Laos, in the Name of Jesus Christ, we bless you today to be set free from the spiritual bondages of Buddhism and traditional religions. May many be delivered from this darkness this year.

Bless the Church with exemplary pastors who have theological study and ministry experience.

Bless those who persecute the Church with a conviction in their spirits, a recognition that they are doing wrong.

Lord God, we pray that Christians will know how to disciple others in their churches, among their friends and coworkers, in villages and cities. We pray that discipleship will build real and lasting relationships with the living God (The Bible, Colossians 3:16).

Laos is a Southeast Asian communist country with strong ties to neighboring China and Vietnam. Despite liberalization during the early 1980s and inviting foreign investments, Laos remains very restrictive of religious freedoms. Christianity faces severe persecution from the community, local administrations, and the Laotian government. Facing imminent unemployment due to persecution, Christian youth often lean towards narcotic addictions. Churches have to register with the government. Not all church registrations are approved. Those without approval meet secretly. Christian girls are illegally trafficked across the border to China as brides.

The authorities in Western Sahara are suppressing human rights and independent activities using harassment, surveillance, and prolonged imprisonment following unjust trials. Morocco has controlled most of Western Sahara since the former colonial administrator Spain left the region. Despite the UN’s high command for human rights expressing its desire for a meaningful mission to be established in the area, there is little or no progress. It has been almost eight years since the last OHCHR visit.

We pray for the illegal Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara to end. We pray for God to raise His Children in the EU and other parts of the world to oppose any attempt vehemently by Morocco to legalize their occupation (The Holy Bible, 2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Western Sahara is an illegally occupied territory. After the Spanish occupation and a three-way tussle for control over the North African country, Morocco annexed southern Western Sahara. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) led the government in exile in Western Sahara and the Sahrawi people are recognized by 38 countries as well as the United Nations. They even have an African Union membership. Only 20% of the disputed territory is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. In 2020, in a significant setback to their independence claims, the United States recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara for normalizing relationships with Israel. Earlier this year, Israel became the second country to recognize the Moroccan claim over the occupied territory. Despite not being listed in the rankings for persecution, the occupied territories do not have religious freedom. Outreach materials in Hassaniya Arabic are available with missionaries in the area. However, with only a handful of Christian Believers, sustainable missionary work in Western Sahara is nearly impossible to carry out.