BY RENEE HEEMSKERK, PROJECT MANAGER
On my last visit to Pakistan I was there to monitor a program we helped fund. We visited villages and followed up on animal and business loans that were dispersed months prior. We walked through brick kilns and heard from workers who are being cheated by their employers and are learning their legal rights. We met with local workers who are encouraging health and wellness in rural communities and building relationships. By the end of the week we had traveled hundreds of kilometres to multiple locations and met with numerous people. I had collected all of the information we needed on the program and was happy to be back in Lahore to rest before leaving the following day.

Several hours before our flight, our local partner asked if we would meet with a group of Christian converts to encourage them. Feeling tired from our excursions, wanting to type up my notes and still needing to pack I hesitated. Then David, our local leader shared, “These people have faced many hardships because of their decision to follow Jesus. They will feel encouraged if you meet with them and share something.” Ok. I sighed. Best to go. I decided.

So in the morning we drove through the dusty city weaving between motorbikes, cars, trucks and various donkey and camel carts and finally arrived at a small building where 50 men, women and children patiently waited. I had a chance to speak. I had prepared some notes on Psalm 91, a chapter in the Bible I read when I am discouraged. To my great delight, the men sitting in the front row nodded, clapped and vocally affirmed each verse as it was read. After I finished, a line up formed of those who wanted to receive prayer or share their testimonies.

At this time, a tall elderly man in white, standing beside his wife, came forward and began to speak.

“One night, not long after I became a Christian a man approached me in the evening as I stood outside of my house. When I turned to look at him he raised a gun toward me. ‘Convert back to Islam,’ he shouted, ‘or I will kill you right now.’ I stared at him and did not move. Then I responded, ‘I have found the Living God and He will protect me. My life is in His hands.’ Without hesitation, the stranger fired the gun five times but each bullet veered to the left or right. Every one missed me. Angered the man turned to my buffalo, which was our livelihood, and shot it. Then he ran away into the night. I quickly called together my family and friends and shared how God had saved me. We gathered by the buffalo and prayed that God would spare its life. Then God healed my buffalo. We watched the wound close.”

I sat there slightly stunned looking back at the man in white, reflecting on the words just spoken. The story was shocking but soon became familiar. Another man pulled up his shirt revealing a jagged scar. “This is where my brother stabbed me after I became a Christian. God enabled me to get away.” Others showed us death threats they had received written on letterhead. They continued to tell stories of persecution and hardship and ask for prayer. Most had moved away from their communities because it was no longer safe for them to be there. Many had lost their families, spouses, children, friends and their homes when they converted to Christianity. They faced hatred, death, exclusion and fear.

Yet strangely their stories did not focus on the hardships they endured. Instead each person brightened as they revealed an incredible faith in the God who found them and powerfully moved on their behalf. They focused on Jesus, the protector and the one who brings peace. Their words echoed in my ears. God saved me…God enabled me to get away..My life is in His hands. Any doubt in my heart melted away in the presence of my brothers and sisters in Pakistan and their faith.

It was profound and deeply moving.

It became clear why they resonated so much with the words of Psalm 91,

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.”

I went to encourage this group of persecuted believers – an opportunity that I nearly missed out on. Yet, I was the one who walked away feeling uplifted. Their testimonies reveal that God is alive and at work in the most unexpected places.
Our time together reminds me of our need to stand together, to pray for one another and to bring encouragement to each other. This is the beautiful opportunity we have as parts of the body of Christ. This is the opportunity we have through partnership. As Canadians we can feel so removed from the dangerous reality that our fellow Christians face. But now, more so than ever there are ways to support one another and strengthen each other in our faith. I told the group of believers before I left, “Canadians are thinking about you and praying for you. You are not forgotten.”
Join us on November 1, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, for our online prayer event from 9 am-9 pm by following our Instagram and Facebook stories. Together, we stand in prayer for the millions of persecuted Christians around the world. They are sacrificing everything and risking their lives to share the gospel with their families, neighbours and nations.

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Join us on November 1, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, for our online prayer event from 9 am-9 pm by following our Instagram and Facebook stories. Together, we stand in prayer for the millions of persecuted Christians around the world. They are sacrificing everything and risking their lives to share the gospel with their families, neighbours and nations.