and iran is one of the most dangerous places on the planet for christians, yet sweden trying to force christians seeking asylum to go back. our exclusive report on their dire situation. >> wendy: welcome to christian world news, everyone, i'm wendy griffith. george thomas is on assignment. more than 70,000 people have died in syria's civil war in the last two years, and march was the deadliest month yet. but there is hope amid all of the tragedy as christian missionaries are trying to help more than a million people escape the brutal fighting. >> reporter: more than 100 burqa-clad refugees filed into this church in northern jordan for a two-day women's conference. it is a bit unusual to see so many muslim women in church, but, then again, these are unusual times in the middle east, and people

are seeking comfort wherever it is offered. the death and destruction in syria is overwhelming. at least 80,000 people have been killed, and one million have fled the country. jordan is hosting almost half a million refugees, and officials say that figure could double by the end of the year. there is a mix of anger and sadness among these veiled women, who have seen things no one should ever have to. >> there was an area beside our house where they were abusing the girls and the women, and killing their men. it was horrible. we had to leave. >> reporter: most blame syrian president bashar al-assad. >> i hope to go back to syria and build again, but we don't wand bashar. >> reporter: nearly all who have escaped have a heartbreaking story. 16-year-old ropa lost her father in the bloody civil war. she, her mother, and younger siblings escaped to jordan,

but she misses her father and her country. today, at least for a few hours, they've been given relief from their pain. >> i feel like i'm with my family. i feel better. >> reporter: missionaries from partners invited them to hear about jesus, and even take part in a foot-washing ceremony. as part of the mission team, i took part as well. >> for many, their feet have walked more than 100 miles, escaping gunfire, and under the cover of darkness, to come here to jordan, where christians are mysterying the love of jesus. >> wendy: there were hugs, tears, and smiles, and differences in culture and religion seemed to vanish. >> several of the women sitting up there had tears already coming down their eyes before they even sat down. i know god was moving in their heart. they don't know jesus is their savior yet, but our prayer is before this conference is over they'll

know jesus not just as a prophet, but as their savior. >> reporter >> wendy: the women enjoyed a lunch of chicken and rice as their children played. many were profoundly moved by the experience. >> it was difficult at the beginning, but we found kind people, like the christians here, helping us to survive in jordan. >> wendy: no one knows how much longer the war will go on, or if there will even be a syria to go back to. although jordan has willingly opened its doors, not everyone here is happy about the refugees taking their jobs and housing. the middle east director tom doyle called eight th it the worst humanitarian problem in 20 years. >> remember, there is still a war going on in iraq, and they've got those refugees, and a lot of egyptians, too. and so there has been an opportunity to feed them, cleat clothe them, reach out to them with jesus'

love, and they are seeing a difference. ♪ >> wendy: this is the ancient city of jeresh, where jesus visited and did many miracles. in the background, you can also see the modern city of jeresh, home to thousands of sunni muslims. and jesus is appearing to them 2,000 years later, many in dreams and visions. >> and they said they had a dream about jesus, they seem how christians are treating them, and they can't help but be drawn into jesus. >> i think christians ought to be known for, one word, love. love is active, and it is going to reach out, and show the people who jesus was. and in his life, and in this area, in the de capilus, he always went to the ones that are despised. the syrians are despised, the sunni muslims are being pushed out of the country.

what better time than for jesus to show them his love for them. >> wendy: i was especially moved by ropa who told me in perfect english, i love you, the only english words she knew. she shared her food with me, and on our last day put a purple watch on my wrist, that i know was dear to her. she listened to the story of jesus dying on the cross so she could have eternal life. and thanks to the love she received in jordan, she is now open to a relationship with jesus. i'll tell you the truth, i will never look at a burqa the same way again. that trip truly changed my life. for more information on the ministries that are helping these refugees, you can go to cbnnews.com, and you can post your words of encouragement and your prayers for the victims of syria's war on our facebook page as well. the international community is on edge as north korea ratchets up his rhetoric and

provocative actions. the regime has cut off communications with the south, and proclaimed that a state of war exists between the two countries. it has also threatened the united states, and moved two missiles it says it can travel a considerable range to its east coast. south korea says there are no signs that the north is preparing for a full-scale conflict, but the u.s. is taking no chances. it is sending guided missile destroyers, and land-based interceptors for missile defense. they tell open doors u.s.a. that the country is on a war footing, and they are asking the country to pray for their country. >> they are not being discouraged, but they need our prayers. they're really pleading four ou for our prayers in the west because they know it is very important. they ask s scificallllfor peace in t tir regioio a a that the lord may come into the heart of kim jong un and also give wisdom to our

