Forbidden

The Forbidden Children

 By Esther

When I decided to become a follower of Him, my family erupted in celebration. They called all of our relatives and proudly told everyone they knew that their young daughter had decided to ask Him into her heart. They were ecstatic that I had followed their example and decided to share the faith in which my family was so deeply rooted. With my upbringing, it was no surprise that I wanted to be known as His follower.

However, the excited reaction I received for deciding to follow Him is the complete opposite of what most children in our area encounter. On this island, most families accept the beliefs of Buddhism, Daoism, and folk religions instead of our faith. When children here, who have grown up bowing down to idols or praying to their dead ancestors every day, come home and tell their parents that they have become followers of Him, their families often do not know how to process their children’s faith, since they perceive our faith as a “strange and foreign religion.” Children are confused when their parents forbid them from going to clubhouses or talking to m's.

I was 15 years old when my family moved to our island. After making friends and getting to know other teenagers my age, I was shocked to discover how strongly opposed to our faith my friends’ families were. One of my first experiences with family persecution was with Violet*, a friend of mine that was a junior in high school. Even though her mother encouraged her to go to the English BOOK study my family hosted, she made it very clear from the beginning that Violet was not allowed to become a follower of Him. She wanted her daughter to learn better English, but she did not want her to become a “religious fanatic.”

When Violet became a follower of Him a few months later, she told everyone she knew about her new faith. That is, everyone except her family. “My parents will forbid me from coming back to the BOOK study,” she told me. She did not want her mom and dad to stop her from learning more about Him and His Word. She knew that her parents would disapprove of her faith and try to prevent her from strengthening her relationship with Him. They had already refused to let her enter any clubhouse building in the city.

It took Violet more than two years to tell her family that she was a follower of Him. Her parents yelled and fought with her about her faith. They were extremely angry with the fact that Violet had chosen to become a follower of Him. They did not want their daughter to put Him above her education or her future career.

Violet is not alone in her persecution. I have met dozens of other children and teenagers that have either been persecuted by their families about their faith, or they have not told their parents that they are followers of Him because they are afraid they will be forbidden to learn more. However, these young believers are strong in their beliefs. They have to be 100 percent certain that they want to live a faith-filled life in order to stand up to their parents, grandparents, or other family members. Although they are young, they are firm believers in the saving power of the cross.

When young people living on the island become followers of Him, they do not always receive the same praise that I did when I became a follower. However, His BOOK teaches that whenever one accepts, there is a huge celebration in heaven. Please join me in remembering Violet and those like her. May we not forget about the faith of these forbidden children.

(Esther's photo and story appeared on April 30, 2012 on our company's EA website. We have changed some of the wording on this copy for our family's blog.)