30 Feet Underground
Richard Wurmbrand was a Romanian pastor arrested in 1948 for preaching the gospel. He spent 14 years in Communist prisons, including three years in solitary confinement 30 feet underground.
In that darkness, Wurmbrand discovered something unexpected: God was there.
"I have seen prisoners stand before their torturers and say, 'I love you,'" Wurmbrand wrote. "I have seen them die with the name of Jesus on their lips."
The guards tried everything to break him—beatings, starvation, drugs, psychological torture. They carved crosses into his body. They froze him in refrigerator cells.
Dancing for Joy
But Wurmbrand prayed. He preached sermons in his head. He composed hymns by tapping on the wall in Morse code to prisoners in adjacent cells.
"Alone in my cell, cold and hungry, I danced for joy every night," he recalled. "I had discovered that beyond the visible world of guards and walls, there was an invisible reality—the kingdom of God."
A Faith Refined by Fire
When finally released, Wurmbrand weighed barely 90 pounds. His wife had been told he was dead.
But he emerged with something the Communists couldn't destroy: a faith refined by fire. He went on to found Voice of the Martyrs, giving voice to persecuted Christians worldwide.
"I have suffered more than I can tell," Wurmbrand said. "But I have also experienced more of God's love and power than I ever could have imagined."
