Aziza stared down into the pot of leaves and roots she’d been cooking over the fire. “Has it really come to this?” she asked herself, as she had done every other night that week. “Am I really serving my children boiled leaves for dinner?”

She barely noticed the gnawing in her own stomach as a wave of grief and anger washed over her heart. “I wish that artillery shell had killed me instead of Farid,” she whispered. “It would have been better for the children. At least then they would have a decent meal.”

Aziza’s husband Farid had been killed by a stray artillery shell in 2021 while he was making his way home from work. Since then, she had struggled to provide for her two sons and two daughters and most recently, the 35-year-old widow had resorted to scavenging wild plants from the mountainsides. She knew the stews that she made from what she collected were hardly nourishing, but she had nothing left to sell to buy beans or eggs or produce from the market.

On September 21st, Yemen’s Houthi militias held a massive military parade in Sana’a, two days after Houthi negotiators left Riyadh following five days of talks with Saudi officials mediated by Oman.¹ Since then, conflict has been reescalating around Yemen, and over the two-week period of September 28th - October 11th the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project (CIMP) reported 34 incidents of armed violence that impacted civilians in the country. These incidents resulted in 44 civilian casualties and affected 25 farms—threatening livelihoods and critical sources of sustenance. 

Taiz saw some of the fiercest fighting during these weeks of accelerating hostilities, both in the city as well as along wider frontlines in the province. Taiz City is the largest urban settlement in Yemen hosting active frontlines and has experienced outbreaks of clashes throughout 2023. Snipers and shelling exchanges result in regular civilian casualties in Taiz, while shelling in particular also triggers displacement. Meanwhile, nationwide 238 reported incidents of armed violence in the third quarter of this year resulted in:

• 28,564 households facing newly restricted access to water facilities, aid, or food storage.
• 35,536 households facing newly restricted access to health, education, first responders, or worship.
• ν 10,385 households facing newly restricted access to transport, telecommunications, media, fuel, or electricity.²

Throughout July, the explosive remnants of war continued to claim Yemeni lives around the country. At least eight civilians were killed by landmines in Taiz and Hodeidah over the first nine days of July¹ and on July 9th, two Yemeni deminers died and two others were injured by an anti-tank landmine in Saada province. On July 18th, three children from the same family were killed by a mine while playing near Marib’s As-Suwayda camp for displaced people² and on July 25th, an arms dealer detonated a projectile he was dismantling in his Marib home, killing him, his wife and five children, and another person.³ For Yemenis who survive such accidental detonations, life is often changed forever for them and their families—as it was for Selwa’s household.

Selwa’s husband lost both his legs in a landmine explosion, leaving her as the sole breadwinner for the couple, their three sons and two daughters. The family of seven now lives as Internally Displaced People (IDP), sharing a single room and bathroom that are in disrepair. When Selwa’s daughter Sina got sick with a high fever, she didn’t know what to do. Only 18 percent of the 20.3 million Yemenis in need of health assistance are being reached⁴—and Selwa had no way to afford medical care for her daughter. When Selwa’s neighbor told her she could get free treatment and care for Sina at a local hospital, Selwa was skeptical—but she took Sina to the hospital anyway where she was surprised to find that what her neighbor had said was true. Sina was seen and treated at no charge thanks in part to medicines and medical supplies that have been shipped to Yemen by international partners and delivered to local health facilities. 

Ahmad noticed a man washing a car near the small shop where he’d stopped to pick up a few supplies for the office of the nonprofit where he works. The man was moving slowly in the hot sun and his deep wrinkles reminded Ahmad of his grandfather, who’d passed away before Yemen’s war broke out in 2015. Ahmad remembered how his grandfather had spent most afternoons sitting in the shade of the old city wall drinking tea with the other old men from their neighborhood, telling stories and observing the hustle and bustle of the local market. Now, tea, sugar, and milk have become luxuries for many Yemeni households and men like Ahmad’s grandfather as well as very young boys wander the streets looking for odd jobs.

Once Ahmad finished his purchases, he pulled his car across the street, asked the man to wash it, and began chatting with him. On hearing the man’s dialect, Ahmad knew immediately that he’d been displaced, just as Ahmad was. The man explained to Ahmad how he’d lived his whole life in his ancestral family home, until the frontlines of Yemen’s conflict shifted into his district and the house was destroyed. He’d then fled south with his family in search of safety, and now, at age 64, for the first time in his life, he was homeless. He told Ahmad that he and his family were living on the streets of Aden without shelter, and that by washing cars he could provide them with just enough for a basic meal or two each day.

