“Hussein**” has seen God work miracle after miracle as an evangelist and house church leader in Iran. Miracles like Iranian secret police raiding a house church meeting that had just received a shipment of 500 Bibles in three large boxes, which were still sitting on the floor. Police pulled pictures off of the walls and searched the apartment so thoroughly they literally picked up a needle that had fallen into a crack between the floorboards. But they missed the 500 Bibles!

Christ dramatically changed the life of “Hussein**,” a former Muslim in Iran. Once he had been a drug addict planning his own death, but now he was an on-fire believer in Christ who quit his job to pursue full-time ministry in the underground church. He was assigned to “shadow” a Christian couple in their ministry work as he learned and grew in his calling.

In yesterday’s post, we told you about two former prisoners in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. Today we bring word from a current Evin prisoner: Farshid Fathi.

“[We were] trying to appear confident on the outside but [were] petrified with fright on the inside.”

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.

Since the beginning of our ministry, VOM has encouraged Christians in the West to write letters of encouragement to prisoners. Over the years VOM has sent out lists of prisoners, pre-printed postcards to send and even encouraged readers to put a stick of gum inside their letters to a particular prisoner.

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh spent 259 days in Iran's notorious Evin Prison. Their “crime” was following Jesus Christ and encouraging others to follow him. While in prison, they received letters from believers around the world who had heard about their arrest.

There was good news from Iran last week as Pastor Robert Asseriyan, one of the leaders of the Assembly of God Church in Tehran, was released from prison. He had been arrested during a worship service at the church on May 21.

How valuable is God’s word to a Christian in prison? More valuable than gold!

Every other Wednesday, VOM's Todd Nettleton checks in with Moody Radio Quad Cities for a brief update about VOM's ministry and news from the persecuted church around the world.