First Freedom Action Network
Prayer Request:
The Armenian-Catholic Community in Syria as they Mourn Father Bedoyan
On Monday, November 11th, Father Hovsep Hanna Bedoyan and his father, Ibrahim Hanna Bedoyan, were traveling to Deir Ezzor in Northeast Syria when they were attacked and killed. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
They were going to Deir Ezzor to check on repair work at the Armenian-Catholic Church of the Martyrs. It is a significant city for Armenian Catholics in the region because it is where many were killed while fleeing the Turkish genocide in 1915.
Last month’s Turkish invasion into Syria has emboldened Islamists and further destabilized the region. The church, as a monument to the martyrs of the Armenian genocide, is a thorn in the side of Turkey’s Islamist government. Even mentioning the event in Turkey is considered “insulting Turkishness” and is illegal.
Father Bedoyan is survived by his wife, children, and community of believers. His Archbishop Butros Marayati of Aleppo said, “I beg you to pray for us and for our people, because at present we are living through extremely difficult times.”
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Of the 110 girls abducted by Boko Haram last February from the Girls Science and Technical School in Nigeria, Leah is the only one who remains in captivity, reportedly because she refused to convert to Islam. Leah is 16 years old, having passed two birthdays as a slave. Her brother Donald, 13, “who used to play, and do everything together with her, has been very affected by her absence, and he kept asking: ‘When Leah is going to come back?’
Please pray for Leah to be released from captivity.
Instead of sitting around the refugee camp waiting for something to happen, Mohib Ullah decided to interview his fellow Rohingya refugees to document the atrocities committed against them by the Burmese military. He met others who wanted to take action as well, so they started the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights which meets daily in Mohib's tent. Together they have negotiated with the Burmese government, and also helped the Bangladeshi police with security concerns. Unfortunately, this makes him unpopular with religious conservatives within the camp who threaten his life daily. Mohib and his fellow million Rohingya refugees need prayers for safety and continued courage.
Ahmed Zakariah is the only doctor in the war-torn Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Arab militias regularly pass through the area, killing or maiming those who refuse to convert to Islam. Dr. Zakariah had a scholarship to further his medical studies, but at the risk of his life, he refused to leave his people without medical help. Instead, he decided to stay and build a hospital. He hopes to complete the maternity ward by the end of this year. You can pray for Dr. Zakariah’s continued safety, for the embargo to be lifted so he can receive medical supplies, and for the resources to complete his hospital.
Muyesser is a wife, a mother of three young children, and a prisoner in a concentration camp in Kizilsu, China. She was born in China, then moved to Egypt where she met her husband at university. Later they moved to Kazakhstan. She returned to China in August of 2016 to obtain papers necessary for Kazakh citizenship, but the Chinese government confiscated her passport and sent her to a “re-education camp.” The last her husband heard from her she was in a hospital, having fainted in prison.
Please pray for Muyesser and the other two million Uyghur Muslims being held by the Chinese government, including her mother and brother.
More info: Xinjiang Victims Database and Uyghur Victims
Daniel Stein went to the Tree of Life Synagogue alone on that fateful day in Pittsburg. His son Joe would later call October 27, 2018, “the worst day of my life.”
Known for his smile and his willingness to volunteer for anything, Daniel was most excited about having recently become a grandfather. Joe said that two of the things Daniel loved most were attending synagogue and playing with his grandson. We can pray for Daniel’s survivors, including his wife Sharyn, son Joe, daughter Leigh, daughter-in-law Tia Jeanni, and grandson Henri.
Asia Bibi lived on death for over nine years in Pakistan for the crime of offering a drink of water made “unclean” by her Christian touch. Today the 53-year-old mother of five is in Canada, far away from her accusers. We can offer prayers of gratitude for her escape and for her continued safety.
Having lived as a refugee in India for over 60 years, the Dalhi Lama is now 84 years old and in declining health. On October 29th a Chinese official tweeted that, “reincarnation of Living Buddahs including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations.” The Dalai Lama, on the other hand, has stated that “It is particularly inappropriate for Chinese communists, who explicitly reject even the idea of past and future lives… to meddle in the system of reincarnation.”
If the Dalai Lama passes without a succession plan in place, it would distress the already beleaguered Tibetan people and increase tension between India and China, the two most populous nations on earth. Please pray for the Dalai Lama’s health to be sustained.