If you have a map in your house that was made before the 1990s, Eritrea will not be on it. Eritrea became a separate country in the early 1990s. The people of Eritrea celebrate their Independence Day on May 24.

But independence does not mean religious freedom for many Eritrean Christians.

“As far as encouraging people to pray, I think Eritrea is [a country that needs prayer],” said a VOM worker.

Men, women, youth, and even young children have been arrested at Christian gatherings.

Pray for Eritrean Christians this week as they celebrate Independence Day.

Mural Bookmarks
Some churches in Eritrea are known for their murals depicting people from the Bible. Find patterns for mural bookmarks to use as prayer reminders here.

In many Muslim countries, it’s not easy to share the good news of Jesus with others.

With the help of The Voice of the Martyrs, Christians in one Muslim land have set up a bookstore that offers Christian books to sell, and sometimes to give away free. VOM recently received the following report about the bookstore from a VOM contact.

“Muslims are usually very suspicious when they pass by the bookstore, but many come in. The Muslims usually think that Christians are against them, because they are against Christians.

“We make sure that we welcome any of them who enter, and we try to help them as much as we can. When they see the bookstore workers welcoming them and giving them a cup of water, they usually feel safe and start to ask questions about Christianity.

“These are some of the comments we have received from visitors to the bookstore:

• ”I am sure that you are not after money because I have seen you give Christian materials to Muslims for free. You care for souls, not money.”
• ”I feel that your bookstore is a peaceful area. Anyone who comes here can feel it even if he is not a Christian.”

(Some of the quotes and stories on this website have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)

To Think About

• How do the workers at the bookstore help customers feel comfortable enough to talk about Christianity?
• Can you donate a Christian book or DVD to a public library?

A Chinese rice farmer, who was a new Christian, had a serious problem. Every day he pumped water by hand for his fields from an irrigation stream. It was very hard work.

Every night, his neighbors, who lived below him on a hillside, drained the water off the Christian farmer’s fields onto his own fields! He did not have to work hard and pump water by hand for his fields.

The Christian farmer went to some of his Christian friends and asked for advice. They prayed together and asked God for guidance. What do you think the farmer decided to do? What would you have done?

• Do you think the farmer and his friends went to the neighbor’s house to talk to him about his behavior?
• Do you think the farmer’s friends helped him move to a new farm?
• Do you think the Christians stood guard over the farmer’s fields so the neighbor could not drain the water?
• Do you think the Christian worked twice as hard, and pumped water for his neighbor’s land in the morning and his own land in the afternoon?
• Do you think the Christians held a revival in the farmer’s field and invited the neighbor?

Perhaps any of those responses would have been acceptable. But after praying for God’s guidance, the farmer decided to work twice as hard, pumping water for both himself and his neighbor. Maybe he was thinking about Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:39–42 that say: “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.”

How do you think the neighbor responded? Did he decide to follow Jesus because of the Christians’ example? Or did he greedily enjoy the water the Christian farmer pumped without even thanking him?

After he prayed, the Christian farmer made his decision about what to do without knowing what his neighbor’s reaction would be. His goal was to be obedient to Jesus.

To Think About
We may not have to hand pump water, walk two miles with someone, or give someone our cloak and tunic. Can you think of some examples from your life in which you might “go the second mile?” You might consider situations that involve household chores, sharing, school assignments, or responding to rudeness.

William is a Christian in South Sudan. Sudan and South Sudan used to be one country, but South Sudan became an independent country in 2011. Now they are two separate counties.

William, a Bible translator, used to live in Sudan. He is working to translate the Bible into the language of a tribe in the Nuba Mountains. The tribe has never had a Bible in their language. William is one of the only people in the world who knows their language well enough to do the translation.

Fighting between rival groups in Sudan has driven many people into refugee camps in South Sudan. William was one of them. He continues to work on his Bible translation in a camp. When he completes the translation, The Voice of the Martyrs will help pay for and distribute the Bible.

Please pray for William’s work, and for the salvation of the Nuba tribe who will use the Bible.

(Source: May 2013 The Voice of the Martyrs newsletter)

(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed.)

“Translation” Activity
Print the following verses and phrases from the Bible. To “translate” the verses, change each letter to the letter before it in the alphabet. For example, change the Ds to Cs. So the word “uif” would be “the.”

1. Cmfttfe bsf uiptf xip bsf qfstfdvufe
2. Sfkpjdf jo uif mpse bmxbzt
3. Mpwf zpvs fofnjft
4. Gpshjwf boe zpv xjmm cf gpshjwfo
5. Xf pvhiu up pcfz hpe sbuifs uibo nfo

The following story is from a girl in Indonesia who lives in a safe house. The house protects children whose family members have been attacked by radical Muslims.

“I am 14 years old, and I have been at the safe house since 2010. I want to share my story. My mother told me this story. It happened when I was 3 years old.

Our home was on the beach, and my father went fishing with his friends. A riot was happening in the area. My mother told my father it would be better if he didn’t go out because of the situation. But finally my father went fishing at night without telling my mother.

A few hours later, my mom heard the sound of gunfire from the beach. Our neighbors and my mother tried to find the source of the gunfire. The friends who went fishing with my father came back from the sea without him. They only brought back his boat. My father is still missing today.

Sometimes I feel sad when I remember my father, but now I have Jesus close to me. I love to read Psalm 23:3 because the Lord always walks with me.

