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Clinging to Hope in the Face of Uncertainty The wife of a pastor imprisoned in Eritrea is holding fast to her faith amid unimaginable persecution. *names have been changed for security
By Rebecca Seiler, Communications Coordinator
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magine being a young pastor’s wife
and the mother of three small children. Your family doesn’t have much, but enough to get by. All of a sudden, government officials whisk your husband away without explanation, and you are left with the weight of worry and countless unanswered questions. More still, you are now forced to provide for your family without a reliable source of income and to somehow explain to your children why their daddy is not coming home. Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality for many Christian families in Eritrea.
The North Korea of Africa
Commonly referred to as the “North Korea of Africa,” Eritrea has a surprisingly extensive history of religious intolerance since its newfound independence in 1991. In this top-down system, much of the persecution stems from the government, which only officially recognizes four religions: Sunni Islam, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea. Anyone caught practicing their faith outside of these four state-sanctioned religious organizations is considered a threat to the government and immediately arrested and detained. Evangelical Christians, who meet underground in small groups to avoid government detection, are often arbitrarily arrested and detained, without due process, when found out. Many former detainees have admitted to being tortured into recanting their faith or agreeing to never again practice their faith without the government’s permission. This extreme government control has left evangelical Christians and other religious minorities in a state of constant paranoia. In
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Eritrea, the government actively encourages the public to report any suspicious activity, meaning a seemingly friendly neighbor could be the government informant that has your small group raided and your pastor whisked away to a lifetime spent in an underground desert prison in the worst imaginable conditions.
Arrest and Imprisonment
This is exactly what happened to Makda* and her husband, Simon*. Makda was living with her husband, a pastor, and their three young children when, without warn-
Former detainees have admitted to being tortured into recanting their faith. PERSECU ION.org
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ing, government officials raided the family’s home. Without cause, Simon was arrested and imprisoned at Era’eRro — one of Eritrea’s most notorious gulags, located on the outskirts of Asmara, the closed nation’s capital. Known for being a house of torture, Pastor Simon was thrown into Era’eRro without a trial. Makda and her children were never told the legal basis for Pastor Simon’s arrest, nor how long he would be imprisoned. At the time of this publication, it has been six years since Pastor Simon was incarcerated, and still there is no word as to when he will be released, if ever. All that is known is that his only crime was preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. In six years, the only time Makda was able to see Simon was when she stared on helplessly from the far side of the fence surrounding Era’eRro as he boarded a bus headed for one of Eritrea’s notorious desert prisons — which, to this day, Makda still doesn’t know. For years, Makda has carried the burden of not knowing when, or if, she will ever see her husband again.
Surviving on a Broken Loom
Without Simon, the family’s main breadwinner, Makda has been forced to rely on others to support her and her three children. Making only a meager income by weaving cloth on her dusty and broken loom, Makda and her children would often go hungry in the dark — their electric bill several months past due. When business is good, Makda is able to earn about a dollar a day, but business is rarely good, and her ability to provide her family even basic goods, like food and clothing, is rendered nearly impossible. Without your generous support through ICC’s Suffering Wives and Children fund, Makda would be MARCH 2015
The more they are persecuted, the more courageous they become. forced to rely on members of her church and extended family, who struggle themselves to keep their families afloat. In an attempt to hide her hopelessness, Makda admitted to sending her children out to play so that she could weep behind closed doors. When faced with questions from her children about their “aboi” (father), Makda does everything she can to keep them from fully understanding that their father, if alive, is likely being tortured for his faith.
Resilient Faith
Eritrea’s city lights hide an extensive history of religious intolerance that has given Eritrea the reputation of being the ‘North Korea’ of Africa.
