Iran Prison Release - Maryam & Marzieh

In their first interview since their release, Maryam Rostampour (29) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (32) speak about what life in prison in Iran was like.

They share how they had strengthened themselves in the Lord to overcome the fear of execution or life-imprisonment and maintain peace and hope through very dark days.

Maryam: When we were arrested, most of the guards treated us badly, especially when they knew we had been involved in evangelism. They would curse us and would not let us drink water from the public tap or use the wash basin.
This changed evenutally and they began asking us to pray for them.

Marzieh: I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support, and the letters you sent us. This was a great encouragement for us. We felt your presence alongside us. So please keep praying for those who are in prison for their faith. Dont' think that your prayers are unimportant.

Marzieh: Some of the prisoners called us 'dirty, unclean, apostates,' but their opinion changed and they asked for forgiveness. We had become an example to them and they would take our side.

Marzieh: We heard that people sent us letters in prison, however we didn't get any of them: Just hearing the people sent us letters was a great encouragement to us. And what's interesting is that the guards who opened our letters and read the Bible verses and the prayers were impacted. We know this because they told us and mentioned some of the verses from the Gospel.

Maryam: I thank them. It's true we didn't see the letters they sent, but we knew there was a large group supporting us. This was a huge encouragement to us and helped us to stand firm. We heard from our guards that 40 - 50 letters were coming every day. They saw how Christians stood together to support their own. This was something that gave us hope.

Released by Elam Ministries

• Give praise the girls are free
• Give thanks that many were able to hear the Gospel through them
• Pray for other such prisoners who are imprisoned unjustly for their faith
• Pra for those who encountered the Gospel because of Maryam and Marzieh , that they may find fellowship and encouragement to go on believing in God.
• Pray for the guards who read the letters to be continually challeneged about the fact of God's people demonstrating they were one body of believers by writing to encourage the girls.