The Chairman’s Report for June

In this issue of the newsletter
Update: Nigeria campaign – Postcards to President Trump
Update: Construction and finish out at Jos Refuge for Children
Update: Bethlehem food and diaper program update
New: The Gaza situation for Christians is deplorable

Postcard to President Trump on Nigeria

The Religious Freedom Coalition is pushing to have Nigeria added to the Countries of Particular Concern for religious freedom (CPC list).

A major part of the advocacy campaign to add Nigeria to the CPC list is working to get President Trump involved as he was in 2020.

Note: It took three years of advocacy work to get White House attention to the situation. President Trump was dealing with a lot including the Covid-19 hysteria.

In December 2020, President Trump did designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its severe violations of religious freedom against Christians in northern and belt states.

The number of attacks against Christians fell as the Muslim leaders of Nigeria realized the CPC status would affect the economy and their ability to work with Western nations.

The CPC designation carries significant consequences and sends a clear message that the U.S. will not tolerate the murders and dislocations of Christians.

The CPC designation forced the Muslim leaders to at least limit the slaughter of Christians.

However, soon after taking over the keys to the White House Joe Biden removed Nigeria from CPC designation.

Proponents of religious freedom were outraged by Joe Biden’s action and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a condemnation.

Presidents deal with a lot of issues. Cabinet members and aids filter what President Trump is briefed on. We must get the attention of President Trump’s aid with volume!

In the past our postcard campaigns have worked at the congressional and presidential levels in large volumes. A few cards, letters, or phone calls to the White House are ignored. Thousands of postcards or letters may get an issue to the President.

Tens of thousands of postcards or letters will get an issue to the President.

From the responses I have received from supporters I can estimate that between 5,000 and 10,000 postcards have been sent to President Trump. We need to at least double that number.

On June 1st another 20,000 letters were mailed to Christian activists with a postcard to mail to President Trump. The postcards urge President Trump to add Nigeria to the Countries of Particular Concern for Religious Freedom.

It is identical to the one I sent you to mail to President Trump.

I really wanted to mail 50,000 of the letters to Christian activists, but we just did not have the dollars to do that. If we can raise the required funds, I will mail another 20,000 on July 1st!

We must get President Trump’s attention! If you have already mailed the postcard to President Trump, please also send him a message on the White House message system at www.whitehouse.gov/contact/.

Some fields are required to be filled out, they have an * next to them. In comments you can use text from the copy of the postcard on the previous page.

Together we can do this! We can get Nigeria back on the CPC list!

Our missions in Nigeria

The Farm: We have rented farmland in Nigeria again this year! The older children from Jos Christian Refuge for Children will clear the land, seed, cultivate and harvest crops for their own use.

Helping to provide their own food raises the self-sufficiency of the orphans. Farming also helps them learn the skills of land management and crop care. The children are intensely proud of helping to provide for themselves and not being totally dependent on charity.

This year’s farm budget, supplied by Heart for the Persecuted Church, was $2,000. The children will harvest food valued at many times that amount. Just the Irish potatoes harvested will have more than double the value of our investment. The children will also plant sweet potatoes, maize (corn), soybeans and peanuts. Small amounts of fresh vegetables will also be harvested.

The harvests in past years have gone so well that our orphanage leaders have donated 10% of the crop to smaller Christian orphanages. Many of those have children whose parents were lost to AIDS, which is a serious problem in Africa.

Helping smaller orphanages: One of the small orphanages with less than 50 children faced eviction from their location in Jos. Our director in Nigeria, Joshua Dickson, contacted me about the situation. The Jos Christian Refuge for Children is currently at maximum capacity and there was no way to take in 65 children if the smaller orphanage was forced to close.

Realizing the plight of the children, I requested all the information I could get on the leadership and needs of the smaller orphanage.

Rent in Nigeria is very cheap compared to western nations such as the United States. I learned that the complex the orphanage is located in has an annual rental rate of 1,700,000 Nigeria Nira, about $2,000 in dollars.

