PRAYERPRAYERAPRIL 2018

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Open Doors Canada8-19 Brownridge Rd.Halton Hills, ON L7G 0C6www.OpenDoorsCA.org

Apr 22, Sun | EGYPT Palm Sunday and Easter bring a lot of sad memories to Egyptian Christians after last year’s deadly attacks on two churches in Alexandrian and Tanta cities. Pray for the families of Christians who lost loved ones in the attacks and those who still suffer from permanent disabilities or unhealed injuries. Apr 23 | NIGERIA Pray for Esther* who was in Boko Haram captivity for just over a year. During that time she was under constant pressure to renounce her faith and was brutally raped multiple times and became pregnant. When the government freed her, she learned that people were not so eager to welcome back “Boko Haram women,” much less their children. Esther received trauma care from Open Doors’ partners and is thankful for God’s love and blessing she has received through it. Please pray for her, that God would continue to guide and direct her path. Apr 24 | DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Pray for Toby, 13, from troubled North Kivu province of where the Islamic radical Allied Defense Forces (ADF) has been wreaking havoc among the mostly Christian population. In June 2015, Toby and his parents travelled to visit his grandparents when ADF rebels attacked the village and set fire to several homes. They took several people hostage, including Toby and his parents. They were led to the forest with other captives where Toby witnessed unimaginable cruelty, including the brutal murder of his own mother. His father fled, leaving him behind. One day God made a way for Toby to escape too. He eventually made it to a village near a national army camp where a nurse recognized him and took him back to his father. A local pastor took him in because his father was so traumatized that he could not look after Toby. Toby has since dedicated his life to Christ and is back in school. Pray that the Lord will free the captives, heal those who have escaped and protect those who are at risk of being taken. Pray for an end to the ADF terror in the DRC. A writing campaign is ongoing for Toby. Please check www.bit.ly/ODCwrite to find out more.Apr 25 | YEMEN Please pray for a fellowship leader as he leads others in studying the Word. Pray that more people will come to faith in Christ. Pray especially that this leader’s wife will become a believer. She is asking many questions and is studying, but is fearful. In these early stages of growth, many men are believers but their wives are not. Pray for husbands to mirror Christ as they reach out to their wives.

Please pray for young children like Toby who

have suffered deep trauma in the DRC.

Telephone: 905-636-0944

Apr 26 | CAMEROON Boko Haram related violence has killed more than 2,000 people and uprooted at least 155,000 in northern Cameroon since 2014. Though several NGOs are present in this area, Christians are often not treated fairly during distributions. That is why Open Doors recently delivered relief aid to close to 300 displaced Christian families in the town of Mora. Apr 27 | ALGERIA The government has increased pressure on the Church over the past few months. Please pray for wisdom for the Church leadership to handle this situation and for boldness for believers to stand strong and continue to follow Jesus devotedly. Apr 28 | IRAQ In May, elections for a new government will take place. An increase in political problems has led to insecurity and decreased safety. Baghdad has witnessed a number of terrorist attacks. Please pray for safety of all people. Apr 29, Sun | ISRAEL & PALESTINE The Bible Society bookshop has enjoyed protected tenant status over the past 55 years. However, there has been a dispute, with allegations that the Bible Society is violating its commercial license by selling Christian literature alongside Bibles. A court hearing will decide if the Bible Society can continue as a tenant at the current premises. Please pray that the bookshop in Tel Aviv will be able to continue to function.Apr 30 | TUNISIA Pray for Bahir*, whose house was raided by the police and his Bible and Christian books were confiscated. Later, Bahir received his possessions back, but remains under surveillance. Pray for protection for Bahir and for him to remain strong in his faith.

April

“ All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” – Psalm 22:27-28

We recently delivered relief aid to close to 300 displaced Christian families in the

town of Mora. Each family received a parcel consisting of rice, millet, salt, vegetable oil,

smoked fish and soap. Some of the displaced received Bibles as well.

*Representative photo used to protect identity.

*Representative photos used to protect identity. *Names changed to protect identity.

the church for allowing children and teenagers on the premises without their parents. According to a State code, children can’t visit church without parents or trustees until they are 18 years old. Please pray for the safety of Kazakh churches, and for Kazakh authorities to not oppress Christians. Apr 17 | CENTRAL ASIA Latifa,* a secondary school teacher, came to faith about two years ago when an Open Doors team held a Christmas event at the school where she worked. She accepted Christ and began to help put on other events for children at the school. Recently, after all the Christmas and New Year celebrations, Latifa was fired from the school because “she refused her native faith and had Christian friends.” Pray for her, for her faith to grow stronger in spite of all her troubles. Pray for her safety, peace and comfort. Apr 18 | TAJIKISTAN Please keep praying for Bahrom Kholmatov, the Tajik pastor who was falsely accused of “extremism” and imprisoned for three years. His wife Gulnora recently fell ill after visiting him. A local pastor said, “She was really depressed and sad these past months because of the imprisonment of her husband. She is also worried about their children, the negative attitude of relatives who abused her after Bahrom’s arrest, and it is very possible that the stress caused by these things resulted in her present condition.” Please pray for Gulnora, for her healing and for God’s protection upon the family.Apr 19 | INDIA Kindly pray for the political situation in the state of Chattisgarh where political party workers are planning a procession called “Ekatma yatra.” Their purpose is to unite people in all the communities to follow the Hindu religion. Pray that they will come to know about the One True God. Apr 20 | INDIA Pray for the Christian schools and believers in India. Hindu extremists in the country want to enforce “Sarashwati Pooja” (worshipping a Hindu goddess) in Christian school and also force them to keep a picture of this Hindu goddess in the school. In one of the Christian schools in the eastern part of India, where children’s Bibles were distributed by a Christian organization in December 2017, Hindu extremists came and snatched the Bibles from some children and burned them. Apr 21 | NEPAL Curfews were established in some districts as massive protests erupted across the country after the government announced temporary provincial capitals. Protestors vandalized government offices and set fire to vehicles and market places. Many have been injured. Life in these districts has been adversely affected by the protests. Pray for the situation in these districts.

