Kids of Courage

Iranian schoolboys

Daniel is a 13-year-old boy in Iran who used to be a Muslim. “Before my faith in Jesus, I did wrong things,” Daniel said. “I went to my uncle’s house and smoked, and I fought a lot. But now that God is in my heart, things are much better.

“I like school because they teach us and help us to reach our target in the future. If other students hurt me, I act with kindness. If they hurt me badly, I go to the principal. I don’t fight.”

Like many Iranian Christians, Daniel attends a secret house church. “They are all good and kind to each other, and they care,” Daniel said of the church members. “God’s presence is there. We pray that God will tell us what he wants from us.

“My favorite Bible story is when the blind man saw Jesus, and he said, ‘I want to see.’ Because he asked with faith, Jesus told him, ‘Your faith has healed you.’ One night before Iranian New Year, I became very ill and asked my dad to pray. The next day I was totally well, and I understood God’s power.

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Asal is a 7-year-old Christian girl in Iran. She goes to church at a house church. Only two other children attend the services at her house church. The police in Iran are suspicious if they see large groups of people gathering at a house.

Asal is happy that she has a Christian family. “Before they put their faith in Christ, my mom and dad used to fight all the time,” Asal said. “Now they no longer fight.”

But Asal also said, “The hardest thing about being a Christian is that I cannot openly say I am a Christian.” It’s against the law in Iran for Muslims to become Christians.

“Please pray that one day we may be able to speak freely,” Asal added.

To Do: Have you prayed for Christians in Iran? You can find more about how to pray for Iranians in Bold Believers in Iran, a free activity book in the Downloads section of this site.

A Christian woman in Iran told a VOM contact about meeting with other Christians in her apartment to worship God. “We can’t sing very loudly, or the neighbors would know,” said the woman. “We never have more than 20 in our group.” To remind the Christians to speak quietly, the group makes anyone who talks too loudly pay a small penalty of about a dollar. Then the money is used as a church offering.

Of course, the Christians cannot use musical instruments, or the police could easily find them. So the woman taps quietly on the bottom of a cooking pot to keep time when they sing. During the services, children attend a “Sunday school” class in another room. The teacher gives them song sheets, but they are not allowed to sing. Instead, they memorize the song silently and sing it six months later when the Christians travel into the countryside to worship.

To Try: Hold a worship service or Sunday school class during which no one talks or sings above a whisper. Pray quietly for Christians in Iran.

VOM contacts talked to Arshia, a boy in Iran. Read below what Arshia said about his life.

To Do: How many things to pray about can you find in Arshia’s story?