Batoul's father introduced her to Christ- she saw the change in him- before he came to Christ he used to regularly beat his wife and daughters.
Batoul grew close to her father and accompanied him to Bible studies- she soon believed and got baptised!
Batoul's mum and sisters did not approve of the new faith but took all the anger out on Batoul as they would not do anything to Batoul's father as per their culture.
Batoul's mum did everything she could to try and stop Batoul going to church and at dinner times she was excluded and forced to sit and eat by herself- akin to eating like a dog in a culture where everybody eats from the same bowl.
Batoul soon started attending a underground church which really helped her get encouragement from other Christian family.
The relation is better today between Batoul and her mum and sisters but they ofcourse want her to stop being Christian, it is a thing the world cannot understand- once you meet Christ, you cannot go back.
Thus concludes my current plans for writing on the persecuted church for now, as I have gone through the highlights of the Open Doors and Barnabas Aid magazines.
Having said that I am doing a daily reading of a Release International publication for Lent on their work with the underground church and there are a couple of yearly leaflets I am praying through from Barnabas Aid and a copy of the 'World Watchlist 2025' should be with me soon, so I will give you any highlights as God moves me too.
Remember to always keep the persecuted church in your prayers as they are just as much your family as your biological family if you are a Christian.
I have particularly fond memories of good fellowship and couldn't imagine if the people behind them were from a Country where they could be killed or taken away by secret police 😔
