Don’t Forget Them

I'm privileged to know some amazing people involved in reaching the world through and with the love of Christ; people reaching into the hard places, offering hope and salvation.  I've been privileged to pray with them and for them and their work.  I've been privileged to share in their joy and weep with them.

One such person that I call friend has a heart for Iran and has been writing of late about the elections and the turmoil in that region.  He has shared about believers who are working there and persevering in the midst of much hardship.  He asks that we pray and not forget about them.

Another person that I call friend has shared how God is working in that region and how we could come alongside those already working there as well.  She also shared this story about two beautiful sisters in the Lord, Maryam and Marzieh:

Please pray for God's provision of strength, protection and release for our sisters, Maryam and Marzieh, who are suffering imprisonment for their faith. (Unlike the Iranian/American journalist who was recently freed from three months in jail, these women are not getting media coverage and are forgotten by the world's eyes.  Remember them.)

Maryam and Marzieh imprisoned in Iran

Our friends at ELAM, an Iranian ministry, urge us to share this information in our churches:
Marzieh Amirizadeh (30, on the right) and Maryam Rustampoor (27, on the left) were arrested on March 5th in Tehran and are now being held in solitary confinement in cramped cells in Evin prison.  Neither has been charged, but there is no doubt they are being held because both are witnessing Christians from a Muslim background.  This was confirmed when a prison official told them, "You should be executed because you are apostates."

The two are suffering. At first they were held together in a very crowded cell with 27 others, and now they are in solitary confinement in two by two meter cells.  They have also both had serious infections, and they are being interrogated.  Additionally, they are expected to stand trial before the revolutionary court without legal representation.  Despite all this, their faith in Christ has not wavered.  One said, "I've taken up my cross, I now have to bear it."

Don't Forget Them!  Talk about them, pray for them, share this story with others.