Hana Menghisteab is back on VOM Radio this week in a follow-up conversation after sharing with us on the 20th anniversary of her father’s arrest in Eritrea. This week, Hana shares how that interview—really the first time she’d spoken publicly about her father and her family’s suffering—was painful, but also how God used it to open a door for healing in her life.

Before his arrest in 2004, Dr. Tecleab Menghisteab was a medical doctor and a leader in the Eritrean Orthodox Church. He is one of more than 300 Christians currently in prison in Eritrea.

Hana was six years old when her father was arrested. Hana will tell how growing up without her father left her wounded in many areas of her life. However, Hana says, “God does not waste pain; He doesn’t waste the years of tears.” Instead, the Lord uses suffering to display His glory.

Hana says her interview last year opened wounds she’d wanted to keep covered up. “God forced me to reopen them and partake in my father’s suffering,” she says. She’ll tell how the Lord has allowed her to surrender her wounds to Him and encouraged her to be bold in sharing her story with others.

She’ll also share how an internship at VOM impacted her understanding of suffering and how God works through it. Hearing and reading stories of sisters and brothers also afflicted with suffering for their faith has shown Hana the beauty of those scars, even amidst the pain.

Listen to Hana’s previous visit with VOM Radio.

There are a few seats remaining at VOM’s From the Field 2025 National Conference. The conference will take place in Bartlesville, Oklahoma September 25-27. Attendees will hear from persecuted Christians—including several former VOM Radio guests—during the conference. Learn more and register online today.

When Yang Rongli, a pastor of Linfen Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province, China, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, she responded with words of celebration.

“I got the top reward!” she said, considering it an honor to suffer for Christ and referring to the fact that her prison sentence was longer than other church members. She and her husband, Pastor Wang Xiaoguang, remain in prison.

Listen this week as Bob Fu, former prisoner for Christ in China and the founder and president of China Aid Association, shares updates from persecuted Christians in China, including Pastor John Cao, Pastor Wang Yi, and other Chinese Christians. The Chinese Communist Party continues to pursue absolute government control of churches and other religious institutions in China. Pastors and church leaders face long prison sentences for “fraud” when their church collects tithes and offerings, or “illegal border crossing” if they travel to meet with fellow believers outside China.

Despite being prevented from leaving China following the completion of his seven-year prison sentence, Pastor John Cao continues serving the Lord through daily prayer meetings. He’s even baptized new believers—despite Communist guards required to escort him everywhere he goes!

Bob Fu, author of God’s Double Agent, reports on recent church raids in China, including arrests of children attending Vacation Bible School. The Communist Party forbids any religious outreach or training for children under age 18.

With two years remaining in his nine-year sentence, Pastor Wang Yi has composed books in his head during his time in prison, as well as praying daily through a list of more than 1,000 prayer requests. You can write letters of encouragement to Wang Yi and other Christian prisoners in China, Eritrea, Iran and other nations at www.PrisonerAlert.com.

There are a few seats remaining at VOM’s From the Field 2025 National Conference. The conference will take place in Bartlesville, Oklahoma September 25-27. Attendees will hear from Bob Fu and other persecuted Christians—including several former VOM Radio guests—during the conference. Learn more and register online today.

Do we really believe that to live is Christ, and to die is gain?

After serving for more than a decade as a gospel worker and church planter in Asia, Brother Kevin asks all believers to consider whether we actually live as if we believe these words from Philippians 1:21. He says that of ten people who come to faith in Christ in the area where he works, nine recant when the pressure of persecution rises. Yet seeing the joyful endurance of the one who remains faithful is a great source of encouragement to him.

Kevin will share how the Lord called him to serve unreached people groups in Asia, and explain what a new believer is likely to face when they come to Christ in a Buddhist and animistic culture, where persecution usually begins at the family or village level.

Because of fear-based animistic practices and the communal culture, the entire community feels like they are at risk when a member of their community becomes a Christian. Kevin has walked with friends who’ve been put in prison or kicked out of their villages. Some are living in tents because they refused to recant their commitment to Christ. Yet they meet these hardships with joy, responding in faith and perseverance to their persecution.

Kevin will discuss how individualistic worldviews in Western nations like the United States compare to the collective Asian culture, and how believers show the unity within Christ’s body as they rely on each other when part of the body is hurting.

Learn more about the church in Asia and how to pray for Christians there and around the world who face persecution for owning a Bible, gathering for a church service, or simply wearing the name of Christ.

The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians throughout the year, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.