Mission team visits church facing closure

(Photo courtesy of Vision Beyond Borders)

Romania (MNN) ― While Romania is no longer a communist country, the government may be dipping their toes back into its history of trying to control the church.

Legislation being considered by the Romanian government specifically targets smaller churches.

Patrick Klein with Vision Beyond Borders says, “The government is clamping down. They’re making it more and more difficult for the churches. There’s talk of even closing down churches that are under the number of 200 people.”

Klein says the threat of government slowly taking control may not be well recognized by the Romanian people. “People are thinking, ‘Well, it wasn’t so bad under communism. At least the government took care of us.’ They forget the oppression they lived under, and especially as Christians, what kind of oppression [they endured].”

Vision Beyond Borders sent a mission team of 10 people to Romania last week to work with a church that is under threat of being closed down if this legislation is passed.

Despite this threat, the church’s ministry is still growing and impacting Romania for Christ.

According to Klein who led the trip, “One of the elders in the church really has a heart for the gypsy people. His wife is actually from a gypsy background, so he’s really encouraged our teams to go out and minster to the gypsies. He said, ‘I really love these people. I want to reach them with the Gospel.’”

The team helped minister to the gypsy community, which experiences a great deal of discrimination. “There’s a minority of them that kind of have a bad reputation in Eastern Europe of being pickpockets and thieves, and so they’re really looked down upon in Europe and especially in Romania.”

Among the gypsy community, team members gave out clothing, vegetable seeds, and provided electricity for one woman’s house. They also shared the message of salvation, and five people accepted Christ as their Lord. The team set up a PA system and sang worship songs.

Pray for the Romanian church to continue impacting the gypsy population for the Gospel of Christ. Pray that the government of Romania will not shut down smaller churches.

Vision Beyond Borders will send out another mission team to Romania in September. They will build a home for the director of Haven of Hope orphanage which shares a compound with the church.

‘Cuban Christians Taking Back What the devil Has Stolen’

The Little Old Man Who Cried In Cuba 

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

HAVANA, CUBA (ANS) -- For many, Cuba is an island of mystery and for some Christians, a place of persecution.

A Cuban worshipper

The island was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and soon became a territory of Spain. In 1898, the U.S. claimed Cuba during the Spanish-American War. However, in 1902, Cuba gained its independence. The Cuban Revolution occurred between 1953 and 1959, which removed Fulgenicio Batista and installed a government run by Fidel Castro, who declared Cuba a socialist state in 1961. Castro remained in power until falling ill in 2008, at which time he relinquished control of Cuba to his brother, Raul Castro.

Back in April of 2009, President Barack Obama said that the United States wanted a “new beginning” with communist Cuba and was willing to work with its government on issues ranging from human rights to migration and the economy, and lately I have had memories flooding back about the first time I visited the island some years ago.

It took place when I was still living in the UK, and I had taken Bibles into Havana along with a team of Christians.

After a night’s rest in a government hotel, we set off to take our “precious cargo” to a downtown Havana church to hand over to the pastor so he could distribute them across the island.

My parents, Alfred and Ann Wooding pictured by their beloved River Mersey

As we were doing this, a little old Cuban man came running towards me. I was startled as he was the image of my father, the Rev. Alfred Wooding, back in England; small and wiry.

“You’re the one,” he said rapidly. “I knew you would come and pray for me!”

My father’s gray-haired double, his eyes moist with tears, continued, “Yes, I had a dream that some visitors would come from abroad and that one of them — you— would pray for me so that I would receive a special blessing. It was your face I saw in the dream.

”

I put my arm around his frail shoulders and began praying for him. As I did, I spared a thought for my father, who was some 4,000 miles away. At the time, he was retired and living outside of Liverpool with my mother, Ann. Sadly, since that time, they have both passed away.

A packed Cuban Church

Now here I was in Cuba, at the beginning of a new chapter in my life after many years in journalism in London. It was 1981 and I had walked out on my career with Britain’s tabloids, to begin to serve the Lord through my writing.

Suddenly the old man was sobbing deeply. Several other believers joined with our team of Bible couriers for a time of prayer. Soon another Cuban began weeping and for thirty minutes the two cried like babies.

At the end of this moving prayer time, the elderly man wiped his tears and then thrust his arms around me and hugged me tight. I don’t usually make people cry, and I was quite taken aback by what had just happened.

“Why are you so unhappy?” I asked him as he continued to hold me tight.

“I’m not unhappy,” he said as he loosened his grip, “These are tears of joy. You are the first believer from England to come here in the past twenty years to encourage us. You don’t know what it means to us to realize that we are not forgotten!”

It was at that moment, that I realized that God had put a new call on my life – to help persecuted Christians, like those living in Cuba.

