F I N D OU T H O W Y O U C A N MA KE A DIFFE R E NC E.

Transcription

1 GIVING GUIDE F I N D OU T H O W Y O U C A N MA KE A DIFFE R E NC E. Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3 GI VI N G G U I D E

2 HELP SUPPORT IRAQI CHRISTIANS SUGGESTED DONATION: ANY AMOUNT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED

3 CHRISTIAN FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL is distributing much needed, lifesaving food, medicine, school supplies, and other essential aid to refugee Christians in Iraq. More than 125,000 Iraqi Christians have fled their homes in the Nineveh Plains because of ISIS. Many others are internally displaced from the autonomous Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq & from Syria. This woman received a wheelchair thanks to your support. WHO WE ARE: CHRISTIAN FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL (CFI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that was originally founded in Headquartered in Front Royal, Virginia, CFI provides political advocacy and humanitarian assistance for persecuted Christians around the world. CFI does not accept government funds, and is primarily supported by donations from individuals and churches throughout the U.S. Guided by President Jim Jacobson, CFI is active in some of the most dangerous places on earth, and has worked in countries such as Burma, Laos, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sudan, China, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet, India, Egypt, and Iraq. Our mission is to reach the part of the Persecuted Church that is most repressed and isolated, and to speak out on behalf of Christians who have no ability to speak up for themselves. In the spirit of Christian generosity and the New Testament words of Hebrews 13:3, CFI s programs have provided disaster & medical relief, food, clothing, Bibles, educational opportunities, emergency supplies, aid to the disabled, vocational training, and asylum support for hundreds of thousands of Christians in the organization s 27 year existence. CFI is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

4 SUPPORT PAKISTANI URBAN REFUGEES SUGGESTED DONATION: $100 VICTIMIZED BY BLASPHEMY LAWS, FORCED CONVERSIONS, and accusations of preaching, Pakistani Christians have been forced into exodus from Pakistan. Christian homes and churches have been bombed in Pakistan, and Christians are seeking asylum in countries such as Thailand. But the Thai government views them as illegal immigrants and could deport them back to Pakistan. In fact, Thai police have arrested hundreds of Pakistani Christians, including children, for being illegal immigrants even though they already have interviews scheduled with the UNCHR. They are forced to live in limbo, as Urban Refugees, while they await their asylum hearings which can take years. PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER BECOMING A FRIEND to a Pakistani Christian Urban Refugee family in Bangkok through a sponsorship of $100 per month. Your friendship with a persecuted Christian family will provide for their most basic, lifesaving needs. You may communicate with the family you sponsor through monthly correspondence.

5 Remember the Persecuted... ««SPONSOR A CHRISTIAN Bangladesh SUGGESTED DONATION: $35 MONTHLY MILLIONS OF CHILDREN IN REPRESSIVE COUNTRIES like Burma, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh know all too well the grim reality of persecution, fear, and poverty. Unless someone intervenes on their behalf, many will remain trapped in the same vicious cycle as they grow into adulthood. CFI chooses to make a long-term investment in the lives of these children through our Child Sponsorship program, where they are provided with food, medical care, and educational opportunities. ««Hebrews 13:3 Egypt CFI partners with caring donors who have pledged to regularly provide for the physical and spiritual needs of suffering children. Donors may correspond with their sponsored children through letter writing, offering prayers and encouragement for them and their families. Your pledge of monthly support will help CFI to continue to make a difference in the lives in these young victims of Christian persecution. HELP BREAK THE CYCLE OF ILLITERACY in the Pakistani brickyards and provide a child the tools they need for a better future. You can become a sponsor and a friend to a Christian child in a brickyard in Pakistan. Your sponsorship of $35 a month will ensure that your sponsored child will receive educational support, clothes, medical care, food, and other daily essentials. It will give a brickyard Christian child a chance for a better future. Most importantly, each child in this brickyard will see God s love through the compassionate touch of a sponsor like you. Pakistani Brickyards

6 CFI has been caring for the needs of this young Pakistani orphan boy & his siblings since both of his parents were martyred for their faith by Muslims. HELP THE PERSECUTED «CHURCH WHERE MOST URGENTLY NEEDED Remember the SUGGESTED DONATION: ANY AMOUNT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED «Hebrew MANY CHRISTIANS ENDURE not only a hostile political and cultural climate, but the threat of a natural climate emergency as well. Families living in perpetual poverty are ill-equipped to deal with earthquake, typhoon, cyclone, flood, and fire or the diseases that follow. Christians living in regions of great repression are helpless to protect themselves from rioting mobs of hostile Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, or local regimes. CFI turns down 2 out of 3 requests for emergency help due to lack of funds. It is your generous support to help where the need is greatest that enables us to act quickly when urgent needs arise in the Persecuted Church. Effects of the devastating earthquake of April, 2015 in Nepal

