Eva DeHart of For Haiti with Love says, “When I asked Roseline, she said, as far as she’s concerned, it doesn’t seem to make that much difference. The only thing is, nobody’s demanding any paperwork. So she figures once there’s a government in place that want to get all their paperwork back caught up, and she’ll have to do all of that again.”

Gangs

The leadership vacuum means more power for Haiti’s gangs. They have run rampant in the country since President Jovenel Moise’s assassination in July 2021. Canada and the U.S. have both sent armored vehicles to Haiti in an attempt to help the police against the gangs.

Dehart says, “I think everybody in Haiti has their own security. So you have to double down and ensure everybody has fences and gates. You make sure you don’t let anybody in that you don’t know.”

“Cap Hatien, where we work, has a pretty good handle on who they let into the city.”

Haiti also faces a fuel shortage and a cholera outbreak.

For Haiti with Love treats burn victims for free, sharing the love of Jesus with them. You can support this work or learn more here. DeHart says, “The burn supplies for the burn clinic are very expensive, and nobody gives us the pharmaceutical places used to donate. They don’t anymore.”

The header photo shows Haiti’s flag. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Indonesian hospitals don’t provide the same kind of care many Western hospitals do. As a result, families are the ones tasked with providing food, changing bedding, and even picking up medication for patients admitted to the hospital. But then night falls and families are sent away from the hospital, and many are left with nowhere to go.

That’s where Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) steps in. Since June of 2013, MAF staff and families have been running a hospital house, or Rumah Singgah, for patients and their families in Kalimantan. Pilots and mechanics help provide medical evacuations and transport for individuals in the Indonesian interior, then their families help care for them at the hospital house.

Staff maintain five bedrooms and additional space for patients and their families. The house is within walking distance of the hospital so families have easy access to their loved ones. In the meantime, they can cook, bathe, and wash their clothes at the house.

And MAF staff do more than just provide space. Kathryn Boogaard, wife of a MAF pilot mechanic; Angie Johnson, wife of a MAF maintenance specialist; and Amy Eadie, wife of a MAF mechanic all work with the hospital house.

“We’ll go and visit the hospital house and we’ll visit with the families and pray for them, and some families just are content with that,” Johnson says. “But other families that do need extra care, you really build a relationship with them.”

For example, one farmer almost lost his hand in a chainsaw accident. Forced to undergo three months of physical therapy, he needed a place to stay with his family. MAF staff combined funds, shopped for the family’s groceries, gave them a safe and comfortable place to stay, and visited them on a regular basis to build a relationship with them.

(Photo courtesy of MAF)

Another guest ran into Johnson and her husband mid-hike long after his stay at the hospital house. His wife had given birth in the hospital, and while the new family stayed with MAF, the Johnsons and other staff members came and prayed with them. When he recognized them, he thanked them graciously.

“He went on to say, ‘Oh, this trail is very overgrown. You’re going to need probably a machete,’” Johnson recalls. “And he took the machete off of his belt, handed it to me, and [said], ‘Go for your hike and come back and this, give it back to me when you’re done.’”

MAF isn’t just building relationships with guests; they want to connect with the local church, too.

”I’ve attended a local Indonesian Bible study for about six years, and my Bible study has been quite involved,” Eadie says. She brings guests to her Bible study, children from the hospital house to a kids club, and members of her study to the hospital house for prayer and community.

“Once a month, our staff at… the MAF hangar here, both Indonesian staff and Western staff, go to Rumah Singgah and go and have a praise and worship and prayer time there to meet the families that are there at that time and to sing and pray with them, all in Indonesian,” Boogaard says. “It’s a way for our whole staff here to be involved with Rumah Singgah and see what’s going on.”

The MAF families are hoping they can continue to encourage local believers to invest in the hospital house.

“In this culture, it’s really important… to the people that we go and visit them in the hospital when they’re sick, or at [the hospital house] if we can,” Boogaard says. “And I know that each of us has had a chance to go to the hospital room and pray… and that’s been very meaningful to them.”

(Photo courtesy of MAF)

How meaningful? Enough that their impact has led MAF to start a similar program in Lesotho.

