Newsletter

OH, THE HORROR OF IT ALL

PERSECUTION IN NORTH KOREA

By Joe R. Garman

The next time you find yourself on the verge of complaining that the Church music is too loud or the preaching too long, think about your brothers and sisters in North Korea. As you are reading these words, North Korean Christians are experiencing emotional, mental and physical suffering far beyond anything that we Christians in the United States can even imagine.

Missionary Patricia Kim and I recently stood on the banks of the Tuman River where the borders of China, North Korea and Russia come together. As we faced each nation, we prayed for their freedom, for their human rights and for their spiritual needs.

We praised God for the religious liberties now enjoyed by so many Christians in Russia, and we thanked Him for the doors that are beginning to open, to some degree, in China. But when we turned toward North Korea, we both broke down in tears.

North Korean Christians, who have successfully escaped North Korea, report that those captured by Chinese border guards are detained until North Korean officials can transport them back to North Korea. They are then deported with wire passed through, rather than around their wrists, or secured to each other with wire passed through their noses.

Terrifying stories abound of North Korean saints living in hand-dug tunnels beneath the earth and entire underground Churches put to death after being tried and found guilty of being "Christians". Converts as young as eight years old are ordered, "Deny Christ, or you will die."

Families are confined in "Public Security Ministry Detention Houses" where they endure beatings, forced labor, and starvation. The fortunate ones are executed immediately. No wonder President Bush included North Korea in the "evil axis."

I wept for days after viewing a video of a young mother and her six-year-old daughter attempting an unsuccessful run for freedom. Her daughter could only look on while the mother cried and screamed for help as soldiers wrestled her to the ground.

I will never forget the sight of that mother’s pleading eyes, begging for someone, anyone, who saw this video, to tell the free world and the Church, about her faith and the plight of suffering Christians who are living in this most godless, isolated and oppressive regime on earth. Oh, the horrendous tortures and mass killings of the Body of Christ … Oh, the brutal and inhumane treatment of men, women, boys and girls, all in the name of "suppressing superstition" … Oh, the expression of fear on that little girl’s face.

Pray, Christians! Pray! "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." (Heb. 13:3)

"WORDS FROM A MOTHER’S HEART"

Have you ever considered the emotional pain that is associated with a loved one’s incarceration? Each time someone is arrested for a crime, it is important to remember that the person taken into custody is someone’s son or daughter. Try to imagine the emotion turmoil and heart-wrenching pain of one of your own children being arrested and incarcerated.

We may be able to live comfortably with arrest and incarceration statistics that we learn about in the news—arrests and confinements of people far removed from our private world. However, our lives are turned upside-down, and we are unexpectedly thrown from our "comfort zones" when the person arrested and incarcerated is a member of our own family! And almost without exception, the person most grieved and distraught over the arrest is the inmate’s mother.

The same mother, who delighted in the birth of a young son or daughter, is now the one burdened with a broken heart over that same child’s arrest and incarceration. That innocent child, which she held in the warmth and security of her arms, is now being held in a lonely jail/prison cell—out of touch, but not out of mind. The child, who once sat on her lap, is now sitting alone in a correctional facility—far removed from his/her mother’s knee.

The mother’s pain is further intensified by the haunting question, "Where did I go wrong?" Sleepless nights become the norm, and every waking moment is focused upon what she might have done to prevent the events leading up to her child’s arrest and incarceration.

Just imagine the unexpected call, in the wee hours of the morning, that shares the news, "Mom, I’ve been arrested." Contemplate your son or daughter’s plea for you to find a good lawyer. Meditate upon the anxiety of sitting in a courtroom where your son or daughter is on trail. Try to image a moment frozen in time as your child’s guilty verdict is read. Place yourself in a courtroom where the judge pronounces your child’s sentence, and you watch correctional officers lead your son/daughter out of your sight and into a world that will include concrete walls, iron bars, and rows of razor-wire.

One can only imagine the number of prayers this mother will say on behalf of her child—prayers for the child’s safety and prayers of hope, healing, and forgiveness. And, of course, the mother will pray that her child will turn his/her back on sin and cultivate a meaningful and saving relationship with Jesus.

Every day, the Lord answers the prayers of mothers, around the nation, through the ministry of A.R.M. Prison Outreach and the American Bible Academy. The Bible correspondence courses of the American Bible Academy are designed as an evangelistic tool that will encourage inmates to study the Bible and lead them to Jesus, a training tool that will help them truly learn and apply the Bible’s message, and as an equipping tool that will give them the confidence and knowledge to share the Good News with others.

When these goals are accomplished, the angels in heaven are not the only ones rejoicing.

A mother, who has been praying specifically for her child, will be rejoicing as well.

Consider these words from a rejoicing mother’s heart: "Dear A.R.M., My son is in prison, and he has been involved with the Bible studies you are sending him. It is such a blessing to read his words in letters, saying, ‘Mama, my Bible studies are fun, and it is really good learning about The Word, and I’m really learning.’ Thank you from my heart. Thank you for being there for my son. He is 29 and a man, but he is my youngest son…. I’M SURE THAT THERE ARE MANY CROWNS AWAITING YOU IN HEAVEN. GOD BLESS."