7 Persecuted... PICTURED ABOVE // Our CFI co-worker in Pakistan visiting with a couple after the Easter Sunday bombing in Pakistan last Easter This couple lost their child in the bombing. They requested prayer for peace of mind and heart. «PICTURED BELOW // The aftermath of one of the Palm Sunday church bombings in Egypt in April of CFI's co-worker in Egypt provided an eyewitness account of the events and has asked for prayer and support. s 13:3 «

8 HELP CHRISTIANS IN SLAVERY IN THE PAKISTANI BRICKYARDS «Remember the SUGGESTED DONATION: ANY AMOUNT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED CHRISTIANS IN THE BRICKYARDS OF PAKISTAN have hopes and dreams of a better life. Just like you and me, they want to be able to worship God as free people. They must slave away for their Muslim masters six days a week, twelve hours a day making bricks. Entire families, including children and the elderly, must make their daily quota of bricks. Without your help, there is no reliefe. We pray we can count on you to stand with the Persecuted Church in the brickyards of Pakistan. «Hebrew CFI is providing aid and support to Christians in the brickyards of Pakistan, who would otherwise have no hope for a better future.

9 SUPPORT THE CFI CENTER FOR THE BLIND AND «DISABLED FOR A DAY Persecuted... SUGGESTED DONATION: $55 s 13:3 «LIFE IS ALREADY DIFFICULT for victims of persecution, but on the streets of Bangladesh a Christian s disability will mean a lifetime of harsh poverty and begging just to survive. CFI s Center for the Blind and Disabled in Dhaka, Bangladesh offers medical assistance, shelter, and support to Christians in need. Your contribution will help support our Center and provide for Christian brethren who have no other resources. PROVIDE BRAILLE BIBLES IN BANGLADESH SUGGESTED DONATION: $10 YOU CAN HELP CHANGE the life of a blind man or woman in Bangladesh by providing the gift of God s Word. We distribute Braille Bibles through our help center in Dhaka, where many disabled and grateful Christians can study the Scriptures for themselves.

10 SUPPORT HBI FOR A DAY Remember the Persecuted... ««SUGGESTED DONATION: $175 ««Hebrews 13:3 IN THAILAND, CFI has seized the opportunity to increase our level of aid and assistance to Karen Christian refugee students from Burma through our Huai Kalok Bible Institute (HBI) along the Burma Thai border. Though our school has the capacity for a hundred students, we are frequently limited by funding to far fewer. THE HUAI KALOK BIBLE INSTITUTE, our core ministry to the Christian refugees of Burma, is a haven to these severely oppressed young brethren. At HBI, students can live in safety as they gain a structured knowledge of the Word of God. They study academics, computer, financial management, vocational training, agriculture and livestock management. Students enjoy sports and music programs as they train to become pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and worship leaders.

11 THE KAREN REFUGEE STUDENTS at HBI are learning the valuable textile trade skills of silk-screening, weaving, and sewing as part of their curriculum. You can shop products handcrafted by the HBI students at: store.christianfreedom.org

12 SUPPORT THE FREEDOM INN SUGGESTED DONATION: $115 Remember the Persecuted... ««FOR A DAY ««Hebrews 13:3 AFTER DECADES OF LIVING IN FEAR and persecution, thousands of Burma s minority group refugees are finally living in peace and freedom throughout the United States. When the resettlement initiative was approved by the U.S. State Department in 2007, CFI successfully fought for the inclusion of Christian Karen and Karenni from Burma. We worked with Former First Lady Laura Bush to convince U.S. and U.N. officials that these people groups must be resettled. Moving CFI headquarters to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, we established the Freedom Inn in 2009, a renovated motel which became affordable housing for refugees from Burma. PICTURED LEFT // Two of the ladies of the Karen community in Sault Sainte Marie, MI were recently able to obtain their U.S. citizenship, and for that we are praising God! CHRISTIAN FREEDOM INTERNATIONAL S FREEDOM INN has become a model for immigrant assimilation. The refugee program and collective efforts of caring local Christians have made a monumental difference for the Karen and Karenni refugees. New arrivals continue to join the community. Repairs, maintenance, snow removal, and operating costs are all ongoing expenses to maintain this tremendous ministry to the resettled refugee community.