”It’s rather outside the norm for Mission Aviation Fellowship,” says Brad Hoaglun, Director of Corporate Communications at MAF. “We don’t have ‘hospital house’ or anything like that in our name. We’re aviation, and we do a lot with pilots and mechanics. They’re engaged every day.

“But this allows all the staff to be involved and to… participate and to be helping another way and engage with people.”

Johnson calls this “a very, very neat opportunity that I’m very humbled to be a part of.” If you want to join them in that partnership, go to their website here for more information. In the meantime, pray for the continued success of this hospital house and for the other programs it inspires.

Header photo courtesy of MAF.

Although strikes are not uncommon in Gaza, the frequency and severity of attacks is increasing. John,* Gaza Study Center Director with Bethlehem Bible College, was in Gaza a few weeks ago when the attacks reached a peak.

What Happened

“There was a sense of more tension in the two or three days that I was there, and on the Wednesday night, I did hear rockets landing in Gaza in the south,” John said. “I was in Gaza City and [while] there was nothing happening actually in Gaza City, about a mile away from Gaza City, there were these rocket attacks going on and exchange of fire.”

John left Palestine on Thursday. That night, as well as over the next few days, attacks began with especially vigorous frequency. “The whole thing was a mess,” John says. “Lots of rockets were landing and destroying houses and killing some people in Gaza. And of course, as far as the Israelis were concerned, their attack was in retaliation for rockets going over from led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”

Since then, there have been attempts at a ceasefire, although John says there have been some exchanges of fire over the past few weeks. He believes more than 200 rockets landed in the Gaza area, decimating neighborhoods and homes.

Caught in the Crossfire

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Often, people who are impacted by the exchanges of rocket fire aren’t actually involved in the conflict. Most targets are political, but many attacks see bystanders caught in the crossfire. According to John, “The experience of the people and the experience of the Christians in Gaza is ‘Is it going to happen to me? It may not be my house, but is it going to be the house next door that going to be hit?”

That’s how one Christian family lost their home a few weeks before these more recent attacks. Unbeknownst to them, the neighboring apartment in their complex was an office for an opposing political party. A rocket strike targeted the office, and their home was caught in the collateral explosion.

Almost everything the family owned was destroyed. There are only 900 Christians in Gaza, so when one family suffers, the entire Church of Gaza feels it. The local Body of Christ is doing what it can to help the family recover. For example, “I’ve been raising and other people are raising funds for this family, and they’re hoping next week to move into a new apartment,” John says. “The international community of Christians is providing a lot of support for them.”

Compassion in Conflict

In a place regularly riddled with rocket fire, how does Christ’s Gospel message come in?

“The Christians are caring for other people,” John says. “They’re visiting the Muslims that are involved in these protests and showing them love, but of course, showing love in that situation is not easy because you’re taking on the emotion and the hatred of those people and you’re seeking to show love.”

Bethlehem Bible College uses funds to help support local Christian families, especially when it comes to food parcels and medical care, but Gaza’s Christians have many needs. “[Food and medical expenses] are just part of the suffering of the people: the lack of electricity, the difficulties with sewage, the difficulties with impure water, and just the feeling that they are in a prison, and they can’t get out,” John says.

Responding to the Israel/Palestine Conflict

The conflict in Gaza is rife with political controversy, and almost everyone has an opinion about who’s in the right. It’s not as cut and dry as some people might want it to be though; John says many people forget that conflict between Palestine and Israel is “Six of one and a half a dozen of the other.”

Bethlehem Bible College’s Gaza Study Center (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

“I think the Church in the west, by and large, they think that there’s nobody, that all the people in Gaza are Muslims and all the people in Gaza are Hamas supporters, but that’s not true,” John says.

But that simply isn’t the case. Not only are there many innocent bystanders caught up in the conflict, but there’s also a small yet strong Christian presence in the area. John acknowledges that some Christians may want to support Israel based on theological stances regarding Israel, Abraham, and the promised land, but he’s worried that the Church is forgetting about the Body’s presence in Palestine. “I don’t want to stop people having their beliefs in terms of their interpretation of Scripture, but just understand what it’s leading to with the Christian community,” he says.

