God behind bars

When I first set eyes on Donnie Lama, I just couldn't believe this was the man I'd heard so much about.

I found it incredible that this gentle and unassuming Filipino Christian had been treated so horrifically. As he told his story, it hit me hard. Jailed in Saudi Arabia for almost 18 months on charges of being a 'preacher', he painted a vivid picture of the evil that is at work in the world.

But at the same time, I was left with the overwhelming sense that God is more powerful than that evil. Donnie Lama is living proof that God is at work, even in the most horrendous of places. Even behind bars.

One photograph

The incriminating evidence was a single photograph. The religious police stumbled across it by accident as they ransacked Donnie's flat late on the night of October 10 1995. They'd come to look for evidence of a different crime but had found none. Instead, they found a photograph.

'I guess not so many people are jailed because of a single picture,' said Donnie, 'but this was no ordinary picture.' The photograph, which had been taken some years earlier, showed Donnie leading a communion service at an underground house church. 'The photo showed me holding the broken bread. So really it was a picture of a man who is not acceptable in Saudi Arabia. That man is Jesus.'

Arrested

Donnie was dragged off to the police station. Handcuffed and shackled, he was ordered to stand in the corner of the interrogation room, facing the wall. "For five hours, I had to stand there. If I moved even slightly, they would slap me, kick me and beat me. They also spat in my face. I felt as if my blood was surging to my head and I almost fainted," he recalls. Afterwards, Donnie was sent to an isolation cell, barely big enough for one man to lie down. But that night, Donnie had to share the cramped, dirty cell with another convict.

The following day, he was released. But his relief was short-lived. After just a week, he was re-arrested. "The endless questioning started again. With it came the beating, the kicking and the slapping. Every time I fell down, they'd lift me to my feet again to continue the beating. The policeman had a long wooden rod. He said: 'This will kill you if you deny that you are a preacher'.'

At this point, Donnie cried to God for help. He knew that God was his only hope. That he was the only one who could sustain him through this nightmare. 'I could only pray. I simply asked God to help me go through the suffering.'

Donnie also found comfort in the words of Psalm 91. 'I recited the words over and over to myself. 'If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the LORD, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you.' This psalm was a great comfort to me.'

God was with me

It wasn't long before Donnie learned that he was to be transferred to Saudi's notorious national prison, Al Malaz. Despite this setback, Donnie's trust in the Lord remained strong. 'As soon as I arrived at the jail, I submitted my life completely to God. I told him that I accepted his will and that I trusted his purposes. I asked him to take care of my family. Although I didn't know what was going to happen to me in Al Malaz, I knew that God was with me, and that was enough,' he said.

As the days turned into months, Donnie was to find that his faith was to be tested like never before. The pressure was incessant, and came from all sides.

Time and again, the guards promised him immediate freedom, if only he'd deny Christ and embrace Islam. He refused. Donnie's firm stand soon made him unpopular with some of the inmates, one of whom told the prison officers that he'd been 'preaching' in the prison. Along with two other Christian prisoners, he was thrown into a tiny cell where they were kept in isolation for more than two months.

Counted worthy

After one year and three months in Al Malaz, Donnie was summoned to appear in court. The judge interrogated him, repeatedly asking him if he had decided to embrace Islam. 'When I told the judge that I would never be a Muslim, he became angry. He told me that I was an evil man. All the time, I was rejoicing in my heart that I was counted worthy of suffering for Christ.' The judge, not realising the depth of Donnie's conviction, gave him a month to reconsider his decision. At the second hearing however, Donnie once again told the judge that he would not deny Jesus. At last his sentence was passed. He was to serve a further four months in jail, and receive 70 lashes.

Donnie was tied up in the courtyard, while the other prisoners filed in to watch the 'entertainment'. The whip was a wooden pin, one and a half metres long, with heavy lead attached to the tip. The lashes started coming. Some fell on Donnie's thighs and some on his back. When the whip reached his ankles, he fell down. They dragged him to his feet again, and carried on. After the 70th lash, Donnie was amazed to find himself alive.

Shortly afterwards, Donnie was told that he was at long last free to return to the Philippines. Once back in Manila, he began to rebuild his life, seeking the Lord as to what lay in store for him. He knew that God intended to use his time in prison for his glory. Donnie realised that it was this part of his past that was to shape his future. He now works in the Philippines, ministering to the families of Filipinos imprisoned overseas.

Donnie is just one of a number of expatriate Christians who have been jailed by the Saudi authorities. Al-though, officially, they are free to worship in the privacy of their own homes, in practice the regime is far more severe. Only this January 15 Christians, including three women and five young children, were arrested in a raid by the Saudi religious police. All of them were deported after their release. But far worse is in store for Saudi citizens who convert to Christianity. The official penalty is death.

Responding?

Many other Christians all over the world face terrible conditions because of their faith in Jesus. Even within the last month, reports have landed on my desk which give details of Christians who have been thrown into jail in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Mexico and Peru to name but some.

What is our response to this? I never realised the freedom I had until I discovered there were people like Donnie behind bars for their faith today. But we don't have to remain in ignorance. Open Doors and other organisations publish details of Christians who have been imprisoned for their faith. You can pray. You can help us to support them and their families financially. And you can write a letter - even Donnie received letters and cards in his Saudi prison cell. Lifelines between him and the rest of the world.

Donnie said to me: 'If God wants to enter a prison, nobody can stop him. Not even the strictest guard or the thickest wall. Nobody can stop him.' You could visit a prisoner in prayer. Think about it.

For more information on how you can be involved in Open Doors' ministry of caring for persecuted Christians worldwide, please call Kate on 01865 301316 or email kate@opendoorsuk.org

The Christians suffering for Christ in Saudi Arabia

One photograph

Arrested

God was with me

Counted worthy

Responding?

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