In April, Yemenis marked the end of their daylight fasting throughout the month of Ramadan by celebrating Eid Al-Fitr, observing the holiday as a nation at war for the eighth year in a row. This year, however, the holiday was accompanied by signs that the international parties involved in the conflict no longer have the will to fight, including a large-scale, multi-day prisoner swap involving nearly 900 detainees. The exchange, which was completed on April 16th, is being touted as a confidence-building measure coinciding with an intense diplomatic push to negotiate an end to hostilities between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition that has battled them since March of 2015.

However, as international actors look for a quick exit from their costly intervention, many Yemeni grievances are being sidelined. Deep enmities remain unreconciled and little effort is being made to mend the social fabric of a nation shredded by years of bloodshed, violence, and famine. One researcher warned that the Houthis are unwilling to share political power and that Saudi Arabia’s direct negotiations with the group have come at the expense of all other Yemeni parties. He also doubts that the Houthis will gain international legitimacy as a governmental body, which will continue to deter international investment in Yemen, and could slow down any reconstruction efforts. “The current talks may even increase the risk of a disintegration of the state, as other parties will not agree to live under Houthi control,” he said.

Shayma winced as she slowly traced the letters of the Arabic alphabet in her literacy class. Her teacher Layla handed her a tissue and she set her pencil down to dab at the fresh blood oozing from the cracks in her fingers. Meanwhile, Layla turned away so that Shayma wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes. “You can’t tell the difference between a woman’s hand and a man’s hand in this village,” Layla thought.

Shayma and her five sisters had never gone to school. Her father could only afford to send his only son to school, so he’d sent the girls to work the land and do the housework from the time they were able. One of their most difficult and time-consuming chores was drawing water from the local well for all their household needs. Sometimes it made their hands bleed. It was also risky. Periodically, they heard stories of a woman or a child falling into a well in their region and drowning. However, despite their heavy workload, when Layla started a literacy program in their village, Shayma and her sisters had jumped at the chance to learn. “I felt they had a real love for learning, and I felt that they’d been deprived,” Layla explains. “In our society, women just have duties—they don’t have rights.”

Women and girls face many obstacles to learning in Yemen; however, throughout Yemen’s war, local nonprofits have been working to increase their access to educational opportunities. In addition to operating literacy programs for women, this has included operating Alternative Education Centers (AECs) and building classrooms in rural areas. “People in the village are waiting eagerly to see the new school that a local nonprofit constructed begin operating,” said the coordinator of one such AEC. “Until now, parents have to send their children to schools located far away, and girls are often the most impacted as they are forced to drop out of school very early.”

Asad’s mother was persecuted and beaten for her faith in Christ for years by her brother, an Islamic zealot. Once he even forced her to kneel while he held a gun to her head and tried to execute her—but when he pulled the trigger, the bullet didn’t fire. When Asad was 13, this uncle who had relentlessly tormented his own sister, was killed as a combatant in Yemen’s war. Still, his mother’s other relatives continued to harass them until finally God provided an opportunity for them to move out on their own. Living independently gave Asad, his mother, and her other three children some relief—however, they continued to struggle financially as a woman-headed household cut off from their extended family. While the actual number of Yemeni homes headed by women like Asad’s mother is not known, aid workers say the number is on the rise. “Price rises are forcing these women to reduce their meals to one a day, and many have resorted to begging,”said the spokesperson for one Yemeni nonprofit.

Asad is now 16 years old and in 2022, God intervened in the family’s life once again by making a way for him to enroll in English classes. “This has kept him off the street and away from bad influences,” said another disciple of Christ close to the family. “He now rubs shoulders with peers who are ambitious and motivated to work hard and he’s seeing new possibilities.”

Reem walked along the path at a steady pace. She knew she was dreaming because the painful limp she had in real life was gone. She’d often had dreams of walking without her limp, and she was enjoying this one—until she saw a split in the path ahead of her. How would she know which way to go? Rarely had life offered her the luxury of a choice. Alarm grew within her as the dream carried her closer and closer to the looming fork in the way. Then—seemingly from nowhere—a man in white appeared just as she reached the fork. Reem felt shy as the man approached her, but not afraid. Without speaking He took her hand and she felt strangely calmed. Then He pointed. Reem looked down the path He gestured towards, and to her surprise she saw a familiar figure waiting for her just ahead. Reem looked back at the man in white. He smiled and nodded and let go of her hand—encouraging her to take the path He’d indicated.

