2011 was an amazing year celebrating personal relationships with many displaced indigena believers and within our own team. There was also much sadness on seeing the ALMOST complete lack of response of the MEXICAN government  to the decrees of the Mexican National Human Rights Committee to facilitate the return to their communities of the Chilil and Los Llanos groups… displaced since NOVEMBER of 2009, and January of 2010. We learned from trial and error… but in the midst of trial and tribulation have been blessed and priveliged to serve those who are persecuted for their Christian faith.  

We invite you to join us in the work this year… from the start. There is much work to be done… too much for just a few of us to carry the burden which is always lighter when shared. 

May the LORD OF LORDS, and KING OF KINGS, bless you mightily this year as you respond to the needs of your weaker brother and those who live in total darkness without knowledge of the One who loved them so… to the point of self sacrifice and death on the Cross of Calvary.

GUILLERMOS’S JR. HIGH SCHOLARSHIP …

WE PAID FOR HIS 2 UNIFORMS TO START WITH, HIS REGISTRATION, BOUGHT HIS SCHOOLBAG AND SCHOOL MATERIAL TO START OUT WITH, AND ARE GOING TO BE PAYING HIS TRANSPORTATION COSTS, WITH A DOLLAR EXTRA SO HE CAN BUY LUNCH EACH DAY.

ALL THE OTHER CHILDREN IN HIS GROUP EXPELLED FROM LOS LLANOS ARE IN AN INDIGENA  ELEMENTARY BOARDING SCHOOL, PAID FOR BY THE GOVERNMENT. GUILLERMO GRADUATED LAST YEAR, AND WAS THE ONLY ONE NOT GOING TO ATTEND SCHOOL FOR THE YEAR.

YOU CAN PITCH IN FOR HIS MONTHLY SUPPORT, WHICH IS A ABOUT 50 USD OR ANY PORTION OF THAT, HELPING US TO RELEASE FUNDS FOR OTHER EMERGENCIES OR PROJECTS.

 WE DIDN’T WANT TO SEE GUILLERMO LEFT OUT.

PLESASE KEEP HIM IN PRAYER… HE’S ENTERING A NEW AND POSSIBLY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT… AND WILL BE ON HIS OWN, WITHOUT A COMPANION.

THE INTERESTING POINT IS, THAT OUR CATHOLIC VOCATIONAL TRAINING COLLABORATOR, VERONICA, ACCOMODATED HIS ENTRANCE INTO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL. GOD BLESS HER HEART… AND DRAW HER CLOSER TO HIM. 

VERONICA IS OUR ONLY CATHOLIC RELATIONSHIP UP TO THIS POINT, APPRECIATED AND WELL LOVED BY THE EVANGELICALS SHE HAS BEEN TEACHING TO KNIT, AND MAKE JEWELRY.

SEEN HERE ARE THE MAJORITY OF INDIGENA EVANGELICAL BELIEVERS WHO WERE EXPELLED FROM THEIR COMMUNITIES OF LOS LLANOS AND SAN GREGORIO IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO AFTER THEY WERE ATTACKED BY NEIGHBORS , THEIR HOUSES DESTROYED, WATER AND LIGHTS CUT, AND DISPOSSESSED OF ALL THEIR BELONGINGS, LAND, ANIMALS, AND CROPS.

 AUTHORITIES IN LOS LLANOS ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SAN CRISTOBAL, AND SAN GREGORIO IN HUIXTAN WHO OPENLY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR AFILIATION WITH THE ZAPATISTA MOVEMENT AND THEIR POLITICAL WING, LA OTRA CAMPAÑA, BELIEVE THAT THEIR INDIAN CUSTOMS TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER THE MEXICAN CONSTITUTION AND THAT ALL THEIR INHABITANTS MUST NOT ONLY SUPPORT THE MORE THAN A DOZEN TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS BUT ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE PAGAN COMBINED WITH CATHOLIC RITES, THE ALCOHOLIC DRINKING AND IN GIVING OFFERINGS TO THEIR GODS AND SAINTS, AND IN PAYING A CUOTA FOR EACH MALE 14 YEARS OLD AND UP.

