Nuna* with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says, “We’re just glued on our TV, seeing, ‘What is the government doing? What is Hezbollah doing? What is Israel doing?’ It’s like the whole thing has escalated in a way that we did not expect.”

Hezbollah fighters train in southern Lebanon, May 2023. (Photo courtesy of Tasnim News Agency/Wikimedia Commons)

Israel added Beirut to its hitlist yesterday following overnight attacks from the Iran-backed political and militant group, Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah started to send weapon missiles towards Israel, and Israel decided, ‘Okay, they want war. Let’s do war.’ They started to bomb heavily, and they killed most of the main chiefs of departments in Hezbollah,” says Nuna. 

As thousands of people fled the deadly strike zones, Lebanon’s government sought to distance itself from Hezbollah’s actions — with a bold ban on the militia that it has held back from making until now. 

“We had an emergency Cabinet meeting, and the whole Cabinet decided to name Hezbollah as a terrorist organization that is not affiliated [with] the government,” says Nuna. “This is very important, because this might create a civil war.”

The threat of civil war comes from the fact that Hezbollah is both a militant and a political group within Lebanon. It has held the support of Lebanon’s more than 30% Shiite Muslim population for years. Many see the group as a protector against Lebanon’s neighbor to the south, Israel. But Monday’s bombing was Hezbollah’s first claimed attack on Israel in more than a year. Some say it could prove to be Hezbollah’s undoing within Lebanon.

“Now it’s like they gave a carte blanche to Israel to say, ‘okay, you can kill whoever, and you can just destroy whatever is belonging to Hezbollah,’” says Nuna. 

Believers and ministries rally

Aid groups like Triumphant Mercy Lebanon are taking action, too. Believers called an emergency meeting to coordinate responses.

(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)

“It’s very important to see Christian organizations working together, and not as entities by themselves,” says Nuna. “We need to pray, really, for the unity of the organizations that are working [together].” 

Pray for Gospel opportunities as people celebrate Purim, which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people in modern-day Iran. 

“Purim is meaning not only the liberation of the people of God, but also the opening of eyes of the king,” says Nuna. 

Don’t forget to pray for Iran as well. 

“We pray the purposes of God to come to pass. And the purposes of God are that Iranian people will be saved,” says Nuna. “In the flesh, we want Iran destroyed. But actually, God wants Iran to be saved — yes, saved from this regime that is oppressing people and killing its own people.”

*Pseudonym

Header photo of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Maxime Guy/Unsplash.

However, for many Ukrainians these issues are just the most recent in a string of challenges due to the war.

Viktor’s Story

Eric Mock with Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) shares updates from a partner who has seen firsthand the chaos of the war. After trusting Jesus and turning from a life of drugs, God gave Viktor a true zeal for the Gospel. He was being discipled by the pastor of his local church and even became an elder. As Russian armies made their way to Kyiv, he suddenly found himself in leadership.

“The pastor had just completed preaching his message. Then he said unexpectedly, looking at Viktor – he said to his church – Viktor, you are the new pastor. My car is outside, running with my family already loaded in. I am gone. I am leaving.

“You can imagine the shock of hearing those words. Viktor didn’t know what to think, and then everyone turned to him. So here you have a church where Viktor is suddenly thrust into being the pastor. A church which was probably 50% depleted as people would flee, that he had to gather together with at the advent of the Russian army invading toward the city limits.”

Marking Time by War Events

Despite his unexpected start in ministry God has given Viktor the joy and strength to lead his church. However, like everyone in the city, he is greatly impacted by war, including increasingly serious rolling blackouts and heating shortages.

(Representative photo courtesy of congerdesign via Pixabay)

“In a recent report from Viktor, he talked about setting his clock by the various different problems that he’s facing. Setting his clock by the air raid sirens going off in the middle of the night every night. Setting his clock by the sequence of rolling blackouts when the power would come on and off. And to be ready to charge phones and do whatever he needs to do, and actually for his wife to prepare some food while the electricity was on. Life changes, and it’s set, not by your clock, but it’s actually set by the series of difficulties that you’ll face during the day.”

