“Iranian children right now are victims of their wider society and the struggles that their parents face,” says Silk. “There’s a lot of very serious economic hardship in Iran today, and that is affecting the adult population in their mental health. There are a lot of people turning to drugs and alcohol. There’s a lot of joblessness and struggling to put food on the table. So that worry and stress and struggle, of course, is going to permeate the whole household. And children are very helpless in these kinds of situations.”

The weight of these challenges increases for Christian children. In Open Doors’ World Watch List, an annual ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution, Iran ranks #9.  According to Silk, Christian Iranians have needed to be even more cautious with their faith since the 12 Day War in June, which started when Israel launched targeted airstrikes in Tehran, dramatically escalating conflict within the Middle East.

“The government is really scrutinizing everything and desperately trying to weed out the Christians, and these children have been very careful at school to toe the line and keep up pretenses that they are sympathetic, at least, to the Muslim faith. So all of that carries its toll.”

And while Iranians are free to acknowledge Christmas as a “festival,” that doesn’t mean Christians are safe to celebrate the meaning behind the day.

“People can still decorate their homes and make a fuss of that time of year,” says Silk, “but as soon as you get into a truly Christian celebration of what happened 2000 years ago, then that’s all going to be kept quiet.”

She notes that Iranian children outside of Iran are mostly refugees, with their own set of challenges: “A lot of the issues they face really affect their sense of well-being, even mental health, depression, anxiety, panic attacks.” However, evangelism efforts are much less dangerous for Iranian refugees than for Christians living within Iran.

“We do a lot of that, particularly in Turkey, where we can gather other refugee Iranians who are all living a sort of bleak life at the time,” Silk says. “And so the Christian families can say our holy celebration is coming up. So it’s a great way just to gather a community, and of course, through that, then we get to bless these families, practically and spiritually, sharing truth.”

For all Iranian children—Christian or not, within Iran or in refugee regions—Transform Iran is working to share joy through Operation Christmas Joy, a six-week program where families gather and talk about Jesus and what Christmas means, culminating with a gift for each child that helps meet a practical need.

“We talk a lot about joy and peace and hope at Christmas time,” says Silk. “We thought, well, how do we share the gospel message with children and truly allow it to penetrate their lives so that it does birth joy in their hearts? We want them to be laughing again and dancing again and enjoying community.”

To learn more about partnering with Transform Iran this Christmas, visit their website.

Header photo courtesy of Transform Iran.

New Fast-Tracked Bible Degrees

Abanoub Isaac with NBIC says the school, which follows the Anglican Diocese of Egypt, is growing. They are offering more classes and programs for Sudanese people in Egypt. One program with tremendous growth is a one-year Bible degree that offers coursework on church planting, missions, and understanding people from different backgrounds.

This streamlined Bible training is crucial for Sudanese churches which are exploding with new Christians but lack trained pastors.

(Image courtesy of Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels)

Isaac says, “They have new believers every day. But they don’t have equipped ministries or pastors. They have to make [people] pastors in church without even reading the Bible one time. So, they don’t have any leadership skills, any biblical knowledge. So just he is good with people, knows the big message of Christ, but he can’t discipleship or make a Bible study, or anything else in the church – just worship.”

The one-year course begins with five months of studying in Egypt. This is followed by two months of practical ministry in Sudan and then a final five months back in Cairo. At the end of this intensive year, students are ready to go back to Sudan for good to lead their churches.

The program has been very successful. The first year they received 50-55 applications and the next year 90 people applied. During the first two-month practical training in Sudan, pastors were leaving their congregations in the hands of the students because they were so prepared.

However, even with the successes and growth of NBIC, they have had significant barriers to overcome.

Meeting Challenges Head-On

Isaac says one issue is that education has been poor in Sudan because of the war. Even identifying good candidates for leadership can be difficult. Many people just don’t have significant prior schooling.

Additionally, the war has continued to foster deep feelings of tribalism. The years of struggle make it difficult to get the church to come together over tribal lines.

“Actually, we faced a lot [the accusation] that we are racist against some tribes,” Isaac states. “Even we don’t know the tribes! We are not putting anything in our applications [about] which tribe you are from. But when we choose people to do something because we see that they have potential, they relate this to the tribe, not the potential of the people. So we faced a lot this accusation that we are racist [against some] tribes.”

