.Zara was a drug addict living half a life in a very religious city. Zara met some Christians and desperate for anything to deal with her drug problem, she asked Christ into her life. The addiction demons went. And Zara could not stop talking. First some family members came to Christ, and then friends heard about her. Now there are at least ten who have come to faith because of her salvation, and they meet together. No law of man can stop the living Christ reaching into the lives of those oppressed by Satan. And no law of man can stop people like Zara talking about their Saviour.

            The case of Ali Golchin, jailed solely because of his allegiance to the historic faith of the church, is one of many that tell us that the church suffers in Iran. The case of Zara is one of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, that tells us that Jesus Christ Himself is building his church, as usual among the poor and distressed.

Pray for

• Zara’s group to grow
• Other addicts to come to faith
• Ali Gochin to be released.

According to the FCNN website yet another Christian has been languishing in prison for forty days, not for being an activist, but simply for his faith in Christ. On 29^th April 2010 security agents arrested 29 year old chemistry graduate, Ali Golchin, at his home in Veramin, south east of Tehran. After confiscating many of his personal belongings they then took him to an unknown location. For over a month Ali’s family were not allowed to visit, and his wife was told she would have to deny Christ to take up the case in the courts. After constant petitioning Ali’s father was allowed to visit his son on June 17^th – for ten minutes. Ali had lost a lot of weight, and was clearly in pain. He is being punished – but no official charge has been made. This would indicate his suffering is solely due to the fact he has faith in Jesus Christ.

            It is surely time for those behind this policy of intimidating Christians to read some Tertullian (160-220 AD). This brilliant writer from Carthage spelt out, with some humour, how the Roman policy of persecuting Christians was impractical, “The Christians to the lion!” What, all of them? To a single lion?’ And that it was a policy doomed to back-fire – ‘The more you mow us (Christians) down, the more numerous we become. The blood of the martyrs is the seed (of the church).’ Christians certainly did become more numerous and by the early fourth century most of the senior leaders of the Roman Empire saw persecution as being a total failure. In 313 AD Constantine issued an edict of toleration.

            Tertullian has always been proved right. For the last two thousand years no state has ever managed to sustain a policy of persecution against the church, despite the most horrific barbarity meted out to innocent Christians. Let’s hope some sensible people in Tehran dust off their copies of Tertullian and heed his advice.

Pray for

• Immediate release of Ali Golchin
• Comfort for his family
• Reversal of bankrupt intimidation policy

A very sick lady in Iran who had entered a coma had friends of friends who were Christians. And they prayed. Seemingly they were ordinary prayers, but they were effective. She has recovered, and fascinatingly for one who is not a Christian the first words on her lips were – ‘I saw a pastor praying for me. ‘ Those same friends are now praying that she is healed spiritually and comes to faith in Christ. Iranian Christians believe in prayer – and they see their prayers answered. This is the open secret behind their growing church.

Pray for

• This lady to get better and to find faith
• Freshness in believing prayer to be maintained
• More healings to be seen

For fourteen months committed Christians , Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh, have suffered prison, solitary confinement, sickness, intimidation, and the threat of a severe sentence from the courts. Their ordeal is over. Earlier this month they were acquitted, and on Saturday 22^nd May they arrived safely in another country. They were met by close Christian friends and are now resting. And they are praying – for the many others still held unfairly in prison, and especially for other Christians, either in detention, or out on bail and still facing court cases. For a fuller story see www.elam.com

Pray for

• Rest and recuperation for Maryam and Marzieh
• Their future
• Women who have heard about Christ through them in prison

While Vahik Abrahamian from Tehran, imprisoned for 53 days in solitary confinement, and the eighteen year old Daniel Shahri from Isphahan, have recently been released, there are also reports of fresh arrests in Tabriz. Here one Christian was released on bail at an exorbitant price. Another could not  find the money and family members were thinking of selling their kidneys. Despite such intimidation the church continues to grow. Nearly three weeks ago two young men after a long journey walked into a church and said they had found ninety four pages of the Gospels. They loved Jesus and wanted to find out more. That evening they met Him.

Pray for

• Christians to be released without having to pay exorbitant bail
• Protection on Vahik and Daniel
• Religious freedom in Iran

On April 11^th Daniel Shahri, the nineteen year old son of a blind Christian couple in Isfahan was arrested and detained in the city’s Dastgard prison. He was charged with spreading falsehood and insulting the Islamic Republic. He has now been released. As Daniel is not an apostate from Islam, since both his parents are Christian, there was speculation as to why the security forces chose to harass him. Some suggested it is because his family were old friends of the Rev. Issavi who was recently arrested in Isfahan; others point to the raid of a security officials on a youth meeting where Daniel was.

            Vahik Abrahamian is also no apostate: he is an Armenian Christian who had a dramatic experience of Christ when in Holland. He was arrested in Tehran on February 20^th and is now in Evin prison after hosting a guest from abroad. There is no other news.