THIS IS A HARDSHIP FOR EVANGELICALS WHO ARE NO LONGER PRACTICERS OF THE MAJORITY FAITH, AND WANT TO SUPPORT AND PRACTICE THEIR OWN.

THE GOVERNMENT ON ALL LEVELS HAS FAILED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE EXISTS, MUCH LESS RESPOND TO THE LEGITIMATE COMPLAINTS OF BELIEVERS THREATENED, DENIED LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL BENEFITS, WHO HAVE THEIR CHILDREN DENIED A PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION, LOSE THE TENANCY OF THEIR LANDS , THE BENEFIT OF THE CROPS THEY SOWED, THEIR CATTLE OR SHEEP, HOUSES, CHAVE THEIR CHURCHES TORN DOWN OR BURNED,  OR ARE FACING EXPULSION… AND EVEN DEATH, AS HAD 4 CHRISTIANS  WHO WERE  ASSASINATED IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS.

EVEN AFTER FORMAL COMPLAINTS ARE MADE TO THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT RESPONDED, AND DOES ALL POSSIBLE TO AVOID HAVING TO COMPLY WITH THE NCHR RECOMMEDATIONS… TAKING AS LONG AS MINIMALLY 18 MONTHS AND MORE, IF EVER TO RESPOND. THE SITUATION HAS NOT CHANGED…

THE ROOTS OF INTOLERANCE AND HATRED ARE THE SAME, WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND MAJORITY CHURCH IGNORING, FACILITATING OR EVEN PROMOTING THE SITUATION.

REGRETTABLY THE VOICE OF THE EVANGELICALS IS DROWNED OUT BY RADICAL SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, AND THOSE WHO MATTER MORE AS VOTES TO THE POLITICIANS.

SOME EVANGELICAL ALLIANCES AND LEADERSHIP HAVE TRIED TO GAIN THE GOVERNMENT’S FAVOR, INFLUENCE OR RESOURCES , BY KEEPING A LOW PROFILE, OR EVEN BY DENYING THAT INTOLERANCE EXISTS… SEVERAL GROUPS HAVE ACTUALLY PUBLISHED OR STATED FORMALLY THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS RESOLVED ALL CASES, IN A TIMELY FASHION, AND THAT RELIGIOUS PERSECUCTION NO LONGER EXISTS… JUST FAMILY DISAGREEMENTS.

THIS IS BOTH A DISSERVICE TO THEIR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST WHO SUFFER IN THE NAME OF CHRIST, AND MUST BE AN OFFENSE IN THE SIGHT OF OUR LORD HIMSELF…

PLEASE KEEP MEXICO AND HER PERSECUTED BROTHERS IN YOUR PRAYERS AS THE COMING ELECTIONS AND JOCKEYING BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES, EVANGELICAL MINISTRIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS PROMOTE THEIR PROPAGANDA AT COST TO THE EVANGELICALS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE.

We now have 5 rooms available in a private home, with space for the working space office, multi use Classroom / Kitchen / Dining Room, Storage room for receiving non-perishable goods, blankets, bedding, clothing, medicine and personal hygiene care objects, Biblical and educational supplies, and Vocational training resources…all very needed and lacking.  We also have 2 other rooms that will be used to accomodate short term visits from trusted volunteers and collaborators during the year.

We hope this way to involve our collaborating friends and contacts in the work, bring in needed donations and resources to the region, and cover our rental and operational costs, at the same time of welcoming in friends and maintaing theirs and our costs low. If you are interested in scheduling a visit as a volunteer or with your short term missions group, please let me know ahead of time. Hope to see you soon! Write to eallmyfriends@hotmail.com for more details!

Fellow brother in Mexico ” it amazes me that you guys just mention this, the Church (especially in the north) is going through tough persecution; its a very big struggle but we definitely need your prayers; it is known that in many churches; the mafia comes after services to pick up their own “tithes and offerings” ..and so under the threat of murder or attacks many of them have lost relatives, businesses or even homes. Jesus is Lord.”