Dan and Norma Wooding with Cuba believers

When Norma, my wife, and myself, started ASSIST some 25 years ago, the first country we visited was Cuba and we began a sister church program where we started linking Cuban churches with those in the United States. (Unfortunately, we no longer have this program.)

I fell in love with the Christians of Cuba and I went back two more times to bring more encouragement and Bibles.

But after I returned to my new home in Southern California after my third trip, I received a huge shock that I had been banned by the government to ever visit the island again.

A friend of mine had been arrested during a trip to the island and was eerily shown my business card by a member of the secret police who asked him if he knew “this person.” My friend didn’t answer the question, but was then told, “If you ever meet him, tell him that if he tries to come back to Cuba, he will be immediately arrested because of the bad stories he has been writing about us.” I guess in some ways that was a badge of honor as it seemed my stories had got under their skin.

Still, I am comforted with the news that the church there is still growing.

The headline of a fascinating story written by Nick Miroff for National Public Radio (NPR), was “Cuban Christians Taking Back What the devil Has Stolen.”

In the story, Miroff wrote: “At the height of Cuba's militant atheism in the late 1960s and early '70s, religious believers were fired from their jobs and sent to labor camps for ‘re-education.’ That kind of discrimination officially ended more than 20 years ago.

“Since then, the number of evangelicals in Cuba has grown from roughly 70,000 to more than 800,000 today, out of a population of 11 million, according to the Rev. Marcial Hernandez, president of Cuba's Council of Churches.”

“‘We're taking back everything that was given away to the devil,’ Hernandez says, explaining the appeal of modern evangelical Christianity, with its rollicking music and passionate sermons, in contrast to the more staid practices of the Catholic Church and traditional Protestant denominations. ‘Televisions used to be considered devil boxes,’ he says. ‘Telephones were the Antichrist. Universities were the devil's lair, even beaches.’”

Miroff added, “On Sunday afternoons at one church in Havana's Marianao neighborhood, hundreds of university students sing and sway at a special youth service. Jorge Ortega, a pastor at the church, explains the restrictions that churches still face. ‘We can't have services in public stadiums or invite foreign preachers to give sermons. We can't have Christian schools. But we can minister in hospitals, and spread the word of God in public places,’ such as parks and buses, Ortega says.”

Now that I can’t go back there, I am hoping and praying that as things begin to open up there, more and more Christians from America and other countries will visit the Cuban believers to not only help them, but to learn vital lessons from them on how they have been able to stand so strong despite so many years of persecution. They can teach us in the West so much! 

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Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Kidnapped lawyer still missing

China (MNN) ― Last Monday, August 15, marked the fifth year since Christian lawyer Gao Zhisheng was first kidnapped and tortured by Chinese officials. It has been over a year since his last kidnapping took Gao off the face of the map.

ChinaAid, a Voice of the Martyrs partner, formally petitioned the UN this past Monday to start an investigation into the illegal kidnapping and torture of the disappeared Gao.

The request was filed by the legal counsel of China Aid Association with the United Nations Special Rapporteur of Torture.

Gao first earned the Chinese government's attention in 2005 when he took on "sensitive" cases representing persecuted Christians, groups, and house churches in court. His wife and two young children were placed under communist police surveillance.

On August 15, 2006, Gao was kidnapped by police from the home of his sister, confined, and tortured. Authorities later charged him with inciting subversion or rebellion.

Gao was kidnapped again on September 21, 2007 after writing a detailed report to the U.S. Congress on the Chinese government abuses of human rights. His kidnappers brutally tortured Gao for 50 days before releasing him with a death threat if he spoke of his torture.

However, death threats wouldn't stop Gao. He waited until his family had escaped police surveillance and gained asylum with ChinaAid before publishing an account of his last kidnapping and torture.

A third kidnapping took place in February 2009 following the publishing of his torture account. Gao was released after the international community's outrage gained enough attention.

The last time Gao was heard from was in April 2010 before he was kidnapped again. European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek says he is assuming the worst after reading Gao's previous account of the torture he suffered.

The U.S. State Department has inquired of Chinese officials concerning Gao's whereabouts, and the UN declared Gao's treatment by the Chinese government to be illegal.

In response, the Chinese government blatantly told the UN to "mind its own business," saying this is a matter of internal affair in their country. This is despite the fact that China signed the UN Declaration of Universal Human Rights as well as 20 other UN agreements and documents.

ChinaAid's legal counselor, David E. Taylor, states, ""Nonetheless, we believe it is important for the international community to see again how the Chinese Communist Party responds with arrogance and recalcitrance to the UN, and to show the world--especially Gao's family and the Chinese government--that Gao has not been forgotten for even one second, and never will be."

