A Dangerous Calling
It was always dark in the village after sunset. Boutros was in the region where the apostle Paul experienced his life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ on his way to persecute Christians. It had no electricity. This night seemed even darker than most. Boutros had not returned home for the 4:00 p.m. curfew that had been imposed in the village. It was unsafe for anyone to be on the streets, especially a man who handed out Bibles and talked with Syrians about Jesus.
“Boutros,” a church leader said to him days earlier, “you must stop this, at least for now. We cannot afford to lose you. It is too dangerous.”
“But this is what I’m called to do,” he replied. “To spread the good news of Christ to the thirsty Syrians.”
“Yes, but there is kidnapping and torturing,” the church leader countered. “The extremists are cutting Christians into pieces.” Boutros would not stop sharing Jesus.
Fear and Prayer
As the evening deepened, church leaders and others who shared his ministry vision began thinking the worst. People gathered to pray for their friend. Calls to Boutros’s cell phone triggered no response. They had no way of knowing his phone had been turned off. “The image that came to mind,” said one friend, “was that Boutros, like the others, had been cut to pieces.”
At 9:00 p.m., they were so desperate to learn about their friend that they even called the city’s secret police to see if they had arrested him. After the secret police claimed to know nothing about Boutros’s whereabouts, his friends became even more concerned. “It was a dark moment for us,” recalled a friend who was among those praying. People cried and prayed. “Lord,” someone prayed, “he is in your hands. Keep him safe. Protect him.”
Safe Return
Morning came. No Boutros. A full day passed. No Boutros. Two days passed. No Boutros. Finally, the entire congregation gathered in the church, so spent they did not even have the energy to eat. A sudden noise at the door froze them in fear. It swung open. In walked Boutros. The congregation enveloped him in tear-stained hugs. Tired, unshaven, and dirty, he told his story about being picked up by the secret police.
To be continued…
Date: 2nd August 2025
Martyr: Boutros
Location: Syria
Source: The Voice of the Martyrs “I am n”
Author: Not Specified
Suffering Saturday 154
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