See For Yourself

According to John, the best thing Christians outside of Palestine and Israel can do is go and experience the land for themselves. “I take groups fairly frequently to the land and people are changed,” he says. “They don’t become anti-Israel, they don’t become anti-Jewish, there’s none of that at all…. They start to find there’s another family they want to love and they want to help and support and pray for and empathize with.”

More than anything else, Palestinian Christians are asking for presence. “The people need encouragement, they need people to see,” John explains. “There are people in Gaza that would rather see me for a few days and talk with me and meet with me and eat with me than they would have my airfare given to them that it costs me to come from England. It’s the gift of encouragement.”

Right now, Gaza feels like a desert island for local Christians. They need to feel the warmth of the larger Church. “That is the best present that you can give to the people out there: your presence, to be with them, to befriend them, to talk with them, to empathize with them, to sit down and eat with them, the gift of hospitality which they want to share with you,” John says.

This Bible was the only thing left after a family of Christians in Gaza lost their home to rocket fire (Photo courtesy of John Angle)

Prayer Guide

Want to pray? John has some suggestions for how you can do that. Start by praying for local leaders. “Out there, it’s very, very demanding,” John says. “Give them the strength, the physical strength, emotional strength, and spiritual strength to support and encourage their flock.”

If the Church is going to be strong, its young people need to be strong. Pray “particularly for the young people and children, that they would not have fear, they would be able to sleep sweetly and not have fear in these situations.”

Continue to pray for safety, wisdom, and courage for Gaza’s Christians. You can find a part to play with Bethlehem Bible College right here.

*full name hidden for security purposes

Header photo courtesy of pixabay.

The attack caught Pastor Aziz and his family off guard. Fortunately, a police officer was walking along the street and saw the men break into Pastor Aziz’s house. The officer and his reinforcements rescued the family from their attackers.

Pastor Aziz, his wife, and their daughter escaped with minor injuries, though they only have the clothes on their backs. They are now homeless as the attackers seized Pastor Aziz’s property.

Allen believes Pastor Aziz was targeted because of his Muslim background and the fact he has a thriving ministry making God’s truth known among local Muslims.

Pakistani flag (Photo courtesy of FMI)

“Pastor Aziz, who himself had come out of a Muslim background, has been evangelizing and church planting in the province of Balochistan,” Allen says.

In Balochistan, Pastor Aziz planted three churches and has outpost ministries along the Iranian border.

“These Muslim militants want to see that stopped. But we are very glad that he is alive and he is determined to continue his ministry, even though he now has no home,” Allen says.

Hope Despite Terror

Despite the potential damage this attack could have caused, Allen reports Pastor Aziz’s congregations and ministries have not been put at risk. However, this is the third attack he has suffered this year, though it is the first to happen at his home. Furthermore, this particular attack stirs up traumatic memories from the past.

“More than 15 years ago, he has a son who was five-years-old who was kidnapped, again, because of the family’s faith in Jesus Christ. And Aziz and Ruhab have never seen him since.

“They know the personal loss and what the cost is of following Jesus Christ in Pakistan. [It] doesn’t make it easier, but when a situation like this occurs, it brings past traumas up to the surface. So, we want to pray for their emotional healing,” Allen explains.

“Aziz has considered that all of his belong[ings] are lost to him, but he fully understands he is not lost to God. Even though he has been crying on the phone as he pours out his heart…Aziz’s spirits remain high.”

Pray for God’s protection of Pastor Aziz, his family, and his congregation. Pray for their physical and emotional healing. Also, pray this situation would become an opportunity for Pastor Aziz’s churches to care for and serve their pastor. Ask God to protect and bless the homes which host Pastor Aziz as he and his family rebuild.

Want to help Pastor Aziz and his family rebuild? Then consider giving through FMI’s Tangible Resources account to help purchase clothes, household items, and other necessities this family needs.

To give to FMI’s Tangible Resources and support Pastor Aziz, click here.

Header photo courtesy of FMI.

Open Doors USA tracks Christian persecution around the world and reports their findings each year on the World Watch List. China is currently ranked at number 43 out of the top 50 countries with the worst Christian persecution.

