Celebrate the goodness of our God with our persecuted brothers and sisters as they say “Thank you” to you, our faithful supporters!
“God never lets us down. Thank you too, Open Doors. We pray God’s blessings for you all. These bicycles and Bibles are a very big blessing to the churches and Body of Christ in Zanzibar.
Our hearts are encouraged when we experience such generosity from friends and supporters. We usually think we are all alone here in Zanzibar. There are some churches that have friends in other countries, but most of us, once we come to minister in Zanzibar, have no supporters.
Open Doors understands our struggles with the Muslims and are really strengthening us with the gift of Bibles and bicycles.” - Mkaume Akili
“Thank you very much for your friendship to us. There is such a need for Bibles and we as rural church leaders, do not know how to get Bibles. Our areas are impoverished and many people cannot afford to buy Bibles.
We will use these Children’s Bibles on a rotational basis. A child will be allowed to take the Children’s Bible home, to read it for a week and then return it the following Sunday. Another child then has the opportunity to read the Children’s Bible for the next week. These children are our inheritance from God and are the Church of the future. They need the Word of God. Thank you, Open Doors. Praise God! ” - Alex Angoli
“All praise to our King and Lord for sending Open Doors to be our friends. God is always good and never forgets us. He is good in both bad and good times. Thank you for your kindness.
We are very glad. We are amazed how you work. Even if we as churches only get a few Bibles, it is still a blessing, because every one of the churches sees that we are all getting something. This builds unity. It is better to give a few Bibles to many churches, than giving many Bibles to only a few churches.
Please thank your team and supporters on behalf of us. We love and appreciate you. All glory to our Lord and Saviour!” - Samson Mwalewa
“Wow, we are so happy and very encouraged. We kept telling our children that one day we will receive some Children’s Bibles. Today is that day! All glory to our King for using Open Doors to become our friends!
We as Sunday school teachers sometimes feel that our churches neglect the children. Whenever we receive some gifts from the Lord through people who give with a good heart, all the gifts are normally for adults and not for children.
You from Open Doors, have shown us that you really care for the children too. This is wonderful and you are helping us lay a foundation in the lives of these children.” - Florence Adakuru
“I am very happy about these gifts. I had such a need for a bicycle and now I have it. The bicycle and the Bibles are very special.
Our Lord is good to us and we thank Open Doors. We don’t have many members in our churches and the villagers are poor. I don’t have money to travel around by public transport and used to walk many kilometres each week. This bicycle will even show the Muslims that the Church is being blessed and that we, Christians, also have friends from outside.
These Bibles encourage our members to see that God is true to His Word and that He is our great Father and Provider.
God bless Open Doors and Open Doors’ friends who are our friends too.” - Lucas Masalu Shabani
Ratna Bangun (1966-2010)
On July 26, 2010, at 10:30 in the evening, Ibu Ratna Bangun died of lupus while confined at a hospital in Jakarta. Linda, Dr. Rebekka Zakaria’s foster daughter, informed Open Doors of the sad news yesterday.
Her husband Sembiring (40), and her two boys, Joshua (11) and Nathan (6), paid their last respects to Ibu Ratna on July 28, in Hargeulis, her hometown.
Ratna Bangun was arrested in May 2005, along with Dr. Rebekka Zakaria and Eti Pangesti, under false accusation of converting Muslim children to Christianity through a Sunday School program. The three were given a three-year sentence on September 1, 2005 and were released from Indramayu prison on June 8, 2007.
Open Doors launched a prayer and writing campaign on July 15, 2005 for Ibu Ratna, Dr. Rebekka, and Ibu Eti, which ended on June 2007. The Sunday School teachers testified of the great encouragement they received through letters from Christians around the world.
While in prison, Ibu Ratna shared to Open Doors her reflections about being in prison:
“Before, I had always been surrounded by fellow believers. But now, I live among non-believers. I realize how hard it is to share God’s love and my life to them. It is also hard to live away from my children and husband. But I am thankful – please note this carefully – that God’s faithful love has never left me. God has helped me through everything.
“Secondly, when Jesus broke the five loafs of bread and two fishes to feed 5,000 people, He turned nothingness into something. As for me, I feel like the insignificant breads and fishes. The suffering I face is nothing compared to what other believers around the world are going through. Just like the bread, I was crushed and distributed to become blessings for many people. I am being processed in this place.
“Thirdly, prison is a school of faith. This is where I fight for my faith, so that I could be a part of God’s plan; it is no coincidence that I am here, in this prison.”
Let us pray for God’s consolation to be upon the grieving family and friends of Ibu Ratna Bangun.
The reporting period for this version of the World Watch List is from 1 November 2008 to and including 31 October 2009, meaning that the months of November and December 2009 are not included.
The World Watch List is compiled from a specially-designed questionnaire of 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom. A point value is assigned depending on how each question is answered. The total number of points per country determines its position on the WWL.
The questions differentiate between the legal, official status of Christians (e.g. Does the constitution and/or national laws provide for freedom of religion?; Are individuals allowed to convert to Christianity by law?) and the actual situation of individual Christians (Are Christians being killed because of their faith?; Are Christians being sentenced to jail, labour camp or sent to a psychiatric hospital because of their faith?). Attention is paid to the role of the church in society (Do Christians have the freedom to print and distribute Christian literature?; Are Christian publications censured/prohibited in this country?) and to factors that may obstruct the freedom of religion in a country (Are Christian meeting places and/or Christian homes attacked because of anti-Christian motives?).
Please note that Kazakhstan has dropped off the list not because the situation has improved, but because other countries where the situation has become worse have ranked higher on the list. This may change again if Kazakhstan implements tougher legislation on religion in the future. Countries where the situation deteriorated
The status of religious freedom for Christians deteriorated in the reporting period in Somalia, Yemen, Mauritania, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Tunisia and Kyrgyzstan. Countries where the situation improved
The total number of points decreased for Saudi Arabia, Algeria, India, Cuba, Jordan, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
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