This schedule of quickly working when you have power and sleeping wherever you can, is becoming normal. Even sleep is not governed by time of day.

“There are times that Viktor has told me that he went to a bomb shelter at one o’clock in the morning. He’s shown me pictures of he and his family trying to sleep on the floor of a bomb shelter with a couple of pillows. Then the all-clear siren signed off at 6 a.m., in which case he went home, threw some water in his face, and then went straight to the church to get ready to lead Sunday school and preach at the church.”

Hope through Prayer and Heat

In this setting, fear is commonplace. People need assurance and hope. SGA and its partners offer physical and spiritual aid through local churches.

(Photo courtesy of SGA)

Mock asks for prayer that God will continue to provide for the physical needs of those affected by the blackouts. He challenges Christians living in warm homes to pray for their brothers and sisters in Ukraine whenever they feel cold or turn up the heat in their own homes this winter.

While chaos seems to reign, God’s people know who is truly in control. Mock says, “Be reminded that the churches are exploding there. That often in what your listeners and myself may count as the worst of times, God could use those as the exact times to advance the Gospel to a great number of people. So be encouraged in the middle of discouraging times.”

If you want to help SGA provide generators, wood, coal, diesel fuel and more to churches through their Heat and Hope campaign, click here. You can also help provide more general aid through their Ukraine Aid program here.

Please pray that God would strengthen His Church and advance the Gospel in Ukraine as His people faithfully serve Him.

Representative photo courtesy of Katrina_S from Pixabay

Syria’s government says it thwarted a recent bombing attempt on a Catholic church. According to a report, the would-be attackers were on their way to Mar Elias Maronite Church in the city of Tartus. When security forces apprehended the men, they found an explosive device, a black flag and papers with written threats.

“They don’t say exactly when [they stopped the attack]. They don’t say a lot about the people who were captured, other than the fact that they identify them as loyalist[s] to former President Bashir al-Assad,” said Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs, USA. 

Even with those unanswered questions, the government report is an answer to prayer for protection for Syria’s Christians. The nation’s bigger picture remains grim. Christian, Druze and Alawite minorities have endured multiple attacks in recent months.

“When you see the attack in June, you see the pastor from a Druze background that was killed in late July, then you hear of another attack on a church that apparently was prevented, [you see the pattern of danger],” said Nettleton. 

“If you are a Christian in Syria right now, you are understandably nervous. Because while the government has said all the right things about protecting religious minorities, it is not clear that they are committed to [making] that a reality.” 

But even traditional Christian communities (such as Catholic or Orthodox) have it better in Syria than Muslim-background believers.

“When the government is talking about Christians in Syria, they are talking about those traditional Christian communities. They are not in any way talking about Muslim converts to Christianity,” said Nettleton. “Those people, in the eyes of the government, do not have protection. They don’t even talk about protecting them.” 

Praise God for answering prayers for protection for the Catholic church in Tartus. Ask Him for continued protection. 

Pray for Syria’s government to be held accountable to uphold religious freedom. “We need to pray for strong leaders who will do that as they interact with the Syrian government,” said Nettleton.

A minaret and a church steeple side-by-side in Syria. (Photo courtesy of Ali Wassouf/Unsplash)

Header photo courtesy of Linus Schütz via Pixabay.

Two adults died when a missile struck the hospital during the Monday morning rush hour, and at least 300 people were injured, including children. Slavic Gospel Association’s Eric Mock says, “It is absolutely unthinkable to see that a missile would hit a place that is known only for caring for those [who] are suffering.”

Praise God for sparing the life of a young Christian girl who was receiving dialysis at the hospital. She and her mother were in the building directly struck by the missile.