NBIC is working to equip leaders from every tribe to combat these accusations in addition to their stated goal of training qualified leaders.

Join in Prayer

Training refugees to minister in war-torn areas is challenging work and Isaac asks for prayer. Unity among the tribes and Church at large is a major prayer request from NBIC.

“We [are] trying to give them lot of perspective. We have teachers from all over the places: Sudanese, Egyptians, some foreigners come. We give them retreats in Coptic places when they have worship nights and the Bible was read with like, six or seven different languages to make them know how important unity is.”

Please also pray for Sudanese Christians who are facing practical problems including racism, the cost of living in Egypt, and families who have been separated.

Header photo courtesy of Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.

Three-quarters of all refugees in Egypt come from Sudan, which has tripled the total refugee population in just two years. Bonita, with the Nuba Mountains Bible Institute in Cairo (NBIC), says that most of the refugees they encounter are single mothers with children.

“The husbands didn’t come with them, either to protect our land back in Sudan, or maybe they were killed in the war,” she explains.

Learn more about NBIC here.

Single moms struggle to survive

(Photo courtesy Speak Media Uganda/Pexels)

Legal barriers make it hard for refugee moms to secure gainful employment in Egypt. “[Companies] have to have 10 Egyptian employees for every foreigner that they want to hire, so it’s hard to keep that ratio,” Bonita says.

With hungry mouths to feed, many refugee moms find work wherever they can. “Most of them work under the table and just get cash in hand,” Bonita says.

“They’ll work cleaning somebody’s house or they’ll work cleaning somebody’s business, or making tea for them, or running errands.”

This kind of work often reinforces harmful stereotypes. “There’s a lot of racism in Egypt,” Bonita says.

“In all the old movies, all of the servants in the homes were dark skinned, so anybody dark skinned is looked at as ‘less than’ and lower. Every day, they’re traumatized by racism in the streets.”

To meet these needs, NBIC and its partners offer purpose and the hope of Christ through an intensive, year-long women’s program that meets weekly.

“It focuses on psychological awareness, spiritual and theological training, and leadership training, so it’s quite a broad program and covers different aspects of their lives,” Bonita says.

The women’s program also “equips them to train others and to serve their community,” she adds.

In addition to the women’s program, NBIC offers a three-year refugee assistance program that meets twice a week, as well as an intensive annual program that meets four days a week.

Restoring dignity

NBIC also meets the unique needs of Sudanese women. In 2024, “a lady came from the [U.S.] and did a series of workshops on women’s health [and] that really empowered women to have a little bit more control over their bodies and their health,” Bonita says.

(Photo courtesy nomso obiano/Pexels)

Rape and sexual assault are frequently used weapons of war in Sudan. Last year’s workshops “encouraged the community to support and embrace women, even if they’ve conceived because of rape… instead of the community rejecting them,” Bonita says.

“Women are coming that are pregnant, but not because they want to get pregnant at all.”

The workshops helped Sudanese women realize their unique value in God’s eyes.

“She (the presenter) really integrated the Gospel into that, and how Jesus gave us life through His water and His blood, and women have an opportunity to be like God in also giving life through water and blood,” Bonita says.

“That really gave dignity to the women and helped them to see that, ‘I am made in the image of God, and I get to be like God in a way that men don’t.’”

How to help

Ask the Lord to surround refugee moms with His comfort and peace. “A lot of them have families still in Sudan that are suffering, and they get news of relatives that have been killed and things, so it’s really challenging,” Bonita says.

“Pray for all the (refugee) women who are single moms in Cairo. They have three, four, or five kids, and they’re trying to make a go of it on their own.”

Pray that Sudanese refugee moms can find strength in the Lord. Bonita says, “All of our students have a real heart to serve their community, and yet they have to work really hard just to provide for their family and for their kids.”

Header image is a representative photo depicting Sudanese refugee women and children. (Wikimedia Commons)

Two years of civil war have forced nearly 12 million people from their homes. Over four million have crossed into neighboring countries as refugees. John – a Gospel worker focused on Sudan – partners with church planters in the region.

A recent medical outreach brought much-needed care to Sudanese refugees in South Sudan. Although his organization* primarily focuses on disciple-making and church planting, “We went to the Lord, and it became obvious that this (medical outreach) was an opportunity,” John says.

“We saw God do an amazing thing.”