Hopefully, through Gao's bold refusal to back down from supporting the persecuted in the face of threats and trial, other Christians will be bold to stand up for the Gospel and their fellow believers.

Please pray for the UN to pursue investigations of the illegal conduct of the Chinese government towards Gao. Pray that Gao would be found and released and that the Lord would protect him from harm.

Click here to sign the petition for Gao's freedom.

Radio reaches past resistance

Tibet being ruled by communist China means the Gospel is often met with persecution. Radio signals can still reach the lost.


Tibet (MNN) ― The history of mission work to spread the Gospel in Tibet has often been met with fierce political resistance. Often there is only one channel that can reach through closed lines: radio broadcast.

Words of Hope helps put on the Gaweylon (Good News) Tibetan program through radio broadcast every evening. Thirty-minute segments include Bible teachings with wonderful responses from listeners who have made the eternal decision to follow Christ.

But as is the trend in this communist country, their program has met resistance. Governmental authorities in Tibet imposed restrictions on their broadcast and are making the situation very difficult for their mission.

Opposition to religion is frequent in Tibet. In the nineteenth century there were common cases of persecution such as sewing missionaries up in a wet yak's skin and then setting them out in the sun to be crushed to death as the drying tomb of skin constricted.

Later in the 1960's, the Cultural Revolution took place and a communist-ruled Tibet suppressed any form of religion with beatings and arrests. During this time in Tibet, going to prison was practically a death sentence. Figures compiled by the Tibetan Administration showed that nearly 70% of those imprisoned died there.

These days, missionary works seem to ebb and flow. Cases of persecution remain, but the people are interested in learning more. Words of Hope developed a method that they have been using for two decades to reach beyond the closed sections of the community with the Gospel message: radio broadcast.

Also, the Gaweylon Tibetan program is in desperate need of a Tibetan Christian who can help them with thorough translation of the gospel messages into their language. Pinning down the correct dialect useful for Tibetans is difficult since certain words and ideas are hard to translate.

Words of Hope writes for the Tibet radio program in their prayer letter, "Pray that God will enable the programming to continue with clear reception in spite of difficult conditions and restrictions imposed by authorities."

Pray also that the Lord would bring a Tibetan Christian out of the woodwork for translation on the program.
 If you would like to consider donating to their Gospel broadcast mission, you can click here.

Communism Can't Stop Christ in Cuba

The spread of the Gospel is
 advanced when pastors are freed up
 financially to focus on their ministry.
 Vision Beyond Borders sponsorship
 program does just that.

Cuba (MNN) ― Like a piece of gold needs pressure and heat to become pure and refined, the church is experiencing incredible growth and maturity in the midst of communist oppression. This growth is partially due to Cuban pastors' increased ability to minister to more people. Financial sponsorships have given them that ability.

Vision Beyond Borders is actively involved in the lives of pastors leading Christians in Cuba. With the help of the Christian community, they are currently sponsoring 75 pastors. These pastors have responded with how the support has helped them in times of difficulty.

One Cuban pastor reports, ""After many trials with the construction of the church building, we prayed and fasted on many occasions. And finally they gave us permission to continue. This is only possible because God opened doors."

Another pastor says, "Those saved from the first and second trimester of the year is more than 8,000. The local church has more than 4,000 members, and we continue discipling and baptizing. Thank you for supporting us and praying for us."

None of this could have been done without the financial support of Vision Beyond Borders' sponsorship program. The needs of pastors, especially in Cuba, are great. A pastor in rural Cuba will make an average of $9.60 a month. A pastor in urban Cuba will make up to $20 per month. Most pastors end up having to work multiple jobs to support themselves and their families.

We as the church are called to "bear each other's burdens. "For those of us who have so much to give, God calls us to help our brothers and sisters who are struggling. The unique and compassionate love of Christ allows us to show this love to each other as well.

To help these pastors, Vision Beyond Borders states, "We hope that we would be able to ease the financial stress for the pastor to have the freedom to build their congregation, develop new ministry outlets, and focus on their community needs."

And the community needs are great indeed. The religion accepted by most Cubans is a combination of Catholicism and witchcraft. Many are closed off to the true message of the Gospel.

Sponsorship of a pastor not only encourages them, but also lets them expand their ministry and reach more of these people for Christ. God directly uses the sponsorship of pastors to expand the message of the Gospel and draw more people into His kingdom.

The evangelism opportunities in Cuba are ripe and the harvest is ready. But the need for more sponsorships is still there. Although Vision Beyond Borders already sponsors 75 pastors, there are four times as many pastors still needing financial support.

Please pray that the church in Cuba would continue to experience growth and maturity. Pray also for the pastors needing sponsorships to have patience and rest in God's provision. If you are interested in sponsoring a pastor in Cuba for just $25 a month, you can click here.