13 DONATE A BIBLE OR AN AUDIO BIBLE SUGGESTED DONATION: $5 THE BIBLE IS THE BEST-SELLING BOOK OF ALL TIME. It has been translated into hundreds of different languages. But for Christians living in restricted countries, owning a copy of this precious Book can be impossible. As incredible as it seems, the Bible is either too difficult to obtain, or too expensive for impoverished believers to purchase. The overwhelming need for Bibles has caused many Christians to painstakingly copy the Scriptures by hand. CFI strongly believes that no Christian should be without one of the greatest weapons of all time: God s Word. CFI s Bible Stick distribution has helped spread the Word of God among thousands of believers in restricted nations like Burma, Laos, and Pakistan. These mp3 players, complete with an audio version of the New Testament translated in their native language, are making a tremendous difference for many persecuted Christians who have limited access to the Bible, or are not able to read. Your gift can provide a Bible or Bible Stick to a persecuted Christian who desperately wishes to own a copy of the Scriptures.

14 VOLUNTEER Remember the Persecuted... ««THAILAND // CFI volunteers are a critical part of our mission to the Persecuted Church. We currently have short and long term opportunities for volunteer teachers at our Huai Kalok Bible Institute near Mae Sot, Thailand to teach English, math, computer, Bible, science, or virtually any supplementary subject. If you have a special skill and feel that God is calling you to serve in this powerful ministry, contact CFI today at to learn more about this unique opportunity. Hebrews 13:3 [Photo courtesy of the Scott family] UNITED STATES // Many volunteer opportunities have opened up without the need to travel abroad, since thousands of persecuted refugees from Burma achieved asylum in the United States. CFI operates the Freedom Inn in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a renovated travel lodge building that offers safe, affordable housing for resettled persecuted refugees. With the support of a strong network of local volunteers, CFI lead the effort to provide dozens of refugee families secure housing, employment, financial mentoring, and medical assistance as they adjusted to life in the U.S. From English classes and tutoring; to clothing drives and activities such as vacation Bible school; to everyday tasks such as shopping and paying bills, teams of dedicated volunteers continue to work to help the refugees become productive, contributing, new citizens. Contact CFI at to learn more about volunteering to help resettled refugees at the Freedom Inn. YOUR TOWN // With just a few hours of volunteer time, you and your congregation can also make a difference in your own town or region of the country. By contacting a resettlement agency in your area, you can arrange to help a persecuted refugee learn English, financial management, how to drive, or how to generally function in American society.

15 STAY INFORMED. IF WE ARE TO HELP SUFFERING CHRISTIANS in the fight against persecution, we must stay informed about the things that affect them. CFI offers many ways to stay abreast of what s going on in the Persecuted Church. Our website, free monthly newsletter, s, and pages on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter provide the latest news about CFI projects and programs, as well as information about persecution in countries like Burma, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Iraq. SPEAK OUT. MANY PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH TODAY are unaware of just how severe the crisis of Christian persecution really is. You can become a voice for the voiceless by sharing what you know with fellow church members or even organizing a prayer vigil for the Persecuted Church. Pass along s, newsletters and Freedom Reports. CFI also encourages its supporters to speak out against persecution through petitions, s, and letter writing campaigns to government officials in Washington, D.C. Through a steady course of action, you can help make a difference for those around the world who suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ. PRAY. THERE ARE MANY, MANY WAYS TO HELP the Persecuted Church, but the first line of defense should always be to pray for those who suffer for their faith each and every day. Hebrews 13:3 tells us to Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves are suffering. (NIV) Whether you pray alone, with your family, or fellow church members, your petitions will affect the lives of millions of suffering Christians around the world. Pray that God will continue working and raising up His Church in repressive countries like Burma, China, Pakistan, and so many others. Pray for the safety of those who bravely claim faith in His Son despite the risk of harassment, imprisonment and even martyrdom. Please also remember to pray for indigenous CFI staff and co-workers throughout the world.

16 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! PLEASE PASS THIS GIVING GUIDE ALONG WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED READING IT. Remember the Persecuted... CONTACT US! ««««Hebrews 13:3 Christian Freedom International is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). Members of the ECFA are held to the highest standards of financial responsibility. Gifts are used for the project identified unless our Board of Directors, in good faith, determines that the changing situation in the Persecuted Church requires applying them to another urgent project. Your gift to Christian Freedom International is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.