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Teaching Christians For Life

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Teaching Christians For Life

Project(s): 00-514, 00-794, 41-694, 48-344, 54-817, 65-420, 65-589

Country/Region: Holy Land, Pakistan, Sudan, Turkey

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Teaching Christians For Life

Facing a terrible choice

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Four Iraqi Christian youngsters, now refugees in Syria, describe how important it is for them to be able to study in a Christian environment. Traumatised by their experiences in Iraq, and strangers in a foreign land, they find security, love and acceptance amongst Christian teachers and Christian classmates, as well as the precious opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and the Christian faith.

marks_1We were obliged to leave Iraq because of the severe war and personal attacks on our family ... We were introduced to this [Christian] school since arrival in Syria and we love it since we feel we are at home. We feel happy and play normally with all the other local students without feeling strangers. We love our school; we love our teachers as if we are among our family. At this school they teach us prayers and songs and hymns and we love them all, apart from mathematics which is very difficult, and we do our best to learn.marks_2

marks_1I have been to another school but I recently transferred to this [Christian] school because they don’t accuse me of being an Iraqi student ... I am happy with my classmates and others, playing a lot of games together. I don’t fear my friends here, they are so good to me. No one pushes me down or says bad words ... I have no enemies here, like the other school.marks_2

marks_1I prefer to go to a Christian school to hear the Bible stories and have the Bible thoughts. So I don’t want to go to any other school which will not teach me about Jesus.marks_2

marks_1I am going to a Christian school because they are polite students and all the teachers treat me with respect and don’t beat me or shout.marks_2

Why Christians long for Christian schools

The Iraqi Christian youngsters in Syria are fortunate because they are able to attend private Christian schools, with help from Barnabas Fund. But many Christian children in other faith contexts have no option but to attend the free or very cheap government schools. This can be a very hard experience if their teachers and classmates are contemptuous of or hostile to Christians. In places such as Egypt or Pakistan, Christian pupils may be marked down in exams or even failed, simply because they are Christians.

The Christian children also have to cope with an education that may have a major focus on learning Islam while it mocks and caricatures Christianity. It is easy to

understand why an education for their children in a Christian environment is often the foremost desire of many Christian parents living as minorities in other-faith contexts.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9

 

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christian, persecution, charity, church, persecuted, sookhdeo, Islam

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  • On 20 January 2013 the Eritrean security police raided the homes of various Christians and arrested 50 people. One of them was a lady of 85, detained for hosting an underground church in her house. They joined hundreds of other believers currently held in Eritrean prisons, some of them in appalling conditions. Many more have fled the country to escape the persecution and have ended up in prison in Egypt, where they have been subjected to rape, beatings and starvation. Pray for all those Eritrean Christians suffering for their faith in their own country and beyond, that the Lord will be their help and shield (Psalm 33:20). Pray too for a prison ministry, supported by Barnabas, that visits and helps Eritrean Christians jailed in Egypt. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 11 hours ago

  • Pray for the families of Abdoulaye and Abakachi, two converts from Islam to Christianity who were shot dead by Islamists in northern Cameroon. They were travelling with two other converts around Lake Chad on 19 February when their vehicle was stopped by four armed men who were looking for Abdoulaye. He was the leader of the converts from the Kotoko people group and had last year received a threat from militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The gunmen opened fire, killing Abakachi on the spot. Abdoulaye and another man were also shot; Abdoulaye later died of his injuries. He left a wife and 13 children; Abakachi left a wife and four children. Boko Haram had previously warned all Christian converts in northern Cameroon to return to Islam or “face Allah’s wrath”. Pray that the Lord will protect these vulnerable believers. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2013 00:00

  • Give thanks to the Lord for the courage and boldness of the Christians in North Korea who carry on witnessing for Christ despite the savage penalties imposed by the Communist regime. Those who share their faith or distribute Bibles risk torture and probable execution if they are caught, and their families may be dispatched to the country’s infamous labour camps to be starved or worked to death. Yet remarkably, the Church in North Korea is growing well, and some who have fled abroad and become Christians there have even gone back to share Christ with family and friends in their poverty and distress. Pray that God will keep His brave witnesses from harm and continue to add to their number (Acts 2:47). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2013 00:00

  • Mohamed Ibaouene (36), a convert from Islam to Christianity, was convicted in July 2012 of “proselytising” in Algeria. The verdict was passed in his absence and without his knowledge. He was later sentenced to a year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (£420; US$630). Mohamed challenged the conviction, and on 13 February 2013 the appeal court rescinded the jail term but doubled his fine. A Muslim colleague had brought the accusation against Mohamed after the latter refused to renounce Christ. Pray for justice for Mohamed and that the rights of Algerians to freedom of religion will be respected both by other citizens and by the law. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Tue, May 2013 00:00

  • The various measures recently taken against Christian churches and institutions by the government of Sudan add up to a ruthless campaign that may be intended to eradicate Christianity from the country altogether. They were launched by a media drive against alleged “Christianisation” and have focused in particular on those involved in Christian ministry. Numerous church buildings have been demolished, and Christian literature has been seized. President al-Bashir has declared his intention of making Sudan entirely Islamic and of strengthening the place of sharia. Pray that God will frustrate the plans of the authorities and that the churches of Sudan will remain faithful in the face of intimidation. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Mon, May 2013 00:00

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