The great escape
Some persecuted Christians face threats so grave and persistent that a decision must be made – to stay and minister, or to escape
Rebecca preparing coffee
Gideon, aged 33, married Rebecca, 24, in 2004. A tank driver for the Eritrean army for five years, Gideon had been in hiding from his regiment for 16 months when he began a new life with Rebecca. Christians in the military are severely persecuted for their faith and often sent to the frontlines to test their commitment and to eliminate them. Gideon had feared for his life and, when he was given a month's holiday, he left the army and never returned.
Rebecca's father, a prominent commander of a military training camp, knew Gideon had run away and five months after their wedding, he pressured him to return. Rebecca's father believes Christians let their religion stand between them and their willingness to serve in the military.
Gideon refused, saying he had completed more than the compulsory two years of military service. Rebecca's father then discussed Gideon's unwillingness to return to the military with the commander of a prison in Asmara (the capital of Eritrea) and a driver was sent to take Gideon to a prison 6km outside Asmara.
Rebecca was on the verge of hysteria as they drove off. Her father lied to her, saying that Gideon would return soon.
Taken to prison
Gideon was told he would spend a minimum of one year in prison, without an official hearing or sentence. He prayed for God's guidance and received a vision of himself escaping through a window that was still under construction in a wall that had no other windows. Now convinced he had to escape, Gideon walked down the dormitory he shared with 150 other trainees and saw a window exactly like the one in his vision. The dormitory had no windows and builders had knocked down a piece in the outside wall to instal one.
A miraculous escape
After three weeks in prison, Gideon decided to make his escape. That evening, after 'lights out', Gideon lay still for another hour, waiting for his roommates to fall asleep. He quietly crept to the window and climbed out of the dormitory. After making his escape, he sought out Christians who could help him get back to Asmara. A Christian friend – a truck driver in the army – came to his rescue. Gideon hid in an oversized toolbox on the side of the truck as his friend drove out of the training camp.
When no one was watching, Gideon climbed into the cabin and took the steering wheel from his friend. When they were stopped at roadblocks, Gideon kept quiet and let the friend do all the talking, as he had all the legal documents and travel permits.
Rebecca was amazed to see her husband and she cried tears of joy at the sudden surprise of his return. However, as husband and wife were celebrating their reunion, Rebecca's father dropped in to see his daughter. Furious to see Gideon, he demanded to know how he escaped. Gideon related his story, testifying to God's divine intervention.
Rebecca's father ordered Gideon to hand himself over to the commander of the prison and once again he was incarcerated, but this time in a small cell all by himself.
More divine intervention
That evening, the commander and guards left the premises to have dinner, but strangely they forgot to lock Gideon's cell gate. Gideon did not have to think twice: he opened the gate and ran like the wind to Rebecca.
When Gideon got home, his father-in-law was waiting there for him. Gideon told him he asked the commander's permission to sleep at home that evening. Surprisingly, Rebecca's father believed him. When he had gone, Gideon told Rebecca it was too dangerous for him to stay in their home. She merely replied: "All's good in God's will!"
Gideon took refuge at a friend's house and stayed with the friend and his mother for seven weeks, never leaving the house. Rebecca visited him five to six times a week for at least two hours at a time, but only in the evenings. Every now and then she was followed by police, but each time she managed to outwit them by strolling into the busy market, pretending to be shopping.
While hiding, Gideon fasted and prayed for three days, asking God if he should stay and minister or escape from Eritrea. He had a vision of a huge white cloud and inside this enormous cloud, he recognised himself. Isaiah 43 came to mind and in it he found his answer: "…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour… Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the East and gather you from the West…"
Gideon returned home to Rebecca for four days and explained his vision to her. She was excited about the revelation but pleaded with Gideon not to leave her behind. But the way across the border into Ethiopia was too uncertain and difficult for them to escape together; he promised to make arrangements for her to join him as soon as he was settled.
Crossing the border
Gideon didn't meet his son until he was seven months old
"Everybody was running to get out of the rain, but I kept walking with a song in my heart! God was with me," Gideon smilingly recalled.
As he crossed the Eritrean border, Gideon's path took him through a minefield but he journeyed without mishap. When he reached the Ethiopian border, he told a guard who questioned him that he had come all the way from Asmara. The guard took him to his superior.
To Gideon's surprise, the commander was enthusiastic about his arrival and said, "Welcome! Oh, how God loves you!" When the commander asked Gideon what he did for a living, Gideon open heartedly shared that he was a minister of God who serves persecuted Christians. The commander then released Gideon to the refugee camp.
After two weeks in the camp, Gideon was given an identity card that labelled him a refugee of a camp in northern Ethiopia. With this card, he travelled to Addis Ababa to apply for an Ethiopian passport.
Ethiopian citizenship
Against the odds, Gideon was able to get Ethiopian citizenship and an Ethiopian passport. After this victory, he began the process of bringing his wife across the border and discovered that Rebecca was pregnant. She had found out about the pregnancy two weeks after he had left.
In Addis Ababa, Gideon settled into a house which he rented along with another Christian. He became involved with Open Doors' ministry and attended theological training conducted by Open Doors.
Around 500 Eritrean believers meet inside the refugee camp; 80 per cent of the church members live in the camp. Gideon makes encouragement visits to Christians in the refugee camp and seeks support for them from various churches in Addis Ababa.
He has also assists Open Doors in distributing Bibles and other Christian literature to Eritrean Christian refugees in the camp.
Reunited at last
Open Doors helped Gideon bring his wife and child (then seven months old) across the border. The family was eventually reunited on 5 October 2005, after more than a year of separation.
Our co-worker in Africa told us, "Gideon has a sincerely compassionate heart for the Persecuted Church. He has continuously given himself to others suffering for their faith in Christ, despite his own difficulties going through a forced separation from his wife and unborn child."
Please pray for Gideon and Rebecca and their young son, that they will continue to trust God and that He will use them to comfort other believers who are suffering for their faith.
Open Doors recently delivered a 68,525-signature petition to the Eritrean Ambassador to the UK, calling for the freedom of Christian prisoners. The petition is a joint initiative by Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Release International and Release Eritrea.
Please continue to ask God to give His children strength to stand firm in Eritrea, and pray that:
- The weight of support for Eritrean Christians would be heavy on the Ambassador's mind, prompting him to take swift action on behalf of our brothers and sisters
- International concern for Christians in Eritrea will force President Isaias Afwerki to acknowledge the government's appalling treatment of believers and move him to relent and release them
- The Lord will soften the hearts of those who persecute Christians in Eritrea, and help them to understand that they are not a threat to the government's power, but a loyal force for peace and good.
You can strengthen the Church in Eritrea simply by giving online now and designating a gift to help in Africa.