Turkmenistan is a profoundly restricted country in which Christian worship is limited to churches that are part of government-sanctioned denominations. Despite the restrictions, the gospel is proclaimed regularly through media and personal testimonies. If the government learns of a Turkmen becoming a Christian, the new believer faces immediate harassment and pressure.
Batyr is a house church leader who regularly faces persecution as he travels throughout Turkmenistan to train and encourage leaders and their small congregations. He has been followed by police, harassed, and detained several times.
Recently, government officials held him overnight, and guards prohibited him from answering his phone as his worried wife called repeatedly over several hours.
After that incident, Batyr met with another front-line worker and shared his stress and the struggles he faces as a ministry leader with a young family. “What do you tell your wife when you travel somewhere dangerous, and she doesn’t want you to go there?” he asked.
The two spent time in prayer, asking the Lord to guide them and watch over their families as they serve.
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