Do things like this really happen ?

[paul]

Below is a email I received from our director in Pakistan. The photo is very graphic. We hear of these events taking place but they always seem distant and unrelated to our everyday existance. But they are real and they are happening even as we type this post. Pray as we continue to raise funds for a safe house for Gulnaz and hundreds of other Christian girls that are raped, beaten and then left to fend for themselves.

In an impoverished Christian enclave within the city of Faisalabad,
for 17-year-old Gulnaz Aftab Masih, it was a day like any other day.
Coming from a poor family, her father a laborer and her mother washing
the clothes of wealthy Muslim families, Gulnaz felt it was her duty to
help with the family's financial needs. Gulnaz was a very
compassionate girl. After completing her primary education she decided
to help raise money to send her 12-year-old brother to the Christian
school. Being poor, education is a luxury that many can't afford.
Close to where Gulnaz and her family live is a butcher shop owned by
xxxxxx, who also runs a Public Call Office (PCO), a place where
local residents pay a fee to use the telephone. Gulnaz managed to get
a job as a telephone operator at the PCO. Because she is a Christian,
the friends of the owner would frequently come to the PCO and insult
her with degrading words. They pressured her to embrace Islam and told
her that, "Beautiful girls like you should not remain in
Christianity." She complained to the owner about the attitude of these
Muslim men, but he would not take any action against his friends. On
June 14, she told her boss that she would be quitting her job.
Later the same day, xxxxx, a friend of the owner, went to the
PCO to make a phone call. But instead of placing a call, he just sat
there. Gulnaz said to him that loitering was not allowed. He
approached her and started fondling her. Gulnaz, having high moral
standards, refused and slapped the young man on the face. xxxxx warned
her that he would take revenge.
Gulnaz went home and the next day came to collect her salary. xxxxx
and his friends, including xxxxx, were again standing
outside the PCO. xxxxx followed Gulnaz into the PCO, took from his
pocket a bottle of sulfuric acid, and threw it on her face, breasts,
arms, and legs. Screaming with pain, she called for help. No one came
to her rescue. Seemingly not content with the harm he had already
inflicted upon Gulnaz, xxxxx then threw more acid into her eyes,
causing her to be unable to see. He then poured the remaining drops of
acid in her mouth.
There are hundreds of stories like that. Our Christian girls and women
are going through these similar conditions each day. Please join us in
prayer for these precious women of faith.
I am sending a story and photos of persecution case of a young christian girl.
I am a eye witness of this case as she lived in our area..
In JESUS,

Muqaddam Zia
WMOF Pakistan

[Jennifer Smith]

paul,

I'm speechless. I can't imagine that girl's pain. I will pray.

[paul]

Jennifer, thank you for the prayers. It is hard to understand the pain and suffering that believers are going through every day for the cause of Jesus Christ.

These stories are repeated thousands of times daily. I do not try to minimize the problems that christians face in the western world, I know they are real, but sometimes they really seem to pale in light of the suffering we see here in this story.

Many young Christian girls are raped and beaten by extremist Muslims, these men are told that if they rape a young christian girl they earn extra points in paradise. But once these girls are raped they are deemed uncleaned and unacceptiable for marriage.

It is our prayer to be able to open the Safehouse in Pakistan next month. It will provide training ( sewing machines) skills. Also education programs for those girls who have been thrown out of their homes for converting to Christianity. And a safe place for them to come to.

We currently have Six in place in India and One in the Philippines
Again thanks for your prayers for these our precious sisters in Christ.