Presence, not just gifts

On of my responsibilities here at The Voice of the Martyrs is to write the monthly thank you letter to our donors.  We are so grateful for the faithfulness of our donors during these uncertain times.  To date, we are still on par with last year and we trust that God will continue to impress upon Canadians to join their persecuted brothers and sisters in their mission to win the world for Christ.

As I was writing the March letter,  I thought that perhaps I would share a portion of with you:

Recently I approved trips for members of our staff to travel to the Middle East and to Ukraine to personally minister to our family there. In Ukraine, the issue is no longer active persecution, but the continuing health issues, suffering and deprivation faced by elderly pensioners who continue to live with the consequences of their torture under Communist officials when they were younger. We personally provide money, medicine, and food to fifty of them in western Ukraine, near Lviv. Our staff will be traveling there to visit them in their homes, pray with them and pass on your love and greetings to these veterans of the spiritual war that waged in the region between 1950 and 1990.

In the Middle East, we will be meeting and praying with Muslim converts who are in hiding for their lives because of their decision to follow Jesus. There really is no turning back for these dear saints. They often have to move from place to place and The Voice of the Martyrs provides funds for shelter and food for them in their time of need and biblical literature so that they can grow in their faith.

Your donations make these kinds of projects possible, as well as the trips to personally minister to our brothers and sisters. It is important that we not just send money. These dear folk are often overwhelmed that someone would come from the other side of the world to visit them, to show them that Christians in Canada know and care about their plight. And they thank us profusely for coming, begging that we will return again soon.

Thank you for giving us this privilege and we will be sure to give them your greetings when we see them