Introduction
Testimonies from the Voice of the Martyr
I drive a rickshaw 12 hours a day. Forty percent
of my pay goes for rent of the rickshaw. An evangelist gave me
a New Testament about Jesus, but since I cannot read my wife reads
to me by a small lamp on the floor after our evening meal of rice.
Her eyes get tired but she keeps reading.
When we became Christians, our neighbors would not
let us drink from the well. My wife and children walk half a mile
to the river three times a day with clay pots. Sometimes the river
water makes us sick. The Muslim court in the village has started
a court case against us. They are angry that we visited another
area three years ago for a Christmas celebration. My uncle took
our inheritance of land away from us. When we went to see a judge,
he said we were telling lies and waved with his hand for us to
get out.
We worship with others in a house about one mile
away from our home. The neighbors shout in through the window
using dirty language and throw big pieces of dirt at the house.
Our six-year-old son goes to the window and shouts back at them.
He threw a stone at them.
My wife went to the hospital when our relatives beat
her with a stick. They hit her in the ear, grabbed her by the
hair, and jerked her around. She was still sick after eight days
in the hospital but returned home to help us. Jesus has saved
us. We have no sin, but have peace now. We will not go back to
the Muslim life where there is no hope. Tell the Christians in
America to be ready for Jesus' coming. We will meet in heaven.
Testimony: Milon G.
A friend gave me some gospel booklets, which I hid
in a steel trunk in my bedroom. At night I would get my key, open
the trunk and read with a kerosene lamp. Having studied in a Muslim
fundamental school for 12 years, I had known about Jesus mentioned
in the Koran but didn't know Him as Savior.
I accepted Jesus in 1992 and was baptized secretly
400 kilometers from my home. I sell clothing in the local market,
and began placing some Christian books in my shop for other Christians.
When Muslim men learned of this, they would walk into my shop
and just take shirts, pants, and socks from the shelf without
paying for them. If I asked for money they threatened to beat
me. If they are interested in the booklets I will give them one.
I ride to the villages on my bicycle and carry Christian
literature. In two villages, groups of Muslims threatened to cut
off my feet so I couldn't travel. In the rains, I hold an umbrella
in one hand and steer with the other; I often fall down, and get
muddy and scratched. At night, I hold a flashlight. I sing from
the Psalms when I ride. The Christians I meet do not have an extra
blanket for me, so I try to make it back home to sleep.
I would like to tell my Christian friends in America
that we are going through many problems but still we have Jesus
Christ. We have peace through Him and we have hope that when we
die we will go to heaven.
Testimony: Abdul and Joina R.
I don't know how to read but I know Psalm 23. My
wife also cannot read but our son and daughter read the Bible
to us. We have a one-room house with grass walls and a grass roof.
We have been isolated since becoming Christians. For the last
year, our neighbors have not allowed visitors to cross their land
to come and see us. Visitors would have to go a long way around.
We also cannot get agricultural loans for our rice field.
I was in bed one month from beatings. My wife brought
me bread and rice. The doctor was not happy with me and asked
me why I became a Christian. One day at noon I returned from the
market walking down a dirt path to my house. The Imam (Muslim
leader), was standing beside the mosque. He wore a robe, had a
beard and glasses, and held a big stick. His name is Gafur.
Gafur called me over and asked why I became a Christian;
he accused me of loving Jesus. He began beating me on the head
and back with the stick. A doctor ran up and stopped him but no
one went to the police. The police would do nothing. The leader
of the village said, "You have become a Christian so you
destroy our Muslim religion."
My ten-year-old son says that he will become a preacher
and give the gospel to those who beat us, to bring them to Jesus.
Revelation 6:9-11
Body: Emphasis the sacrifices each gave for Christ
banished to patmos
boiled in oil
Close with story of wedding bride turned Christian