Despite her and her husband’s situation, Makda’s own faith has not been lessened. In the midst of unimaginable persecution, Makda exudes the resilient faith of the underground church of Eritrea. During Sunday worship, Makda says she’s able to “let go of [her] worries and place [her] trust in Christ.” As ICC’s partner in Eritrea said of the underground believers there, “The more they are persecuted, the more courageous they become.” Makda, Simon and so many other believers in Eritrea are willing to give up their lives to follow Christ! Even while weeping for them and their families, the underground church in Eritrea celebrates those imprisoned for their faith as heroes for the Kingdom. In spite of the incredible odds facing Makda and her family, there is still hope. According to Makda, the greatest need of Christians in Eritrea is prayer. We hope that you’ll join us in praying for the families of Christians imprisoned in Eritrea: that their basic needs would be met, their faith made strong, their loved ones would be set free and their persecutors would come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.
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Anointed
& Bold
Formerly a Muslim leader of 65 mosques, an ICC-supported underground pastor shares his incredible testimony and burden of preaching the Good News to Ethiopia’s Muslims. By Cameron Thomas, Regional Manager for Africa
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ll across the world, Muslims are being exposed to the Good News of Jesus Christ and are converting to the Christian faith in numbers never before seen. Known as Muslim-background believers, or MBBs, these brothers and sisters face both immense opportunity to preach the Gospel to the unreached peoples of the earth and immense hardship in doing so. Often “excommunicated” from their families and communities, subjected to extreme efforts to forcefully reconvert them to Islam, discriminated against by authorities and sometimes victimized by violence 4
and sexual abuse, MBBs risk both life and limb not just to live the Gospel, but to share it. In this edition of Persecution magazine, we wanted to share the amazing testimony of one MBB preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to his lost brothers and sisters. A former Imam and regional mosque coordinator, Sheik Hassan, converted from Islam after seeing a vision of Jesus. Now an evangelist, Sheik Hassan is committed to spreading the Gospel across Ethiopia’s Muslim-majority Oromia region. Adisu Amsalu, ICC’s representative in Ethiopia, spoke with Sheik Hassan to capture his testimony.
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Can you tell me about your life before Jesus? Some time ago, I served as the coordinator for 65 mosques. As coordinator, I was responsible for overseeing dawa, or Islamic outreach, in and around Shashemene. I worked very hard not only to advance Islam, but to defend my district from the Gospel of Jesus. One day, I received an urgent message from Shashemene that read, “The place you left is now surrounded by Christians, and they are evangelizing. Come and stop them!’’ I quickly made my way to Shashemene, where I saw three evangelists preaching to Muslims. When they saw me from a distance, two of the evangelists, knowing how violent I could be, ran away, but the third stood in confidence and began to preach to me. Even though I was gripped with fear and hoping that someone would stop me, I ran to confront the evangelist (as coordinator, I needed to show the Muslims gathered there that I was committed to stopping the Christians at any length, even violence). As I got close to him, a Muslim brother grabbed me from behind, and asked, “Are you crazy? Are you not aware of their strength? 6
Don’t you watch TV? Even Saddam Hussein was hanged this week. Are you stronger than him? No! Why fight this man then? Do you want to bring danger to our home?” I waited for others to rebuff him or to encourage me to attack the evangelist, but no one did. I became furious with them and rebuked them for their cowardice in defending Islam. I said to them, “You are the ones who opened the door to the Christians, not I.”
What happened then? As I left that place, the evangelist said to me, “My brother, I’m not here to preach religion. I’m here to tell you that your debt is paid, that Jesus died for you and that He loves you. Why worship a god that is dead? Come, worship the God who has risen from death and is alive!’’ When I entered the mosque that night, I suddenly had doubts about my Islamic faith. In fact, in the middle of my nightly prayers, I started to shiver and found myself praying, “You are most merciful, God. You are omniscient and you know all. Please, show me the right faith! How can I walk in faith without
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knowing which is the right one?” Immediately after praying this, I had a vision. I saw myself inside very old, cracked houses, where on my left side I saw an idol worshiper and on my right side I saw a worshiper singing songs of joy. Then Jesus appeared before me and answered my every question.
What else did you see in your vision? Jesus sprinkled His blood on me before making a cross with a sword, which he placed upon me. I was very worried by this, but then He called me to follow Him into a large space where a big cross hung overhead and a crowd was gathered. He entered into the crowd, and I followed. Some were knelt down, others were praying silently and others shouted. “We are lost!” I uttered, staring at the honesty of their worship. “We shout meaningless Arabic words. These are the chosen ones, not us.” As I said this, Jesus spread butter on my head, anointing me a hero amongst my people. That is when I woke from the vision.