2018 World Watch List naming the top 50 countries where it is most dangerous to be a Christian. (Image courtesy of Open Doors)

David Curry, President and CEO of Open Doors explains, “China has moved up that list unfortunately and it has to do with the growing, increasing pressure on house churches — what has typically been underground churches. That is a little misleading because they’re typically well-known within their communities. But [there is] growing pressure to register these house churches.

“The government has been pressuring [house churches] and then when they register, they have been monitoring them in a little more official way, a little more onerous way.”

This power grab for control over religious institutions is frightening, to say the least, because of what it could mean for the future in China.

“You can imagine…if in your home community the police came to you and said, ‘We want to know who is a Christian in this town,’ the first thing you would wonder is, ‘Why do you need to know that?’ Secondly, ‘What are you going to do when you find out?’ And thirdly, ‘If there were some very evil intent sometime down the road and they had a list of Christians, would that portend for some folks to have some very difficult days?’”

Curry says there seems to be a growing nationalist movement taking root in certain regions of China — and it is fostered by the Communist government.

These believers have been asked to replace their cross. (Photo, caption courtesy of ChinaAid)

“If they allow Christians to exist, they want that Christian faith to be ‘Chinese’ or loyal to the government to validate government politics [and] policy.

“The Chinese Church is wary of doing that because, of course, this nationalization of the Church means they may one day be forced to choose between Jesus and the Chinese government.”

Forced nationalization of the Church is extremely dangerous since it asks believers to put secular heads of state above biblical truth.

However, as Curry points out, the temptation to marry political agenda with Christianity rears its head in other arenas — even in America.

“We can look at our own situation and say, ‘At what points am I asked or do I decide myself that I am doing to be a Democrat or a Republican before I am a follower of Jesus?’ Call ourselves on it…because we do it to ourselves in many cases in this country. We say, ‘I’m a this’ or ‘I’m a that’ and people do it in every single political party. But first, we need to center ourselves on being a follower of Jesus.”

A group of Christians prays outside of
the public security bureau. (Photo, caption courtesy of ChinaAid)

The biggest thing we can do as believers is to pray and stay grounded in Scripture. Curry says, “As it relates to China, we need to pray for this Church to mature, and quickly. The Chinese Church is massive in size, but like the American Church, it’s big and it’s shallow. So we need this Church to grow up…. The Chinese Church has been underground for so long, it doesn’t know how to play a useful public role in law, in education, and in the policy world; so Christian faith hasn’t been integrated into all parts. We need to pray for that in China in a healthy way.”

Please also pray for the Body of Christ — in China, America, and around the world — to keep the Lord and His Word at the forefront of our convictions and actions without shared allegiance to other parties, worldviews, or leaders.

Brunson was moved to house arrest less than a month ago due to health concerns. The Turkish government had imprisoned Brunson in a paranoid crackdown on multiple sectors following the failed 2016 coup.

Ismail Cem Halavurt, Brunson’s lawyer, told Reuters that an appeals process usually takes three to seven days but that we could hear an update sooner than that.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo courtesy of Pixabay)

Meanwhile, players on an international scale have turned Brunson’s case into a game of “chicken”. And so far, neither side seems to be backing down.

After Brunson was placed under house arrest, Washington sanctioned two Turkish ministers and announced that tariffs on metal imports will be doubled. Ankara struck back with doubled tariffs on select US imports such as alcohol, tobacco, and cars.

David Curry, President and CEO of Open Doors USA says, “The Trump administration has levied taxes and tariffs on the Turkish government that have really caused financial turmoil with their… currency. This has caused enormous turmoil for them, but I think what it has done in a sense is raise the value of religious expression and raised this discussion. Unfortunately, it has done a lot of harm to the Turkish economy and the Turkish people, but it’s really started with and continued by the carelessness…of the Turkish president in my opinion.

“Wisely, this administration has decided that human rights [are] a larger part of our diplomatic discussion. When you have a case like this which is so brazenly a hostage negotiation on behalf of what should be a diplomatic partner, there has to be punishments and there has to be leverage used to get them to come back to international norms where we can talk about what is going on and talk without threats and without economic impact.”

