Equipping Persecuted Christians to Serve
Pictured: T-shirts hand-made by Christians in CFI’s programs are delivered by students to refugees.
February 2022
“The mission class reminds us to always have a plan to help the persecuted people.”
– Student at CFI’s school for persecuted Christians
Dear Friend of the Persecuted Church,
At Christmas, gunfire and airstrikes erupted near our school for persecuted Christians.
Burmese military’s violent attacks on villages ignited wildfires and sent bullets – and thousands of villagers – across the border into Thailand.
Thanks to God’s grace and your support, our staff and students were prepared to jump into action. They collected supplies and delivered emergency meals, water, and blankets to the fleeing villagers.
This crisis was completely unexpected – but just what they had prepared for.
Christian Freedom International’s school – Victory Bible Academy – trains persecuted Christians to be leaders in serving others.
Victory Bible Academy is on the Thai-Burma border. Most of the students and staff are Karen, a Christian-majority ethnic group. Many have ghastly stories of escaping from Burma (also called Myanmar), among the worst countries for persecution of Christians.
For decades, the Buddhist-nationalist military has attacked Christian ethnic minorities, destroying churches, homes, and crops. Soldiers rape women, kidnap young men to use for forced labor and kill indiscriminately.
But since a coup in February 2021, it’s gotten worse. Burma’s junta ordered a brutal crackdown. Soldiers and police beat, torture, jail, and kill civilians. The military cut off aid and supply lines to villages and blocked the internet to shut off communication.
A UN investigation found Burma’s attacks amount to “crimes against humanity”.
The latest surge of attacks shocked the world. Pictures of massacres and charred bodies burned beyond recognition spread. The U.S. said it is appalled by the “barbaric attack” and UN officials condemned Burma’s atrocities. Countries called on “the regime to immediately cease its indiscriminate attacks in Karen state and throughout the country.”
About 200 miles south of one massacre, the sound of armed fighting could be heard near our school. The governor of the Thai province ordered officials to prepare shelters for the refugees.
Local officials reached out to CFI’s Victory Bible Academy for assistance.
Tucked in a small Thai village, our school has gained a good reputation for quietly serving the community. The Karen staff and students – who grew up as a despised and rejected Christian minority – find that by following Jesus they rise above persecution.
“Our students are uniquely qualified to help because they are persecuted Christians themselves. They relate to the people they serve,” said Joe Scott, Victory’s director.
At Victory Bible Academy, Christian young adults – from teens to early 20’s – come from refugee camps and impoverished villages in Burma. They leave a life of persecution and hopeless despair to pursue a life following Jesus and lived by Kingdom principles.
Join in transforming our students’ lives. Pray for them today.
Victory’s students learn the Bible and daily discipleship. “We teach them how to live in an ungodly world,” Joe said.
They learn the languages spoken in the region, skills to survive in a jungle and job skills for a modern economy – all of which can be used to benefit others.
Each December, students’ ‘final exam’ is organizing mission trips into Burma and surrounding villages. They trek deep into jungles to remote villages, dig latrines, fix broken houses, teach Bible lessons and songs to children, and pray with adults.
But not this year. Violence in Burma shut down the border and Covid restricted travel.
Instead . . . Burma’s attacks forced a flood of people to flee in December. Many escaped to an area where – providentially – Victory’s students could reach them.
Victory teamed up with local Christians, gathered supplies and distributed them to people who had fled with just the clothes on their backs.
Then Victory’s students set up camp-kitchens and cooked hot meals.
Christian Freedom International wired emergency funds to buy more supplies. Thank you! Your gifts empower our co-workers on-the-ground to act immediately in crises.
I’m writing to you a week after Victory’s students began helping the survivors of Burma’s attacks. The students reported about their training at Victory:
“The mission class and outreach prepares [us] to always help and how to share the word of God and encourage others who are suffering [because of] the fighting.”
“The language class [Karen, Thai, English, Burmese] helps us to understand each other and the people we meet so that we can get the supplies, talk to the guards [at refugee camps] and refugees. The language class is very useful subject for Victory school.”
And this student’s grateful report – written to you and CFI’s supporters – reminds me of 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
“We at Victory school really believe that your loving and kindness [through] your donations and our training is helpful for the refugees.”
Thank you for equipping Victory’s students. You can take action today by writing a note to encourage them during this crisis.
As I write, the media is reporting on the Burmese military’s “strategy of massacres, burning” and its “scorched-earth tactics – such as the razing of entire villages – represent the latest escalation in the military’s violence against both civilians and the growing opposition.”
This weighs heavy on our staff and students. Their villages, their families, and their fellow students are under siege.
One of our graduates fled an attack on her village and returned hours later to the scene of a massacre. Another, her village was burned to the ground and they are venturing deeper into the jungle to build anew. Another is trying to reach Thailand to find shelter at Victory Bible Academy.
And Simon – a graduate of Victory – had returned to Burma to be a light and help his people. On New Year’s Day he was killed. He made the ultimate sacrifice.
Will you pray for our students and graduates? And act today to encourage them. Your note will let them know that you are partnering with them as they live out the gospel.
These extraordinary young Christians have remarkable courage – taking on deadly risks – and are being tested in ways that we can barely imagine.
They can do what you and I cannot: they can reach and relate to desperate people fleeing Burma’s persecution. But they could never afford the unique training they get at Victory Bible Academy, let alone the healthy food, dorm rooms, materials and tools for vocational education, transportation, teachers, and more.
And it only costs about $219 per month for each student.
God’s grace and your support makes it possible for them!
By the time you read this, the Burmese junta’s attacks may have subsided – Lord, may it be so! But that won’t end the Buddhist society’s embedded discrimination against Christians that leaves them demoralized and impoverished.
Persecuted Christians need Bible training and life-skills to overcome – and to bless and serve others.
Your gift to Christian Freedom International is a way to partner with persecuted Christians. Your support provides aid, resources, training – and encouragement – to empower them to survive and thrive.
Will you help?
For Christ,
Wendy Wright
President
P.S. This is a critical time for Christians in Burma and for Christian Freedom International’s students.
Your donations will help equip persecuted Christians – like Victory Bible Academy staff and students – and get crucial aid to those suffering from persecution.
Students plant “live and give” gardens: One to feed themselves and one to feed others in need.
Young Christians who fled persecution and grew up in refugee camps can lack skills to live well and make a living.
Christian Freedom International’s Victory Bible Academy trains students in Biblical leadership, and skills to be self-sufficient and to serve others.
When Burmese military attacks forced a flood of villagers to flee to Thailand near CFI’s school, students were ready to help.
CFI’s students cooking on-site for refugees fleeing violent attacks.
Art classes develop students’ creative skills and provide therapy for those who have experienced trauma.
Driving lessons. A sidecar added to a school motorbike allows students to collect and distribute supplies.
Students learn culinary skills, budgeting and shopping, and they prepare the school’s meals. This training prepared them to cook for fleeing refugees.
Class of 2021. CFI’s gift to graduates were SIM cards to communicate when Burma blocks the internet.
Simon, a Victory graduate, served in Burma. He was killed in attacks on New Year’s Day. Other graduates fled their burned villages deeper into the jungle or tried to get to Thailand.
Please consider sharing this link with a friend or family member when you are finished reading, so that others may know of the needs of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ.