Write to People Who Suffer for Their Beliefs Change Lives
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Giulio Paletta/CSW Fall/Winter 2018 connect& encourage Write to people who suffer for their beliefs Change Lives. Today. Writing tip You can find How to more tips for writing your cards connect & encourage at csw.org.uk/connectencourage Giulio Paletta/CSW Many of the people on the following pages are victims of violence, intimidation or harassment. Get writing All of them need your encouragement. Using Connect & Encourage, you can stand in solidarity Is it ok to include Christian Will my letters actually with them in a very special way – by sending cards greetings and scripture verses? reach the intended person? and letters of encouragement. Most of the people in Connect & Encourage Although some letters may be intercepted, are Christians, and we encourage you to most will reach their destination. Even if the Receiving a personal letter reminds each person who gets write appropriate scripture verses and letter doesn’t reach them, it can still have a it that someone, somewhere cares about their suffering. Christian greetings. Writing relevant Bible powerful effect by reminding governments Connect & Encourage is ideal to use as a group, but we references is useful for non-English speakers that their case is not going unnoticed by the encourage you to use it wherever and however you can! so they can look up the same scripture rest of the world. Could you use it at a creative prayer night, as a youth group verses in their own language. Is it safe to include my name activity, or at a church mission event? Be as creative in your However, some are not Christians – we have and address on my cards? encouragement as possible! indicated this next to their names. Please be sensitive to this when writing to them. As long as you are happy to receive a People have been putting Connect reply, including your contact details isn’t & Encourage to fantastic use! If the person you are writing to is a Christian, a problem. In fact, a pen pal relationship it’s okay to send them cards that are with someone who is persecuted for their obviously Christian. However, if you want faith can be extremely inspiring! However, If they can do it, so can you! Be inspired by the experiences to be safe, or the person you are writing to you may receive letters requesting financial of churches and individuals using Connect & Encourage is from a different faith, cards with colourful help. Always contact CSW regarding these throughout the booklet. pictures or landscapes on the front are requests before you respond to them. always appreciated. Can I send letters to every What if I can’t write in the country where CSW works? person’s language? Keep in touch. Today. We have only included people in Connect & Even if the person receiving your card Encourage if we can verify they will receive can’t read English, receiving a card can still your cards safely. In some of the countries bring them hope and encouragement by how you’ve used it, and If you would like to order more where we work, sending letters and cards Share More reminding them that they are not forgotten. we’ll let others know so they can try copies of Connect & Encourage please could further endanger the recipients. However, if you can write in the language of Instead, please remember these people using it in the same way! call us at 877-279-8723 or the person – even if it is just a phrase or two email us at [email protected] email us at [email protected] in your prayers, asking God to grant them – please do! They will appreciate your effort. strength, protection and comfort. 2 Pray with us cswusa.org/pray To download more copies visit cswusa.org/pray/connect-encourage 3 connect&encourage Africa and the Middle East Africa and the Egypt Iran Nigeria In the past we’ve asked you to write cards Unfortunately it isn’t safe to write to many of The Most Rev. Dr. Benjamin to Egyptians, but at this time it’s difficult the prisoners in Iran. Over the last few years Argak Kwashi and Middle East to ensure that cards will arrive in a timely we’ve seen a pattern of religious minorities Mrs. Gloria Kwashi manner. Please keep praying for Egypt being arrested on national security charges, though the situation has become more and in a number of current cases it could Dear friends stable, religious minorities are still a target. put them at risk if they were to receive cards Dr. Benjamin Argak Kwashi from other countries. I use Connect and Encourage on the first day of each month, asking God Eritrea to guide me as I open the booklet. Many Eritrean Christians have been forced It’s good to browse through the to flee their country due to the severe pages and to choose someone to oppression they face on account of their whom I can send that month. I love faith. As they waited for