Andrew and Norine Brunson (Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

The US government says Brunson’s move to house arrest was inadequate and has repeatedly demanded Turkey release the American pastor. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has implied that he will only release Brunson if the US extradites Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric Erdogan believes orchestrated the 2016 coup.

“This is a case where a pastor is being held… hostage by the Turkish government so that the American government will release one of his political enemies. This pastor now has been through so many court cases recently.”

Brunson’s next court hearing will be on October 12. His hearings have been repeatedly pushed back and the defense is frustrated by a severe lack of evidence presented for the charges against Bruson.

Curry explains, “While I don’t understand all the labyrinth of the Turkish legal system, some of the facts are clear. One of them is the entire case against Pastor Brunson is paper thin. They won’t tell us who the accusers are that say he was some kind of conspirator. We’ve seen the charges that were brought against him, that his Christianity was referred to as ‘terrorism’. There is nothing there against an attack on Christian faith in Turkey and a desire to use an American Christian pastor as leverage with the American administration.”

Please continue to faithfully pray for Brunson, his family, and the Church in Turkey. Christians are under a lot of scrutiny in the Muslim-majority nation, and Brunson’s high profile case is an opportunity to represent Christ in difficult circumstances.

Pray specifically for Brunson’s faith to be strengthened. Ask the Lord to comfort him through Scripture. Pray also for the Turkish Church to be invigorated in ministry and united as the Body of Christ.

Curry also asks, “What we need is some wisdom. We need to pray for that, that the justice system will really step back and look at this case as it is.”

Learn more about how you can advocate for persecuted Christians with Open Doors USA!

Church Growth Despite Challenges

Ironically, the Iranian government created this underground movement when it made it illegal for Farsi speakers to attend physical churches. When that happened, everyone became an evangelist and house churches began popping up across the country.

(Photo courtesy of Heart 4 Iran)

“One of the leaders we met, he said, ‘I used to have 100 people that came to my church and when they closed the Farsi speaking churches, now we had 100 house churches and 100 house church planters’…so when they shut one down, they just create five more,” Heart4Iran’s *David shares.

Now, those believers are being persecuted. Iran is ranked #10 on Open Doors USA’s **World Watch List. But, there’s also a disconnect amongst believers in Iran. Most of them think they’re alone.

“We’ve found out that there could be a house church here and two, three blocks away there’s another house church. They have no idea about each other,” David explains. “So, there’s no common communication happening on the ground. So, through [our] satellite TV [channel], we’re able to get those resources to them, equip them, and train them to be more successful in their house church.”

Resourcing The Church

For the last few years, Heart4Iran has been producing a house-church specific satellite TV program. This program teaches people how to start their own church.

From the program reports, Heart4Iran has found that 70 percent of the people registered for the class are currently trying to start their own house church. And at least 30 percent of its total general viewers are trying to start their own house churches, too.

“The people are hungry for this. They’re hungry for the resources and they say, ‘With your help, with your resources, we’re going to do this. We’re going to start our own church,’” David shares.

But, what’s driving this hunger? David says it’s the contrast the people see between Islam and the Islamic Regime running Iran compared to the love of Christ and the Gospel. In fact, Heart4Iran has hundreds of people calling in daily, asking to be told more about the Gospel and Jesus.

Sensing Change

With that said, Iran is nearing a turning point. In recent months, there have been uprisings across the country and the people are tired of the current government’s way of doing things. But this air of change is stirring questions as to how the Iranian people’s restlessness will affect the churches in Iran.

(Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)

So please, let’s pray for our family in Iran and the house church movement there. Pray for their perseverance, their faith, and the Church’s growth.

Also, ask God to encourage them, to protect them, and for the harvest in Iran to continue.

And finally, praise God for what He is doing in Iran and through His people there.

“Believers are at risk every day when they meet. It’s literally against the law for them to gather in their homes, open a Bible, pray together, take communion together—all the things we take advantage of in the United States—it’s against the law for them to do that,” David explains.

“And so, just pray for them because it’s a lot of pressure on these situations. But at the same time, it’s a really glorious moment. People that come out tell us about how glorious it is to be a member of a house church and how God just shows up there.”

Find more ways to pray here!