Born into poverty and living with a disability, Reem was illiterate when Yemen’s war started in 2015. Over the next eight years, women like Reem living in rural villages around the country would face steadily increasing hardship and hunger. Their opportunities in life that already seemed nonexistent would somehow be further reduced. Yet Reem’s own story had turned out quite differently due to the work of a local nonprofit.

Nine men had been sitting in the small room without electricity on a hot September day for more than two hours. It felt like they were studying the Bible in a sauna. Opening a window or a door to let in a breath of air was too risky since a passerby might overhear their discussion. Still, no one wanted to cut the time short—especially not Rashid.

Rashid and the other men had each traveled several hours to gather for more than four hours a day for five days and learn new ways to grow in intimacy with Christ and connection with His body. They were studying the Sermon on the Mount and the book of James together. Rashid had been a disciple of Christ for nearly five years and he had been actively sharing his faith for most of that time. Now he felt this gathering was equipping him both practically and spiritually to strengthen his fellowship with other disciples in the area where he lived to the north. 

Yemen remains among the largest humanitarian crises worldwide despite a six-month truce that marked the longest pause in fighting in the country since its war began in 2015. As of September, Yemen was considered the world’s fourth largest humanitarian crisis by number of people in need (behind the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC], Ethiopia, and Afghanistan) and the world’s largest crisis when measured by percent of population in need. Furthermore, the ceasefire that began on April 2nd, and was renewed twice, expired on October 2nd without a third extension.

As Yemenis around the country are now bracing for a renewal of airstrikes, ground shelling, and missile attacks, Yemeni disciples of Christ also continue to experience faith-based persecution. Yet living in the midst of this hostility, they have not lost heart. Rather, they fix their eyes on Jesus and take heart in His declaration, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”   

Today, only 15 percent of children in Yemen are eating the minimum acceptable diet for survival, growth, and development. Meanwhile, less than one percent of Yemenis are being nourished by the truths of the Gospel that can bring their spirits from death to life and reconcile them with God, themselves, and others. However, as more and more families across the nation are pushed to the brink of physical famine, seeds of the Gospel sown over many decades have been bearing increasing fruit through nearly eight devastating years of war.

“After I gave my life to Christ, I immediately told my son—but he was angry and didn’t accept it,” shared Yusof, a Yemeni father. “Later, when he noticed that his sister and mother were considering Jesus, too, he said, ‘Fine, do what you want, but I want nothing to do with you!’ After that, I started praying for him and have continued for seven years. Gradually, I noticed the Lord shining a light into his heart. He watched the changes that God brought into my life, and his attitude began to soften. When he started asking why I changed, I could tell he was finally really listening as I shared about Christ. Praise the Lord, after seven years, he gave his life to Jesus and has become an active member of our church!”

“The most important thing is that our new house has doors,” said Besma’s mother. “The last house didn’t even have doors.”

When Besma, her mother and father, and her two sisters were displaced from their village to the city three years ago, the only place they could afford to rent was a house in such disrepair that some of the rooms did not even have a roof. It offered little shelter from the sweltering sun that beat down on them during the day. Meanwhile, at night, the cutouts in the walls that should have been filled with doors and window screens served only as entryways for animals. “If we weren’t dealing with the rats, then we were dealing with the cats,” Besma’s father said.

When the sun finally set and the family gathered around their fan to sleep at night, they would be startled awake by the street cats who came in, attracted to the fan’s meager breeze that brought a little respite from the stifling humidity of Yemen’s coastal climate. At daybreak, Besma’s father should have gone out to look for work. He longed to bring in enough income to move his family to a better home—but he was also afraid to leave his wife and three young daughters alone, exposed to the elements, and without even the most basic door to secure their home in a country at war.

When a man approached Adel1 in March and asked for a ride home, Adel agreed cheerfully. He was happy to have a customer. A member of Yemen’s marginalized ethnic group called the Muhamisheen,2 Adel was married and was earning a bit of income in the midst of Yemen’s war by driving his motorcycle as a taxi. He’d also become a disciple of Christ after hearing the Gospel from another member of his Muhamisheen community, and he was preparing to get baptized. “He loved peace and was hoping one day to return to his home,” explained a relative of Adel’s wife.