Healing and hope for Sudan’s displaced

The medical outreach began as an answer to prayer. “Our organization sits in full view of the suffering of Sudanese refugees, and we were just praying and praying for these people day after day,” John says.

(Photo courtesy of John)

One day, “out of the blue, we were approached by an organization saying, ‘We have a ministry of providing medications purchased in the U.S. at a greatly reduced price, and we’d like to do something to help the Sudanese,’” he continues.

“Several organizations worked together, and the [agreement] was, ‘We’ll secure the medications and ship them to where you are, and you figure out how to get these to the people that need them.’ We were able to receive the medicines and air freight them to the areas where we had access to refugees,” John says.

“In one location, the doctor and nurses saw 1,000 children in eight days.”

Last week’s pop-up clinic focused on children with cholera, while an earlier outreach provided antibiotics and blood pressure medicine. “We were able to give them medication for several months, because a week wouldn’t help them that much,” John says.

As doctors and nurses met medical needs, church planters helped refugees process trauma. “Islam doesn’t offer anything in these settings,” John says.

“In this suffering and deep despair, they’re not finding comfort or answers or hope for the future, only a question – If I die tomorrow, [where will I go?] The Gospel gives assurance and hope.”

Now that you know, how will you respond? Ask the Lord for guidance, and then wait on Him for answers. Consider partnering financially with John’s organization here.

“When we seek to do that on a deeper level in prayer, then the Great Commission is a natural response,” John says.

*Ministry name withheld for security purposes.

Header and story images depict pop-up medical clinic serving Sudanese refugees in South Sudan. Photos courtesy of John. 

The Alawites, a Shia offshoot and religious minority in Syria, revere Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, believe in reincarnation, and teach that women are excluded from heaven. Yet today, many are eager to know Jesus as their Savior!

Pierre Houssney from Horizons International shares, “[Alawite] people are so curious about the gospel. We’re praying with them, we’re preaching to them, and they’re very, very open to the message. So this is a huge gospel opportunity as well as a humanitarian crisis.”

But what’s behind the current humanitarian crisis?

Damascus, Syria (photo courtesy of abd sarakbi via Unsplash)

During his time in power, Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad — an Alawite — granted his people unfair advantages in jobs and education. Now that he’s gone, public anger has turned against them.

The crisis intensified when Sunni militant groups entered Alawite-majority areas — often shared with Christian communities — and began massacring residents.

“Now they’re just getting downtrodden and massacred and driven out,” explains Houssney.

Fleeing for their lives, many Alawites escaped to Lebanon with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Some have taken shelter in graveyards, facing desperate conditions with no clear plan or hope of returning home safely anytime soon.

Local ministries are doing what they can, but resources are limited. The most urgent needs are food and hygiene supplies. Houssney adds: “As quickly as we can, as sustainably as we can, to try to run the race for the gospel and meet the people in their time of need, which also often coincides with their time of spiritual openness.”

Alawite refugees in Lebanon often fall off the global radar, but their needs are real. Among them are both new believers and sincere seekers of truth.

You can help Alawites in their search for Christ! “Find a group that can work among the Alawites in North Lebanon and support that group,” says Houssney. You can also visit the Horizons International website to join their mission of offering both physical and spiritual help.

Pray for God to send more workers, as the harvest among the Alawites is ready.

“What I know is that I can’t ripen a people group, but I can respond to God’s ripening. I can’t make the Holy Spirit move into a group at a certain time, but when I see the Holy Spirit moving, I can follow that!” says Houssney.

Header photo courtesy of Ahmed Akacha via Pexels

“One of our young people, a fourteen-year-old boy, was in the hospital for a long time after being severely beaten. He suffered internal bleeding, organ failure, and other complications — simply because his peers, other teenage boys, decided he shouldn’t be a Christian because he has a Muslim name.”

Iranian boy (photo courtesy of
Atiyeh Fathi via Unsplash)

This is just one of many heartbreaking stories Lana Silk from Transform Iran has encountered in her ministry to Iranian refugees. This particular incident happened in a Muslim-majority host country, but the harsh experiences of refugee children are often universal.

That’s where Transform Iran steps in, with a ministry specifically focused on children. Silk explains, “We work very hard to minister to them and surround them with love and community to help strengthen them.”

The need is urgent. “I was speaking to someone [who told me about their] nine-year-old child. The teacher was spitting on his face, insulting him,” she adds.