The goal of Heart for the Persecuted Church is to aid orphans who lost their parents to Islamic terror, such as that inflicted by the Sunni Muslim Fulani Herdsmen. The Lord put His hand upon me to keep these 50 children in their orphanage home where they would be taught the Gospel and Christian values.

In May we transferred the funds to pay the rent for one year and keep the children in the only home they know.

The children will not have the level of care we provide at Jos Christian Refuge for Children. However, they will be in a safe Christian centered facility and not on the streets facing the possibility of human trafficking.

Attacks continue: On Sunday, May 25th, a pastor was murdered by Fulani in the Bokkos LGA just south of Jos. His wife was shot in the leg. Locals managed to get her to a hospital in Jos. Seven other Christians died in the attack that day in Bokkos.

Bokkos is one of the areas where we supply aid to IDP orphans and some adults. The adults we help have become caregivers to the younger children who are still IDPs.

The same day in Aondona, located in Benue State to the south, 42 were massacred by the Fulani including women and children. The youngest murder victim was reported to be 2 years old.

The Western media continues to hide the continuing horror of Islamic terror attacks in the world today. The mantra from the media continues to be “religion of peace” with an emphasis on how much money the Muslim nations “invest” in the United States. They don’t mention the money the rich Muslim nations have comes from American companies buying their oil.

You can see a list of known attacks at www.TheReligionOfPeace.com. You will be shocked by the numbers and the locations including India, Dagestan, and Thailand. Syria of course is a hotspot of Islamic terror, and the new Islamist government takes revenge on secularists and Christians.

Elsewhere in Africa in May at least a hundred soldiers died in an attack on a military base in Burkina Faso. The military style attack was carried out by Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM). The JNIM is well financed and armed and controls areas in West Africa including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Togo.

The U.S. military has a large presence in Somalia to fight Al-Shabaab, one of the most terrifying al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic terror groups. In February, our air force struck numerous targets in in the Golis mountains to kill Al-Shabab leaders … Don’t bother to look for this information on CNN or Fox News. All is well with Islam according to the Western media.

Bethlehem

Critical situation: The war is more intense than ever.

Israel has announced its military will take over 75% of Gaza. The exact areas of Gaza Israel will control is not yet known but could include the area where the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius is located. Many of Gaza’s last remaining Christians have taken shelter there and in Holy Family Church which is Catholic. The two churches are in Gaza City about two miles apart.

When the war began with a Hamas attack in late 2023 a few families from the Bethlehem area were visiting relatives in Gaza. They have not been able to get transit passes from Israel to go back to Bethlehem because of the ongoing fighting.

Without elaborating, I am trying to seek assistance from the Israeli government to safely transport members of those families back to the Bethlehem area. The situation is sensitive.

Hunger situation: Beit Sahour is located adjacent to Bethlehem. It is still majority Christian and is the location of Shephard’s Field and Mary’s well. We are buying what food supplies we can from Christian businesses remaining open. Inventories are very low.

Food and all other goods are shipped in from Jordan. Inbound shipments to Muslim owned stores arrive on time but shipments to Christian stores just seem to vanish. Nothing comes from Israel as the border is closed.

Israel controls the border crossing from Jordan and inspects every shipment. Because of the war and lack of personnel, food can sit at the border waiting for days for inspection.

Many supporters have asked me why we don’t buy food in the United States and ship it. Cost is the major factor. We would have to pay for shipping to Jordan plus arrival fees. There would be further costs for shipment from Jordan to Bethlehem. Including all costs shipping food from the USA would cost more than double our current costs buying food there.

Forgotten Islamic terror: It is difficult for me to comprehend the indifference on Capitol Hill and in the media to the ongoing slaughter of Christians not only in Africa and the Middle East, but in places like Thailand and the Philippines.

The Islamic terror attacks in the United States are being forgotten. The 9-11 attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon is fading away. Total killed 2,976! The Orlando night club massacre forgotten. The slaughter in San Bernadino never mentioned. What about Ft. Hood? A Muslim major who was a doctor shot 13 dead and wounded 30 more. No media remembrance?

Pray for all the victims of Islamic terror. Not only in the Middle East and Nigeria but throughout the world and yes, in the United States as well.