{"id":2835,"date":"2013-07-14T07:51:57","date_gmt":"2013-07-14T11:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/activistfaith\/?p=2835"},"modified":"2013-07-08T12:56:05","modified_gmt":"2013-07-08T16:56:05","slug":"write-a-letter-change-a-life-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2013\/07\/write-a-letter-change-a-life-6.html","title":{"rendered":"Write a Letter, Change a Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know you can actually write letters to Christians who have been arrested because of their faith? <\/strong><\/p>\n

At PrisonerAlert.com<\/a>, you can write a letter to the
\npersecuted believer listed each month. This is an opportunity to encourage a
\nbeliever imprisoned for their faith in a very personal and direct way.<\/p>\n

Just this week, I wrote a quick note to an imprisoned
\nbeliever in Afghanistan name Said Musa to encourage him to remain strong. I
\nalso blogged a brief article to help others know of his situation to help
\nothers do something. It took all of 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

And in case you’re wondering if letter writing really works,
\nVoice of the Martyrs <\/a>shares this success story from China:<\/p>\n

On November 8, 2005 Pastor Cai Zhuohua, a prominent Beijing
\nhouse church leader was sentenced to three years in jail on charges relating to
\n‘illegal business practices’ and fined 150,000 yuan (18,500 USD). His wife Xiao
\nYunfei was sentenced to two years and fined 120,000 yuan. Her brother Xiao
\nGaowen was given an 18 month sentence and fined 100,000 yuan. Just days before
\nthis verdict, a leading Chinese law firm was ordered to suspend all operations
\nfor one year. This firm was actively involved in many human rights cases including
\nthe case of Pastor Cai and family.<\/p>\n

Cai was arrested September 11, 2004 at a bus stop, where he was dragged into a
\nvan by state security officers. The prosecution of his case was reportedly
\narranged directly by the Department of State Security. Authorities were shocked
\nto find more than 200,000 pieces of printed Christian literature including
\nBibles in a storage room managed by Cai. Even though Pastor Cai had a business
\nregistered with the Chinese government, the business did not have a license to
\nprint religious material. The severe charges were brought against this pastor
\nand family even though the material was not sold for profit but was given out
\nfreely.<\/p>\n

China Aid learned that Pastor Cai had been tortured with electric cattle prods
\nto force a confession after his arrest in September, 2004. The U.S. Embassy
\nsent an observer to the first hearing for this case held July 2005 but entrance
\nwas denied. Religious persecution by the government appears to be increasing as
\nthe Olympics are approaching.<\/p>\n

This information was obtained from China Aid Association, a vital
\npartner with VOM (www.chinaaid.org). Accessed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

+++
\n<\/em>
\nDILLON BURROUGHS is an author, activist, and co-founder of Activist Faith.
\nDillon served in Haiti following the epic 2010 earthquake and has
\ninvestigated modern slavery in the US and internationally. His books
\ninclude Undefending Christianity, Not in My Town (with Charles J.
\nPowell), and Thirst No More (October). Discover more at\u00a0DillonBurroughs.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know you can actually write letters to Christians who have been arrested because of their faith? At PrisonerAlert.com, you can write a letter to the persecuted believer listed each month. This is an opportunity to encourage a believer imprisoned for their faith in a very personal and direct way. Just this week, I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":230,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activism"],"yoast_head":"\nWrite a Letter, Change a Life - Activist Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/activistfaith\/2013\/07\/write-a-letter-change-a-life-6.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Write a Letter, Change a Life - Activist Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Did you know you can actually write letters to Christians who have been arrested because of their faith? 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