“Zahirah,” a Christian convert from Islam, was abused by her husband long before she became a Christian. And her husband became even more violent when she put her faith in Christ. She and her children left home and are now living in a building shared by several families. Zahirah is sharing her faith with a Syrian couple with a Muslim background. Though the wife has had a vision of Jesus, the couple decided to become more devout Muslims for fear that their relatives would kill them if they converted to Christianity. “Jesus died for me,” Zahirah said. “How can I give him less? I need to give my whole life for Him.” The Syrian couple told Zahirah that they are now reconsidering their decision. Please pray for this couple. Pray also for Zahirah as she pursues her ministry, and pray that she will be granted legal custody of her children.

Prominent human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng was kidnapped by state police on Sept. 24, just hours after the public release of an interview in which he discussed his previous imprisonment and torture. Authorities brought him back to his home on Sept. 25, and he remains under house arrest with no acccess to medical care or to a shower. In the interview, he told reporters that he did not hate his persecutors and that he was prepared to be tortured again because “torture can’t truly hurt” him anymore. Known for defending Christians in China, he has been repeatedly arrested, imprisoned and tortured since 2005. There are concerns that he will be kidnapped and tortured for a longer period.

In late September, Muslim extremists burned seven churches within a week in northwestern Tanzania. Three churches were burned on Sept. 22 and four more on Sept. 27. One church, the Living Water International Church, suffered its third arson attack in two years. Each time the 70-member church attempts to upgrade its tin structure to a cement building, it is set on fire and forced to start over.