“He delivered them out of their misery and led them.”
[Apr.10.2023] More than 60 Chinese “religious refugees” who were arrested for illegal stay in Thailand and were on the verge of deportation are heading to the U.S. According to the Associated Press on the 8th, 63 Chinese illegal immigrants who were arrested in Pattaya on the 31st of last month are on their way to Dallas, Texas, the human rights group that has supported them said the previous day.
Thirty-two adults and 31 children are members of the Mayflower Church in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, who fled China to escape religious persecution and have been hiding in Thailand as illegal immigrants. A Thai immigration official also confirmed that the Chinese church members left Thailand. Police said on the 5th that they would be deported to a third country within a week.
“We welcome persecuted Chinese members to the free United States,” said Bob Fu, head of China Aid, a Texas-based Christian human rights organization. “We will not rest until religious freedom is fully realized in China.”
The church members reportedly entered Thailand in September last year after they left Jeju Island, South Korea, where they lived since they fled in October 2019. In Thailand, they were arrested for staying illegally after they failed to extend their visa while trying to avoid the eyes of Chinese authorities.
Those who applied for asylum in the U.S. pleaded to recognize their refugee status, saying they would be persecuted if they were forcibly returned to their home countries, and human rights groups also urged the Thai government not to deport them to China. After the Thai Foreign Ministry and the Immigration Department discussed solutions with the U.N. refugee agency and the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, they were allowed to go to the U.S. (Source: Yonhap News Agency).
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. (Psalms 107:6-7)
God, thank You for answering the cries of the Mayflower church members who were on the verge of being forcibly repatriated to China and helping them head to the United States. Let the believers, who longed for the freedom of religion, worship the Lord to their heart’s content in the new settlement and deliver the message of salvation of the cross they received to others. Also, let communities that have hope of heaven be established in the protection and companionship of the Lord through prayers without ceasing for the persecuted church in China.
Prayer 24·365
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