iCommitToPray Archives - Stories (2024)

A pastor in Gaza and his team are regularly providing hot meals to hundreds of people sheltering and trying to survive the current conflict. “We have been able to distribute meals to the people in Rafah and the middle of the Gaza Strip,” the pastor said. “The situation is very dire, and people are desperate for food.”

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Rodrigo and Astrid have planted eight churches in the region of Sucre, one of Colombia’s “red zones,” or dangerous areas controlled by guerrilla activity. The guerrillas have extorted them, prohibited them from having services, issued curfews and threatened them. Their oldest grandson has a child with a guerrilla officer, and they fear for his life and the life of their 4-year-old great-granddaughter. Their 14-year-old grandson, who lives with them, has also shared his desire to join a guerrilla group, enticed through the promise of material gifts and financial incentives.

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Many Tanzanian pastors lack access to biblical training and in-depth study resources needed to help their congregations stand firm in their faith. Front-line workers in central Tanzania recently handed out 706 boxes of “Pastor’s Libraries” containing study Bibles and other Christian educational aids designed to help pastors train themselves. “Even before we can attend a Bible college, it feels now like we have a Bible college at home through these materials,” said one church leader upon receiving the boxed study kit. The kits were distributed to pastors from several denominational groups.

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After someone posted a video online of Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya praying against the spread of coronavirus in 2020, police arrested him for spreading misinformation about the virus, claiming that he told people they would be immune to it if they converted to Christianity. Investigations revealed other videos recording baptisms of new Christian converts, which further riled authorities. Eventually, the charges included “outraging religious sentiment,” proselytizing and other violations of anti-conversion laws.

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Pastor Osman was once a practitioner of witchcraft. “I have killed many people,” he said. One day, a pastor visited his village and shared the gospel with Osman, and the message of Christ’s forgiveness changed Osman’s heart. “It was very difficult for me to leave my practice of witchcraft,” he said. “This message sounded good to me to be free from the evil that I was in. The pastor said that whatever you have done, God will forgive you.” After receiving an audio Bible, Osman continued to be changed by God’s Word. “I would listen to it secretly,” he said.

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When Dong became a believer in Jesus Christ, his adult sons became angry that he followed what they saw as a foreign religion. They moved out of his house and took all his farmland and supplies for themselves, leaving him no way to grow food or earn income. Dong appealed to the village chief, who said he would only intervene with the sons if Dong agreed to give up his Christian faith.

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Pastor Dizzis Ramos’ public ministry has made him a target of government officials in his atheistic Communist country. He serves his local community through construction projects for elderly people in need. Earlier this month, he and another pastor were charged for allegedly falsifying receipts after they legally purchased cement for a construction project. Pastor Ramos was placed under house arrest and the other pastor taken into custody. They are also unable to reach the lawyer who has been handling their case.

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Ahmed was training to become an imam when he heard someone calling his name, seemingly from above. When he looked up, he saw a man on a cross staring down at him. “When I saw that, I was not able to go to the mosque,” he said. “I returned home and didn’t attend mosque that day because I was really afraid.” Jesus appeared to Ahmed several more times over a period of years, even after he did become an imam. Ahmed described those appearances to the Muslims who attended his mosque, and they thought he was seeing demons.

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Because of geographical isolation and the hostility of the government toward Christianity, Christians in Bhutan face pressure from many directions. However, front-line workers in Bhutan continue to live out their faith in Christ and reach out with the gospel. One gospel worker asked for prayer that their youth and women’s programs and training programs for Sunday school teachers will be adequately resourced.

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Kaew placed her trust in Christ through the prayers of her parents, who became Christians after her marriage. Her husband and his parents, as well as their village, opposed her decision to follow Christ and tried repeatedly to make her recant. On December 30, 2023, Kaew’s husband and other villagers berated and beat her until she passed out. When she regained consciousness, she was given one more chance to recant, but she insisted on following Christ. In anger, her husband threw her out of the house.

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