Editor’s note: This story is part of a series on global persecution, leading churches to pray for the persecuted church. Other articles on the persecuted church can be found at imb.org/persecuted. 

Today, a Christian couple sits in prison. Arrested for sharing the gospel, they wait for another trial date to face the authorities and angry family members. They’ve been to trial already but have not yet heard a final verdict or sentencing. Trials are often postponed and drawn out, while government leaders look for further evidence against Christians and hope that believers will renounce their faith in Christ.

This couple has no plans to turn away from the Lord.

“We are writing this letter to you from jail,” the wife communicated in a letter, smuggled to fellow believers. “We treat inmates and everyone around us with the love that only comes from Christ Jesus, and we serve Him wherever we are. To God be all glory and honor.”

In another letter she told of her husband who was in solitary confinement. When the guard moved him to a large cell with other prisoners, the guard announced that her husband was a follower of Jesus and to stay away from him. The other inmates told him he would have to stay in the dirtiest part of the cell, near the bathroom. Miraculously, four other inmates came to him who were also believers from a neighboring country and culture. They embraced and prayed together, until a guard sent the husband back to solitary confinement.

In April, she wrote briefly of the last time they stood in court.

“The Lord gave us strength and a happy and fearless face and we stood in front of the devil with the weapons of God. And God will be with us to the end, brothers and sisters. Pray for us without ceasing. May the blessings of Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”