(Page of Martyrs)
TORTURED FOR CHRIST
By Dr.P.P.Job
Noble Alexander/Martin Ray Burnham
Going to War in China
By Todd Nettleton
This phone call isn’t fiction. It is a real-life example from
the front lines of the battle that is raging for Christ in China. The call came
on December 9, 1996, to a Christian woman, Liying Liu, in Fuzhou, China. Seven
months earlier her husband, Mingyong Lin, had been arrested at his construction
job. An active member of an unregistered house church, he’d been arrested many
times before. Some time after his arrest, police called his family, saying he
could be released if they would pay a “fine” of 50,000 Chinese Yuan (Rupees 3
lakhs). Average annual income in that area is 20,000 Yuan, and there was no way
the family could pay. “If you don’t pay,” police said, “he will die.” The next call was from the funeral home. Police claimed nine
fellow prisoners had beaten Mingyong Lin and burned him with cigarettes until
he died. But they also offered Liying Liu 30,000 Yuan if the family would keep
quiet and not make a public appeal on the case. Why offer a bribe if police had
done nothing wrong? Mingyong Lin was caught
in a war. The weapons used against him were physical—fists and burning
cigarettes—but the war is spiritual: the battle for souls in China. Battles are nothing new for God’s people. Amidst the long lists
of genealogies in the opening chapters of First Chronicles is a story of God’s
ability to fight the battles of His children here on Earth: “And they (the
Israelites) were helped against them, and the Hagrites were delivered into
their hand, and all who were with them, for they cried out to God in the
battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him” (1Chronicles
5:20). God won a great victory that day, as the 44,760 men of Reuben,
Gad and Manasseh were able to wipe out the Hagrites, capturing 100,000 men,
50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep and 2,000 donkeys. How were so few able to accomplish so much against so many? The
Bible answers that question this way: “The war was God’s” (verse 22). The spiritual war in China is also God’s, and He is again
winning great victories. The victories come not on a battlefield or in a
courtroom, but in the hearts of men and women. The weapons of our brothers and
sisters are not guns or fists, but prayer, Scripture and the Holy Spirit. 1934 – 2002 Noble Alexander was born on February 12, 1934 to Cristobal and
Beryl Alexander in San German Oriente, Cuba. He served as an assistant pastor
in Cuba from 1959-1962. On March 20, 1962, after preaching a
sermon on the origin of sin, he was ambushed and taken to prison where he was
tried and convicted of conspiracy to assassinate Cuban leader, Fidel Castro.
Cuban security forces interpreted Noble’s sermon, which described Lucifer’s
struggle for supremacy, as a veiled reference to Castro’s regime. Noble was
therefore sentenced and served over 22 years in prison where he endured hard
labour and torture. During this time, his wife, Yraida, divorced him and
married a Communist leader. While in prison, Noble continued to do the
work of an evangelist by establishing and pastoring underground churches within
the confines of prison. These included prisons at the Isle of Pines, Las
Villas, Boniato and the Havana prison Combinado del Este. These secret churches
experienced phenomenal growth but not without a heavy price. Pastor Noble
experienced brutal beatings, starvation and repeated and lengthy times in
solitary confinement. He was secretly ordained in prison in 1979 by Pastor
Pedro de Armas who was also a prisoner. Noble’s spirit was braced during those
torturous times by his indomitable will and commitment to God and the
persistent thought, “I will die free!” which became the title of his book
recounting his experiences in prison. It was while Noble was in prison that he
met our USA Director Tom White, who was imprisoned in Cuba for distributing
gospel tracts. Inside the prison, White says Noble became his “prison pastor.” As an American, Tom was able to receive a
Bible while he was in prison. “Each week,” Tom recalled, “Noble would request a
page of the Bible for his ‘cell’ meetings. I would tear the page from my Bible,
roll it up as tight as I could, and work it into a bar of soap. One day a guard
intercepted the soap as it reached Noble’s cell. Infuriated at discovering the
Bible page, the guard demanded to know where it had originated. Noble refused
to tell him it was from me. For this he suffered dearly. And although I knew
Noble was locked away for the 90 days, until a few years ago I never knew it
was because of the Bible page.” As a result of the diligent work of Tom
White and Christian organizations in Washington D.C., Pastor Noble Alexander
was finally liberated from prison and stepped off an aircraft in Washington
D.C. on June 26, 1984. In 1986, Noble began his ministerial work in the United States
and was ordained in 1991. On December 12, 1983, he married Carmen Mendez of
Peurto Rico. Over his 15 years of ministry, he pastured several churches throughout
the Northeast. A few months ago, Pastor Noble Alexander became ill and was
hospitalized for a short time, but his faith in God remained steadfast. On the
morning of July 20, 2002, while surrounded by his family and close friends and
after singing We Have This Hope, Noble went to be with the Lord. He was
the longest held prisoner for Christ in the history of the Island of Cuba, yet
his spirit always demonstrated his joyful freedom in Christ. Countless other believers could tell stories of his sacrifice
on their behalf. His ministry here on earth will be missed, yet we celebrate
with him as he receives his eternal reward. Dr. Job preached the Gospel with Noble Alexander in Canada, USA
and Netherlands. 1959 – 2002
Martin
and Gracia Burnham, New Tribes missionaries, were kidnapped last year by a
Muslim extremist group called Abu Sayyaf while celebrating their 18th wedding
anniversary at a beach resort in western Palawan Province, Philippines. During
their time in captivity, Martin was a source of strength for all the hostages.
Gracia said, “He was a good man and died well.” Days
before his death, Martin was prompted to write a goodbye letter to his three
children— Jeffrey, 15; Melinda, 12; and Zachary, 11. The letter, which Martin
gave to Gracia, was lost in the firefight between the Philippine Army and Abu
Sayyaf rebels that killed Martin and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap but was later
discovered by troops who went back to look for it. According
to a July 8 report from the Maranatha Christian Journal, friends and
former hostages remarked that Martin gave his life for Christ and his mission
to help others. They mentioned that although Martin and Gracia appeared frail
and frightened in taped interviews, the couple was steadfast in their faith.
Francis Ganzon, a Filipino who was released by the guerrillas two weeks after
she was captured with the Burnhams, said that when other hostages were praying
to be released, Martin was praying, “Thank you, Lord.” Former
hostages also said that Martin led the group in singing inspirational songs. He
kept his faith despite tremendous difficulties. The captors had Martin carry
bags of rice in the rain. Wearing severely worn shoes, he would slip often. “He
fell down many times but never complained,” said Oreta Burnham, Martin’s
mother, who with her husband, Paul, have served in the Philippines since 1969. Although
reports have concluded that Martin was killed by a bullet in the crossfire
between the Philippine Army and Abu Sayyaf rebels, a June 24 report from the Gulf
News online edition states that “Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya had ordered
his subordinates to kill American missionary Martin Burnham if the Philippines
soldiers came too close.” Adzmar Aluk, one of the arrested Abu Sayyaf members,
revealed this during a taped military interrogation. Aluk said: “Sabaya ordered
Martin’s killing. He told my companions, guarding Martin, to shoot and kill him
if the soldiers come near us. It was Ibno (Abu Lukman) who executed the
hostage.” On
Friday, June 14th, hundreds turned out to celebrate the life of Martin Burham
at a Wichita, Kansas church. Letters from relatives were read by Martin’s
uncle, Rev. Galen Hinshaw. Martin’s daughter Mindy wrote, “My dad was the most
generous person I have ever known.” Living
one’s life to share the gospel at all costs is a generosity that the Burnhams
know well. It’s the ultimate gift that we, as members of Christ’s Body, can
also give as we ask the Lord to open doors to share His love with others, even
those who may not receive it with kindness. Continue
to pray for the Burnhams. Pray for strength and encouragement as they face
their loss and the Lord’s gain. Praise God for the strong witness of Martin and
Gracia to their captors and fellow hostages. Pray God will use their testimony
to lead others to Christ, even their kidnappers—members of Abu Sayyaf. Tortured
For Christ, V-31, Green Park Main, New Delhi-110 016, India.
“If I have to go, I want to go out
strong for the Lord.” Those were some of 42-year-old Martin Burnham’s last
words before he was killed.
