"Sai"graduated a few years ago and returned to his region to minister in the churches there. Recently Sai paid a surprise visit to LTC to visit some current students his organization is sponsoring. I was able to visit with him for a few moments to catch up on his life and service where he is living. I asked him about the village in the story.

Sai told me he is currently serving in a church some distance from the village, and it is difficult for him to safely go there since the authorities know who he is. He told me that shortly after he was expelled from the village at gunpoint, that the rest of Christians living in that village were forcibly expelled from the 

Sai (left) & Students

village. They were relocated on a high mountain top with no available water source. Every day the Christians have to walk half a mile down the mountain with buckets to the nearest stream and then carry the buckets of water a half mile be up hill to their homes.

The good news is that the believers are still remaining strong in their faith. This story reminds me of one of the lessons we are learning in the class on John's Revelation. In our study of Revelation we have learned that in spite of all the different theories, there is one lesson that remains constant and is easily understood. Jesus tell his saints to "be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10b) This combination of a command and promise is easy to understand, and stays constant throughout time: "Stand firm, and receive the victor's crown."  

We have brothers and sisters who are undergoing persecution because of their faith. Sai finished his report saying "Praise God the Christians in that village are still faithful." And then he paraphrased the words of Jesus in a prayer:  "I keep praying that they will remain strong in their faith and be victorious in the end."  AMEN!