Members of the Ukrainian Baptist Union provide food in strike zones through mobile kitchens.
(Photo courtesy of Irpin Bible Church via Eric Mock/SGA)

The girl’s mother writes in an update to SGA partners:

“I was saying goodbye to my life when the basement ceiling collapsed on us. When I got outside, I saw that the hospital room where Solomia and other children were on dialysis was covered with destroyed parts of the building. I saw the body of our doctor in the window, and on the asphalt, there were parts of cribs and mattresses on which our children were sleeping, torn to pieces.

“In my mind, I said goodbye to my daughter, but a nurse ran out to meet me and said that all the children had been taken out of the rubble alive!

“I thank my Lord that we survived in the building where the missile had hit us directly. I am grateful to the nurses and doctors who were wounded themselves but pulled the children out of the rubble.

“God, please protect Ukraine so that our innocent people do not die!”

The hospital attack was part of a broader Russian assault striking several targets across Ukraine on Monday, one of the largest since the war began. Hope for survival is slim today as rescue efforts shift to recovery.

“The emergency crews are working hard. The Ukrainian Baptist Union used one of its mobile food kitchens to provide food and meals for those in need,” Mock says.

Ask the Lord to strengthen SGA church partners as they provide help and hope in strike zones across Ukraine. Partner with SGA’s Ukraine relief efforts here.

“A lot of missile strikes have been hitting electrical substations. We’re trying to get them more generators and solar power systems,” Mock says. “We continue to provide support for food and medical items, especially in the frontline areas.”

Header and story images courtesy of Irpin Bible Church via Eric Mock/SGA.

It also happened to be Easter, making it an especially pointed attack. Christians are a minority in Sri Lanka, making up 1.7 million, or 7.7%, of the population (source: Joshua Project).

(Screenshot)

In the years since then, the government has largely met calls for thorough investigation with inaction and silence. A trial of suspects in the bombing began in late 2021 but to date no one has been convicted or punished for the killings. Many people gather each year to protest this silence.

Greg Yoder with Christian World Outreach (CWO) says, “It is a time to remember. Being a believer is not not necessarily a safe thing. It’s a battle, and I think that’s part of what was going on (in Sri Lanka).”

The gospel continues to be opposed in Sri Lanka, but Christians are resilient.

“There’s been physical attacks on Christians, (people) attacking them if they do open a church, if they do any kind of evangelism,” Yoder says.

“But what’s impressed me is the desire (of) those who know the Lord to not let any of that deter them from sharing the gospel, and especially discipling others — helping them grow in their faith so that they can share the gospel with others.”

Since 2021, the CWO team serve kids and families by offering education programs and meeting tangible needs. (Learn more here.) They do their work with sensitivity to the culture, in order to build relationships where they can then share the gospel. 

“We’ve had parents of some of our children in the after-school program (whose) concern was, ‘You’re going to make our children believe the way you do.’ We’ve reassured them, ‘No, but we use Bible stories to help the kids learn to read,’” Yoder says. 

Ministry in Sri Lanka. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

“So they’re relieved by that, but then that opens the door because they want to hear, ‘Why do you want to love us? Why do you want to help our kids, if you’re not going to push the gospel on it?’ It just opens that door, and so people are willing to listen in the ministries that we do there.”

Now that you know more, will you pray? 

“Pray for the believers in Sri Lanka as they openly share the Gospel, as our staff there disciple others to grow in their faith so that they can share the gospel with others, share the love of Christ,” Yoder says.

Pray also for those still grieving for the people who were killed in 2019. Ask God to bring His perfect justice to those responsible for the attacks. 

Header photo of Sri Lanka is a representative stock photo courtesy of Vinnath Satharasinghe via Unsplash.

A military fighter jet recently bombed Kanan, a village held by opposition forces near the border with India. “One of our courageous national missionaries reported that an A5 military fighter jet dropped four 250-pound bombs on Kanan village,” AMG International’s Brian Dennett says.

“The attack happened on Sunday morning during the church service, so those attending were killed or injured right within their building.”

