One of the things The Voice of the Martyrs has consistently encouraged readers to do is to write letters to Christians in prison. In the museum space in our headquarters building is a list of prisoners in Soviet prisons in the early 1970s, as well as a poster of prisoners from that era that was sent out to US readers and churches to encourage them to write letters. Today VOM offers a letter writing kit for people who prefer writing with pen and paper and an online tool for those who prefer electronic tools in their communication.
But do the letters make a difference?
Who better to answer that question than formerly-imprisoned Christians? Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh spent 259 days in Evin Prison in Iran because of their Christian faith and activities. During their time in prison VOM featured the pair on www.PrisonerAlert.com and encouraged American Christians to write letters of encouragement to them.
Now, with the release of their book, Captive in Iran, we can see what the letters meant to them. Maryam writes this section of their story:
One of the visitors, a middle-aged man with a round face, looked at me. “Are you Miss Rostampour?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Do you have any idea how long we have been waiting for you?” I was too surprised to speak. “You have caused a great deal of trouble for us with these letters of yours. Every day, we have to open and read letters about you and your case.”
“You have to read letters about me?”
“Yes! At least forty or fifty letters a day that have been sent to you from all over the world.”
“If the letters are sent to me, why should you be reading them? Perhaps this is another example of the abuse of human rights in this country—that you open and read other people’s mail.”
“Did you really expect us to give them to you so you could get more encouragement to defy us?”
We don’t need to read the letters to be encouraged by them, I thought, my heart filled with joy. The world is watching you. We have a family of faith that loves us and cares for us. We are not alone!
Letters to Christians in prison DO make a difference! Order your Prisoner Letter Writing Kit or log on to www.PrisonerAlert.com and write a letter to a currently-imprisoned Christian today! You may also want to order a copy of Captive In Iran and read Maryam and Marziyeh's amazing story.
You can also WATCH A VIDEO of them speaking to VOM's staff.
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