Adel had been staying in an area where he could find more work, and he hadn’t seen his wife for months. Each ride he gave seemed to bring him closer to an opportunity to visit home, including his mother, who has no other children. Tragically, neither Adel nor his passenger that day would ever see their families again. His motorcycle struck a landmine that killed both of them, claiming two more civilian casualties in the violence that has escalated across Yemen in 2022.

Like many Yemeni women today, Hajar is the sole breadwinner for her five children. The number of female-headed households has been increasing in Yemen since 2015, when a political conflict escalated into a war that has resulted in thousands of widows. The war has also precipitated a devastating economic crisis that is creating severe psychological impacts, in addition to physical ones.

Cases have been reported of fathers killing their own children, rather than seeing them live on the streets, because they could no longer provide shelter for them. Hajar, meanwhile, was left alone to care for her family when her husband became mentally unstable several years ago, and simply departed. With her husband gone, Hajar continued to live with her children in a rural area, where, like millions of other Yemeni women, she had to walk a long distance twice daily to collect water from an unprotected well. What was unusual in Hajar’s case, is that none of her children helped with this task. All five of her children were born blind, a disability that makes helping with many basic household chores in rural Yemen more dangerous.

Nezar left his country, Yemen, and is now living in Europe. In Europe, he left Islam and became a follower of Jesus. Now he tries to help the Yemeni people however he can while living abroad. Heʼs worried about his country and the deep poverty caused by the war, which has been going on since March 2015. One consequence of the war particularly concerns him: a growing number of child marriages.

It can be hard for anyone to understand why fathers are marrying their young daughters to elderly men in 2020. Although historically even in many Western countries, it wasnʼt unusual for young girls to be married off to elderly men, these countries have now largely ended child marriage. However, strict Islamic countries have struggled to abolish the practice due to legalistic interpretations of Islam that forbid any deviation from cultural norms practiced by Arab tribes a thousand years ago.

My name is Suad. I’m from the southern Arabian Peninsula, which is the home of the historic Frankincense Trail. This trail stretched from the Dofar mountains of Oman, all the way through Yemen and the vast desert of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, before finally arriving in Jerusalem. From Jerusalem, the frankincense would be picked up by traders and taken all over the world. It was even one of the gifts that the wise men presented to Jesus after His birth.

Still today, we use incense containing frankincense in our homes on the southern Arabian Peninsula. One of our customs is to burn this incense in the house before our neighbors and friends come to visit. This fragrance is so important to us and such a valuable part of our culture, that if we travel outside of the Arabian Peninsula we carry incense with us in case we cannot find it in the place we are visiting.

Since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Yemen on April 10th, the United Nations (UN) and relief organizations have warned that the spread of the virus will have a catastrophic impact if the cases are not identified, treated, isolated, and properly tracked. However, following through with these measures seems impossible when conflict continues to rage in hotspots around the country and the health system has “in effect” collapsed, according to the UN...

Do Arabian Peninsula (AP) Christians fast during Ramadan? Yes, national believers living in the AP do pray and fast during Ramadan, the month during which practicing Muslims fast from sunup to sundown. “Although each believer has the freedom in Christ to fast in their own way, I personally fast along with the community that I’m surrounded by,” says Tamer, a believer who lives in the AP. He intercedes during Ramadan “for the Muslims that I love so much.” ...

Nagi* was a devout Muslim living in the Arabian Peninsula (AP). He observed the five obligatory prayers each day and often went to the mosque to pray between midnight and dawn. During one of these pre-dawn prayers, Nagi encountered Christ.

“After a long prayer, I laid my head on the carpet to rest and as I was drifting off, Christ spoke to me,” Nagi said. “I was startled awake, but I also heard another voice telling me, ‘Don’t think about Christ right now. You’re on the right path.’ At that point in life, I had money and was comfortable, but I was far from God.”

Nagi continued his life as a Muslim for ten more years. Then, the building where Nagi stored the goods for his shop was destroyed in a fire, and everything burned. He grew depressed, but eventually found an online ministry and came to faith in Christ.
Initially, he was convinced that he should leave his country because he felt there was no church where he could grow spiritually, and he was afraid as a believer on his own.