Since her one of her daughters died, Gate has lived with her 15-year-old granddaughter, Noi. Another of Gate’s daughters with her husband have supported them with food and necessities. On May 15, 2021, an evangelist visited Gate and Noi at home, and both put their trust in Christ. When Gate’s daughter and son-in-law learned of their conversions, they scolded Gate and told her to renounce her faith.
Read MoreSister F is a long-time Christian leader in Iran. Last year, one of her discipleship groups was raided by the police, and Sister F was beaten, tortured and placed in solitary confinement. She was then sentenced to a two-year prison term because of her faith in Christ.
Read MoreIn March 2022, Eritrean officials raided a house church gathering and arrested 29 Christians – 12 men and 17 women. All are currently being held at Mai-Serwa prison.
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Mourning the loss of her martyred father in Iran, Rashin promised the Lord she would follow in his footsteps. On Dec. 3, 1990, 13-year-old Rashin Soodmand’s life changed forever. That day, she learned that the Iranian government had executed her beloved father for leaving Islam, a decision he had made at age 17. Rashin had grown accustomed to her father’s repeated confrontations with Iran’s Islamic authorities. While still a toddler, she moved with her parents to the city of Mashad, Iran, where her father had been raised as a Muslim. In 1980, during the early days of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, her parents started a church in their basement, and after learning of the gatherings, the religious police repeatedly arrested her father, Hossein Soodmand, and other believers. Despite suffering physical and psychological torture during his brief stints in jail, nothing prevented Hossein from sharing Jesus Christ. While Hossein’s bold faith inevitably led to persecution, it also helped protect and eventually inspire Rashin’s faith. She and her siblings were the only Christians at their school, so her father taught and quizzed them on fundamentals of the faith in order to counter their mandatory Islamic studies. “That was a challenge for me,” Rashin
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Throughout the Middle East, Muslims are surrendering their lives to Christ—in spite of family pressure and overt persecution. VOM’s Middle East regional leader, Aaron Miller, shares stories from the region, and how we can pray for Christian brothers and sisters there. Join as Aaron discusses the situation for church planting in Turkey and the persecution in a place where being Muslim is seen as part of one’s national identity. You’ll also hear about a young husband who was training to be an Imam, qualified to teach the Quran, but has become a devoted follower of Christ. Facing persecution from their family, he and his wife have found a new family through fellow believers. Aaron will also share the intensity of persecution in Iraq, where lawlessness runs rampant. He will equip us to pray for the believers there. There are many individual cases of persecution—often coming from one’s own family. Aaron shares the heartbreaking story of a young daughter persecuted by her own father—all to punish her mother for leaving Islam to follow Jesus. Aaron reminds us that as God’s Kingdom advances, the enemy will fight back. Yet we see God’s kingdom prevailing and spreading throughout the Middle East. Pray for these dear families and churches living for Christ in spite of the cost. Pray for gospel workers in the region, and for VOM international ministry staff, that they would be renewed in their faith as they see and hear stories of persecution and seek to encourage believers living through it. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the podcast.
Read MoreCarla, age 16, came to faith in Christ in 2021. Though she grew up in a culturally Christian home, her widowed father practices animistic beliefs. When he learned about Carla’s decision to follow Jesus, he tried to force her to marry a non-believer.
Read MoreFiladelfo Santos Perez trafficked drugs before he came to faith in Christ. Now a pastor, he has been persecuted many times for his Christian faith. He has been arrested for failing to participate in pagan festivals and charged heavy fines.
Read MoreOn April 3, police raided Zion Reformed Church’s worship service. The authorities detained seven Christians, including the respective spouses of the church’s pastor and another member who were detained in late 2021 under the guise of preventing the spread of coronavirus.
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The life change for Henry Lyman was dramatic. A fellow alumnus of Amherst College described him as “one of the worst, boldest in wickedness, defying the authority of God.” But after his conversion, “he became as ardent and bold for Christ as before he had been in opposition to all good.” After studying theology at Andover Seminary and medicine in Boston, Lyman became one of the first missionaries sent to Indonesia by theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Less than ayear into his service, Lyman and his companion, Samuel Munson, metsome Batak warriors near Tapahuli in northern Sumatra. Servants traveling with the missionaries reported that each was speared and then eatenby the Batak. Lyman’s intense, shortened, but dramatic life ended in violence, but work among the Batak continued. Today the Batak worship Christ and train others for missionary service in the region. This story is an excerpt from Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs. You can get your own copy free with any donation to The Voice of the Martyrs.
Read MoreJoe and Dawn are back on VOM Radio share what the Lord has been doing through their discipleship training and Bible smuggling ministry in the Middle East. They will also share how God opened a new door to ministry among women trapped in prostitution. Joe and Dawn are involved in Bible delivery to persecuted Christians in Iran. Believers targeted by the Iranian regime face the challenging choice to flee the country or stay, knowing they could be imprisoned for their faith. A Christian sister has recently begun a two-year prison sentence, yet she reported to prison excited about the ministry opportunities God had prepared for her in prison. In spite of so much Christian persecution, thousands of Iranians are choosing to follow Christ. Joe says that for many of them, “Islam is getting old.” It is exciting for Joe and Dawn to be involved in the great harvest of church growth happening among people of the Middle East. There are also burdens Joe and Dawn carry as they labor in this ministry work. Listen to hear how they choose to give their anxieties to the Lord each day, and how they think about raising their children in a “dangerous” part of the world. They will share some of the key lessons they want their children to notice in their lives and in God’s work around them. Last time they visited VOM Radio, Joe shared his testimony of how he met Jesus as a prisoner through God’s Word, and how his life was completely changed. Listen here as he tells how God transformed him from a prisoner and criminal into a committed follower of Christ. Joe and Dawn will also encourage you to pray for open doors to deliver Bibles across all parts of Iran, and for their family during a season of rest and Sabbath with the Lord. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the Podcast
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