on a development project financed by the U.S. government.
The gunmen overpowered the guards who were… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on August 10, 2011
Nearly a third of the world’s population lives in countries where it is becoming more difficult to freely practice religion, a private US research group reported on Tuesday. Most of these incidents occur against Christians, and it is getting worse.
The Pew Research Centre’s forum on religion and public life said government restrictions and public hostility involving religion grew in some of the most populous countries from mid-2006 to mid-2009.
The Pew Centre looked at laws or other government policies aimed to ban particular faiths, limit preaching, give preference to… Read more
by Jim Jacobson on August 8, 2011
Htel Paw, 21, is a third-year student at Christian Freedom International’s Karenni Bible School outside Mae Hong Son, Thailand. Born in Karenni State in Burma, Htel Paw has been a Christian since childhood. Tragically, Htel Paw’s mother died of a heart attack in 2008.
“I have wanted to go to the Bible School ever since I was a little girl,” Htel Paw said. “When I was a girl, some pastors and Bible School teachers came to my village and taught me about the Bible and told Bible stories. That was… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on
In a new episode of violence against minority Christians, a car bomb that detonated outside a Syrian Catholic church in central Kirkuk has injured 23 people.
The bombing took place in the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 2, severely damaging the church as well as nearby homes. Only one person, parish leader Rev. Imad Yalda, was inside the building at the time of the explosion. He, along with 22 other individuals whose homes were hit in the blast, was wounded in the attack.
Police have reported that two other… Read more
