Eric Foley with VOM Korea explains that after decades of faithful service in Russia, 70-year-old Park was stopped on her way home to South Korea in January. She’s now in a Russian holding facility, facing alleged immigration charges that could carry an up to 17-year prison sentence. 

VOM Korea has ensured that Park has an attorney, a critical part of the process. 

“She says that while she’s reading her Bible daily, and she’s confident in the Lord, she just wants to come home,” says Foley. 

The charges against Park are a mask for Russia’s underlying issue: her missionary work among children. 

“That’s what happens in countries, whether it’s North Korea, China, Russia, or other countries. Rarely do you hear about religious charges,” Foley says. “Instead, what you get are charges like in China, the charges against pastors these days are that pastors are committing fraud. In Russia, a lot of charges these days relate to immigration.”

(Photo courtesy of VOM Korea)

Your advocacy can make a difference! But the how matters. Foley warns against two common mistakes Christians make when responding to persecution. 

“One is that they say nothing,” he says. “The other is that they speak so loudly and stridently that they demonize the government about whom they’re speaking.” 

Foley says that in VOM Korea’s decades of advocacy for Christian prisoners, “Not one of them has ever said, ‘I wish you would have been quiet when I was in prison.’ So we don’t need to yell and be human rights crusaders. We do simply need to tell the truth about what’s happening.”

Even the simple act of signing a petition shows a government that people around the world know what is happening and that they are willing to speak the truth about it. 

Pray especially for favor as VOM Korea delivers the signed petition to the Russian embassy very soon. 

“When you visit an embassy with a petition, they don’t welcome you in and serve you tea,” Foley says. 

“It’s an experience for which we really request a lot of prayer, because sometimes the gates get shut, sometimes the tables get turned, and the people who deliver the petitions end up being seen as the disturbers of the peace.”

Header photo courtesy of VOM Korea. 

“They’re being cautious, trying to just keep [at] minimum going out,” says Annabel Muscarella. She serves as Trans World Radio’s International Director of Latin America and Caribbean Hispanic Ministry. 

“[On] Sunday, some churches didn’t have services. But most people just went out to buy food and medicines and some gas, [so] that they can be ready for anything that could happen.”

(Stock photo courtesy of Luisana Zerpa via Unsplash)

Things moved swiftly in the US. On Monday, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges in a New York City court. Their next hearing is set for March 17. 

On the same day as the first hearing, the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting in New York City. Delegates from China, Russia, and Colombia condemned the U.S.’s military actions as illegal. Other members of the Security Council emphasized the importance of upholding international law. 

Meanwhile, in Venezuela itself, “You have to be very, very cautious because there isn’t a clear understanding of who is running the country,” says Muscarella. “We know there is a vice president [Delcy Rodriguez]. We don’t know exactly what is going to happen in the next few days. That’s the feeling you can sense when you talk with people that live in Venezuela.”

Find your place in the story

Pray for wisdom for political leaders to make just decisions. Pray for peace in Venezuela, says Muscarella. “For now, praying for their safety and [for] people to stay calm and peaceful, I think that will help this situation.”

(Photo courtesy Radio Trans Mundial de Venezuela)

Pray also for strength, wisdom, and discernment for churches and their pastors in Venezuela. “I have many, many friends — pastors, friends — there. They don’t stop. They don’t stop sharing the gospel,” Muscarella says. 

Gospel ministry continues at Radio Trans Mundial Venezuela, a Spanish branch of Trans World Radio. “There is that freedom still in Venezuela to share the good news with kids and their parents,” says Muscarella. 

“Don’t wait to help,” she adds. If you feel led to send a message to communities in Venezuela or even to send financial aid in some way, she says you can reach out to Trans World Radio. “That helps, because we are in contact with them [Venezuelans], and we can on your behalf help them.”

Header photo: Caracas, Venezuela (Stock photo courtesy of Bona Lee via Unsplash).

John Pudaite of Bibles For The World (BFTW) says the trend is troubling. “Quite a number of people are being arrested under these laws. Churches are being attacked in the middle of worship, with police in tow. They’ll file false charges or charges of conversion against pastors and some of the worshipers there.”