Dear Brother in Christ: Our office in Mexico was the first to inform the International VOM offices about the danger of drug cartel violence several years ago when no one anywhere wanted to listen. In my first presentation as Director of Voice of the Martyrs in Mexico, October of 2008, I specifically mentioned the situation, and have discreetly mentioned the developing danger to evangelical believers and their pastors in varied Social Blogs, VOM Networks, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

I myself  live in Sinaloa, and have seen all of this coming for more than 20 years. We have received reports since 2009 of evangelists fleeing, ministries thinking about leaving Mexico, and the increase of extortions in several states. HOWEVER, in each case where we received information, we were asked not to publish their information, but to lift them in prayer. We actually have another Director in Chihuahua, who is fully aware of the situation, and lives it as part of his daily experience.

Our interest has especially been in seeing the development of relations between the Mexican drug cartels and their Colombian connections… where hundreds of pastors, evangelists and believers have been killed for speaking out and continuing their labor in spite of the threats for years. Voice of the Martyrs publishes, encourages and reports not just people being threatened or in conflict… but those who no matter what the cost, follow and witness of Christ. You may contact the VOM USA  office in Bartlesville Ok and ask them to send you the magzines touching on the situation in Colombia and their manner of dealing with the threats.

 I have seen the situation grow, bit by bit over the past 20 years, because churches and pastors didn’t take seriously the threat  that was facing them. Keeping quiet… hoping it would go away, because it was too uncomfortable and truly dangerous to face those who were corrupting their society.

 I myself have spoken out and done ministry in the nearby prison, not measuring my words… both of hope but also of conviction.  I have neighbors who have been kidnapped, tortured, mutilated, cut into pieces, and had their body parts strewn in different places. The first two young men decapitated in Mexico were young boys /our  neighbors when the Lord called me to Mexico. They also had heard the Gospel, but were drawn by the excitement of  vices and party life… the money and being seen as important people.

 The local  Zetas actually were also young men, between 12- 18 in my old  neighborhood who rejected the Gospel we shared with them when they were small kids… andwho had been left by their parents to grow up in the street, becoming child pushers… and then brutal killers.

In Mazatlan, the “good decent people” figured that the carnage would never reach them for being the tourist area… even publishing that tourism wouldn’t be affected by the violence… until now the daily carnage that even appears in broad daylight in the tourist “Golden Zone” is seen as part of everyday life. May the Lord watch over, guide, and protect the new mayor who has a heart for change and his people.

Lic. Arturo Farela as legal advisor to many of the Religious Associations and Ministries such as Evangelical Rehab Centers attacked in Chihuahua and as the President of Confraternice has published complaints and warnings to alert the Body of Christ and authorities because of his close relactionship with them and contacts in the government; also Oscar Moha, reporter / spokesman for the persecuted church in Mexico City has published a number of articles.

We have not been given permission by any of our contacts to cite their cases. They quietly and bravely continue their work for the Lord, but with discretion.

We see a correlation between the assault on the northern / Border states and the armed conflicts in Chiapas both related to drug / arms / and a power play to take control of or to  exert political authority over the country itself.  It now no longer appears to be a money oriented business… but focused on power and political control.

 Evangelicals or others with a strong Biblical value system do not fit in with the goals of these varied groups, be it Marxist Zapatista rebels, drug cartels, radical anarquists of whatever stripe.

But the true church is salt and light in a dark and danngerous world. And we  are meant to be just that. The danger you face in the northern and border states is understood by your brothers and sisters in North Korea, China, Pakistan, Egypt, Cuba, Colombia especially, Sudan, Somalia and all the others who are not tolerated for the faith and values they share at all costs.

Forgive me, but what is probably the saddest point in the situation being faced in your area is that the church wasn’t prepared. Many of the churches have been blessed by their relations and support from churches and ministries in the USA… they have been the recipient of many blessings and ministry programs by those Americans who wanted to help in foreign missions and found it so practical and convenient sistering churches and ministries in Mexico close to the border.

Hermanos en Cristo Mexicanos y Americanos colaborando a su lado… no son olvidados.  Brothers and sisters in Christ… in the northern & border states and colaborating with them… you are not alone. You are prayed for by Christians around the world and have been represented in the VOM Voces Mexicanas DVD that came out last September 2010, and in our reports… but for your safety we have tried to be discreet and not draw attention to your danger publically.

