Source: International Christian Concern, September 6, 2022
The world is watching the ongoing crisis of the entire church congregation who left China due to religious persecution to seek asylum in South Korea. Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, which is comprised of nearly 60 members, traveled to Thailand last week to seek protection from religious persecution with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
The congregation left China between late 2019 and early 2020, settling in South Korea. However, when they did not receive refugee status in South Korea, they began to seek resettlement in the United States as another option.
[September 5] they submitted their UNHCR applications in Bangkok. They left South Korea and traveled to Thailand on 15-day tourist visas, hoping that their applications could be processed unprecedentedly quickly. If their visas run out, they could be deported back to China.
The church’s pastor, Pan Yongguang, emphasized the gravity of their plight. “This is dangerous but it is an opportunity,” he said. “If we stayed in Jeju, we would have had no chance.”
Read the full story or a longer article about this church in which the pastor compares their journey to that of the pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower (Christianity Today).
See also, from Afghanistan, letters to a Christian radio station (Sat-7) from listeners in Afghanistan (via God Reports) and a report about a mom who sold her kidney (but not her daughter) to put food on the table (World Vision). Keep praying for that country as well.