A Catholic Church in Calangute, Goa. (Photo, caption courtesy of Adriana Rodricks/Unsplash)

The thing is, those charges rarely hold up in court. “They can never prove that the people were gathered…with an intent to convert,” Pudaite explains.

So why push for a tougher law? Pudaite says Maharashtra is looking to change the framing. “They are now trying to position Christian activities not so much in anti-conversion terms but as anti-national. That will be easier, they feel, to prove in court — that this is upsetting the fragile balance…of the Hindu majority in the country.”

Meanwhile, violence against Christians continues to rise. In just the first seven months of 2025, the Religious Liberty Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India documented 334 incidents — almost two per day.

“They know they can go in and attack churches,” Pudaite says. “Even recently, they arrested two Catholic nuns from a public train station and charged them with trafficking and anti-conversion laws.

“We are seeing the government of India just using the letter of the law down to the ‘nth’ degree against Christian organizations, just trying to find any little slip up and turning it into a major issue. In the process, the work of some wonderful organizations is being terribly restricted or completely eliminated from India.”

If Maharashtra’s law passes, India’s already tight space for religious minorities could shrink even further. For churches on the ground, the fear is that Sunday mornings will bring not just worship, but a knock on the door.

Pray for believers in India to stand firm under pressure. Ask God to protect church leaders from false accusations and give them wisdom.

You can also support BFTW here as they serve the Church in India and strengthen believers in the face of persecution.

Header photo courtesy of BFTW.

Christianity in Turkiye

Joel Richardson with Global Catalytic Ministries says Turkiye regularly concocts false charges to hide religious persecution. High profile American cases include those of Andrew Brunsen and Jeremiah Mattix. 

“We’re seeing this across the board, where Turkey is putting the pressure on, arresting, or driving out ministries and pastors,” says Richardson. 

That these individuals are a threat to Turkiye’s national security is a common charge. With such a categorization, there is no way to hold the government accountable for religious persecution. Richardson says the actions align with Turkiye’s strategy to revive Ottoman supremacy over the Middle East. 

“Everything is geared toward the government returning to an Islamic Ottoman model of yesteryear,” he says. 

To the extent that they seek to entwine Islamic views in governmental policy, Richardson likens the mindset of Sunni Turks to that of Iran’s Shia revolutionaries in the 1970s. 

“This is drastically going to affect geopolitics, religious freedoms, and really just the contours of the geopolitical landscape of the entire region,” he says.

Christianity in Iran

Iranian cityscape. Courtesy of Mario via Pixabay.

Meanwhile, in Iran, the government’s response to Christianity is swift and strong. Richardson says Christians there receive more than a slap on the wrist when detained.

“They’re going to be treated really harshly, and even in some cases there are threats of execution,” he says. 

Increasingly, Iranian authorities and their associated army, IRGC, are claiming to operate under the authority of apocalyptic figure Mahdi. According to a 2022 paper from the Middle East Institute:

“From the post-2009 period onwards, the doctrine of Mahdism has become one of the main prisms through which the IRGC and affiliated hardline clerics would understand the world around them and the IRGC’s actions, as well as communicate that understanding.”

In Richardson’s words: 

“Think of it as a government, but it’s also a cult. And the only way they’re able to exert control over people is through this cultish doctrine.”

Under this mindset, conversion to Christianity is a threat to government authority. What’s more, financial struggles are compounding the government’s fight to retain power. Richardson says the confluence of factors creates a mafia-like environment.

“Citizens turn each other in, and that’s how they gain favor with the government and have a better opportunity for financial gain,” he says. 

In this landscape, simply being a Christian puts Iranians at risk. Even amidst threats of violence, believers know they have no recourse. 

“And so it’s this type of psychological terror that the government uses and holds over the Christians,” Richardson says. 

How to pray

While persecution does often strengthen the church, Richardson points out that it’s not always that cut and dry.  

“The reality is that oftentimes persecution does cause people to leave the faith,” he says. 

Please pray for the joyful endurance of the saints in both Turkiye and Iran. Luke 21:19 promises, “By your endurance, you will gain your lives.” Pray also for the protection and restoration of Pastor Mojtaba Ahmadi. 

Featured photo courtesy of Keenan Constance via Unsplash.