 Do not give up! Use the persecuted church testimonies as your example… your brothers and sisters in Christ around the world do whatever they can to keep the church alive and ministering in the worst of situations… The Lord is by your side, the same as He is with them.

Please contact us and we will do what I can to provide advice and material… the USA office has material, for those who are working from the American side, and we can connect you to those who have more experience.  For those who speak Spanish… VOM is hoping to provide you also with the material that will encourage or guide you.

You not only are not alone, nor forgotten. Please keep your brothers and sisters in prayer in the central and southern parts of Mexico. The violence  is spreading and the masacres are now being reported all around the republic, with small children as collateral damage being killed.

Also remember the Evangelical Heroes of the Faith in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Hidalgo… who have lived and exerienced the violence against them for decades… without the Body of Christ paying much attention to them for being Indigenas. The Zapatista Movement is not dead, but still very much alive and draws to it those who have always persecuted the evangelicals as carriers of a rival faith. We have reports of dfferent groups collaborating with the various cartel present in Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco and Oaxaca.

But Greater is He who is us… Romans 8: Mas Que Vencedores / More Than Conquerors, in this you can put your trust, doing what He has called you to do, be what He has ennabled you to become… Reflection of Christ to others.

Pastor Esdras  Alonsowas forced to lead over 30 expelled Evangelicals in a peaceful march to insist that the San Cristobal city government respond to the needs of families who were driven from their homes and lands over a year ago. The new San Cristobal government mistakenly thought that a well known Alliance of Churches was the only one authorized to speak for all the different groups persecuted in the 3 major regions. Esdras Alonso is not only Pastor and Apostle to his flock, but last year finished his doctorate in penal law, and represents without charge (as opposed to other lawyers) different groups from his own Alas de Aguila and others groups who seek his advice and legal coverage. Some Alliances actually are making money off of the state government which gives them a monthly stipend of $5,000 USD each month to attend to business. We suspect much of this money never goes further than the Alliance itself, and its members.

Meanwhile, Pastor Esdras has been the target of a major smear campaign by leftist newspapers, the EZLN / Zapatista Movement, and their sympathizers. He has been falsely labeled a paramilitary commander for his leadership of the Ejercito de Dios activist group that leads marches in favor of expelled Evangelical Indigena groups… peacefully, as opposed to other so called social activist movements in Chiapas. Lately Pastor Esdras was falsely and with malice said to be being investigated by the PGR for links to the Colombian FARC in an isolated secular article, which was picked up and republished by a rival and well known human rights defender (?) in Mexico City. Unfortunately a young reporter in Nicaragua saw it and published it as truth in a well known Spanish speaking Christian source. We deplore this type of one upmanship in the press… even Christian which leads to slander and defamation never made right. Esdras Alonso Gonzalez remains the most accurate and dedicated source touching on religious intolerance and persecution in Chiapas. His people are law abiding, and seek to use both the law and peacful demonstrations to gain housing, clothes, schooling, food and medical for those who are rejected by their own communities for following the Christ they met through the  preaching the unaldulturated Word of God. Please keep both him and the people he repreasents in your prayers… and those who in ignorance attack them.

China Aid Association

(Zhongzhuang, China – Jan. 31, 2011) A house church in coastal Jiangsu province that has been meeting for many years was raided by local religious affairs officials on Sunday and forced to shut down, ChinaAid has learned.

The church in Zhongzhuang, Jianhu county has been pastored for many years by Pastor Zeng Zhengliang, who used to be one of the important leaders of the Chinese House Church Alliance. A church building was constructed through donations from church members.

Pastor Zeng had been summoned last weekend by the county Religious Affairs Bureau and the Public Security Bureau and was told that if he dared to enter the church on this Sunday, he would be arrested.

Before 7 a.m. Sunday, Zhang Yuchun, head of the county office of the China Christian Council and the Three Self-Patriotic Association showed up at the church door with two other officials to prevent the Sunday morning worship service from taking place. A Zhongzhuang village cadre was also there to take photographs.

Pastor Zeng and his church members went into the church according to the normal schedule for the Sunday worship service. The local religious affairs officials sent one person by force to the pulpit to deliver a sermon, but the congregation refused to listen to him and drove him out of the pulpit. He again went to the pulpit and again he was driven off. Finally, he had to give it up.