Bahrom and Gulnora Kholmatov.

families. Pray that the Lord will send the right people to comfort and counsel them. Apr 8, Sun | BANGLADESH Pray for the participants of two SSTS trainings this month. Pray for them to understand the teachings, for practical application and to encourage others to become strong in the faith.Apr 9 | BRUNEI There is no news on the second phase of the implementation of Sharia Law. Pray for the Church to equip its members with His Word so they will stand strong when it is fully implemented. Apr 10 | BANGLADESH Pray for courage and love for believers so they might reach their neighbours with the Good News of Jesus Christ which may result in persecution. Pray that we will be able to effectively help them stand strong.Apr 11 | INDONESIA Pray for the Sunday School Teachers Training in West Sumatra to better equip participants to teach children the biblical foundation of their faith. Some believers are converting to Islam for monetary benefits. Apr 12 | INDONESIA Open Doors’ World Watch Unit reported that in a recent poll among university students, 25% agreed that ‘Islamic State’ ideology is worth fighting for and a caliphate would be the preferable state system. Pray for God to guide us on how to serve His Church in such a situation. Apr 13 | MALAYSIA Many among the majority Christian population of East Malaysia have converted to Islam for various reasons. Pray that our discipleship trainings will impact them to remain faithful to Christ.Apr 14 | MALDIVES Pray for secret believers in the country. They feel very much alone. Pray for God to help them find each other and encourage one another in the faith. Apr 15, Sun | KYRGYZSTAN A Christian church was burned recently in the town of Kajisay in the Issyk-kul region. A local prayer house which belongs to the church was also burned. Police determined this to be an act of arson. The congregation is a mix of Kyrgyz and Russian people. Local Christians have lost a place for prayer and worship meetings, and are now searching for another place for their Sunday services, Bible studies, Sunday school and other meetings. A local Christian shared with us, “We don’t believe that the police will find and punish those who burned our church, but despite this we bless them and pray for them. God knows who did it.” Please pray for persecuted believers in Kyrgyzstan.Apr 16 | KHAZAKHSTAN A Sunday church service in Kazakhstan was raided by members of the State Religious Committee. They fined

Pray for the believers of Bangladesh.

Apr 1, Sun | VIETNAM By the grace and mercy of His power, a group of former drug addicts accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The group decided to undergo training at Open Doors’ Galilee Bible School (GBS) and apply their learning in the churches they are now pastoring. The group is thankful to the Lord for using GBS to positively impact their churches.Apr 2 | BHUTAN will conduct its third Parliamentary Elections for its National Council and National Assembly. According to the Election Commission of Bhutan, religious events should be avoided from February-May and August-October this year. Pray for peaceful elections. May the Bhutanese people be wise as they choose their leaders. Pray also for the Lord’s guidance for all the projects to be carried out by Open Doors local partners.Apr 3 | BHUTAN Open Doors would like to help Christian families with educational assistance for diligent students, starting with pastors’ children. Pray that the students receiving support will be good stewards of the blessings they receive.Apr 4 | SRI LANKA Jit*, a youth Pastor in one of the northeast provinces of Sri Lanka, thanks the Lord for the opportunity to learn and participate in a Standing Strong Through the Storm (SSTS) training. Pastor Jit later sent 50 young people to the SSTS training. “I felt that this is a good program because the youth sometimes think about persecution and the difficulties that will come their way. I want to encourage them to persevere. I have seen how they have been transformed and are now aware of persecution around the world.” Pray for these young people, that they may persevere in their faith in the Lord regardless of their circumstances.Apr 5 | LAOS Pray with the local team organizing a youth camp for 300 people in the southern part of Laos. Pray for the Lord’s provision, security and wisdom for those attending. Pray that this event will transform the lives of many young people and that they be salt and light to the world.Apr 6 | MYANMAR Thank God for the 120 pastors and church leaders from different denominations who gathered for the very first time to share the hardships encountered in their ministries. They were encouraged to be united as one Body of Christ. “In my 44 years of serving in the ministry, I have never attended a gathering of pastors, let alone with those from different denominations. We should do this again,” said a senior pastor. Apr 7 | SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES Pray for the rebuilding of Marawi. Pray for its people who are traumatized, especially our brethren who have been held hostage and lost members of their

April

Students from GBS hold out their certificates upon completion of the Bible Training course.

*Representative photos used to protect identity. *Names changed to protect identity.