Door to Freedom

"It's rough and it's smooth. It's dark and it's light. It's a masterpiece. It's us. Here in Sudan. We are scared of it and drawn to it. There is an open door, and there is much opposition."

In the dusty, Islamic country of Sudan, Mia, who is raising her family in a Muslim country, has learned to boldly share her faith. Rania, the daughter of a wealthy Sudanese Arab, seeks to find the reason for her sister's sudden disappearance. Mia holds some of the answers, but both women quickly discover they must each walk through their own doors to freedomthe freedom that only comes when you trust God's sovereignty more than manmade security.

Part of New Hope Publishers' line of contemporary missional fiction, Door to Freedom, the sequel to Side by Side, opens the reader's eyes to modern-day persecution and the life of Muslims in Sudan. Based on real-life events, Door to Freedom also reveals some of the struggles that Christians face when living under Islamic law. The reader will be inspired to pray for those who are persecuted for their faith as well as for the salvation of the persecutors.

My thoughts: While this book is exceptional, I think I liked the first one the best, since it really showed the sacrifice that Muslims have to make when they accept Jesus as their Savior. That said, this one was wonderful and I did appreciate the message of serving God even when persecuted. Jana does a fantastic job of bringing her characters to life, their struggles and joys. I enjoyed the taste of what it would be like to live in modern Sudan and what an adjustment it is to be in a different culture. I highly recommend this series!
I received this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.

Saving My Assassin

“I should be dead. Buried in an unmarked grave in Romania. Obviously, I am not. God had other plans.”

At just under five feet tall, Virginia Prodan was no match for the towering 6′ 10″ gun-wielding assassin the Romanian government sent to her office to take her life. It was not the first time her life had been threatened—nor would it be the last.

As a young attorney under Nicolae Ceausescu’s brutal communist regime, Virginia had spent her entire life searching for the truth. When she finally found it in the pages of the most forbidden book in all of Romania, Virginia accepted the divine call to defend fellow followers of Christ against unjust persecution in an otherwise ungodly land.

For this act of treason, she was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, placed under house arrest, and came within seconds of being executed under the orders of Ceausescu himself. How Virginia not only managed to elude her enemies time and again, but how she also helped expose the appalling secret that would ultimately lead to the demise of Ceausescu’s evil empire is one of the most extraordinary stories ever told.

A must-read for all generations, Saving My Assassin is the unforgettable account of one woman’s search for truth, her defiance in the face of evil, and a surprise encounter that proves without a shadow of a doubt that nothing is impossible with God.

My thoughts: What an incredible story of God at work in the life of the author! The book is a difficult one to read, as she shares her experiences of facing evil head on and surviving. But, the hard parts make her story all the more incredible. It;s amazing how God saved her life time and again, and how He brought her to a position where she could help others who are facing persecution.
This book is such an important one to read, since it is such a powerful story of one woman standing up for what she believes and how God has blessed her in the process. I think it is especially good for us to read and see how persecution for being a Christian is not just something in centuries past, but is still a threat in many parts of the world today.
I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review.

They Say We are Infidels

"Everywhere militants were blowing up Christians, their churches, their shops. They threatened them with kidnapping. They promised to take their children. The message to these 'infidels' You have no place in Iraq. Pay a penalty to stay, leave, or be killed."Sweeping from Syria into Iraq, Islamic State fighters (ISIS) have been brutalizing and annihilating Christians. How? Why? Where did the terrorists come from, and what can be done to stop them? For more than a decade, journalist Mindy Belz has reported on the ground from the Middle East, giving her unparalleled access to the story no one wants to believe. In "They Say We Are Infidels," she brings the stark reality of this escalating genocide to light, tracking the stories of real-life Christians who refuse to abandon their faith--even in the face of losing everything, including their lives.As "Reading Lolita in Tehran" did for Iran and "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families" did for Rwanda, "They Say We Are Infidels" shines light into the Middle East through the stories of everyday heroes and heroines who will not be silenced. A must-read for anyone seeking a firmer grasp on the complex dynamics at play in war-torn Iraq and Syria, "They Say We Are Infidels" is the eye-opening and revelatory testimony of a journalist who heads into a war zone--and is forever changed by the people she encounters there.

My thoughts: This book is an excellent resource that shows the recent history of Christians in the Middle East and how ISIS has targeted them with the Arabic N (for Nazarene or to show they are a believer in Jesus Christ) to attack. While at times, it was a lot of information, I really appreciated Belz writing about her personal experiences to open the eyes of Christians around the world to the problem of ISIS and how it has evolved over the years. This is an important book to help us focus our prayers for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Whether you are into politics or not, this is an excellent resource to read.
I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review.