I thank you, the faithful supporters of A.R.M. Prison Outreach International and the American Bible Academy, for being there for our ministry. I thank you for the financial sacrifices that you make each month so Bible courses can be placed in the hands of an inmate who is seeking The Savior. I thank you for your partnership with this ministry that makes the transformation of an inmate’s heart and mind a reality. I thank you for the confidence that you have in our staff’s ability to effectively share the love and message of Jesus with sons and daughters who are incarcerated around the county.

And guess what, THEIR MOTHER’S THANK YOU TOO—FROM THE BOTTOM OF THEIR HEARTS!

In His Service,

Joe Welch, Director

American Bible Academy

FEEDING 5000 WITH A LITTLE BOY'S LUNCH

John 6:5-12

5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." (NIV)

Here at ARM Prison Outreach, we believe this story for at least two reasons. First, we take God’s Word to be true and fully reliable. It is inerrant and infallible. Second, we experience the power of Christ’s "multiplication of resources" every day.

You might say we finance our ministry by "A dollar here, a dollar there." In fact, we could say "twenty-six cents here and twenty-six cents there." (Twenty-six cents? Stay with me, I will explain that in a minute.) The truth is, small contributions add up to thousands of Bible study courses for spiritually hungry prisoners. Let’s be specific: we sent over 25,000 courses in calendar year 2002.

What a mighty impact these courses are making on thousands of prisoners! Not only did we ship 80,000 copies of God’s Word to prisons, we provided sound doctrinal courses to 25,436 inmates who are "hungering and thirsting for righteousness." Daily we seek to follow Christ’s example to reach out to the lowly, the lost, and the left out. It was our Lord Himself who said: "I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...." "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" Matt 25:36 and Matt 25:40 (NIV)

Here’s my point: "Little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s hand!" That’s a line from an old song; it comes to mind when I think how God takes the seemingly insignificant donations of our wonderful supporters and multiplies their gifts as only He can.

So why did I say "twenty-six cents?" Why not a quarter? As I go out and tell the wonderful story of ARM, I challenge people to consider "twenty-six cents per day" as their commitment to our work. Here’s why: Eight dollars per month comes out about twenty-six cents a day. Eight dollars will send an American Bible Academy course to a prisoner. Eight dollars a month for one year will send TWELVE courses – changing one dozen lives, transforming one dozen hearts. In fact, some of our books reach more than one inmate; many are passed on to friends and cellmates and the Word reaches more than just the enrollee. Honestly, we can’t know just how many lives are impacted! But we know this: "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isa 55:10-11 (NIV)

It is all made possible through donations of all sizes. One man, obviously not wealthy, responded recently at one of my presentations and said he would give a dollar a month. I was humbled by his desire to help, even if his "lunch" was small. So many others, even on fixed incomes, volunteer to give twenty-six cents a day. And the Lord puts it all together and brings about ETERNAL results! Luke 12:48 says "..to whom much is given, much shall be required." If God blesses you with abundance, you may be able to give more. However, we thank God for the ‘small lunches’ shared with ARM.

So if you have only "a little Bible knowledge," give it to the Lord and see what He can do with your "loaves and fishes." Do you have only "a little skill in witnessing?" Hand it over to Christ and watch Him multiply and bless your willingness!

"For little becomes much when you place it in the Master’s hand!"

Yours for "the least of these, my brethren,"

Rod Farthing

Editor/ARM Regional Development Director

HAVE YOU BEEN TO WWW.ABARC.ORG YET?

ARM's web sites have been drawing great interest all over the world! These sites not only promote our ministry and tell of supplies available, they also provide a growing library of great Christian resources that can be downloaded for free! Now posted at www.abarc.org are ALL FOUR VOLUMES of Don DeWelt's "The Power of the Holy Spirit." Also there are 10 Old Testament commentaries, 18 New Testament Commentaries and 7 "Special Studies" from College Press' "Bible Study Textbook Series!" Many other great Christian Resources are posted there, too -- all free!

Recently our website was apparently listed on a "chat room" increasing one week's traffic to our website 745% to 96,314 hits - an all time record.. The average user session was right at 9 minutes! This indicates that people were not just "clicking on and leaving" the website. The amount of material downloaded increased 556% from the previous week as well. International sessions accounted for 8% (7680 hits). The top international countries included Canada, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Japan, France, Singapore and Mexico. In addition, people from many other countries also visited.

ARM Prison Outreach International

Sending Resources for Evangelism Into Prisons

2002 Update

During 2002, ARM placed 46 baptistry units in prisons and military installations and 16 baptistries on mission fields around the world -- for a total of 62 units placed world-wide. In the last 24 months,144 baptistries have been donated and shipped!

During 2002, ARM sent OVER 4.9 MILLION Christian greeting cards to faithful chaplains who distribute these as a witness for Jesus Christ. In the last 24 months, over 9.7 million cards have been sent!

During 2002, ARM sent out 25,436 courses. There were 11,905 new students enrolled and 13,531 courses were added by existing students. In the last 24 months 54,604 total courses have been sent!

Newsletter - March 2003

"WORDS FROM A MOTHER’S HEART"

HAVE YOU BEEN TO WWW.ABARC.ORG YET?