Unreached Nations- Week 6- Pakistan

 This week we travel to the Middle Eastern nation of Pakistan. 

All Christians face severe persecution in Pakistan but those who have converted from Islam are most at risk for being tortured to "encourage" them to turn back to Islam or death if they refuse. All Christians are thought of and treated as second class citizens and made to do the jobs that others feel are beneath them. It's very hard for Christians to get ahead or get 'respectable' jobs. In a population of about 208,000,000 people, only about 4,000,000 are Christians. While that might seem like a lot of Christians, that's roughly only about .020% of the population. One fifth of one percent. 

Church buildings- generally located in someone's home because official Christian churches are illegal- are often attacked, burned, and worshipers arrested when discovered to discourage believers from gathering. 

This card was inspired by this fun fact:

Pakistan has the only fertile desert in the world – the Tharparkar desert – located in Sindh province.

Please pray with me for the people of Pakistan:

• Pray for courage for Christians in Pakistan to speak about their faith, despite their fears that their words may be used against them. Pray for wisdom for them, and that God will give them the right words to say.
• Pray for protection over Pakistan’s churches, especially around holidays such as Christmas and Easter, when terrorist attacks have happened in the past.
• Pray for protection for young Christian women and girls. Pray for those who have already been abducted and forced to convert and marry, that God will comfort them and give them strength. Pray they will know His love, even in their terrible circumstances.

Open Doors- Pakistan

Unreached Nations- Week 5- Libya

    This week's unreached nation is Libya and in spite of it's rich Christian history, Christians today face intense persecution and even death. The majority of Christians in the nation are not Libyans but are foreign nationals and migrant workers. It is illegal for them to share their faith publicly and they face death for doing so. 

This week's fun fact that inspired the following card is this: 

Bette Peak is the highest mountain in Libya being 7,434 feet tall. Also known as Bikku Bitti, the mountain is found in southern Libya at the Chad-Libyan border. The first documented climb of the Bette Peak was by Ginge Fullen alongside his Chadian guides in December 2005. Nonetheless, the mountain’s location makes access to it difficult and rare.

Please, join me in praying for the people of Libya. 

• Pray for Libyan believers who are under immense pressure, particularly those who are arrested because of their faith. Pray for protection and release.
• Pray for those in power in Libya. Pray for peace and stability, and for an end to the proxy civil war. Years of anarchy and power struggles have taken many lives and eroded hope for the future, and Christians and other minorities have become very vulnerable in such a situation of lawlessness.
• Pray for new converts who have been baptized. Pray that they will find a group of believers to join – and rejoice that they have found Jesus.

Open Doors- Libya