{"id":48507,"date":"2023-12-05T14:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T05:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=48507"},"modified":"2023-12-05T13:09:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T04:09:48","slug":"vomk-report-281","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2023\/12\/05\/vomk-report-281\/","title":{"rendered":"VOMK ANNOUNCES CHRISTMAS GIFT PROGRAM TO \u201cOUR LITTLEST PERSECUTED BROTHERS AND SISTERS\u201d IN 11 COUNTRIES"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”48496″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea today announced plans to send Christmas Care Packages containing children\u2019s Bibles, school supplies, toys, clothing, and hygiene items to Christian children in eleven countries or regions where their families are facing persecution due to their faith. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cLast <\/span>year our VOMK supporters made it possible for us to <\/span>sen<\/span>d<\/span> more than <\/span>4,600<\/span> Christmas Care Packages to children of Christian<\/span> families facing persecution <\/span>in <\/span>nine countries including North Korea, China, and Russia<\/span>,\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>This year <\/span>we will be sending as many packages as we can <\/span>to the children of Christian<\/span> families facing persecution <\/span>in <\/span>Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, and the Philippines<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”48500″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says th<\/span>e c<\/span>ontents <\/span>for each Christmas Care Package <\/span>are sourced locally<\/span> so that <\/span>contents <\/span>can be <\/span>tailored to the needs and preferences of local believers<\/span>. The <\/span>packs are <\/span>scheduled to be <\/span>distributed <\/span>in late 202<\/span>3<\/span> and early 202<\/span>4<\/span> by VOM frontline workers<\/span>, who identify <\/span>the <\/span>children eligible to receive the gifts<\/span>.<\/span> Representative Foley says that in some <\/span>of the <\/span>countries a small number of the <\/span>packages are used by local believers and VOM frontline workers for outreach events <\/span>reaching non-Christian children.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that a donation of <\/span>50<\/span>,000 KRW <\/span>can send one <\/span>Christmas Care Package<\/span>. Donations <\/span>for the Christmas Care Package program <\/span>must be received no later than <\/span>December <\/span>31.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says th<\/span>at Voice of the Martyrs Korea tries to select different countries <\/span>for the project <\/span>each year <\/span>in order to<\/span> highlight for the <\/span>Christian <\/span>public the specific conditions that persecuted Christians <\/span>and their children <\/span>are facing in each countr<\/span>y<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>This year\u2019s <\/span>Christmas Care Package program <\/span>will <\/span>give us the opportunity to <\/span>share what it\u2019s like to be a Christian child in a <\/span>place like India, Palestine, <\/span>or <\/span>Egypt<\/span>. <\/span>In each place Christian children face different kinds of challenges due to their faith.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley <\/span>shared stories <\/span>from <\/span>some of <\/span>last year\u2019s <\/span>4,600 <\/span>Christmas Care Package<\/span> recipients:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Laos<\/span><\/span>: <\/span>\u201c<\/span>One of the Christmas Care packs we distributed <\/span>was received by a Christian boy in Laos<\/span>,\u201d said Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Laos is one of five remaining Communist countries in the world, and it is strongly Buddhist. Christians are a very small minority in the country<\/span>. They <\/span>are accustomed to a life of discrimination and difficulty, being cut off from others socially and often economically. One mother whose son received a package told us, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>My son is very happy for the <\/span>gifts. He never got such a gift in his life. My son prayed to God to give thanks. He was running around to my neighbors and said to them, \u201cThis is a gift from nowhere!\u201d<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”48504″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Children in Laos display backpacks they received as part of Voice of the Martyrs\u2019 Christmas Care Packages last year” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tigray<\/span><\/span>: \u201c<\/span>Tigray is a region in Northern Ethiopia that was ravaged by war from 2020-2022<\/span>,\u201d said Representative Foley<\/span>.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>One of our favorite stories <\/span>from last year\u2019s Christmas Care Package distribution there <\/span>was of a <\/span>14-year-old<\/span> girl named M<\/span>i<\/span>riam. When her mother became a Christian, her father became very angry and demanded that she stop following Jesus. But when she refused to deny Jesus, the father completely abandoned them. Due to this situation, and the war, the family was facing huge difficulties. When Miriam received the Christmas care pack, the joy on her face was easy to see and the mother boldly declared<\/span>, \u2018T<\/span>he church is my true family.<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”48506″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”14-year-old Miriam with her pastor in Tigray. When Miriam received the Voice of the Martyrs Christmas Care Package last year, her mother said, \u2018The church is my true family.\u2019\u201d ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Myanmar<\/span><\/span>: <\/span>\u201cWe distributed 150 packs to a group of people called the Lahu, who live in <\/span>the mountains of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and China<\/span>,\u201d said Representative Foley<\/span>.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>While originally from Tibet and Southwestern China, they scattered in part due to persecution during the early days of Chinese Communism. Lahu Christians were beaten, their Bibles were burn<\/span>ed,<\/span> and their church building<\/span>s were <\/span>repurposed for secular use. More recently they experienced persecution in Myanmar, when pastors were detained, crosses were removed<\/span>,<\/span> and churches <\/span>were <\/span>closed down<\/span> by the United Wa State Army.<\/span> When our partner delivered the packs to the Lahu in Northern Thailand, <\/span>Laos<\/span> and Myanmar<\/span> last year<\/span>, he said, <\/span>\u2018<\/span>The Lahu believers were amazed at the generosity and love from brothers and sisters in Christ that they had never even met! They said that only God could do such a thing.<\/span>\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”48502″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Lahu tribe members gather for a Christmas celebration last year. Wrapped Christmas Care Packages provided by Voice of the Martyrs are visible in the foreground.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%23000000|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Donations <\/span>for <\/span>this year\u2019s Voice of the Martyrs Korea<\/span> Christmas Care Package<\/span> program<\/span> can be made until <\/span>December <\/span>31<\/span> at <\/span><\/span>www.vomkorea.com\/en\/donation<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span> Representative Foley says that a donation of 50,000 KRW can send one Christmas Care Package.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”48496″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea today announced plans to send Christmas Care Packages containing children\u2019s Bibles, school supplies, toys, clothing, and hygiene items to Christian children in …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":48497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48507"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48512,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48507\/revisions\/48512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}