“From the very beginning, we knew that Ryan was carrying out a legitimate and needed flight and was completely innocent of the suspicions that were investigated,” said David Holsten, MAF President and CEO. “During this lengthy ordeal, Ryan and Annabel have faithfully trusted the Lord and experienced His sustaining care on many occasions. We are so grateful to everyone who has diligently prayed for the Koher family. We know that God will use this situation for His glory.”

Ryan Koher (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)

Ryan Koher responded to the news by saying, “It has been a long journey and an uphill battle at times, to get to this point of closure. I know this would not be possible without the many people who have been faithfully praying to this end. I would like to thank everyone for your prayers and love for our family. I pray that God will receive all the glory for His work in our lives.”

On November 2, 2022, Koher left the AAL base in Nampula for a five-hour flight to Inhambane on a Cessna 206. He met two South Africans who had brought supplies to be delivered to an orphanage in northern Mozambique. AAL has been conducting these supply flights to the
orphanage for several years.

While going through the normal security scan at the airport, police took an interest in some vitamins, over-the-counter medications, and food preservative supplies. They confiscated the entire load and detained Koher and the two South Africans. None of the confiscated material belonged to Koher nor had it been loaded onto the airplane, which was secured by police.

The three men were jailed under suspicion of supporting the insurgent activity in northern Mozambique, near to where the orphanage is located. Following an initial incarceration at the local police jail on November 4, 2022, they were officially arrested on November 7 and moved to a prison in Inhambane. Koher and the South Africans were then moved to the Machava High Security Prison near the capital city of Maputo on November 16. AAL retained a Mozambican lawyer for Koher, and the U.S. Embassy was made aware of the situation.

Kohers arrive in Boise. (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship)

Koher was released from the high security prison on March 14, 2023, and required to remain in Mozambique. In late September 2023, a judge ordered that Koher’s passport be returned and he and his family arrived in the United States on October 5. Ryan and his wife, Annabel, have two boys and are expecting their third child in December. They are currently planning to resume their work in Mozambique in 2025.

“There has never been a point in this whole process where Annabel and I lost the desire to return. Through this experience, we have come to love the people of Mozambique more, and we are very excited to go back and continue serving there. Because we know from experience that God is faithful to carry us through hardship and difficulty, we can return in confidence, knowing His plans for us are good and that He will again help us in any time of trouble,” Koher said.

Mission Aviation Fellowship has been serving the people of Mozambique since 1999 with Ambassador Aviation becoming the operational entity in 2014. Based out of Nampula with two aircraft, the Cessna 206 and a Cessna Caravan EX, typical flights include medical evacuations, medical care through the MOZMED project, and flights for conservation groups in the Niassa Special Reserve, to name a few.

In 2021, AAL evacuated over 800 people from Afungi following insurgent attacks on Palma in the Cabo Delgado province. They also provided food, medicine, and relief supplies to the area. Medical personnel flights served the area for several months in late 2021 and early 2022 as the
region recovered from the attacks. In 2019, AAL provided a disaster assessment by air following Cyclones Idai and Kenneth and conducted 184 relief flight legs, delivering over 45,000 kg of cargo and 691 passengers as part of the humanitarian assistance response.

Tomorrow, we’ll share part two of this story, focusing on the Koher family’s hope to resume their ministry in Mozambique.

Header photo: Ryan & Annabel Koher, their two boys, and a baby girl expected in December 2024. (Photo courtesy of MAF)

Bruce Allen with FMI shares this update: “Tomal and his family have reconciled in the weeks since then. But the local mosque saw that, ‘Oh, this Christian voice has been silenced because he’s in prison. He’s not able to lead his congregations right now. Let’s keep him in prison, even though the family has been reconciled.’”

Due to pressure from mosque leaders, Tomal was denied bail last week for the third time. The family is now taking an appeal for bail to the High Court in Dhaka, a city 200 miles away from their rural community.

Pastor Tomal with FMI in Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

“They’re taking it to, what we would say, a Supreme Court level,” says Allen. “Their reasoning is that since Dhaka is far removed from their home, the court there will be much less biased against Tomal and much less influenced by that local mosque.”

Pastor Tomal is resolved to keep sharing the hope of Christ with fellow prisoners, but it may be a long road.

“I take great encouragement from the fact that he is saying, ‘Light shines best in the darkness. So if I’m in the prison, this is where I’ll still do ministry, and there’s still hope,'” says Allen.

“Having said that, it’s still difficult for now his wife and his children who are Christians. They’re in a very vulnerable position in this society, without their husband, without their father, in the context of the wider society.”

A pastor from the same area has stepped up to serve Tomal’s family and care for his two congregations while he is in prison.

This is also where the global Church comes in. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.” Pray for Tomal, his family, his fellow pastor and churches. Pray for justice to be done in the courts of Dhaka. 

“We understand how wearing that can be, what a burden it is when the darkness presses in on you. Let us stand alongside Tomal and hold him up before our Father,” says Allen.

Header photo courtesy of FMI.

Tomal is an FMI-supported pastor in Bangladesh. He serves two congregations and is the only Gospel worker in his area. Four weeks ago, Pastor Tomal was beaten by his father and stepbrother, who then pressed charges against him.

Pastor Tomal and his family. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Police arrested Tomal, but after that, things took a turn.

FMI’s Bruce Allen says Tomal’s father and stepbrother reconciled with him, “but he was not released from jail, which was very strange.

“In the weeks since then, there have been two hearings to see if he’d be granted bail so that at least he could be free and just have to report back to court for a trial date or something like that. But on both those occasions, he was denied bail.”

What Tomal didn’t know is that while he was in jail, another group had filed secret charges against him.

“The council of the local mosque had wanted to put Tomal on trial. They filed some additional complaints with the police, and those were the secret charges. It’s now been disclosed that he’s being charged as a militant activist with ties to a terrorist group and as an activist of the current opposition party of the government.”

FMI says these charges are totally false as Tomal is a Christian pastor with absolutely no political affiliations. His only aim is to support the Church and preach the Gospel.

Pastor Tomal is still in jail and awaits the next step in his case. He has a wife and young children who are also worried about him and what this means for their family.

Pastor Tomal with FMI in Bangladesh. (Photo courtesy of FMI)

A fellow FMI pastor in a neighboring area, Pastor Basil, has visited with Tomal’s family and is supporting his two congregations along with mature congregants.

Allen asks, “We would really appreciate prayer on his behalf for his family [and] for the congregations as well.”

While in jail, Pastor Tomal has not been sitting on his hands. God has opened the door for Tomal to share Jesus Christ with other inmates. The jail has, in essence, become a “third ministry site” for the persecuted pastor!

Please pray for Pastor Tomal’s steadfast Gospel witness in jail and, ultimately, for justice in his case.

Learn more about supporting Bangladeshi church planters with FMI.

Header photo of Pastor Tomal, courtesy of FMI. 

His legal team appealed the decision yesterday, saying the charges are political targeting.

One thing is certain: The high-profile will add pressure and complicate the debates for Pakistan’s general election later this year.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “I think Pakistan is the only country in the world that no prime minister has completed a full five-year tenure in Pakistan’s 75-years history.

“On 18 occasions, prime ministers have been removed under different circumstances including corruption charges, direct military coups, forced resignations, and even assassinations.

Pakistan flag (Photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash)

“So when Mr. Khan become prime minister, every Pakistani knew that he’s going be thrown out from the office in a year or two. And this is exactly what happened – that he was thrown out after three years and he had multiple charges on him.”

The last several years have been hard on Pakistanis with a crumbling economy and currently no functioning government.

Nehemiah says, “I was talking to our partner and he was very much worried for his congregation, for his family, that how he is going to feed them. But we praise God for ministries like FMI who are helping and ready to serve in these difficult situations in Pakistan.”

Only the Gospel can change hearts and offer hope in Pakistan. Please pray for this, and encouragement for FMI ministry partners who are sharing Jesus Christ with others.

Header photo of of Imran Khan, former PM of Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Financial Times/Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51005181@N05/8414079377)

Last Thursday, June 29, Haroon Shahzad posted 1 Corinthians 10:18-21 regarding food sacrificed to idols. He didn’t include any additional commentary in his post besides the Bible passage. A Muslim villager screenshot the post and accused Shahzad of blasphemy. Muslims were beginning the festival Eid al-Adha in which an animal is slaughtered for the celebration.

