ERITREA: "I See God's Grace Upon Me"
VOMRadio
The Voice of the Martyrs
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2019
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are there blessings found in being in prison for Christ?
Yonas Haile was a Christian worship leader and filmmaker in the African nation of Eritrea. When his gospel film was released, the Eritrean government was furious; from that day, Yonas was targeted. He says Eritrean Christians are "ready always" to face persecution.
Listen as he tells of the joy that God blessed him with, even in the midst of horrible suffering and prison. Yonas also experienced God's miraculous power, including walking out of an Eritrean prison just as Peter walked out of prison in the book of Acts.
He'll also share about opportunities to be a witness for Christ and offer hope through the gospel of Christ—even in prison. Finally, Yonas will update on whether changes have happened in Eritrea since the country signed a peace agreement with Ethiopia. And he'll give specific ways we can pray for that nation, and for our spiritual family members there—especially those in prison for Christ.
Helen Berhane, another Eritrean worship leader, helped Yonas make his gospel film. You can hear her interview with VOM Radio here.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When Yonus Highley was imprisoned in Eritrea for his faith in Jesus, a verse from 1st |
| 0:06.0 | Peter 5 came to mind. |
| 0:09.2 | A major theme of the Book of 1st Peter is suffering for God's kingdom. |
| 0:14.2 | So this book means a lot to Yonis, a church leader from the African nation of Eritrea. |
| 0:20.2 | When he was imprisoned for his faith, he thought of 1st Peter 5, which encourages leaders or |
| 0:25.3 | Shepherds to be faithful. It says, and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive |
| 0:31.9 | the unfading crown of glory. That particular verse became |
| 0:38.0 | especially encouraging to Yonis right there in prison. |
| 0:42.1 | The Lord told me, you got the crown because of this persecution. |
| 0:48.0 | I just feel not only something like I got sound, I heard sound and I feel, I never even feel before or after that happiness. |
| 1:01.0 | I got happiness. |
| 1:04.0 | And the Lord told me this is the real, just like blessing to you. |
| 1:08.0 | Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. In fact, he told his disciples that the world would hate them. |
| 1:18.0 | He sent them out as sheep among wolves. |
| 1:21.0 | Jesus' words came true in the life of the Apostles, and they're still coming true today in the lives |
| 1:26.0 | of his followers around the world. |
| 1:28.0 | Join host Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help right now on the Voice of the Martyrs |
| 1:34.3 | radio network. Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs radio. My name is |
| 1:38.4 | Todd Nettleton and I am in the studio in Bartlesville, Oklahoma today with Yonis Highlay. |
| 1:45.1 | Yonis is a Christian from the country of Eritrea and we will talk a little bit |
| 1:51.0 | about Eritrea about the situation for Christians there. |
| 1:54.1 | He is also a pastor. |
... |
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