Re-education Camps, Ukraine Aid, & True Satisfaction

A Christian who was imprisoned for 10 months in western China is now in the United States as a witness to the notorious “re-education” camps being operated by the Communist regime of the world’s most populous country.

Ovalbek Turdakun, his wife and son arrived in the United States April 8 after a lengthy, successful effort to avoid deportation back to China that was aided by allies in the United States and other countries. Ovalbek is the first Christian to speak out about his detention in the camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, according to Axios, a news website that first reported on his arrival April 12.

In a Washington, D.C., news conference Wednesday (April 13), Ovalbek described a 10-month detention by the Chinese government that included torture and forced injections. He was under house arrest for another eight months after his release from the camp in December 2018. An ethnic Kyrgyz, Ovalbek and his family walked across the border into Kyrgyzstan in December 2019 and eventually received aid in reaching the United States.

Chelsea Sobolik, national policy director for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, called on Christians to continue to speak up in the face of atrocities like this case.

Twelve Southern Baptist volunteer teams that have traveled from the United States to Eastern Europe to serve Ukrainian refugees. To date, Southern Baptists have donated more than $8 million to Send Relief and the International Mission Board (IMB) to go toward Ukrainian relief efforts.

Romanian volunteers are at the station around the clock. Train tickets are free for Ukrainians.
One volunteer, Klara, said at the beginning of the crisis, she worked 20-hour shifts as the fire station’s red buses ferried weary Ukrainian refugees from the border of Romania and Ukraine. Most of the volunteers went to the border, Klara said. Not many thought to come and assist Ukrainians who were boarding trains to take them to cities across Europe.

Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.

In a First Person piece on Baptist Press, California pastor David Jeremiah says, “Trying to satisfy heart-thirst with fame, money, success and pleasure is like trying to quench one’s thirst with salt water. In the end, it only makes things worse. Jesus knew, as He steered His colt through the multitudes, that He alone could quench the thirst of the human soul. The crowds were cheering Him, but for many of them, it was only a superficial, momentary exuberance. It was emotion without commitment. Within a week, the same crowds would be demanding His death.

Only a commitment to Jesus Christ can satisfy the cravings of the heart. He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37). Frances Schaeffer explained: “There is no other sufficient philosophical answer. You can search through university philosophy, underground philosophy, filling station philosophy – it does not matter which – there is no other sufficient philosophical answer to existence. … It is not that this is the best answer to existence; it is the only answer.”

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