WUHAN CITY, China — Pastor Gong Shengliang, the imprisoned leader of the a South China Church, told relatives during a prison visit April 12 that he fears for his life in Hongshan Prison, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, according to Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). “If you are able in any way, please transfer me to another prison,” Gong begged his three sisters during a 10-minute visit on Monday.  “Otherwise, just come and pick up my corpse.” VOM sources said that Gong had to be carried into the visiting hall at the prison by four other inmates because he could not walk.  When one of the sisters pressed the guard for an explanation of Gong’s injuries, the guard said that the pastor fell while he was washing windows in the prison. When Gong was asked about the injury, he first looked at the guard and then said reluctantly, “Yes, I fell.” The sisters were only allowed 10 minutes with Gong, and were separated by two panes of glass and forced to talk via a telephone. When asked why he had stopped writing letters to those outside of prison, Gong said, “I don’t have the strength to write.  When I pick up my pen, there are lots of troubles.” When one of Gong’s sisters complained of his injuries to the prison director, Sun Wenquan, she was told that Gong is a model prisoner in every respect except one: he refuses to denounce his faith in Christ, and he will not stop praying and preaching.

LAHORE, Pakistan — The pastor of a small Christian church in Pakistan was shot and killed April 2 in the village of Manawala, near Lahore, Pakistan, according to Voice of the Martyrs (VOM). George Masih, 42, was the leader of a small village church which met in his home.  He and his wife, Aniata, were active in reaching out to other villagers in the primarily Muslim village in order to share the gospel with them. Masih became a Christian seven years ago, and had worked previously as an elder in a Church of Pakistan congregation in Lahore.  He and his wife relocated the family two years ago to Manawala and were working to plant a church there.  They were known in the village for the worship songs that could be heard coming from their house, and for ministering house to house reaching out to neighbors and praying for those who were sick-even if they were Muslims.  There is only one other Christian family in the village. Two attackers burst into the Masih home as they were finishing watching the JESUS film in their home.  One of the attackers fired a shotgun point blank at George Masih’s face.  About 300 people gathered in the home of George’s brother for the funeral, including many Muslims.

WARAWAR, Sudan — On April 1, 374 slaves safely reached the market town of Warawar in Southern Sudan after a long and sometimes  harrowing exodus from bondage in Northern Sudan. After crossing the  Bahr-Al-Arab river they had been received by the local Dinka community and  Christian Solidarity International (CSI) representatives. Over the prior three weeks, 503 slaves — mainly women and children — were gathered from government-run camps in Northern Sudan. Most of the slaves had been held in these camps for between one and three years. The 374 slaves were tightly packed in open trucks, approx. 55 on each truck. The remaining 129 of the 503 slaves have not yet arrived. The 374 slaves had been detained for more than one week in Meiram, near the border with Southern Sudan on account of threats from government-sponsored militias. Following an intervention by the World Union of Progressive Judaism at the UN Commission on Human Rights on March 28, the Government of Sudan provided a guarantee of security to enable the slave convoy to cross the border into Southern Sudan. However, at least one boy was reportedly re-abducted by his knife-wielding master as the convoy crossed the river. The slave exodus was organized and led by James Aguer and other members of the Committe for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWAC) and members of the Warawar Arab-Dinka Peace Committee. CSI is providing humanitarian assistance to the now liberated slaves.         — E.P. News

— E.P. News