According to local media, at least 17 civilians died in the attack, including nine children – and nearly two dozen people were injured.

“As of yesterday, [our partners reported] 11 of our brothers and sisters dead, including several children,” Dennett says.

People identify victims who lay shrouded in blankets at a building in Kanan village.
(Photo courtesy of AMG International)

Myanmar’s army took control of the country in a 2021 coup. When three ethnic minority militias allied on October 27, 2023, the junta began increasing air strikes on villages like Kanan.

Survivors of the latest attack fear another bombing, and they’re asking the Lord to intervene.

“They all fled to neighboring villages because what was left is just a mess, and there are few places they can go,” Dennett says.

“They are resting on their faith in Jesus, the only hope any of us have. But that’s so real for them every day as they face the loss of loved ones.”

You can help these Christian brothers and sisters survive until they return home. Send help here through AMG International.

“We already responded by delivering aid and resources directly to the scene, caring for those families,” Dennett says, but “our staff in the area need prayer, and we also could use more resources to help.”

Header and story images courtesy of AMG International.

Helen Williams of World Missionary Press recounts the stories and reports of some of her contacts in Myanmar: “We have a ministry that’s an orphanage that is supported by one of our staff members. They’ve been sending reports of the violence and what’s going on.”

Williams says this violence can lead to lack of food, lack of safety, and even continual bombings. Some areas are still littered with landmines that act as lethal reminders of past conflicts.

But the other thing that permeates these areas, especially those racked by constant violence, is the presence of God. Even in the midst of conflict, Williams says her partners are still printing hundreds of thousands of Scripture booklets that they can distribute to victims of violence. The result is a nation that finds courage in God rather than in aggression or fear.

Because these printers and partners are local, they’re able to translate Scripture into many unique languages that World Missionary Press might not be able to reach. One man in particular has been working in Myanmar for over 25 years. In that time, he has established intentional and secure distribution networks that provide Scripture booklets where they’re most needed. And all of these years later, tha network is still growing – so much so that the man’s son has stepped in to help.

You can support the work of Christians in Myanmar and suppliers like World Missionary Press, either financially or through prayer.

“We need to pray for the safety of the believers because they are faithful to continue the work; not just for their safety, but that their work would show God’s hand,” Williams says. “The scriptures are full of those situations where God showed Himself and He does it for His Name’s sake.

“These people, particularly our coordinator, they have been so faithful and so consistent for so many years. Now, they need help, but they also need strong leadership to come alongside them.”

Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “There [are] no rescue services available there. There [are] no hospitals. So the Pakistan Army had to intervene and they were helping with injured people and they were trying to transport the dead bodies.”

Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the rally for a pro-Taliban political party. This is the first suicide attack claimed by ISKP in this area.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

When terrorist groups attack each other in Pakistan, Nehemiah says it boils down to a power struggle.

“These types of terrorist organizations, they don’t believe in political parties. They claim that democracy or politics is not the solution so the only way to move forward is to enforce Sharia law.

“They are trying to keep killing each other to win. This is just like a tug-of-war going on. Who is going to enforce Sharia law? So this is a very, very complex situation.”

The shrapnel of these attacks also leave spiritual wounds.

More and more Pakistani Muslims are dissatisfied with the failures of their religion when they witness these terrorist activities, and are leaving Islam in search for spiritual truth. FMI church planters meet them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nehemiah asks, “Pray for our partners who are serving and working in very, very difficult situations so they can take the Word of God with them and reach out to these places. These are highly unreached places, but we have an opportunity to share the Word of God with them.”

Header photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash.

The bombings in Quetta, the capital city of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, were claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) — an ethnic separatist insurgency group.

BLA wants Balochistan to be independent and often resorts to violent tactics. The U.S. State Department has designated BLA as a terrorist organization.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by land mass, taking up nearly 44% of the territory. However, it’s also the most sparsely populated with roughly 18 million people out of Pakistan’s 234 million population.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “This region of Pakistan shares two borders with Iran and Afghanistan. This is the ‘wild, wild West’ in Pakistan — one of the most difficult and dangerous places on the planet. The U.S. government and other international organizations, they have already warned their citizens not to travel to this part of Pakistan because several terrorist organizations operate there.

