Africa Director Rae Burnett recently met in North Africa with indigenous underground missionaries who started a discipleship center with funds from Christian Aid.

Amed eventually told her that he was not a Christian, but a true Muslim, and that he pretended to be a Christian in order to know exactly what she was doing. Immediately he locked her in a room and left her there for one week without food or water. Her mother-in-law also intensely abused her every day with physical beatings.

After that they took her to a marabou (Islamic witchdoctor). He said that she had become crazy, and only he can help her become normal again. She refused to cooperate and answered, "It is you who are not sane."

They decided to take her to the head imam of the mosque, who told the husband to put her in prison with instructions to torture her at every prayer time (five times/day).

When a missionary leader helped by Christian Aid Mission heard of her dilemma, a group of believers started praying for Marya and sending encouraging messages to her in prison.

The husband finally decided to release her so that he could take her to another imam of the mosque for help. This imam told them that there was only one way he could help. Marya had to divorce her husband and marry the imam, then divorce him, and remarry her first husband. He said that she was very sick, and this was the only way to help her.