Out of this growing crisis, a ministry was born.

“This is one of the reasons we’ve been so active in the children’s ministry lately — because we’ve noticed that children need a strong, loving, non-judgmental, non-oppressive community around them that will hold them tight and love them,” Silk says.

Transform Iran hosts weekly gatherings for refugee children, filled with activities, games, and therapeutic exercises designed by psychologists to support their mental health. “And of course, it’s always the Gospel,” Silk says, “with worship and prayer to help these children cope with the pressures that are on them.”

Another heavy burden these children carry is the fear of sudden deportation. “We have children in our group who have said that they’ll be sitting in class, and suddenly the police will turn up and take children out of class and send them to deportation camps,” Silk shares. There’s a constant fear among the children that, at any moment, authorities might come and take them away. These overlapping layers of anxiety and trauma severely impact their mental health and well-being.

The first thing you can do to help Iranian refugees is this: do not forget them. This is one of the reasons Transform Iran provides a monthly newsletter with updates that you can subscribe to. Knowing that the global community of believers cares gives strength to both parents and children in asylum as they endure immense suffering.

Pray for the safety of Iranian believers and their children, and for the resolution of their cases. Pray that the trauma these children face won’t drive them away from God — but draw them closer to Him. 

Header photo: Iranian boy in a green jacket (photo courtesy of Hiva Sharifi via Unsplash)

There aren’t enough essentials like food and shelter to go around. Now, as fighting picks up in Sudan and thousands of refugees come across the border, tensions could erupt into conflict. Over 47,000 refugees fleeing violence in Sudan have arrived in Chad in the last 30 days.

There’s at least one silver lining: “When you have Sudanese refugees coming over into Chad, and you’re translating unfoldingWordⓇ Open Bible Stories into one of the Sara languages, the number of people that you [can] reach with the Gospel expands exponentially,” Dane with unfoldingWord says.

“There are several different dialects in Sara, but they can all understand each other, and there are various people groups in the Sara language.”

unfoldingWord partners with church planters in Chad to bring the Gospel where it’s never been. More about that here.

Through collaboration, dedication, and a shared vision, communities are gaining access to God’s Word like never before.
(Graphic, caption courtesy of unfoldingWord)

“Chad has about 80 unreached people groups, [which] totals about 10 million people who don’t have God’s Word in their language,” Dane says.

“Church planters need the Bible in all the heart languages of Chad to plant healthy churches and disciple believers.”

Whole Bible, Whole Nation: Chad

According to Joshua Project, roughly half of Chad’s population identifies as Christian, while the remaining half is a mix of Muslims and animists.

The latter groups have posed a significant challenge for unfoldingWord partners, creating an opportunity for growth and innovation in their collaboration.

“Those groups have been very difficult, almost impossible, for these church planters to penetrate until now,” Dane says.

“The ‘Whole Bible, Whole Nation’ strategy equips our partners to create a movement of Bible translation and church planting to reach all of the least-reached people groups in their nation.”

While believers now have a proven strategy, this doesn’t mean the process is simple. One people group in Chad shunned believers simply because they were different.

“They would just block you out. They wouldn’t even eat with you,” Dane says. “Everybody [who] doesn’t practice their religion their way is considered unclean.”

Then, church planters asked this people group to review some unfoldingWordⓇ Open Bible Stories they had translated into the people group’s language. This review led to a lunch invitation. “That was just extremely important,” Dane says.

“It (eating together) means familiarity; it means friendship. Now, that door is open.”

Here’s how you can help unfoldingWord reach more people groups in Chad.

“We have some future translation work planned, but we need funding for that,” Dane says. “It’s a group of eight languages that want to get into Scripture translation.”

Header and story images courtesy of unfoldingWord.

Lebanon hosts one of the world’s largest Syrian refugee populations. Government estimates put the number at 1.5 million, with at least 31% of them being school-aged children. Some began their education before the war or managed to enroll in Lebanese schools, but many have missed out on basic education — reading, writing, math, even music and science. Lebanon’s strained economy leaves little room to support these children, and many struggle with the language and curriculum.

“There was an attempt several years ago [to educate Syrian children] by the support of several international institutions,” explains Daoud Arnaout, “but it didn’t succeed mainly because of economic situation.” Seeing an entire generation of Syrian children growing up with limited educational foundations, Heart for Lebanon stepped in with a solution. If they couldn’t help all, they would start with a few.