officials in the united states and china and south korea in the important decisions they have to make. >> wendy: joining us now is cbn chief national correspondent, gary lane. the u.s. is sending warships into the region. c2is sounds serioio? >> just in case this get c2t of han a loloof this is blustering, wendy. >> wendy: what role does north korea play? >> china has had north korea as a proxy state, and china wants to dominate this region the western asianpathic. the asian pacific. they would like to control the oil and the entire region, and they would like to see the u.s. out of there. if things are brought down to the brink of war, and china could step in and bring us back from that brink of war it would enhance their stature. >> wendy: we know north korea is a big persecutor of christians. they're number one on the

list now. how many christians are there in north korea, and what does the possibility of war mean to them? >> at least 100,000 christians, and some estimates are 400,000. there is probably between 100,000 to 200,000, but no one knows for certain because the christians are in a lot of danger. they meet privately, two, three people in a house church because you can't trust anybody from the outside. if they're discovered to be christians, they're arrested and thrown in christian. and some have been executed for that. it is very dangerous to be a christian there. right now they're under as much pressure as everyone else is. >> wendy: the church is asking for prayer. we heard from open doors they're really begling fo beg -- begging for prayer. how can prayer changes international events. >> we need to pray. we have a story about churches in east africa that were under threat, and they prayed and got together, and nothing happened at easter time.

and ask pastor nazacani, and he will tell you it is the prayers that helped him in prison, and also led to his early release. we need to pray. >> wendy: and we're also prayer for pastor abedini and others in iran. >> that's right. >> wendy: thank you, gary. coming up, the church under threat in africa, using faith and prayers to fight for their freedom in christ.

>> wendy: welcome back. nigerian christians are appealing for prayer after a new round of violence there. attacks during the easter season left as many as 80 people dead. more than 4,000 were displaced. at least 19 christians have been killed since easter. well, east africa's christians are thanking god for peace and safety this past easter.

muslim extremists in kenya and tanzania had pledged to attack churches on the holiday. the easter threats turned out to be empty, but christians in those countries have been under attack this year. gary lane has more from nairobi. >> reporter: militants tied to al-shabab made the threat against east african christians. the group calls itself "muslim renewal." father everest moshi was gunned down in sanzibar, and they may have been responsible for the killing of a somali pastor. they issued a statement following those killings "many more will die. we will burn homes and churches. we are not finished. at easter, prepare for disaster." dozens of churches have been attacked in tanzania. including the evangelical church in keonga. militant muslims burned the

church february 19th, two days after the murder of catholic priest moshi. >> they took all of the blessing chairs that were here and placed them by the alter. they poured gasoline over them and set them on fire. they said it in public, it is no longer hidden, they don't want the christians. >> reporter: it wasn't the first time the church suffered persecution. a mob wielding hammers knocked down the church in 2011. he says they will not succeed in driving the church away. >> if the building is no longer here, we christians will still worship god on the soil. we will remain until the glory of god is manifested here. >> reporter: and in neighboring kenya, this bishop says his church members are on alert. armed police will guard the church building near nairobi this easter sunday. >> the church has been frightened because of what has been happening lately, in the past two years in kenya. but we shall prevail.

the word of god shale prevail. the people, called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, god will restore our land. >> reporter: gary lane, cbn news, nairobi, kenya. >> wendy: thanks, gary. coming up, iranian christians fled to sweden for safety, and now they're in danger of being sent ba.

>> wendy: christians in iran face arrest, torture, and even death. some of those christians have been seeking asylum in sweden. but swedish immigration officials are planning to send them back to iran. dale herd has that story from stockholm. >> reporter: iran is one of the most dangerous places in the world for christians, but that's exactly where the swedish government intends to send these former muslims. their request for asylum that could save their lives, denied. >> the swedish government's attitude towards iranian

christians facing deportation would seem to be as cold as the swedish winter. the iranian's say sweden's immigration board simply does not care that they may face prison or torture if they return to iran. >> reporter: raza has been in hiding after his asylum request was rejected. >> in iran, it is sharía -- >> reporter: his pastor, ber berker, still can't believe his asylum request was denied. >> i thought this should be a piece of cake. this man has brought other muslims to the christian faith. if he is a fraud, he is a very bad one because he is bringing people to the christian faith. but, still, they denied him. that made me look into what is going on? >> reporter: what i is

going on according to gabriel donner is a badly run asylum process, and in some cases, anti-christian bias. >> when you apply for asylum, you have to present your case. if you claim you are a convert, you have to have some evidence of conversion. a certificate of baptism or membership in a congregation. >> reporter: but he says some evidence is often missing from the asylum request because many attorneys don't include it. some don't understand swedish law of what it means to be a christian or how dangerous iran is. >> this results in a lottery where some people win and some lose. >> reporter: some of the losers is this family. they left i's la islam and they now face deportation.

>> we have told our families in iran we are christian now, and they have disowned us. so we don't have a family to return to. our blood is now halal, it is holy for muslims to kill us. >> reporter: matab says a swedish official tried to comfort her by saying yes, they probably would be thrown into an iranian prison, but not killed. she is in hiding and says when she tried to testify about her christian faith to immigration officials, they thought she was lying. >> officials don't seem to understand why a muslim would become a christian. they asked me, why didn't you become a jew? >> reporter: raza says an immigration official told him when he is deported to iran, all he needs to do is tell everyone he is a muslim, not a christian, and he'll be fine. >> i'm saying, after that i'm a christian, and you cannot think like that.

>> the expanded argument is nobody converts to christianity out of true belief. why would anybody do anything of a sort. >> reporter: micah, director of operations for the swedish migration board, describes an agency that seems to be overwhelmed by asylum-seekers. >> we have about a thousand people coming every week. we have to have a proper procedure and give people answers in due time. if we say no, you can go to the courts, but, of course, the volume in the system is a challenging task for us. >> reporter: but it shouldn't be hard for swedish officials to understand that iran is a very dangerous place for christians. the case of pastor us yusef nardarkhani brought world was attention, when he was convicted of apostasy and convicted to death. and pastor saeed abedini has

been given an eight-year stephens fo eight-year sentence for threatening the national authority for building a prison. >> he is in prison because he loves jesus. >> reporter: the pastor says his eight year sentence has already amounted to death. he has been tortured and has internal bleeding. raza was a famous singer in iran and refused to help the islamic regime, getting him in trouble before, and making him an even bigger target if he is sent back. >> he has been put in prison. they tried to recruit him as an informant. we don't know what is going to happen to him in prison. is it being tortured? is it being left alone? we don't know this. >> reporter: but these christians all told us they have given their situations to god. >> jesus accepted me, and now i'm very free. >> reporter: we asked sweden's immigration board

if you understand the danger of sending the christians back to iran? and they said they did. >> the history books will say something pretty nasty about this matter in the future. >> reporter: dale herd, cbn news, stockholm. >> wendy: thank you, dale. an incredible story. your prayers are powerful, and you can make you're voice heard. just go to our web page at cbnnews.com to find out how. wewel be rigig back.

>> wendy: more than 60,000 mexicans have died in drug-related violence in the past six years, but many parents worry about another kind of violence, the kind their kids see on tv. but cbn is offering a different kind of program, and tv executives are taking note. estaban castro reports from mexico city. >> reporter: even though it is a beautiful and colorful country, mexicans are getting fed up with the violence, no matter where it comes from.

>> tv programs are very violent. they offer things that are not good for my children. so instead we prefer going out for a walk or reading a book. >> reporter: more than 32 million children live here in mexico, but it is not always easy for them to find something worth watching on television. parents of their children are concerned about the problem, and so are the tv stations. we're looking for new programs to broadcast. eta great, a producer in mexico, says their policy is to reject programs with violent content. >> we think violence starts at home, and it is going to be very hard to eliminate violence when we have a problem that is not only coming from external sources, but from our own homes. >> reporter: that's what cardena decided to air a "superbook" special on the life of jesus this easter

weekend. while the new "superbook" series aired for the first time in mexico, this church hosted an event, allowing children to meet gizmo personally and watch the "superbook" special. she invited some of her neighbors, not just two or three, but 22. >> i want to share the story of jesus with these children. otherwise, where we live, it will be very hard for them to know about him. >> reporter: he didn't miss a detail of this story. >> this proves to me that jesus is is the son of god. >> reporter: as a teacher, he rarely sees children paying attention to anything for long periods of time. >> i was glad to see the boys and girls watch the show without blinking. that is very hard because children are always moving. i'm sure they are receiving

the message. >> reporter: she is right. when she invited children to come forward for prayer, the reaction surprised her even more. 8-year-old kevin was among the first to walk up to the front of the auditorium, just like the characters in the story, he wanted something from god. >> i told jesus to come to my house. to forgive my sins, because god is the father. >> reporter: now cbn hopes more and more mexican television stations see "superbook" as an opportunity to meet a need in the market. >> so we know that this is going to be an eye-opener for some of the tv stations. in the past, they have not been interested in these kind of programs. >> reporter: hopefully this enthusiasm -- >> "superbook"! >> reporter: -- will go viral. cbn news, mexico city. >> wendy: that's so much, estaban, and we would like to give a shout out to