In Washington D.C., Christians from five churches gathered to pray for the persecution of the church all over the world. They were also able to hear different testimonies of persecuted Christians, including the testimony of Mariam Ibraheem, who in 2014, was famous for being imprisoned for her faith.
One Body organized the event which was hosted by Christ Our Shepherd Church and attended by members of Grace DC, National Community Church, Chinatown Community Church and The Church of The Resurrection.
Mariam Ibraheem's story made headlines in the year 2014. The Sudanese mother was pregnant with her daughter when she was sent to prison along with her son. She was charged with apostasy and sentenced to death for marrying her husband, who was a Christian and American citizen.
Ibrahim, whose mother was a Christian, was released after a few months of being imprisoned, but not before she gave birth while in chains. Testifying in front of around 250 people, Ibrahim relates that her story did not begin when she was sentenced or sent to prison. Her story is like so many Christians in predominantly Islam countries, who, because of their faith, face being beheaded, lashing or even death.
There were others who gave their testimony for the night. One is Pastor Freddy Thomas, who pastors Philadelphia House Worship Community Church. He also heads Redemption Christian Ministries, which aims to plant churches in the nation of India. He claimed that despite the rise of Christian persecution in India, more people are still coming to the saving knowledge of Christ.
He talks about persecution in Kandhamal, where he received news of Christians running to the house of their pastor. Their houses and livelihood have been burned, and the clothes on their bodies were their only possessions. Thomas was afraid that the persecution they suffered would cause them to deny their newfound faith, but none of them went back to Hinduism. After that outbreak of persecution, more people in Kandhamal were being saved.
Another story of persecution in Iraq was told by Loay Mikhael, who heads the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council foreign relations committee. There is a jizya tax that Christians have to pay, and Mikhael talked about one Christian family who were forced to give up their son and daughter to the jihadists.
Getaneh Getaneh, who hails from Ethiopia told the audience of his own bout with persecution after he baptized converts in the river. The three who converted from Islam were killed and he was tortured by being hung upside down and boiling oil was put on his feet. But he relates how he heard God telling him to tell his torturers that God loved them that He gave His Son for them. Two of them went on to receive Christ that day.
After each speaker have given their testimonies, the audience would then break out into groups to pray not only for the persecuted Christians, but for their persecutors as well. The organizers of One Body, said that it aims to make more Christians take the initiative to help their persecuted brothers and sisters all over the world.
