We recently received this email from one of our representatives in Central Asia about a friend of his suffering persecution. Please join us in praying for this man and his family. "Dear Co-laborers in Christ,
I wanted to write you again about our friend whose fate is in question. He is a pastor from a country who suffered torture in prison there for his Christian faith. In 2007, he and his family fled their country and were granted refugee status by the UN. At that time he had the opportunity to relocate to the West, but declined in order to continue ministering the gospel to his people group living in a neighboring country.
During his time in his country, this very successful pastor has been routinely harassed and denied legal documents by the government. On September 5th, the country's police arrested him at the pressure of the government in violation of international law. He is currently in prison and we fear he will be deported at any point.
He is indeed a hero. Please be in prayer for him and his family and for the government's decision. This is a leading developing country in the region, so this will serve as a critical test-case which will have far-reaching implications on governments' treatment of religious freedom.
God bless you all!"