Open Doors Urges Letters Of Support For Pakistani Mother
Open Doors is encouraging Christians to write letters of encouragement to a Pakistani Christian mother whose children were kidnapped by their Muslim father on Sept. 13
Open Doors is encouraging Christians to write letters of encouragement to a Pakistani Christian mother whose children were kidnapped by their Muslim father on Sept. 13.
According to Compass Direct, the two children of Maria Samar John—Joshua, 5, and Miriam, 3—were secretly taken from the Lahore Family Court shortly after their father, Abdul Ghaffar had begun a two-hour court-supervised visitation session.
Seven years ago, at the age of 17, Maria Samar John had been abducted and forcibly married to Ghaffar, after which, she became a virtual slave in Ghaffar's home in Gujranwala.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
For the two and one-half years that followed, Samar was locked in the house and beaten by both her husband and mother-in-law for refusing to say Muslim prayers, reports Compass. After giving birth to a son and becoming pregnant for a second time, Samar fled her captors.
Since December 2000, Samar and her children had been in a safe-house location. Samar obtained a legal divorce from her forced marriage in February 2003.
After the children’s kidnapping, a Pakistani court issued a warrant for the arrest of Ghaffar without possibility of bail. So far there has been no new updates on the situation.
"This is really a shocking thing for Maria and all of us," a lawyer for 24-year-old Maria Samar John told Compass. "It will take a miracle, but we are praying for the safety and recovery of her children."
Open Doors, a ministry that serves the persecuted Church, is encouraging the Christian community to write letters to convey the message that Christians are praying with her for the safe return of her children.
Letters can be sent to Open Doors USA, Maria Writing Campaign, PO Box 27001, Santa Ana, CA 92799. The letters will be forwarded to the mother.
Open Doors has requested that the letters take the following requests into consideration:
- Make no mention of "Open Doors" on the card or letter. Simply identify yourself as a Christian believer.
- She does not know any English, so cards with just a short note and a Scripture verse are probably the best.
- Do not send money or gifts.
