They wait, they hope, they pray

Kidane Weldou has been
missing since March 2005.

All they could find of him was his abandoned car.

One ordinary Friday in March 2005, Kidane Weldou, a senior pastor of the unregistered Full Gospel Church in Eritrea, just ... disappeared. In the heart of Asmara, the country’s capital, he went missing – presumably snatched by authorities.

For the rest of the weekend, officials gave no word to his family or church about what happened. His loved ones searched for him in vain, finding only his vehicle – empty, with no clues as to where, or why, he was taken.

Kidane’s family and friends had good reason to suspect the government’s involvement in his disappearance. In the months before he was taken, other senior leaders of the Full Gospel Church were also apprehended. Several of these Christian leaders remain in prison to this day.

It is assumed that Kidane suffered a similar fate – that somewhere in the east African country of Eritrea he is being held in detention.

Pastor Kidane is married and has four daughters. For more than five years now they have waited, hoped, and prayed that, one day, their husband and father will be returned to them.

Excerpted from Restricted Nations: Eritrea, a new resource by The Voice of the Martyrs. This book provides a brief overview of the persecution that Christians in Eritrea have endured in the past and gives a glimpse of the trials they face today. In Canada, you can order this book from our resource catalogue.