            A few days later in Isfahan, on February 28^th, the authorities arrested house church leaders Mr Shafiee and his wife Reyhaneh. There is no news of their whereabouts.

            Then on April 14 the authorities also arrested and detained Pastor Bahnam Irani, the pastor of a church in Karaj, just north of Tehran. The news agency FCNN suggest he is being held in a detention centre in Karaj.

            These are the known arrests. All the above, and others we may not have not heard of, deserve our fervent prayers. As do Maryam and Marzieh, the young ladies imprisoned for 259 days, and though free now, they are waiting from the court to hear whether they are going to be punished more.

Pray for:

• Courage and wisdom for all imprisoned
• Comfort and grace for their families
• Freedom for all the innocent

In 2009 they spent 259 days in prison for their Christian faith.  After their conditional release on 18th November 2009 from Iran’s Evin Prison, they have been convalescing and receiving medical treatment for the past five months.

Both of them still remain unwell, weak and suffering from various illnesses.  However, despite their frailties they are determined to be faithful to the Lord and speak the truth in court whatever the consequence or personal cost. On April 13, Maryam and Marzieh had a court hearing about their case, and their court process will take several more days. Please continue to pray for them.

Pray for

• The peace of God to protect their hearts and minds and keep them safe.
• Complete recovery from their illnesses – they they’ll be strong physically, mentally and spiritually.
• The presence of God in the midst of their trial and for their freedom.

Maryam and Marzieh need our prayer. 
 
They spent 259 days in prison for their Christian faith.  After their conditional release on 18th November 2009 from Iran’s Evin Prison, they have been convalescing and receiving medical treatment for the past five months. 
 
Both of them still remain unwell, weak and suffering from various illnesses.  However, despite their frailties they are determined to be faithful to the Lord and speak the truth in court whatever the consequence or personal cost.
 
Maryam and Marzieh’s court hearing has been set for 13th April 2010. 
 
Therefore, on their behalf, during the next five days leading up to their court hearing we request your prayers.
 
Pray that:
 
The peace of God will protect their hearts and minds and keep them safe. 
They will completely recover from their illnesses and be strong physically, mentally and spiritually.
They will know the presence of God in the midst of their trial. 
They will be set free.
 
Maryam & Marzieh would like to express their heartfelt gratitude for your prayers that have sustained them throughout their hardship. 
 
Thank you for praying.
 
The Elam team
————————————————————–
 
Visit elam.com to learn more about Elam Ministries.

On February 28^th fifteen uniformed police and five others in plain clothes were sent to the home of Christian married couple Hamid Shafiee and Reyhaneh Aghajary. According to the FCNN news agency, when they arrived only Reyhaneh was at home. The officials swarmed in, hand cuffed her, and then searched the house, confiscating books, computers, and personal belongings. When Hamid arrived an hour later, he too was handcuffed. It is alleged that when Reyhaneh resisted being taken away pepper spay was used.

            The next day the family of the couple contacted the information centre for the judiciary. They were told the authorities were preparing files for the Revolutionary Court. The place of their imprisonment was not disclosed.

            Hamid and Reyhaneh have been Christians for many years and have faithfully lived according to the traditional teaching of the historic church of Jesus Christ, as taught by the apostles, the church fathers, and all mainline denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, and the Protestants. This includes the Christian’s duty to share their faith in Jesus Christ with their neighbours. There is little doubt that this is exactly what these two faithful Christians were doing.

            Their arrest in Isphahan follows that of Rev. Issavi, the Presbyterian priest from Kermanshah, when he was visiting an old friend in the city.

Pray for

• Hamid and Reyhaneh – peace in prison; immediate release; families;
• Revd. Issavi – peace in prison, immediate release, wife and family
• The prosecuting officials – to have a conscience sensitive to the Holy Spirit

According to the FCNN website security agents arrested Rev Wilson Issavi while he was visiting old friends in a suburb of Isfahan on February 2^nd. Neither friends nor family know his present whereabouts. Rev. Issavi is the long term serving pastor of the Assyrian Evangelical Church (a member of the Presbyterian denomination) in Kermanshahr, a city in the mid west of the country. He is responsible for an ageing church building in need of repair. Since the first election of President Ahmadinejad there has been a policy of intimidation towards Protestant Christians, whereby activists are arrested, and usually released, as a warning. It might be that Rev Issavi’s arrest is the latest in this pattern. However given that Rev. Issavi is an Assyrian Christian from an ancient community (i.e. not an apostate) and has served his church with impeccable respect for all the laws of the Islamic Republic there is another possibility. Perhaps paranoia has crept into the minds of some security officials, for the idea that this grey haired, unassuming pastor is a threat to Iran’s international security verges on the absurd. Whether intimidation or absurd paranoia, the harsh reality is that this faithful priest is now locked up in Iran’s opaque prison system and deserves both passionate intercession and courageous representation from the international church for his freedom –and all others whose religious liberty is threatened.

Pray for

• Immediate release of Rev. Issavi
• Comfort for his friends and family
• Christian politicians to raise issue of religious freedom with Iran