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What happened after seeing this vision?
Each night, when I would fall asleep, Jesus would enter my dreams and teach me. One night, He showed me in John 3:16 that He didn’t come to condemn the world, but to die for it. The next morning, I woke up unable to perform my morning prayer duties at the mosque. I just couldn’t find it in me to utter more meaningless Arabic prayers. Members of the mosque thought I couldn’t pray because I hadn’t eaten enough food, but the truth was that I had realized that the prayers of Islam were useless. When I didn’t pray at all that day, local Muslims questioned me, urging me to pray, but I remained silent. That night, I confessed to the Lord that I was afraid the members of the mosque would hurt me and maybe even kill me, but the Lord assured me that He would continue to be with me and that I should make my faith known. When I shared what the Lord had told me with my father, he urged me not to share it with my brothers. He was afraid that they too would hurt me. I told him that the Lord had promised to deliver me, that no one would be able to hurt me. That very night, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
What persecution have you faced for preaching? When my brothers heard what I had done, one of them planned to set my house on fire,
‘When my brothers heard what I had done, one of them planned to set my house on fire, but burned down his own house instead.’ – A MUSLIM-BACKGROUND BELIEVER
but burned down his own house instead. Later, when two people from my own clan decided to stab me, they attacked each other instead. After seeing this, my parents saw that the Lord was with me and agreed not to harm me. The Lord has always fought for me, even when things were difficult. When my father passed away, my brothers tried to keep me from attending the funeral — they even tried to hide the news of his death from me! After the funeral, they excommunicated me from the family and barred me from receiving my inheritance unless I renounced my Christian faith. In truth, I didn’t care for the inheritance. The Scriptures command me not to seek earthly things, so rather than fighting for my earthly inheritance, I’m still fighting, to this very day, for my brothers to join the kingdom of heaven. Even though I always face persecution for preaching the Good News, the Lord has been faithful in His promise to protect me, so I must continue to preach the Gospel.
How so? By traveling to where our Muslim brothers and sisters have not been reached. Wherever I go, I tell Muslim brothers and sisters that unless they receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior and acknowledge the price He paid for their salvation, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. I teach them that God is the Alpha and the Omega, and that He is our healer, our supplier and our redeemer. Whenever unbelievers ask me what the Bible teaches, I tell them. It’s simple, but that is how I carry Him to the Oromia people.
How many Muslimbackground believers have come to the Lord because of your ministry? More than 170 Muslims have come to know the Lord since I began my ministry. Many people in Oromia ask questions about salvation, and I give them answers from both the Quran and the Bible. I show them that even the Quran teaches that only the Bible carries the Word that can save. The Quran says that if you are doubtful, go and read the Bible! By sharing my testimony, knowing the Scriptures and being willing to give everything for my faith, the Oromia people are coming to know the truth of the Bible: that Jesus is Lord!
Training Pastors in Ethiopia Ethiopian pastors attend an ICC training on how to fight persecution while advancing the Kingdom in dangerous areas.
