by CFI Field Staff on May 10, 2013
Syrian church leaders have called for a day of prayer for peace to be restored to their country, enabling all Syrians to live in harmony within their own country. Some fear that the Iraq scenario (involving increased levels of sectarian attack and corresponding flight of Christians) could be replicated in Syria. Church leaders have called on Christians not to leave, acknowledging that significant emigration had already occurred.
Fears within Christian communities have increased following the kidnapping of two priests (Michel Kayyal of the Armenian Catholic church and Mahar Mahfouz of… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on May 7, 2013
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recently stated: “The flight of Christians out of the region [Middle East] is unprecedented and it’s increasing year by year.” Some experts even believe that in our lifetime: “Christians might disappear altogether from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Egypt.”
CFI President Jim Jacobson, has said, “over 1 million Christians lived in Iraq in 2003, ten years later less than 400,000 can be counted. Christians in the Middle East are under siege.”
Across the Middle East, in countries like Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and elsewhere, attacks on… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on May 6, 2013
Kenneth Bae, a Korean tour operator, with American citizenship, was arrested in November by North Korean police while leading a tour group through the north-eastern port of Rajin.
He was charged with “committing crimes against the state”. Early this month the North Korean Supreme Court sentenced him to 15 years hard labor. The sentence is the harshest ever issued against a foreign national. Usually it is reserved for murders, and rapists.
Sources close to the case, report Bae is a devout Christian, who on his touring trips would carry out… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on April 17, 2013
From our co-worker in Orissa, India…
“Very good morning,
Thank God we had a distribution program for children yersterday,we provided them school books, pens, pencils, scissors, slates, soaps for the both washing and bathing, also we had a nice snacks with the Children, pray for them continually…
God Bless You All. Our work is not in vain, the reward in the Heaven as the Bible says.”
If you would like to know more about sponsoring a child in India, please go here.… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on April 12, 2013
From our contact in Syria….
“Greetings,
The Greek orthodox church that was shelled by the Assad regime in Jisr
Al’Shaghour region.
Just today, these villages and several others were shelled again by the (Syrian) regime forces that are isolated in the last town the regime is holding. I haven’t been told how many are dead yet.
Many, many for these people are our brothers and sisters.
Please pray for us…”
Please Join Christian Freedom International in lifting the persecuted Christians of Syria in prayer durning this time of great need.… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on March 12, 2013
“We are in much grief and pain that Christians have no safety or freedom in this Islamic country,” says Pastor Shahzad Babar with Gospel of Christ Ministries in Pakistan, in a letter recently sent to Christian Freedom International.
“On Saturday, March 9 . . . a mob of 4,000 angry Muslims in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore attacked a Christian neighborhood and set fire to homes, after hearing accusations that a Christian man blasphemed against Islam’s prophet,” Pastor Babar’s letter continues. “Police arrested Sawan Masih, a sanitary worker, on… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on March 8, 2013
Warm greetings from Southeast Asia! Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And Saul approved of their killing him… Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:1-3)
Saul, who later became known as the Apostle Paul, is one of the greatest, miraculous, conversions ever recorded in the Bible.
But, amazing conversions are happening today as scores… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on March 4, 2013
When CFI president Jim Jacobson traveled to Orissa, India, he found a community markednby grinding poverty, and a relentless suffering known only by those who endure daily persecution for their belief in Jesus Christ. Yet despite their hardships, these Christians remain strong in spirit and faith; and despite the risks to their freedom and even their very lives, are steadily growing in number.
During his visit, Jim arranged for the delivery of humanitarian aid for these Christians in need, and CFI has been supporting this special church in Orissa State… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on January 29, 2013
Saeed Abedini, the American pastor who has been incarcerated in Iran for his Christian faith since September 2012, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Abedini, an Iranian native who had been living in the United States since 2005, returned to Iran last fall to visit relatives and to oversee the development of an orphanage project when he was forcibly removed from a public bus and arrested by Iranian officials. The pastor has since been detained in Evin Prison, where he has repeatedly suffered from torture and gross mistreatment… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on January 15, 2013
UPDATE HERE | PLEASE READ
Saeed Abedini, the Iranian-American pastor who has been imprisoned in his native country of Iran since September 2012, may soon be hanged for his Christian beliefs.
In a January 10 letter to his family, Saeed described the abuse and inhumane treatment he has been suffering at the hands of his Iranian captives during his incarceration, and that he was told that he “will hang” for his faith.
Saeed was arrested during a recent trip to Iran, where he had been visiting relatives and continuing work… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on December 18, 2012
As we find ourselves celebrating another holiday season – a season traditionally filled with friends, family, and good times – CFI encourages you to remember one important word.
Eternity.
This Christmas, as we remember the miraculous birth of Christ, please also remember that the support you give to our persecuted brethren around the world will have an eternal impact on the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of believers who suffer in Christ’s name.
CFI’s many programs – our medical clinics, schools, Bible distribution, and other humanitarian aid – not only… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on December 7, 2012
Birgitta Almby, a 70-year-old Christian charity worker in Pakistan, is in critical condition after being shot by unknown assailants earlier this week.
Almby was heading home from the Full Gospel Assemblies office where she worked in Lahore when she was shot in the chest by two men, believed to be Muslim fundamentalists, as they rode past her on a motorcycle. According to local sources, Almby’s assailants had apparently been following her to her Model Town home before opening fire.
Almby suffered damage to the lungs and jugular vein, and has… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on September 14, 2012
CFI’s Egyptian co-worker has reported that danger is on the rise for Coptic Christians in Egypt, in the aftermath of the U.S. embassy attack that took place on September 11.
The attack, which was reportedly in retaliation for an anti-Islamic film created by an Israeli-American filmmaker that blasphemed the prophet Mohammed, was carried out this week in conjunction with a similar attack that occurred at the U.S. embassy in Libya. Four people, including Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American workers, were killed in the bombing attack in Libya.
“This… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on September 13, 2012
Christian Freedom International (CFI), a Michigan-based organization dedicated to assisting persecuted Christians around the world, is expressing concern that Middle Eastern Christians will feel extended repercussions of the recent bombings in Libya and Egypt that killed four American workers, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Chris Stevens.
The bombings came in retaliation for the anti-Islamic film “Innocence of Muslims,” a 14-minute video created by an Israeli-American filmmaker that allegedly blasphemes the prophet Mohammed. While four deaths occurred at the Libyan embassy on Tuesday, no casualties were reported following the attack… Read more
by CFI Field Staff on September 6, 2012
Winner Lynn has come a long way this year.
When the young Burma native and former refugee arrived in the United States several years ago to become a member of the Jacobson family, he had no real idea of what awaited him in his new life in America. Now, after having completed his first year as a student at Pensacola Christian College (PCC) in Pensacola, Florida, his vision for the future is as clear — and bright — as ever.
“I have gotten used to everything, and I’m not afraid… Read more