I pray every day at 9:00 a.m. Once I prayed that God would provide me with a school uniform, shoes, and books. God answered my prayers, and he provided.

I love science and get good grades. I want to be a doctor when I grow up; I want to treat sick people.

Be thankful if you still have a father and mother. If you live in the free world, then obey God and always pray to him.

(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)

The following story comes from a 14-year-old Christian in Indonesia.

“I am the third child in my family. I have been at the safe house since I was 8 years old. I love to read, swim, and listen to the radio, and I love to do math, physics, and computers.

“My mother says that I was 8 months old when our village was attacked. My father was shot with an arrow.

“Sometimes I am sad because I don’t have a father. I overcome my sadness by playing the guitar. I don’t hate Muslims even though they killed my father.”

Matthew 5:44 says, “Love your enemies.” How does Yakim follow this command?

(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)

Christians in Indonesia opened a home for children whose family members have been attacked by radical Muslims. The home is called a “safe house,” because the children are safe from danger.

Andre is a teenager who has been living at the safe house for about 9 years. Read his story below.

“It started when my father and mother went to a Muslim neighbor village to buy fishing nets. My siblings and I were at home.

“We became worried when our parents had been gone for two hours. So we asked our next door neighbor to help us look for our parents in our village.

“We couldn’t find them.”

“The next morning we visited the neighbor village.”

Sadly, the children found out that their parents had died in an attack by radical Muslims.

“I cried and I was angry with God. It wasn’t fair. After that I promised that I would bring revenge to those who attacked my parents.

“Later I was picked to live at the safe house. Even though I attended all the Christian activities at the house, I still kept anger in my heart. One day I prayed to the Lord, asked for forgiveness, and asked that he would heal my heart wounds. I wanted him to take the anger and revenge out of my heart.

“Our God has transformed my life.

“The safe house is a new home where I can practice my guitar, read the Bible, and have friends who support me. At first I often cried alone, but not anymore. I’m thankful that I have many friends here who help me when I’m discouraged.

“I have a message for people who read my story. Love your God and respect your parents.”

(To protect their identities, the names of some of the people on this website and some identifying details have been changed. Some of the quotes and stories have been edited and paraphrased from the original sources for clarity.)

A church prayer leader recently shared with The Voice of the Martyrs some examples of how her church is becoming active on behalf of persecuted Christians.

“We use Kids of Courage books, online updates, online videos, activity books, and DVDs in our monthly prayer meeting. Even though we are all adults, we absolutely love the material. It is so well laid out and simply explained. We use the prayer calendars and recipes and stories [in the activity books] for the countries we pray for each month.

The books and videos are part of a lending library we started. We put our library on a cart and bring it to the Sunday school classrooms. This way, our congregation is staying informed and passionate about the persecuted.

THANK YOU for the Kids of Courage materials. They have truly transformed our church from being passive to active on behalf of our suffering brothers and sisters.”

—Carol H., Prayer Leader

The following excerpt is from God’s Apostle: The Adventures of Paul by The Voice of the Martyrs with Cheryl Odden (40 pages, hardcover, color illustrations).

When Saul heard of the Jews’ plot to kill him, he knew it was time to leave. But Roman spies and the Jews were watching for him at the city gates.

Under the cover of night, believers placed Saul in a basket. They lowered him through a window and down the city wall until the basket reached the ground.

Saul was safe from trouble — for now….

Soon, Saul became known as Paul ….

Wherever Paul went, he drew big crowds. He also attracted persecutors….”Salvation is for everyone!” he proclaimed….

“Who does he think he is, leading people away from our religion?” muttered Jewish leaders who were jealous of Paul. They left the synagogue with a plan to rid their town of this troublemaker.

As the jealous Jewish leaders stirred up trouble for Paul, those who heard the message told others.

Like feathers in the wind, the gospel spread far and wide. No one could stop it, not even angry religious and city leaders.

“Seize him!” cried one of the city leaders.

Suddenly the crowd turned on him. They pushed Paul through the city gate and forced him to leave. But that didn’t stop Paul and his friends. He left for another city. The more the Jews and Gentiles pursued Paul, the more the gospel spread….

Paul found ways to share the love of Jesus, and sometimes that got him into trouble.

You, too, might get into trouble for telling others about him. And like Paul, those troubles might lead to more ways to share Jesus, who promised never to leave us but to be with us always.

God’s Apostle: The Adventures of Paul by The Voice of the Martyrs with Cheryl Odden is available at VOM Books. To learn more about this and other children’s resources, visit the resource page on this site.

Across
1. A Muslim country north of Indonesia; starts with “M.”
2. The Bible book after Psalms.
4. David’s good friend. (1 Samuel 18:3)
5. Paul’s helper in Antioch. (Acts 11:25–26)
7. The capital of Tajikistan; starts with “D.”
8. The Bible book after Ezra; man who rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls.
10. The capital of Uzbekistan; starts with “T.”
11. An African country east of Sudan; starts with “E.”
13. Shadrach and Meshach’s friend. (Daniel 3:16)

Down
1. East is to the right of west on a ___.
3. Jesus is the ___ of God.
4. Bible book before Psalms.
6. What Jesus helped blind men do. (John 9:25)
7. The king put Daniel in a ___ of lions. (Daniel 6:16)
9. The king had Daniel’s friends thrown into a very ___ fire. (Daniel 3:22)
10. Joshua’s spies told Rahab to ___ a scarlet thread in the window. (Joshua 2:18)
12. The events in the Bible happened a long time ___.