CCI Leaders Face Intense Persecution
Your Support Helps Stand in the Gap Between Spiritual Freedom and Darkness
Greetings!

For many who follow Jesus in the 10/40 Window (the western rim of North Africa to Japan, China to Indonesia), persecution is a reality of life. Over half of the world’s population, (4 billion) live in the 10/40 Window, with 95% of these people being Unreached People Groups (UPGs). In countries with the predominant religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam, very little Gospel witnessing is allowed, and true Christ-followers face varying forms of persecution and discrimination. 
 
While some have faced violent and physical persecution, most Christ-followers seeking to live out their faith have faced more insidious forms of persecution – pressure by their families and neighbors, demotion in their jobs, shunning by society, and even rejection by their families.

We want to highlight what God is doing through your partnership with some humble yet heroic souls.
Countries in the 10/40 Window are shown above
Today, we want to share two short stories of those who face abandonment, demotion, and many other hostilities.

During a trip to Malaysia, where I conducted CCI leadership training, I had dinner with a former Hindu family. Usha (not her real name) was in our training and was from the Brahman caste, the highest caste in Hinduism. People in this caste take care of the temple and are treated with great respect.
In Hinduism, evil is explained by an endless cycle of birth and rebirth based upon karma. If you live a good life, you’ll be rewarded in the next in a higher caste. If you live a bad life, you’ll be rewarded in the next in a lower caste. People in the Brahman caste, then, must have done well in a previous life.

However, if you are born in the Dalit caste (the lowest), you are paying for what you did in a previous life. Hindus do not want to interfere with this process, so little mercy is shown to the Dalit caste. Christians were the first to minister to those in the Dalit caste, and thus, they are looked upon with suspicion.

Usha’s parents sent her to a Methodist school due to the quality of the education. She heard the gospel and trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. However, how to tell her parents was an enigma. When she told her parents, they were irate, and her father disowned her.

She finished school and married a follower of Christ, whose family was from a lower caste. Her parents did not attend the wedding or speak to her for 30 years – not until a close family member passed away.
We cannot show photos of Usha or other CCI leaders living in persecuted areas for safety reasons.
I recently visited a country in Southwest Asia on a vision trip. Once a bastion of Christianity, today, there are very few followers in this country. Another one of our leaders in training, Joseph (not his real name), shared how he trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

In Joseph's country, a person's identification card has their religion printed on it. Since he was no longer Muslim, he changed his religion to Christian. The company he was working for demoted him immediately to the lowest rank.

Joseph's company asked him to do things they asked no one else to do – things involving a bit of danger. Yet, he humbly continued to do his work for the glory of God. The company leaders marveled that he still did what they asked him to do. The result – they respect him more and have promoted him to a higher position.
These are two examples of the persecution that followers of Jesus face daily in the 10/40 Window. 

We are humbled as we feel privileged to walk alongside many like this. Through your generous partnership, we are equipping followers of Jesus in these areas so that they can serve our great God in effective ways.

Thank you for praying and giving.

Grace and Peace,
David Nelson
President & Founder
Crossing Cultures International
P.S. To help us DOUBLE our mission of Equipping and Multiplying Leaders Globally, including the Suffering and Persecuted Church, you can give online at www.cciequip.org/doubleit. Also, please consider giving a Noncash Asset gift often with tax advantages at www.cciequip.org/noncash-assets.
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