Where were you for Easter?

[April 25 edit: wow, I just realized that this happened while I was in Pakistan.] We had a tremendous weekend in Toronto and I'm going to put a post up about it soon, but I just got the following in an email and immediately thought that I should post it here - especially as we've been focusing on Pakistan recently. Lord have mercy.The following can be found on the Barnabas Fund website. This happened two weeks ago.

"Pakistani Christian girl gang raped:

A young Christian girl in Pakistan was kidnapped on Easter Sunday and gang raped over three days.

On the morning of 8th April twelve-year-old Cheena Masih went to the local shops near her home in Lahore. On her way she was attacked by four men who knocked her unconscious. Her abductors took Cheena to a factory warehouse, where they raped her, keeping her there for two days and then moving her to a private home.When Cheena’s family realised she was missing they went to the local police station, but received no help from the police. The family searched for the missing girl themselves, and on 10th April managed to discover the name of one of the kidnappers. Cheena’s father and brother found the man at the factory where he worked; the man admitted that he was holding Cheena, and promised to return her. At 9pm that night Cheena was delivered back to her home, and was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

The following day the police arrested four men at the factory. However, the police continued to obstruct the case, refusing to lodge a report until they had a medical report for Cheena, and not exerting themselves to help the family get the medical examination done. Eventually, after the intervention of a Pakistani Christian advocacy organisation, the examination was done on 13th April and the police promised that they would register the case.

The shameful act of rape is often used by Muslims as a weapon for harming and punishing Christians, and cases like Cheena’s are sadly frequent in countries like Pakistan and Egypt. Her family’s experience of finding the authorities reluctant to help them at their time of need is also a common experience for poor Christian families in such contexts.

Please join with us in prayer...
1. Pray for Cheena as she recovers from her terrifying ordeal. Pray both for physical healing, and for healing for the hidden, emotional scars. Pray that she will not feel shame for what was done to her, but the love of her Heavenly Father will bring her peace.

2. Pray that Pakistani police will seek true justice, and that they will pursue the case rigorously. Pray that those responsible will repent of what they have done."

Feel free to leave a prayer here as a comment.