The screenshot of the Christian’s post circulated on local media, and on Friday a local mosque made an announcement on loudspeakers prompting Muslims to gather in protest. Shahzad and dozens of other Christian families fled the village.

Pakistan (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Nehemiah with FMI says, “Pakistan has a culture of mob. There is a ‘mob-ism’ in Pakistan where a Muslim mob would come and they vandalize the entire village, kill people, burn that village, and this is very, very common.”

Police have registered a blasphemy case against Shahzad and are pressuring him to turn himself in.

A new agreement signed on June 17 in Pakistan now allows blasphemy cases to be tried under the country’s anti-terrorism laws.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “It also makes the charges of blasphemy an offense for which bail is not possible. The moment you are charged, cops are gonna come and pick you up and you vanish. They punish people in a few days without even hearing their side of the story, and most of the time, access to attorneys [is] being denied to such accused people.”

FMI supports Pakistani believers as they share the Gospel in their communities, and sometimes is able to offer legal aid when Christians are targeted for their faith.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

“We have people on the ground who share news with us. Every day, there are multiple stories. Every day, there are people who are being killed, who are being framed in false accusations. They are behind bars for doing nothing, for just posting a verse on Facebook.”

Awareness allows you to pray. Nehemiah asks, “I would just request our brothers and sisters to pray for protection and power for believers. Pray that people in Pakistan who have not yet heard the Gospel would be given that opportunity. Pray for open doors for Christians to share Jesus and lives to be transformed.”

Header photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash.

Back on Ambassador Aviation’s base in Mozambique, Ryan shares, “We’re waiting for the investigators to finish their investigation, and then the case will go to a judge and we’ll see if they’re going to press charges or drop the case, or if there’s going to be some sort of a hearing.”

Ryan and Annabel Koher (Photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship, used with permission from the Koher family.)

Ryan’s wife Annabel and their two young sons are on the ministry’s Mozambique base with him. Since Ryan is unable to leave Mozambique (a provision of his release), they are trying to soak up this time together as a family. Ryan is free to travel within Mozambique, but cannot “work” since he does not have a current work visa.

Annabel says, “Life is somewhat normal because now we’re back in our house and we’re able to do day-to-day stuff. So in one sense, it’s not as hard. But in another sense, it’s hard because it’s almost like our life is on hold right now.

“We can’t make any decisions for our family for the future…and so it almost feels like our family is on hold…. We just don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know how the case is going to end.”

In the meantime, Ryan and his family are living out what it means to walk by faith.

Ryan shares, “I think people would think that I personally would be impatient or anxious. But really, I’m not feeling that. Definitely, there are hard aspects of waiting, like I’m not able to work and not able to drive or fly. So it’s kind of a little bit stuck.

“But I believe that God has a purpose for this time and that there’s no wasted time with God. So I kind of have peace in that — knowing that He has a plan and He’ll take care of me and take care of us, as He has in amazing ways so far.”

A significant way Ryan has seen the Lord’s provision is through tangible support and prayers from fellow believers around the world who are following this case.

Ryan Koher (Photo courtesy of MAF, used with permission from the Koher family.)

Ryan says, “One of the biggest blessings I had in prison was knowing there were so many people on the outside who were caring and praying and taking care of my family, sending meals and clothes and toiletries and things like that — as well as people working relentlessly on the legal side of things as well. So through that, I can see it was a work of God having His Church come behind me in that way.”

As the waiting continues, Ryan offers three specific prayer needs.

“The things that we need prayer for are a quick and desirable outcome for the case, and that we’d be able to return to the US soon and take our furlough and get additional training and support there.

“Also, another big prayer request that we have is that we’ll be able to return to Mozambique and continue to serve here once our time in the US is over.

“Then the last thing would be just [prayers for] wisdom on how to best use this story…to glorify God in the best way.”

Check back tomorrow as Ryan and Annabel talk more about their passion for ministry in Mozambique!

Header photo courtesy of Mission Aviation Fellowship, used with permission from the Koher family.