(Photo courtesy of Salah Darwish via Unsplash)

“We have our educational non-formal program, which is equal to school,” says Arnaout. “It’s not a regular or registered school, but it is an education program with a good curriculum. We’ve adopted most of the Lebanese curriculum, though not all of it.” Today, the ministry serves around 400 Syrian children across southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. Students are placed in various grade levels depending on their academic ability.

“What we have accomplished so far with these kids is the style of their life, their education levels have changed positively, and they’ve gained a lot of education — language, math, a little bit of science. And definitely the spiritual part is as part of the curriculum; they have Bible lessons. They have chapel on weekly basis,” Arnaout shares.

The impact goes beyond academics. The children also show noticeable behavioral changes. “When they come in, they will treat each other maybe in a harsh manner, but after months or a year they understand what it means to be and behave well — with others, with yourself even, and with teachers and with the school and people around,” he adds.

“These kids are the future, whether here and back in Syria again, or outside the country, outside the other area, Middle East,” Arnaout says. “They are the future — if you build them correctly, and equip them with education, social awareness, all the knowledge that they can grasp, and definitely spiritually.”

(Photo courtesy of
Mitan Fetah via Unsplash)

Pray that Syrian children receive the education they need to build a better future for themselves and for Syria. Pray also that Heart for Lebanon’s school receives official licensing to continue its work and provide recognized education so children can pursue their studies long-term.

“These kids are the future...”

Header photo courtesy of Ahmed Akacha via Pexels.

At least 7,000 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands uprooted from their homes since January. East Africa ministry director Egide Bandyatuyaga says Trans World Radio is active on the airwaves, bringing hope to those who need it most.

TWR has a station in Kinshasa, the capital city on the far western side of the DRC, and shortwave broadcasts from Eswatini in southeastern Africa can be heard throughout the DRC.

(Photo courtesy of TWR)

“We try to give hope to the people that, even when they are going through those difficulties, God has not forsaken them [and] God still cares for them,” Bandyatuyaga says.

“Apart from giving them hope, we are also advocating for them so that the international community may come to their rescue.”

Burundi has taken in the lion’s share of refugees. Nearly 66,000 Congolese people have crossed the border to date.

“Refugees need a place to stay. They need food, medicine, water, and the government of Burundi might not be able to provide much of those [things] unless the international community comes to help,” Bandyatuyaga says.

“With a small country with very limited resources, like water, food, fuel, and then you add thousands of [people] fleeing from DR Congo, it’s not going to be easy.”

TWR programs offer refugees a place of peace amid tribulation. Pray that TWR receives the support it needs to keep these programs going. “Pray that the war ends very quickly, and then we pray for protection for the refugees,” Bandyatuyaga says.

“It’s rainy season. When you are running away, and there is rain, there is no solid shelter. It’s a big problem.”

Pray for physical protection and protection from diseases. “Also, we pray for provision so they can get something to eat, they can get medicines, [and] clothing,” Bandyatuyaga says.

Header image courtesy of TWR.

War, prejudice, and the threat of deportation create a tumultuous atmosphere for refugee children in Lebanon. Little girls are especially vulnerable.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon has been helping at-risk girls since its founding nearly twenty years ago. This year, the ministry aims to support 500 girls between the ages of 13 and 21.

“These are young girls that have the potential or have been sold into early marriage, human trafficking, child labor – you name the bad thing, and it’s probably in that bucket,” Atema says.

Some parents sell their girls to meet family needs. Others are abused or exploited, like a girl we’ll call Lily. Atema says, “She got pregnant, came to our medical clinic, and didn’t know what to do.”

Lily knew she couldn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy because it would bring shame to her family. Heart for Lebanon’s care center became a safe haven.

“It wasn’t her fault. She had nothing to do with it. She was just in a vulnerable place, living in poverty, and that [event] happened,” Atema says.

“We had the privilege of not only helping her keep the baby and move forward but also restoring her relationship with her parents and bringing dignity to her life.”

Ask the Lord to guide Heart for Lebanon staff. They’re encountering rising numbers of at-risk girls.

“Pray for the teachers, for wisdom. These aren’t easy conversations in any culture because, at the end of the day, it’s just not the girl. There’s a whole string of people around that girl that have to be dealt with at the same time,” Atema says.

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon.