Anneke Companjen - Singing Through the Night: Courageous Stories of Faith from Women in the Persecuted Church

2007 by Open Doors International

Published by Fleming H. Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2012

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Song on pages 14748 used by permission of Gilbert Hovsepian.
Song on pages 24748 used by permission of Graham Kendrick.

ISBN 978-1-4412-3889-4

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To my dear mother who kept singing through the dark night of widowhood.

Despite deteriorating health and increasing dementia, she still has a song in the night.

I am fortunate to have had such a mother!

Contents

Foreword

More than twelve years ago, our family suffered a devastating blow. My husband, Haik, was killed as a direct result of his obedience to Jesus Christ. He was a leading pastor in Tehran, Iran, and he refused to comply with the rules of the Islamic government concerning the freedom of Iranian churches. Although he was the superintendent of the Iranian Protestant churches, the authorities ordered him not to share the gospel with Muslims. Many Iranian Muslims were hungry to hear the message of Christ, and Christians like my husband couldnt ignore them. But the price some of them paid for disobeying the regime was very high indeed.

After our oldest son, Joseph, was asked to go and identify his martyred fathers body, I cried out to God in pain and wondered how He could allow this to happen to our family. I needed my husband; our children needed their father. God seemed to answer that I had to leave the why with Him, because He was in full control, and one day He would use my testimony to touch others. In hindsight that is exactly what happened.

When my story was told in Anneke Companjens first book, Hidden Sorrow, Lasting Joy , and I saw it in print for the first time, I was deeply touched. I cried as I read it, even though it was my own testimony. I was encouraged to see the way God had worked in my life, to realize the many lessons He had taught me. When I heard that other women, after reading my story, were encouraged to forgive and to turn over their grief to God, I saw how God was fulfilling His promise to me. When I shared my testimony in different countries and saw hearts being touched, I thanked God because my suffering had not been in vain.

This, Annekes second book, will encourage the women of the Persecuted Church. I know they will be uplifted when they read these stories, because they will see that they are not the only ones who are suffering. I have experienced that myself. I would like to say to them that if I could make it through the valley, they can make it too. If God could do it for me, He can do it for them. God knows just how much we can handle, and He does not give us more than we can carry, even though at times it may seem otherwise.

Even those who are not facing hardship now may encounter difficulties later. Most of us will pass through dark nights at some stage in our lives. The women who are featured in this book can teach all of us valuable lessons about how to persevere when life gets tough.

In the dark, despondent days after Haiks martyrdom, some young girls from our church in Tehran sometimes came to our house and sang to us. At that time I found it hard to sing. Whenever I tried, I choked and out came the tears. The girls songs really ministered to me. Though I found it hard to keep my voice steady, my heart was in tune with what they sang.

My children and I discovered that not only is it possible to sing through the night, but it is enormously uplifting. Our sons are very talented musically. One of them, Gilbert, found an outlet for his grief in composing eloquent songs after the death of his father. His songs ministered to all of us.

Eventually our family began to minister in song at various church meetings, and this encouraged many other Christians to see that God gave us peace in the midst of our sad circumstances. Worship is indeed a powerful tool in overcoming hardship, but so are reading the Word of God, help from other believers, the empathy of people who visit or phone, and the love of brothers and sisters from around the world expressed in cards and letters. Many things helped me through, but most of all it was the grace of our loving heavenly Father who walked with us through the valley.

I have often shared how, in the years after Haiks death, I felt as though I studied in Gods university. He taught me to trust Him 100 percent and to hand over my life to Him completely. He asked me to forgive my enemies, to allow Him to replace my anger toward the murderers of my husband with His love, to obey Him in order to grow spiritually. I had to choose to stay in His school; He did not force me. I could have become bitter because of what happened. Instead, I chose to obey.

Today I can testify that through Gods help our family is well. We stayed in Iran for five years after Haiks death. Then for the sake of the children, I made the difficult choice to move to America. It proved to be the right thing to do. Now, through modern media like video, satellite TV, and films, our children are involved in reaching Iranian people across the world, including inside Iran, with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The oldest three are married, all four of them follow the Lord, and I am the proud grandmother of four grandchildren.

If I have learned one thing through my ordeal, it is that God has the final say and He is in full control. That is why I am so glad to recommend this book. May you be encouraged as you read the stories Anneke has written about women who face persecution for their faith. Following Jesus involves taking up our cross, but God makes it up to us in so many ways. I would not choose any other way than His.

Takoosh Hovsepian
California, USA

Acknowledgments

I am greatly indebted to...

The women who were willing to tell me their stories and allowed me to include them in this book. They encouraged and challenged me and taught me valuable lessons.

Our program directors and field workers who made it possible for me to meet many of the women featured in this book. Apart from reading the stories with special focus on factual correctness and security issues, some of them helped me find appropriate songs.

Ron Boyd-MacMillan for allowing me to use one of his stories.

Graham Kendrick and Gilbert Hovsepian for giving me permission to use their songs.

May, Maria, and Esther for reading the first few stories. Their comments gave me confidence to go ahead with the project.

Trich for reading the first drafts of most chapters. Her questions and comments helped me rewrite and correct many of the stories.