Gebremeskel, who remain in prison.
In a Persecution & Prayer Alert report that was published on July 27th, a call had been issued for prayer on behalf of two Christian leaders who have served more than 7,000 days in prison, without charge, because of their faith. (For more details about their situations, go to this page.)
Although Pastor Haile and Dr. Kiflu presently remain imprisoned, along with hundreds of other Eritrean followers of Christ, we can at least rejoice over the good news that 13 believers were released from custody in late July. The seven women and six men had reportedly been in prison for approximately ten years. Due to security concerns, the names of these recently released Christians have not been made public.
Speaking of the recent releases, Todd Nettleton from VOM USA states, "We may never know [on] this side of heaven exactly how all those pieces fell into place." Todd further explains that he does not believe it was merely a coincidence that these Christians were freed so soon after 'the call to prayer and action' was issued on behalf of believers imprisoned in Eritrea. This serves as an encouraging reminder to us all that prayer changes things!
Please join us in praising God for the recent release of the 13 Eritrean believers, while also continuing to pray for the hundreds of other Christians remaining unjustly imprisoned in the country. May God intervene in the hearts and minds of the officials responsible for detaining these persevering followers of Jesus, as well as the fellow inmates with whom the Christian prisoners interact each day. Finally, pray that the Lord will grant His sustaining grace, protection and strength to each one of our suffering Christian family members in this East African nation.
Population
