The Church has always grown when watered by the blood of those martyred for the faith. Two more Christians gave their lives in the service of Christ in the Philippines last month.

While officiating at a wedding on June 3, Pastor Mocsin L. Hasim received a text message: “Pastor, you will die today.” The 47-year old pastor had been receiving death threats for months. He brushed it off. After the wedding, he and his 22-year-old daughter, Mercilyn, headed home by motorcycle.

Their bodies were later found near their motorcycle in an isolated area of Zamboanga Del Norte province in western Mindanao of the Philippines.

Pastor Hasim had been shot 19 times, mostly in the back. Mercilyn was shot five times.

There were no known witnesses to the gruesome killings, but police suspect that there were three gunmen, possibly new members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a Muslim rebel group with a long history of armed conflict against the national government. One of the pastor’s nieces noted, “Also, some Muslim extremists in the area were inviting him to embrace Islam once again, but he refused.”

Pastor Hasim had received death threats in the months leading up to the murder. During a gift-giving activity in one community, a Muslim approached him and told him to stop what he was doing, lest he be killed. Despite these threats, he remained unmoved and continued his activities, even starting a radio ministry. Mercilyn accompanied him during most of his work.

Please offer prayers for Pastor Hasim's widow, Evelyn, and for Mercilyn's brothers and sister. This family has sacrificed much in the last 10 years, and now they have given two of their number in the service of Christ. They continue to receive threats from the unGodly murderers of their family members.

Posted by: Greg at 01:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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