*Name changed for security reasons.

**Open Doors USA’s World Watch List ranks the 50 top countries where Christian persecution is most severe.

Miles Windsor with Middle East Concern says while they haven’t heard of any charges against these four men, there is a particular prison suspected where they may be held.

(Photo courtesy of Middle East Concern)

“In this case, they have been able to contact their families just to say that they are okay, that they are well. But their whereabouts tend to become disclosed over time, especially as charges are filed against them and proceedings start in terms of court hearings. But there’s usually a period of interrogation at this stage. Usually, they’ll be called upon to giveaway more information on other house churches and other Christian leaders. So it’s a difficult time.”

On the World Watch List, Iran is currently ranked 8^th out of the top 50 countries with the harshest Christian persecution. But, amazingly, Iran also has the fastest growing evangelical population in the world.

“A great many Iranians have been coming to Christ and it’s something which the authorities are clearly very unhappy about. So there are periodic arrests, detentions, [and] imprisonments. There have been a lot of charges lately which are suggesting an even greater clampdown – sentences of 10-15 years in some cases for Christians. And usually, the authorities will suggest that this the result of undermining the state or seeking to collaborate against the state and will use more political charges than say apostasy or blasphemy laws.”

Windsor says this is the paradox of persecution, played out in the Iranian Church. “What we see in Iran is something that really speaks to the truths of the Bible such as can be found in Psalm 2 where these authorities set themselves up against God’s people. And yet, God is working extraordinarily and can’t be stopped.

“What we’re seeing — in spite of this [persecution] — is extraordinary faith, extraordinary boldness on the part of those who are turning to faith in Iran.”

As we wait to see if charges will be filed against these four men, please spend time in fervent prayer for the men and their families. “Obviously, we would ask for prayer that there will be no charges filed against them, that they’ll be released without charge and unconditionally, [and] that they’ll be able to return to their families…. Do be lifting them up before God, that they would remain strong in very, very trying and unpleasant situations.”

Additionally, Windsor asks, “We also need to be praying for those who are suffering – and they are suffering greatly there. There are a considerable number of cases that we’re monitoring and that we’re seeking to conduct advocacy for where people are awaiting the appeal hearing decisions on sentences that are on 10 years, 15 years in some cases because they choose to follow Christ.”

Click here to learn more about Middle East Concern and their advocacy for the persecuted Church.

However, For Haiti With Love has been building homes over the years for homeless families. How? Through its Pilgrim House project.

The Pilgrim House Project

(Photo Courtesy For Haiti With Love via Facebook) For Haiti With Love’s 25th Pilgrim House.

“Pilgrim House is a unique project because it has been over the years, totally funded by the Pilgrim Lutheran Church out of Indianapolis,” For Haiti’s Eva DeHart explains.

“So they have built 25 consecutive years of homes for homeless families. We build other homes too, and we definitely welcome any church or any organization or individual that would like to provide a home for a family.”

The funds for these homes come from designated donations. None of the money comes out of For Haiti’s general funds. Furthermore, the houses are built hurricane safe with rebar wire wired throughout the walls and foundation, essentially tying the house together.

Houses are usually built to size based on land size. In Haiti, the land is inherited and rarely bought. So the houses built are built on land that’s already owned by people who might be living in nothing more than a falling down shack or under a tarp. And because homes are being built on inherited land, it can be very challenging.

Choosing For Whom To Build

“The people have come to us and presented where their land is, what their family situation is, and that they would really like to be considered for our construction projects,” DeHart shares.

(Photo Courtesy For Haiti With Love via Facebook)
For Haiti With Love’s 25th Pilgrim House getting rebar wire put inside the walls.

“Our staff then goes out and evaluates what they’re living in now, if anything, and where the land is. In some instances, we simply can’t get to it, [the land], so we can’t build. [For example], it might be a little lot in the middle of an area that’s already so tightly developed, that you just can’t get in there.”

For Haiti, in efforts to properly steward the funds, the ministry leans towards helping families who are showing some initiative to help themselves.

Take for instance, For Haiti has recently filed an application for building a house for a family where the man is a day worker. In other words, he goes out every day looking for work wherever he can find it. His wife also sells whatever she can find to trade.