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Volunteers
Standing up for Justice for the Persecuted Church
The Power of Prayer
BILL BROWN VOLUNTEER ADVOCACY TEAM
RACHEL THOMAS VOLUNTEER PRAYER TEAM
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s a member of ICC’s volunteer advocacy team, Bill Brown regularly raises his voice on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering. He has been able to do so by writing letters and making phone calls to government officials, organizing marches for the persecuted and participating in a radio ministry to express his concern. Brown says that when he sees “heavy oppression and horrible crimes perpetrated on believers, [he] can’t help but go to God in prayer and ask, ‘What can I do?’” Brown was driven to take action on behalf of the persecuted church when he noticed that “outspoken Christian voices in the secular and public squares seemed sadly missing” in the midst of rising persecution. This motivation has led Brown to participate in various ICC advocacy campaigns, including most recently writing a letter to the Egyptian embassy on behalf of an imprisoned Christian in Egypt. As part of his mission to pray and speak out more effectively as well as raise financial and material relief, Brown and his wife recently partnered with the Christian Genocide Rescue Alliance to organize a rescue march (pictured above) in Hartford, Connecticut, for the victims of genocide. During this march,
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individuals spoke out on behalf of Christians facing persecution in Iraq and Nigeria. Brown felt called to get actively involved on the notion that although “there is a lot of information coming out to churches about persecution through various ministries, being proactive with what we know needs to be a priority.” Brown believes that those interested in volunteering should first “get informed and study to have a biblical perspective on the subject of persecution.” After prayerful consideration, those wishing to get involved should strive to give time in prayer, write to government officials to break the silence and call for action among churches and local Christian organizations. It is clear that Brown and the rest of ICC’s volunteer advocacy team are taking Matthew 25:40 to heart.
‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.’ – MATTHEW 25:40 (NIV)
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s a member of ICC’s volunteer prayer team, Rachel Thomas serves the persecuted primarily through intercession. On a daily basis, Thomas sets aside at least 15 minutes to pray specifically for the persecuted church. In addition to individual prayer, Thomas is actively involved with a youth group that spends regular time in prayer for Christians around the world who are in need. She believes that prayer is “the least [she] can do to help support persecuted members in the body of Christ.” Prayer volunteers across the nations make use of news stories and ICC updates to encourage others to pray for the persecuted, both individually and as a church. This year, events were held by volunteers throughout the world, including the UK, Thailand, India and multiple locations in the U.S., in honor of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted. Even from afar, ICC volunteers are able to bridge the gap to support those in need through prayer. Thomas summed it up best when she said, “Prayer goes where we cannot physically go and makes an eternal impact for God’s children.”
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Looking for a Way to Make a Difference in the World? Join Our Team of Volunteers! Most people hope to make a difference in the world, but many are not sure where to begin when addressing an issue as daunting as religious persecution. However, volunteers in every corner of the world are making an impact in their own communities, whether through prayer, advocacy, awareness or administrative help. By raising their voices in their own neighborhoods, ICC’s volunteers have helped bring unity to the Body of Christ by bridging the gap between the Western Church and the persecuted. It is up to us to make a change, and it starts in our own backyard.
Volunteers light candles in solidarity for the oppressed.
Stacks of newsletters sit on a display table awaiting distribution.
United for Peace
Spreading the Word
In Southeast Asia, volunteer Shamiel is making great strides in his efforts to bring people together to recognize the issues facing religious minorities. By partnering with the Christian Youth Development Movement, he organized a multifaith gathering called the International Day of Peace. During this event, attendees gathered to stand in solidarity for Christians suffering for their faith in Iraq and other zones of conflict and to discuss how they can best address this issue. Following a moment of silence for the persecuted, participants lit candles together to symbolize the hope that they have for the future of persecuted Christians around the world.
As part of ICC’s volunteer awareness team, Blake Burget spreads awareness for the persecuted by writing a monthly column about the persecuted for his church’s newsletter. He also gave a presentation to a Denver church in order to spread awareness. In addition to writing and speaking on behalf of the persecuted, Burget also volunteers by distributing ICC’s Persecution magazine on a regular basis. In total, 747 extra copies of Persecution are sent each month to 50 representatives and churches for distribution. The number of extra copies sent to each representative or church ranges from three to 50.
Volunteer Teams 1 Advocacy Fight for justice for the persecuted through petitions, embassy calls and more. 2 Awareness Raise your voice for the persecuted Church through speaking in churches, writing and social media.
3 Office Lighten the load of our staff by helping with administrative tasks. 4 Prayer Intercede for our brothers and sisters in Christ, both individually and
as a church.
Interested in Serving? Online Apply on our website at:
http://www.persecution.org/how-you-canhelp/volunteer or send an email to volunteer@persecution.org
Phone Want more information? Feel free to call us at (301) 585-5915.
5 Special Projects Volunteer on your own schedule through one-time projects.
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You Can Help Today!
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