Thursday, February 22, 2007
Magos Solomon Semere, Dead At 30
Thanks and praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The following comes from Compass Direct News.
An Eritrean Christian died in prison last week, four and a half years after the Eritrean regime jailed him for worshipping in a banned Protestant church.
From the southern port city of Assab, local Christians confirmed the death of Magos Solomon Semere on Thursday (February 15) at the Adi-Nefase Military Confinement facility just outside Assab.
A member of the Rema Church, Semere had first been jailed in the fall of 2001, when he was arrested for evangelizing and starting meetings for worship with six other Christians.“The government gave hard-labor work punishment to believers for preaching the gospel and starting fellowships,” a Christian once jailed in Assab with Semere told Compass. “If they persisted, they would be kept imprisoned for ‘violating’ the government law.”
According to one source, Semere, 30, died “due to physical torture and persistent pneumonia, for which he was forbidden proper medical treatment.” He had reportedly endured a long period of severe illness in the months prior to his death.
Assab, near the facility where Semere died, was targeted for one of the first major crackdowns against Protestant Christians by Eritrean security forces five years ago.
Three months later, in May 2002, the government categorically outlawed all churches not under the umbrella of the Orthodox, Catholic or Evangelical Lutheran denominations.
Read full story HERE.
Semere was to have been married before all of this. Let us pray for his family and his fiancee. As well as all the other Christians and their churches that are being persecuted.
Here is some information about Eritrea from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Eritrea is a country in northern East Africa bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea.
Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government on January 1, 1890.[3] The modern state of Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia following a thirty-year war which lasted from 1961 to 1991. Eritrea's constitution adopted in 1997 stipulates that the state is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy. But the constitution was never ratified and since the outbreak of new hostilities with Ethiopia in May of 1998, the country is under a de-facto (undeclared) state of emergency ruled by presidential decree.
Eritrea is a multilingual and multicultural country with two dominant religions (Sunni Islam and Oriental Orthodox Christianity) and nine ethnic groups. The country has no official language, but it has three working languages: Tigrinya, Arabic, and English.[4]
1 Corinthians 15:19-22
19: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive
19: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21: For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22: For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive
Labels: Christian, Christian persecution, Church, Compass Direct News, Corinthians, death, ERITREA
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
VOM-USA News & Prayer Update (January 30, 2007)
Thanks and praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."(2 Timothy 3:12-15)
"Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."(2 Timothy 3:12-15)
| Prayers for January 30, 2007 From The Voice of the Martyrs |  |
 PAKISTAN  Evangelists Beaten at Muslim Festival - VOM SourcesA team of Pakistani Christian evangelists supported by The Voice of the Martyrs was attacked and beaten Friday, January 26th, after handing out more than 13,000 Christian tracts at a Muslim festival in Pakpattan, Pakistan. Three members of the four-member team were roughed up by radical Muslims then taken to the police station where they were detained and questioned before being released. However, the fourth evangelist, the leader of the team, was badly beaten by a mob of more than 100 angry Muslims, who then dragged him through the crowd before taking him to the police station. He was beaten so severely that he reported blood in his urine and his stool. VOM contacts are taking him to a hospital for medical care. Pray for God's protection for these courageous believers. Ask God to heal their injuries and for the Holy Spirit to comfort their families during this difficult time. Hebrews 12:1-3, Psalm 107:20  VIETNAM Four Church Leaders Arrested - VOM SourcesFour church leaders from Tuyen Quang province were arrested by border patrol police at the border between China and Vietnam in Ha Giang province. They were on their way home from collecting books and funds for the Pastor Support Program in Vietnam. There is no further information on their arrest. Pray God will protect them in prison and open a door for them in prison so they can share the gospel for which they suffer. Ask Him to encourage their families and for the Vietnamese government to release them. Colossians 4:2-3  ERITREA Sixty-eight Christians Arrested - Compass Direct News/VOM SourcesPolice and military authorities in Eritrea jailed 68 Christians in three official round-up operations conducted the first week of January.
 INDIA Worship Service Disrupted In Madhya Pradesh - VOM SourcesA worship service in Kanpur was disrupted when Hindu extremists stormed the meeting. According to the Global Council of Indian Christians the militants were targeting foreign missionaries from Japan, present at the meeting. The pulpit and sound system were destroyed and those attending the meeting were pushed and abused for two hours before police arrived. Thank God no one was seriously hurt in this attack. Pray Christians will remain bold and continue to proclaim the gospel in India. Hebrews 10:32-39 p UPDATE - Christian Released from Prison after Six YearsOn Friday, January 19, 2007, Shahbaz Kaka, was released from prison after serving six years of a life sentence. According to a statement issued by Justice Ejah Ahmad Chaudry (High Court Lahore), Shahbaz will spend a month under medical care and then return home. Shahbaz was arrested in June 2001, after he used the bathroom at a mosque. "Qari Rafique, the head of the mosque, asked him why he was using the toilet that was adjacent to the mosque. He quizzed Shahbaz on whether he was a Christian because he was wearing a cross around his neck," a VOM source said. The source added that after the conversation, Rafique initiated false allegations against Shahbaz. A complaint was made to the authorities stating Shahbaz disgraced the Quran by tearing pages out, cutting them into pieces and trampling them under his feet. Shahbaz was arrested and later charged with blasphemy. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2004. VOM rejoices with Shahbaz Kaka and his family at his release. Pray his testimony will cause Muslims in Pakistan to follow Christ. Ask God to protect and comfort Christians in Pakistan who face persecution. | |
Labels: Christ Jesus, Christian persecution, ERITREA, Faith, INDIA, PAKISTAN, persected, persecuted, persecuted church, prayer, The Voice of the Martyrs, VIETNAM, VOM
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