June 25 | CENTRAL ASIA Amina* recently came to faith: “I feel that I am a sinner and also feel that [Jesus] loves me in spite of this fact. I need Him most of all. I can’t live without Him anymore.” Pray for her as she navigates hiding her faith from her Muslim family.

June 26 | BANGLADESH A local political group attacked Christians. The believers were gathered when attackers came to vandalize their church. The pastor and two other believers were injured, so please pray for their recovery and for their faith to remain steady despite the violence.

June 27 | DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC) Jadot Kasereka Mangwengwe, the director of a radio station in the North Kivu province, was recently kidnapped. Pray for lasting peace for civilians and pray for often-indoctrinated members of the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces.

June 28 | TUNISIA Aisha* is persecuted by her parents and brothers for her faith in Christ. Her brothers threatened to kill her if she didn’t reject Christ, so she reported them to the police. Please pray with Aisha that God would strengthen her and give her wisdom.

June 29 | EAST AFRICA Please pray for 19-year-old Ayan, who is in danger of being married off to a Somali Sheikh—her family’s way of bringing her back to Islam. Pray for God’s divine intervention.

June 30 | MALAYSIA Pray for God to provide more opportunities for Open Doors to help church leaders and believers learn how to stand strong in the face of increasing persecution in this country where every ethnic Malay is considered Muslim.

*Names changed to protect identities

June 19 | KYRGYZSTAN In the southern part of the Central Asia country, a church was burned, leaving 40 members searching for another place to meet. They pray for those who burned their church. Pray for these brothers and sisters facing persecution.

June 20 | BRUNEI Pray for the church to obey God rather than men, even with increasing Sharia restrictions. Pray for church leaders to work together and lead the way, not to hate or fear, but to show love to their community.

June 21 | ETHIOPIA A community of Christians about 200 miles south of the capital city Addis Ababa is under great pressure from local authorities. Church leaders were sentenced to six months in prison for alleged “illegal construction.” Pray for the Lord’s sustaining grace as they endure imprisonment.

June 22 | UGANDA Please be in prayer for Regina Navatovu from Uganda, who is recovering from a brutal machete attack by her husband that also claimed the lives of her newborn twins. Pray for God to give her miraculous strength and comfort during this time.

June 23 | TAJIKISTAN Pray with Gulnora, wife of the imprisoned Tajik pastor Bahrom Kholmatov. During a recent visit with her husband, she began to feel ill and was rushed to the hospital. Pray that God would be near to the brokenhearted.

June 24 | CENTRAL ASIA Latifa*, a teacher in secondary school, came to faith about two years ago. She was recently fired from the school because “she refused her native faith and had Christian friends.” She is searching for a new job, so please pray with her that her faith would remain strong.

Prayer request bulletin for persecuted Christians worldwide

JUNE 2018

Open Doors USAP.O. Box 27001Santa Ana, CA 92799 USAOpenDoorsUSA.org

*Representative photo used to protect identity.

continued

We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just

as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk

in newness of life. – Romans 6:4

Believers

WomenMy flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the

strength of my heart and my portion forever.

– Psalm 73:26

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,

the Lord Jesus Christ. – Philippians 3:20

June 12 | TUNISIA Please pray for Fatma*, who has been heavily persecuted by her family and is trying to write a new life chapter and re-establish herself. Pray for complete healing for Fatma.

June 13 | BRUNEI Pray for God to strengthen underground believers and provide them with needed discipleship and leadership trainings.

June 14 | CHINA Sister Dechen is leading a small group for about 10 Tibetan believers. She attended Open Doors’ leadership development and biblical training and has a passion to serve her people group. Please pray that she will continue to grow in Christ.

June 15 | MALAYSIA Islamic State sympathizers number in the thousands, posing a security threat to the Malaysian church. Many believers are unaware of the magnitude of the threat, so please pray for God to prepare and equip His Church in wisdom and without fear.

June 16 | TURKMENISTAN Please pray for the registration process for the churches in Turkmenistan. Pray the government would grant freedom of religion and that churches may find places of meeting.

June 17 | CAMEROON Boko Haram militants have set fire to two churches and several houses. The insurgents stormed the village at night, and four people died in the fire. Pray for the church in Tourou and for protection of the population in Central Africa.

June 18 | KAZAKHSTAN In one church, Sunday service was marred by the check raid of the State Religious committee. Teenagers were there without their parents present, so the church was fined. Pray with Kazakh churches for their safety moving forward as well as an end to oppression by the authorities.

And He is the head of the

body, the Church... – Colossians 1:18a

June 6 | SYRIA The Good Shepherd Church, in the city of Afrin in north Syria, has been under attack and has requested prayer for an end to the attacks in the city. Christians and other citizens have fled the city, so please pray that God would lead those who have fled to other believers along their journey.

June 7 | LEBANON The suffering that surrounding countries have endured has spilled over to Lebanon. In some areas of the country, believers have been living under tremendous pressure from extremists. Pray that the refugees who have fled here would find comfort and the truth of Jesus.

June 8 | SYRIA Three years ago, many Armenian Christians in the Kessab region had to leave their homes. Pray that the millions of Syrians living in harsh circumstances will soon be able to return home and live a “normal” life once again.

June 9 | OMAN Thank God for the growing number of contacts with locals that want to hear about Jesus in the Middle Eastern city where persecution is intensifying. Please pray for their wisdom and protection and that God would strengthen believers and grow this coming harvest in numbers and depth.

June 10 | IVORY COAST In a remote community, your support enables Open Doors to offer holistic care to an isolated group of new believers from an African Traditional Religion background. A female villager, Koné*, was the first to come to Christ. Despite persecution, she continued sharing the gospel with others and many came to faith. Pray that believers would continue to be built up here.

June 11 | IRAQ Believers continue to struggle to rebuild in the wake of the ISIS war, with many finding landmines in their homes. Pray that God would continue to strengthen churches in Iraq and raise up the next generation of Iraqi Christians who will advance the Great Commission.

Then Jesus said to His disciples,

“Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.” – Matthew 16:24

Discipleship

Churches

And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and

understanding. – Jeremiah 3:15

Pastors

June 1 | INDIA In January, Pastor Gideon was found dead in the early morning, hanging from the roof of his church. He had been threatened several times by Hindu extremists, and his relatives are sure these extremists killed him. Pray with his grieving family and church.

June 2 | MALAYSIA The Human Rights Commission was told by police to stop the public inquiry into the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh. His wife, Susanna, said, “We are very disappointed that our hope to find answers and exercise our human rights for truth and justice is being denied.” Please pray with Susanna for strength and protection.

June 3 | ISRAEL AND PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES Pray for clergy and church leaders who are overloaded with the challenges and concerns for their church members. Please also pray with the small Christian community in Gaza. Pray for unity among the believers there.

June 4 | NORTH KOREA Since Korean Chinese Pastor Han—who had been involved in North Korean ministry—was killed, many field workers and co-workers around his area have been experiencing difficulties in their ministries. Please pray for Pastor Han’s family and church members to be comforted and emboldened in their faith.

June 5 | YEMEN Please pray that the ongoing civil war in Yemen opens doors to people’s hearts for the Lord Jesus and that the number of believers will grow. Pray for local evangelists, pastors and teachers to have wisdom and courage to speak the right words and show compassion to the thousands of sick and hungry there so that many people will choose to follow Jesus.

Refugees