{"id":50836,"date":"2024-08-06T14:11:31","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T05:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=50836"},"modified":"2024-08-06T15:51:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T06:51:10","slug":"vomk-report-312","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2024\/08\/06\/vomk-report-312\/","title":{"rendered":"BURKINA FASO: CHRISTIANS CHASED FROM HOMES BY JIHADISTS FIND STRENGTH IN NEW BIBLES"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50842″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”\u201cWhat happened to us weakened our faith, but we are lifted through our local brothers and sisters and this gift.\u201d That is the word from Zalissa, a Christian refugee from the north central region of Burkina Faso who along with her family was forced to \u201crun for our lives\u201d during a jihadist attack on her village.” 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][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The gift received by <\/span>Zalissa<\/span> and her family<\/span>, <\/span>and 2,713 other displaced Evangelical Christian families in Burkina Faso<\/span>, <\/span>was a pair of Bibles in her native dialect. The Bibles <\/span>in the Moore, <\/span>Gourmachema<\/span>, <\/span>Diula<\/span>, and <\/span>Fulfude<\/span> dialects <\/span>were given by Voice of the Martyrs Korea in partnership with its sister mission Voice of the Martyrs Poland<\/span>. Those groups have been working<\/span> in cooperation with local churches in Burkina Faso <\/span>to try to <\/span>car<\/span>e<\/span> for the country\u2019s <\/span>small beleaguered <\/span>evangelical Christian refugee population <\/span>amidst <\/span>what some aid groups are calling one of the most neglected refugee crises in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50832″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\u201c<\/span>Only one-fifth of <\/span>the <\/span>Burkinabe <\/span>population is <\/span>Christian<\/span>, but they are the ones most affected by the attacks of the Muslim extremists,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span> Hyun Sook Foley<\/span>. <\/span>She says t<\/span>housands <\/span>of Christians <\/span>have <\/span>had to <\/span>fle<\/span>e <\/span>their homes<\/span> since 2023<\/span>, and many <\/span>have <\/span>lost their lives in the attacks. According to the National Emergency Response and<\/span> Rehabilitation Council (CONASUR), a Burkina Faso state agenda, the total number of displaced people<\/span> in Burkina Faso <\/span>has now topped <\/span>2<\/span> million, with more than <\/span>300,000 Burkinabe <\/span>being displaced in a single week.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]With the United Nations estimating 20% of the population of Burkina Faso needing humanitarian aid, international groups <\/span>have <\/span>mobiliz<\/span>ed<\/span> to provide food, water, and<\/span> shelter<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]But according to Representative Foley, <\/span>her organization has partnered with Voice of the Martyrs Poland and local churches to focus <\/span>on<\/span> on<\/span>e <\/span>overlooked need<\/span> for Evangelical Christians: Replacing their Bibles.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>During the intense persecution, many of these Christian families lost their most treasured possession \u2013 their family Bible<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>She says that without the Bible it is difficult for Christians like <\/span>Zalissa<\/span> to make sense of the persecution and difficulties they are experiencing. \u201cAs <\/span>Zalissa<\/span> told Voice of the Martyrs, fleeing from her <\/span>home <\/span>weakened her <\/span>family\u2019s <\/span>faith, but receiving the Bible\u2014and the hospitality of the local church<\/span>\u2014\u2018<\/span>lifted\u2019 them up.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50826″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Zalissa (second from left) and her family receive Bibles after being forced to flee from their home due to attacks by Muslim extremists.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|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]Representative Foley noted that some of the Christian refugees were receiving Bibles for the first time, including <\/span>Fatimata, the mother of <\/span>a <\/span>family<\/span> who <\/span>found refuge in Tamsin<\/span>, in north central Burkina Faso.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many years, we prayed and asked God to provide Bibles for us, but we could not afford them,\u201d Fatimata told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cSo, we are so happy to thank donors from Europe, Asia, and America. Thank you so much to each of you.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley noted that the <\/span>Christians <\/span>receiv<\/span>ed<\/span> Bibles not only for their <\/span>own <\/span>families, but also to give to their unsaved neighbors.<\/span> She says the request came from the Christian refugees themselves and was the reason Voice of the Martyrs Korea decided to <\/span>participate<\/span> in the project.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> <\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201cThese Burkina Faso believers rightly value the Word of God,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cEven as jihadists continue to hunt them down, they are focused not on their own safety but on glorifying God by spreading his word.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”50827″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Fatimata (third from left) and her family receive Bibles after finding refuge in Tamsin.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230f0f0f|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]Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea sees Bible distribution in major zones of conflict as one of the ministry\u2019s core competencies and most important responsibilities. \u201cVoice of the Martyrs Korea is not a mission organization but instead a partner with local Christians living under persecution or pressure,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cAny time a major conflict threatens an area, that\u2019s when people in that area instinctively turn to God and become open to the Bible. Sometimes missionary organizations evacuate their personnel in such times, or they urge their missionaries to be cautious. But local Christians have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Even as refugees, they still have to find work and provide food to their families and gather as church. God then seems to give these ordinary local Christians a special boldness to preach the gospel and share the Bible with their neighbors.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Representative Foley says that Voice of the Martyrs Korea is also currently conducting Bible distribution campaigns with Christians in Laos and Ukraine. Individuals interested in supporting Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s Bible distribution efforts can give at <\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/donation\/<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/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=”50842″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”\u201cWhat happened to us weakened our faith, but we are lifted through our local brothers and sisters and this gift.\u201d That is the word from Zalissa, a …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":50833,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[235,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-column","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\/50836","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=50836"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50843,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50836\/revisions\/50843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}