acceptance in third countries, they have established their to think of my small card reaching a own worshipping communities. They are lonely, hurting prisoner somewhere essentially refugee churches. Many of these The Most Rev. Dr. Benjamin Argak Kwashi, in the world, and I pray particularly Christians still live cautiously because the Anglican Archbishop of Jos, is a prominent for that individual during the month, Eritrean authorities have been known to and eloquent advocate for Christians in track down and harass people even outside northern and central Nigeria. His family was trying to picture their situation. of Eritrea. The cards you’ve sent have been subjected to two brutal attacks in recent Elaine Brown an amazing encouragement to many. years, but has made a full recovery. In Please keep writing! addition to writing to the family, please pray Pitlochry for their safety and strength in the midst of Ebenezer Foundational ongoing tensions in Nigeria. Healing Church GPO 16147-00100 The Most Rev. Dr. Benjamin Argak Nairobi Kwasi and Mrs Gloria Kwashi Kenya Anglican Diocese of Jos PO Box 6283 Jos Send hope. Today. Plateau State 930001 Writing tip Please don’t Nigera make any political comment on your cards to Iran. 4 Pray for Egypt Get our monthly prayer calendar cswusa.org/pray 5 connect&encourage Africa and the Middle East Nigeria Central Sudan African Our partner organization, CSW Nigeria, Christians in Sudan have faced severe works to promote religious freedom in an repression since South Sudan became an exceptionally difficult context and with very independent nation in 2011. The Khartoum Republic few resources. However, despite the many Bahri Evangelical Church is one of several difficulties it faces, its work is growing! The churches that’s experienced acute harassment, head of CSW-Nigeria, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, with some of its buildings and land being During 2017 and the start of 2018, thousands Hervé Serefio was recently elected General Secretary sold to Muslim investors and its leaders being of people in the Central African Republic (CAR) were displaced, and hundreds were of the Evangelical Church Winning All arrested. Please pray for the church and write Catholic Cathedral Bangui (ECWA) denomination, one of the largest to encourage them via the address below: they killed during clashes between armed groups. denominations in northern Nigeria with a would love to hear from you. These continued even after the signing of a membership of over five million worldwide. peace agreement in June 2017 that held for a Please write to encourage Rev. Yunusa and number of days - both Muslims, Christians and Hey CSW, his team in their important work. those belonging to animist communities have been displaced. Churches of all denominations CSW Nigeria c/o ECWA Gospel Church are responding to support their communities We used Connect and Encourage as Lemu Road and they would be enormously encouraged by one of our units of study on global Tudun Nupawa your letters. You can write to churches in the justice issues. We spent some time PO Box 619 CAR via CSW at: Kaduna A protest at Khartoum Bahri looking at the persecuted church Nigeria Evangelical Church CSW and Connect and Encourage was PO Box 50608 a practical way for us to respond CSW Casper, WY 82605 PO Box 99, to what we learnt. The students New Malden, enjoyed the process - it was a small Surrey, KT3 3YF and powerful way to connect with the stories of those who suffer for Sudan Church of Christ their faith and on quite a personal This is the church that Reverend Kuwa Shamal level, to get in touch with them and and Reverend Hassan Abduraheem help initiate some kind of relationship. lead (you may remember them from their It was also a good way to engage in arrest and imprisonment on unjust charges in 2015, and subsequent release after prayer informed prayer too. & campaigning from CSW supporters). The Take care, church is now challenging a government decision to appoint an unelected leadership Suhail - Canada committee to run the denomination. You can write to them care of CSW at: vineyardschoolofjustice.org CSW Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, CSW Nigeria PO Box 50608 Casper, WY 82605 6 Pray for Nigeria Get our monthly prayer calendar cswusa.org/pray 7 connect&encourage South Asia South Asia John Dayal National Commission Farrukh Saif Foundation for Justice and Peace John Dayal is one of India’s most prominent (Pakistan) Salvance Jacob is a highly qualified and India voices on human rights and the situation able Christian lawyer who is National head of religious minorities in particular. He is a NCJP is one of CSW’s key partner of the FSF network of Christian lawyers member of several governmental bodies, in representing minorities – particularly Nehemiah Christie organizations in Pakistan.