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.

Pastor Adam and his friends sometimes notice people following them though. They know that Muslims and government officials are watching what they do. In Mauritania it is against the law to bring a Muslim to Christ. Christians are not allowed to publish or hand out Bibles. Muslims and government officials want to make sure Christians are not spreading the gospel. Pastor Adam and his friends want to make sure they are following the Bible’s commands to make disciples for Jesus. (See Matthew 28:19)

Desert Devotions

Much of Mauritania is desert. Anwar leads a group of Christians across miles of hot sand to worship in secret.

When Anwar was a boy, he was a Muslim. In fact, his father was an expert on the Quran, the Muslim holy book. Anwar read the Quran, but did not find the freedom and peace he was searching for. A Christian from another country gave Anwar a Bible. He read the Bible and found the peace that comes from knowing Jesus.

Anwar’s family was angry when he left Islam, the religion of Muslims. Some of his family members beat him. Bible verses he had learned, especially Matthew 5:10, helped him endure the persecution. Matthew 5:10 says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Seven of Anwar’s relatives are now Christians, perhaps as a result of Anwar’s good example. But other Muslims are still angry. “We have been following and keeping an eye on [you],” said a threatening letter Anwar received. (See the photo of Anwar and the letter at the top of the story.) The letter warned that Muslims would hurt Anwar if he didn’t stop sharing his faith with Muslims.

So Anwar and his Christian friends worship in secret in the desert. He asks Christians to pray that God will give him a way to spread the word of God all over Mauritania.

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