Child in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Muhammad Muzamil via Unsplash)

“The TTP is there which is Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Then there is ISIS which they are very, very active in this part of Pakistan. And then we have two different regional terrorist organizations — that is BLF and BLA. So when I say BLF, that is Balochistan Liberation Force, and BLA is Balochistan Liberation Army.

“Most of time, these terrorist organizations attack army personnel, they attack police, security agencies, [and] they attack civilians. So it happens all the time.”

Balochistan is also 99.8% Muslim, with almost no Christian presence.

Almost.

FMI supports Christian partners and church planters throughout Pakistan, including the volatile region of Balochistan.

“Our partners are still struggling and trying to survive in this difficult situation. This is the place where we call walking on the edge. It’s a very difficult place to live, but praise God that God has given that burden to FMI partners and church planters…who are willing to serve in this region of Pakistan,” says Nehemiah.

“If you talk to any family in Balochistan, everyone has someone who died in the family or someone is a missing person. Someone left the house and never came back for years. So I can see that when we talk to people who are not believers, who are not Christian, they have pain and agony — not only for the state of Pakistan, but they wonder what kind of mission is this. That makes them more searching for truth.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

“That is the great opportunity for the Christian organizations because…we can explain who is the real Prince of Peace and we can introduce Jesus Christ.”

Pray for believers in Balochistan to be spiritually encouraged and practice discernment as they share the Gospel with their Muslim neighbors.

Also, Nehemiah asks, “Please particularly pray for Balochistan and the people there who live there in this very difficult situation that God may open many doors [and] that many people may know Jesus Christ as their Savior.”

Header photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh via Unsplash.

Pakistan (MNN) — Over 100 people are dead and 217 wounded after a suicide bomber struck a mosque in Pakistan on Monday.

It is one of the deadliest attacks the nation has seen.

The bombing took place in Peshawar, a volatile city in northwestern Pakistan. The mosque is inside a fortified police compound and is mostly attended by law enforcement personnel. There were up to 400 people packed into the mosque for prayers when the bomber detonated.

(Photo courtesy of Nehemiah with FMI)

Nehemiah* with FMI says, “It was learned that a portion of the building had collapsed and several people are believed to be under it.”

It didn’t take long for terrorists with Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) to claim the bombing.

Nehemiah says, “The Pakistani Taliban had taken responsibility for the attack and they mentioned that they have taken revenge because one of their commanders was killed last year in August. So this is a revenge attack in Pakistan.”

Situated in a “Red Zone,” it’s supposed to be one of the most secure areas of the city. An inquiry is already underway to find out how the bomber got past several layers of security.

“It is one of the most tightly controlled areas of the city housing intelligence and the counterterrorism bureau, and it is next door to the regional secretariat. More than 1,000 policemen are always there for duty. It is a highly, highly secure place.”

Pakistan is no stranger attacks like this. They often take the form of terrorism, sectarian violence, and religious persecution.

FMI trains and equips local believers in Pakistan for Gospel ministry. Nehemiah says, “Our FMI partners who are serving in these difficult and hard situations — cities like Peshawar or provinces like KPK — are ready to sacrifice their lives. These bomb blasts are not always in the mosques. We have seen that most of these blasts are in the markets and bazaars and museums, everywhere.”

Pakistan (Photo courtesy of FMI)

While Pakistani Christians need to be cautious in ministry, they are the hands and feet of Jesus to heartbroken communities and families in times like this.

Nehemiah asks, “Pray for…our partners so they can testify about Jesus Christ, that He is really the Prince of Peace.”

Click here to learn more about FMI.

*Psuedonym

Header photo courtesy of Kaufdex via Pixabay.