Persecuting the Persecuted: How Voice of the Martyrs Funded Abuse of Nigerian Orphans

Our church has just released a video on a very sad and tragic situation that we have discovered. Voice of the Martyrs is a ministry that purports to help Christian victims of persecution. However, we've discovered that their work in Nigeria was in a tragic state – orphans were being abused and mistreated, financial fraud was rampant, and those who were trying to spread the word were being removed. When we reported this to the office in the United States, they seemed more concerned with covering up a scandal than ensuring that justice was done.

Please visit this web page to watch a video that describes the situation, sign the petition, and spread the word.

"To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke"

Isaiah 58:6b

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light."

Ephesians 5:11-13

Thank you.

Where’s our Roy Moore?

My letter to the editor, printed in The Herald-Sun February 17, 2015

Down in Alabama, Chief Justice Roy Moore has been resisting the rulings of federal courts which overturned the provisions in their state constitution forbidding the license of same-sex marriages.

North Carolina is in a similar situation. In 2012 more than 60 percent of the voters approved Amendment 1, but back in October it took only one federal judge to overturn it.

Federal courts point to the 14th Amendment as justification for their decisions, but anyone who reads it can see that it can not be justly construed to either require the recognition of same-sex marriages, or to give the federal courts any jurisdiction over state laws in these matters.

Ultimately the responsibility in North Carolina lies with the county registers of deeds who are elected on a local level. It is their jurisdiction to decide whether or not to issue marriage licenses. Citizens must hold them to account, and urge them to stand up for marriage as ordained by God, to resist judicial tyranny, enforce state law, and defend states’ rights as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Where is North Carolina’s Roy Moore to lead this charge?

Rhine Cruise - Day 7, Amsterdam

Today we had a canal tour and bus tour of Amsterdam after lunch. I took a lot of pictures of the countryside and windmills on our arrival, but didn't notice that it was not in auto mode (the last pictures were taken at night), so they didn't come out since I didn't check them. This was the coldest day, about high of 46, and while I was adding layers for our tours, I was reminded we would be inside a boat and bus. Unfortunately, we forgot that all bus tours include about an hour of free time for shopping (or walking outside), so I was a little chilly. After dinner we went for a walk, fully bundled up. Although Holland was the last Protestant country in Europe, today it is very perverse, and they are proud of their tolerance for aberrant lifestyles.

Old City Gate

You can see more pictures from the trip here.

Rhine Cruise - Day 3, Strasbourg

Strasbourg Cathedral

Today we arrived in Strasbourg, France while eating breakfast, and started our bus tour after breakfast. Strasbourg has transferred from German to French rule many times, and now houses the European Union Parliament and Place de la Republique. We visited the Cathedrale de Notre Dame, or Strasbourg Cathedral, with the famous astronomical clock. Dan climbed the 335 steps to the spire of the cathedral while Kendra went shopping. We saw a couple of other cathedrals where some famous reformers preached, ate a pretzel for lunch instead of going back to the ship, then boarded the boat for our canal cruise. This was Dan's favorite day of the trip.

On the way up the cathedral spire

City Gate Towers

Tanner's business & house on left

Gutenburg Statue

View from Church Spire

Rhine Cruise - Day 2, Freiburg

Model of Medieval Freiburg

After lunch we boarded a bus for Freiburg & Breisach. By the way, we cruised with AmaWaterways and they provided QuietVox headsets in our cabin which we used on all of our walking tours and recharged them in our cabin. They also provided umbrellas, robes and slippers for our use onboard. Whenever we returned from touring, they had hot towels, hot mulled wine, and hot peach tea, and no security to go through. All in all, it was more pleasant than the large ocean cruise ships, not to mention the complimentary soft drinks, beer, and wine for lunch and dinner, and it was never hard to find a table to sit at.

Freiburg Munster (cathedral)

Inside Munster

On our way to Freiburg we saw the Black Forest, grape vines, American barracks (soon to become much needed apartments), and strawberry and asparagus fields. First we toured the Munsterplatz, then the history museum, and saw the customs house. I almost bought some crystal antique wine glasses, but when I found out they were from France, they didn't seem like a good souvenir from Germany (I forgot we would be in France the next day - ha! ha!)

Custom House

Breisach Cathedral

Rhine Cruise - Day 1, Basel

Map of our Itinerary

To celebrate 25 years of marriage, Dan & Kendra took a one week cruise on the Rhine River. The posts will be written by Kendra, but edited & posted by Joshua. We drove to Baltimore, MD on the Monday immediately after the NCFIC Worship of God conference and flew to London, where we spent about 5 hours in the airport before our flight to Basel, Switzerland. It was cool and rainy when we arrived at our ship, and we had about an hour before the welcome aboard celebration. The ladies were presented with a rose, we were introduced to the ship's crew, then onto dinner. We were very well fed and had friendly service all week.

Source.

After dinner we walked along the river to the cathedral in Old Town Basel, where we were surprised to see a carnival, possibly leftover from the Octoberfest. Erasmus died in Basel, on his way from Frieburg to Brabant. He is famous for many writings, most notably his Greek New Testament translation, which later became known as the Textus Recptus.

Reformation Celebration Dinner

On Friday October 31 our church had a dinner celebrating the reformation at Forks Cafeteria, in Wake Forest. We ate dinner and then five of the young men at our church talked about the five Solas of the Reformation, which are: Sola Scriptura, which means by Scripture alone, Solo Christo, which means by Christ alone, Soli Deo Gloria, which means Glory to God alone, Sola Fide,which means by Faith alone, and Sola Gratia, which means by Grace alone. After one of them talked, Mr. Brown led us in a song about the Sola, and then Daddy talked about how it effects us today. After that we had a time where the people could share what they were thankful for, and then people fellowshipped until it was time to leave.

One way that we have benefited from the reformation is that we can have assurance of our salvation by the gift of faith, and not live in superstition and fear like the Roman Catholics. We can be thankful that we do not have to rely on our good works for salvation, because we would never be sure we had done enough. Daddy also said we have light bulbs and electricity today because of the Reformation.

Reformation 500: Whitfield's Grave

Yesterday, we traveled up to Boston to go to the Reformation 500, but it did not start until the next day, so we went with the Browns, the Breagys, and the Damings to the church where George Whitfield is buried. The church is Old South Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts. George Whitfield is one of the pastors who preached at the beginning of the Great Awakening. The church is still in use, and the pastor showed us around. He told us some stories about Whitfield, and showed us some interesting things that are around the church. One of the interesting things about the church was it's ceiling. It had a flat ceiling, but it was painted specially so that it would look curved. Whitfield was buried with the first two pastors under the pulpit. On our way back to Boston we stopped at a pulpit rock that Whitfield preached to a crowd of 3,000 people in a field, which is now a forest. Mrs. Brown said she has seen a lot of pulpit rocks, and this was by far the best.

A plaque to George Whitfield

The pastor of the church

A plaque with the list of the pastors on it

The organ

The inside of the church

The roof of the church from a level of the bell tower


Mommy climbing up the bell tower stairs


A cast of Whitfield's skull



Mr. Brown talking about Whitfield

Pulpit Rock