A Family In Need

“They literally live from day to day, but they are doing well enough at their attempts that they have all three of their children in school. They have her sister living with them and the sister’s child is [also] in school,” DeHart says.

“There is a picture on facebook of the home that the family is living in right now…It’s nothing but pieces of scrap metal that they have found along the way that they have nailed together to create a shelter,” DeHart shares. “It is horrible, but it is [a] shelter for them, and we would love to give them a home.”

(Photo Courtesy For Haiti With Love via Facebook)
For Haiti With Love’s 25th Pilgrim House at the beginning of the building process.

Yet, while building houses for homeless families is an honorable act, it is essentially useless without the Gospel. For this very reason, For Haiti strives to portray Christ’s love in its work.

In fact, For Haiti’s reputation in Haiti is founded in just that, so when the ministry helps to build a house, it’s not only showing a family who Christ is, but also a community.

“It has been fascinating to us over the years that there is no jealousy from neighbors. They’re just absolutely thrilled for the family that’s getting a home and they will sometimes come over and just pitch in and start helping [build the house],” DeHart explains.

“So it strengthens their communities [in] knowing that everything we do is a gift from God. They are thankful to God, they are not thankful to us.”

Help Change Families and Communities

So if you would, will you help build a house and impact a family and their community for Christ?

You can start by praying for the families needing homes built, for their needs to be met, and for them to encounter Christ in the process. Also, please pray for For Haiti in navigating for whom to build a home. Finally, pray for For Haiti to continuously reflect Christ’s love with the Haitian people and for their hearts to be changed for Jesus.

Another way to help is through financial support. Since the costs of materials have risen in Haiti, it now costs between $10,000 to $14,000 to build a home. Will you donate to help build a house? As DeHart said, any church, organizations, or individuals can donate and have a house named after them.

To contact For Haiti about donating for a house, click here!

According to Open Doors USA Advocacy Director Lindsay Vessey, “The Special Envoy would address economic and security concerns of these minority faith groups, which is especially needed in a country like Iraq where large numbers of Christians and other faith groups have been threatened, forced to flee their homeland, and killed.”

Last year, Open Doors USA supported a bill in the House called H.R. 440 which would require the Obama administration to appoint a Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. H.R. 440 was easily passed by the House last year. This was partially due to the advocacy campaign Open Doors launched encouraging concerned citizens to contact their U.S. representative, asking him or her to vote for the bill.

30 out of the 33 countries and regions covered in the bill are on the Open Doors 2012 World Watch List of the worst persecutors of Christians including countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.

A Senate companion bill called S. 1245 was introduced last year, but it still has not been brought to a vote. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) has placed a hold on the bill, preventing it from moving forward.

"This important bill won't be moved to a vote unless enough people concerned with the persecution of religious minorities are willing to speak out and ask their senators to take action," says Vessey.

If S. 1245 is not passed in this session of Congress and signed into law, the process will have to be started all over next year in the new session of Congress.

“The Senator can put a hold on a bill or resolution, and if nobody’s really paying attention to that particular bill or resolution, then they don’t feel any pressure to change their course of action,” says Vessey. “So we’ve launched a public campaign asking our supporters to e-mail their senators.”

If enough senators support S. 1245, they will create much more pressure on Sen. Webb to release his hold and allow the bill to move to a vote. The Open Doors Advocacy Web site has a sample letter available for you to send to your senator (click here).

Vessey says, “I’ve already been receiving messages that some of our supporters have received back from the Senate offices, so they’re definitely paying attention. They’re looking into this particular bill, and so we really need to apply the pressure now.”

Please also be praying for the hearts of Senators to be moved for this bill and that it may be passed before the end of this congress session. Pray for persecuted Christians all over the world and that the creation of a religious envoy would bring more governmental attention to their need.

Nearly 70% of the world's 6.8 billion people live in countries with little or no freedom of religion. Open Doors is an organization that for over five decades has come alongside Christians in 60 of these restrictive, dangerous countries, campaigning for the freedom to believe from the gulags in North Korea to the halls of Congress. To partner with Open Doors USA, click here.