After the service, church workers bought a padlock and locked the main door of the church building before leaving. When Zhang saw this, he also bought a padlock and also locked the church door to prevent the church members from gaining access to the building. Several hours later, Zhang drove back to the church and smashed the padlock the church workers had put on the door, thus ensuring that only he could enter the building.

ChinaAid Association expresses its shock over this incident and denounces the officials’ actions. We will be paying close attention to further development in this case.

Pastor Zeng Zhengliang’s phone number is (86) 13912534211

ChinaAid Contacts
Rachel Sparkman, Media Coordinator
Tel: (888)889-7757, or Rachel@ChinaAid.org
Mark Shan, CAA Spokesperson
Tel: (267) 205-5210, or Mark@ChinaAid.org
Website: www.ChinaAid.org and www.MonitorChina.org

More later this morning…

I want to share with you as my Family in Christ, what is our first official bulletin from Voice of the Martyrs in Mexico…This is a very special cover for me, because they are all Mexicans persecuted for their faith, and I know each one of them personally… have been to their villages, eaten with them, ministered to them, and been blessed by their faithfulness and ability to follow the Lord despite the loss of practically everything they own. They are mostly humble Indigena believers who can quote scriptures better than most of us, but have actually applied them to their daily living. I am so fortunate and privileged in being to serve them, and share their testimonies with others, so that You might be encouraged in your walk and in taking your faith a few steps further. They are:

• Antonio: from Zinacantan Chiapas, pastor, Director of the Tzotzil Seminary and COMIMEX Missions Forum
• Julia with daughter, Chamula Indigena expelled with 21 others from Chilil, was beaten and expelled from her community, and still said…” I will not renounce my faith. I know who and what I am… and I will stay with my Jesus.”
• Isabel from Oaxaca: while her husband Ruben worked 3 jobs for 8 years in the USA, building her a nice home, their son became sick, and was dying. The shamans and witchcraft could do nothing, nor the saints… but Jesus healed him. She can’t renounce her faith either… it gave her Salvation and her son’s life. She and 49 other families were expelled… loosing everything. Ruben came home to straighten her out… but found himself unwelcome too. He’s now trusting Jesus.
• Children are also victims: expelled from public schools, loosing govt benefits that bring food, milk and other aid into their homes.
• Estela: spokeswoman for the Innocent Prisoners from the Acteal Massacre Case from 1997… 86 arrested and falsely accused including almost half of them Christians that the Zapatistas wanted out of “their territory”.
• Erika, from Hidalgo… harassed and threatened in her community and her church besieged by neighbors so it can’t be used.
• Defender of Human Rights and Pastor, Esdras Alonso Gonzalez, our Spokesperson praying for pastors persecuted in San Cristobal de las Casas in San Cristobal.
• Alejandro and Refugio, ex Zapatistas now Christians constantly accused by opponents as being paramilitaries to discredit them and the Gospel they don’t just share… but live day to day.
• Pastor Lucio: Chamula from Los Llanos… was a drunken addict until he met Christ in a Christian Rehab Center. On returning home he shared Christ with his family and neighbors, and led a small congregation. In short time he saw his church torn down, then their houses… and all 31 of them were run out loosing everything last January. They are displaced persons, in Chiapas Mexico.
• Antonio from Huixtan… was run out of his community as well in 2001. Now is studying in Ocosingo Bible Institute so he can share the Gospel as a missionary to those who oppose it.
• Petra, Chamula from Los Llanos: mother of eight minor children at 33 years of age. Was expelled with the rest of her congregation… has seen her husband saved from alcoholism and her family firmly established in the Lord. She is now a spokesperson for her people, one of the few who speak Spanish well.
• Pastor Miguel with his Pastor: his congregation was attacked by a mob of 200 raging neighbors armed with machetes who came to cut their utilities because they weren’t participating in the Catholic festivals anymore, and paying fees for Catholic Traditionalist festivals.
• These are our brothers and sisters in Christ… my friends, my heroes. Please keep them in prayer along with the Presbyterian brothers who were attacked last February leaving one widow, several orphans, and a number of them incapacitated and traumatized by the violence directed at them.