You will find articles in this month's Prayer Letter about persecution of Christians, but two in particular focus on the suffering of children. Their suffering is often minimized by the media, but I want to let their situations be known to you, our faithful prayer warriors.

I have been visiting countries across the Middle East since 1991, meeting with families who are discriminated against, arrested, tortured, and persecuted in many ways because they follow Christ. The children of these families share in the suffering because... 

...they are strong in their faith, just like their parents.

Pastor Jack, our beloved co-worker, and his wife, Rose, have raised four children, all adults now, but I want to let you in on their lives to let you know how children suffer. When Morgan* was in elementary school, he was harassed not only by his classmates, but also by the teachers.

When Patty was seven, she told her Muslim teacher (who wanted her to recite verses from the Quran) that she was a Christian and didn’t know the Quran. Then in her innocence, she said that the Quran was a bad book. The teacher hit her so hard with a stick that he broke one of her fingers. She was also forced many times to stand in the hallway during class, a punishment reserved to shame the student.

When Robbie was playing soccer, one of the teammates intentionally tripped him and broke his leg. Another time, Robbie was surrounded by Muslim boys larger than he was. They tried to steal his cellphone because “everything that Christians own, really belongs to the Muslims.” Fortunately, Pastor Jack and I saw what was happening, and Jack intervened and averted the attempted theft.

Another little Christian girl was sitting on a bench and was pushed off by a Muslim man. Sitting in the dirt, she asked why he did so. His reply: “That is where you belong!”

Jacob was put in the back of the classroom because he is a Christian. A very large Muslim boy in front of him was blocking Jacob’s view of the blackboard, so Jacob tapped boy’s back and asked him if he could move over just a little. The teacher heard the exchange, grabbed Jacob by his arm, dragged him to the front of the classroom and repeatedly hit him on his back with a whip -- causing blood to flow until Jacob passed out - all the time screaming, “How dare you, a Christian, ask a Muslim to move!” Jacob still had lash marks on his back weeks after the attack.

Recently, a daughter of our friend, Moses-Ken, was playing outside after a service with neighborhood children. She is very bold in sharing her faith. We don’t know all the details, but she was pushed down stone steps and suffered trauma to her eyelid (see photo at left).

In another incident, the eight-year-old daughter of Mo and Hannan was playing with her Muslim friend who went home and told her mother that Mo and Hannan used to be Muslim but converted to Christianity. Her mother told her husband, who incited a mob to break down Mo’s apartment door and set fire to their home with the family inside. Mo and his family escaped through a second-story bathroom window, and Mo suffered a broken ankle in the process.

These are just a few examples of what Christian children face. The children of parents who were formerly Muslim are especially bold in their new faith, often making them targets of persecution. Please pray for the Christian children -- for protection, and that they will remain strong in their faith. Thank you.

Dr. Pat

*All names have been changed to protect their identities