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James Lual was a “Lost Boy.” Sudan had a civil war which began in 1983 and lasted until 2005. During that time Muslim attackers drove thousands of boys from their homes in southern Sudan. For years the boys wandered from place to place. Some ended up in refugee camps in other African countries. People called them “the Lost Boys of Sudan.”

More than 3,000 of the boys came to America. Others were allowed to settle in Australia, England, and Canada. James hoped to be one of those chosen to leave his homeland behind and start a new life somewhere else.

Plans for a New Life
James met a Sudanese girl at a refugee camp. She and James longed to get married and leave Africa together. Every day James checked with officials to see if he had been selected to go to another country.

One day, James found his name on a list of people who could go to America! His girlfriend was on the list to leave, too! She was very excited. She told James she would marry him and they could travel together.

“Lord, give me strength,” Mary Slessor prayed silently. She smiled at the tribal hosts who had invited her to a feast in Calabar. (Calabar was a part of what is now called Nigeria.)

To please her hosts, Mary knew that she must eat whatever she was offered. She wanted to make friends with them so she could tell them about Jesus. But the soup looked like tar to her. Another dish was filled with plants and fish heads. She prayed for help.

“Excellent!” she exclaimed as she sipped the soup. “Superb!” she said as she tried the fish dish, trying not to look at the fish eyes.

Not Afraid of Work
Mary was not afraid of difficult tasks. She grew up in the late 1800s as the second oldest of seven children in a poor family in Scotland.

At the age of 11, she had to go to work to support her family. When she got paid, she hid the money from her father. He was an alcoholic, and he wanted to spend the money on liquor instead of food for his family.

Mary became a Christian through the influence of a neighbor woman. She was willing to do hard work in God’s service, even when others said it was not proper work for “ladies.”

One day, Jesus was walking along the road with His disciples. A man said to him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus answered, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). Today, people in some places who choose to follow Jesus may also find themselves without a comfortable bed of their own.

Dreams of Jesus
Jason used to have a home in Iraq. In his bed at night, he began to have dreams about Jesus.

Jason, his wife and their children were Muslims. Muslims believe that Jesus was a good man but not the Son of God. They worship Allah. And they believe Allah lets people into heaven if they have done enough good works. But no one knows how many good works are “enough.” Christians know that people are saved only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

But Jason’s dreams led him to think more about Jesus. He found out the truth about salvation through Christ, and he became a Christian!

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

Akhaya and Sudhamani are Christian farm workers in Orissa, a state in India. They have three daughters and one son. Their 10-year-old daughter, Namrata, taught the world a lesson about forgiveness when her story was in the news.

A few months ago, radical Hindus in Orissa attacked Christian families and property. When the violence began Akhaya and Sudhamani left home, a wooden shack, to hide in the forest. They sent Namrata and their other children to hide with their oldest daughter Trusita. Truista worked as a live-in housekeeper for a Christian family. Radical Hindus attacked the house. The children hid safely in a bathroom. The Hindus left, but they put a bomb in a dresser drawer on their way out.

Maria knew she made a bad choice. She rebelled against her Christian parents. Like other restless Colombian youth, she and her boyfriend ran away and joined a gang of guerrillas. They hoped to find adventure.

 

But guerrilla life was miserable and dangerous. Three months after they joined the guerrillas, Maria’s boyfriend was dead. Maria was stuck. The guerrillas, who carried out acts of war and terrorism against the government, did not let people leave easily.

 

Update

Maria’s story was told in 2006 on www.KidsofCourage.com in a story called “Maria: Putting the Past Behind.” The story told about how Maria’s parents continued praying for her, even after she rebelled against them. Maria cried when she remembered her family.

Pastor Robert is the leader of a church in Pakistan. He and his wife have five children. Their church has about 80 members. Some of the members used to be Muslims. Muslims in Pakistan who decide to follow Jesus often face serious persecution.

 

One day, Pastor Robert found a handwritten letter in his mailbox. “Mr. Robert,” the letter said, “we are watching you.” The letter was written by radical Muslims. It went on to warn the pastor that he must stop leading Muslims to Christ. If he did not, the radicals promised that they would hurt “all your family members, smallest and eldest.”

 

What would Pastor Robert do?

A small group of men sit on a mat outside. Someone heats ingredients for mint tea on a small burner. The tea is poured into small glasses from high above the glasses, but nothing is spilled. Pouring the tea in that way makes it foamy and frothy.

 

According to Mauritanian custom, the tea is poured from glass to glass before it is served in three rounds. The glasses are washed after each round. Preparing and drinking the tea can take an hour or longer.

 

Mauritanians drink tea every day. No one thinks it is strange to see a group of men or women having tea together.

 

But this group is unusual. Someone listening closely might notice that they are not talking about the weather or their jobs. They are praying and talking softly about Jesus.

 

Pastor Adam has tea with his Christian friends as often as three times a week. Their “tea parties” are secret Christian meetings. Anyone passing by thinks they are just drinking tea.

 

1. Uzbekistan: Student Prays for Teacher Who Threatened Her

Ruth and her family have been through many years of struggle. People in their town make fun of them for their faith in Christ. “Please pray for me,” Ruth wrote in a 2008 e-mail to a VOM worker. “At school the teacher asked me to tell about the ancient Greek gods. I said, ‘There are no gods. There is only one God.’

“The teacher said to me, ‘Be quiet. And quit telling your fairy tales at school or I will take you to the principal and you will be expelled.’”

Ruth’s e-mail continued, “I feel sorry for the teacher. She is a good person, but she does not know that Jesus loves her. She has her own children. I wish I could tell them stories from the Bible. Please pray for my teacher.”

2. Eritrea: Students Protest

High school students in Eritrea are required to spend time working for the military. Rules at the military camps say that students cannot read the Bible, pray at meals, or talk about their faith. People who break the rules may be punished harshly.

Yet many bold Christian students brought Bibles to one of the camps in 2008. Officials gathered all the Bibles and set them on fire. But eight of the Christians refused to be silent. They objected to the burning of the Bibles. Authorities locked up the eight protesting students in metal shipping containers.

Women and girls in Iran are forced to follow strict dress codes. Leaders in Iran believe that Islam, the religion of Muslims, teaches females to cover their heads and hair. They are also expected to cover their skin from head to toe.

 

Hijabs (“hih-JAHBZ”) are scarfs or other material worn to cover the hair. Recently, hijabs have shown up in some places where they may not have been expected. Three women from Iran wore hijabs to participate in the 2008 Olympics. And hijabs are appearing on the heads of taxi drivers.

 

Usually taxi drivers in Iran are men. But some strict Muslims believe that women and men should not ride together in taxis. Also, some Iranian women do not feel safe riding with men drivers. So a few women now drive taxis for women only. But women taxi drivers are still unusual in Iran.