Zahra has witnessed God move amidst persecution – and it’s made her bolder

Zahra from Yemen has witnessed God move amidst persecution – and it’s made her bolder

The text messages will be forever etched into Zahra’s* mind. They were sent to her friend, Anis*, after she walked down a street with him and his son. “We wanted to kill you today, but we saw you walking with others,” they said. “We don’t want to harm them, but we’re coming for you.” A week later, Anis was killed in front of his children.

For Zahra, threats were nothing new, and that’s why she brushed off the messages. Yemen is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian. Despite this, Zahra and Anis bravely discipled other believers, even when extremists took over their town and the threats began.

“I was shocked,” says Zahra, recalling the moment she learned of Anis’ tragic death. “I was haunted by the messages he had shown me a week earlier. I was terrified. What if I was next?”

A bold witness

Growing up, Zahra navigated a complex journey between two worlds: her personal faith in Jesus, which she learnt from her father, and external conformity to Yemen’s deeply Islamic culture. As her faith emerged in school, she was called kafira, meaning ‘infidel’, and after an Iman made the family’s faith public, her father often had to stay away from home for the family’s safety.

Throughout these challenges, Zahra’s faith grew stronger – and so did her witness. Today, she’s one of a handful of Christians reaching out to women in Yemen, using her experiences to connect with them whilst understanding the grave risks they may encounter by following Jesus, including house arrest as families seek to preserve their ‘honour’.

And of course, Zahra faces her own dangers. “We’re afraid of the extremists and the government as, at this point, they all work together against Christians,” she says. Spies are a constant threat. “I know that, when I enter a house, I might not come back out. We live among wolves.

“I visit women in their homes, help them with housework, cook with them and spend time with them,” she explains. “Through these visits, I can build relationships to be able to lead them to Christ. I need to hear God’s voice in my daily decisions. Shall I go to this meeting today? Or shall we postpone? Maybe we should move our meeting to Zoom this week. These are questions I ask God. We need constant sensitivity to hear His words.”

• What’s it like to be a Christian in Yemen?

Galvanised by growth

Zahra can feel fearful, but she is undeterred – because she is witnessing the Holy Spirit move. “I’m comforted and encouraged when I see how the church in Yemen, though in secret, is growing!” she says.

You’re playing a crucial role in this, through support for initiatives run by Open Doors local partners. Zahra is enrolled in one of these: a two-year leadership programme. “The skill set I’m building will help me serve the Yemeni women better,” she explains. “I’m determined to stay, despite the risks to my comfort and safety, because I believe everyone deserves to hear about God’s love.”

*Name changed for security reasons