“I was in five different prisons, each worse than the last. I was placed in group cells with drug traffickers, violent criminals and radical Muslims- even ISIS members. I was deprived of sleep for days in a cell with no running water, where mice ran over my body every time I lay down.” – Petr Jasek, The Voice of the Martyrs Regional Director for Africa, imprisoned in Sudan for 445 days, released this weekend.
Inspired by years of serving Christians imprisoned for their faith, Petr said he felt honoured to be able to serve God while himself the prisoner of a brutal Islamic regime. He embraced his imprisonment as an opportunity to share the gospel with many who are normally inaccessible to missionaries. He saw many come to a saving faith in Christ. Peter also said he was peaceful and joyful while in prison, a miracle that only God could do. We can be inspired by Petr’s example, to boldly witness for Christ wherever we are.
– Please continue to pray for the other two Sudanese men who were arrested with Petr and have been unjustly sentenced to 12 years in prison. Pray for their families and that they will be released soon.
Believers in Sudan have become bolder- not more cautious- in their witness for Christ since Petr and the others were imprisoned, even singing hymns outside the courthouse during the trial.
Systematic targeting of Coptic Christians is happening in Egypt’s Sinai region by IS militants. Hundreds of believers have fled the area after seven Christians were murdered in the past several weeks.
An encouraging message from Arabic broadcasters in the Middle East….
Egyptian police have arrested four people in the wake of the bombing that killed dozens of Christians at Cairo’s Coptic Christian cathedral last month, the Interior Ministry said.