By Sandra Klaus, March 2008

The Friesens spent nearly two decades serving in Morocco before being forced to leave.

Part of Peter Friesen's heart is buried in Morocco.

Friesen proposed to Elsie Regier while they were students at Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, Neb. Both felt called to minister to Muslims in Morocco. Elsie graduated and moved to the field in 1947. Friesen followed in 1948.

Before he arrived, fellow missionaries in Morocco urged Elsie to break off the engagement, convinced they would lose a valuable coworker if she married. Two days after Friesen arrived, Elsie returned his ring. Heartbroken, he waited and prayed. Two weeks later, Elsie begged his forgiveness and the wedding was back on.

Meanwhile, Elsie's friend Wilma Harder was still a student at Grace. Wilma's grandmother always told stories about Muslim countries and Wilma studied Muslim cultures. One day Elsie asked Wilma whether God had ever talked to her about going to the mission field. Wilma confided He had, and Elsie said, "Then come to Morocco with me!" Years later, Wilma joined her friend in Morocco.

Peter and Elsie had three children and were expecting a fourth. When Elsie was seven months into her pregnancy, a doctor gave her the wrong shot and she went into a coma. Elsie died March 13, 1955. Friesen buried his wife in Morocco and returned home with his three little children.

In the meantime, Wilma needed surgery and returned to the States. When she came to Kansas for her brother's wedding, she met Friesen, who was visiting Elsie's parents. Peter invited Wilma to ride with him to an upcoming conference at the Avant Ministries headquarters in Kansas City. "She sang Arabic songs the entire way," Friesen remembered, "and that convinced me!" Peter and Wilma were soon married and returned to Morocco to continue their ministries.

Before long, tragedy struck again. Peter's young son, 5-year-old Virgil, contracted rheumatic fever. When complications set in, they took him to the American Navy base medical center in Kenitra. He improved, and the Friesens brought him home, but within days the fever returned. In spite of all they did to try to save him, young Virgil soon joined his mother. Friesen buried another piece of his heart beneath the sands of Morocco.

Along with other missionaries, the Friesens worked at Sunset Farm. They helped create a center for Moroccan conferences and camps for boys and girls. Friesen said, "Many of the young children who came to camp accepted the Lord. That was an absolute thrill."

Friesen and his coworker, Dick Blake, worked as colporteurs, traveling throughout Morocco, selling Bibles in the marketplaces. The Friesens also offered first aid to their Moroccan neighbors. "That's how I got acquainted with almost everyone around us," Friesen said. "As many as 20-25 people would come to our gate and wait there until I could meet them and give them the medicine they needed."

In 1955 the French protectorate over Morocco ended. During the transition, tensions ran high. The Friesens witnessed acts of terrorism from both sides. Friesen believes the first aid work they'd done, combined with their ability to speak Arabic, saved their lives.

The new Moroccan government issued an edict making it illegal for anyone to do anything that might cause a Moroccan to become interested in the gospel. Friesen said, "We could not even give them a drink of tea or water." In the late 1960s, Morocco expelled Christian missionaries. Though it felt like the death of a ministry, Friesen said, "I believe with all my heart the seeds planted at Sunset Farm still bear fruit."

Friesen's belief is right - those seeds have been growing for more than 40 years. Avant President Paul Nyquist recently visited leaders of the underground church in Morocco. He said, "I came away impressed with the quality of these men. A lot of them are struggling to find finances to make things work, and also there's the pressure of persecution. Most of them have been in prison at least once, yet they keep going."

Because of pioneers like the Friesens, new life is springing up in Muslim-dominated Morocco. "There are now 52 house churches we are sure of, and they continue to subdivide and grow," Nyquist said. "Three new house churches have started in the last four or five months. While I was there, a group from one city contacted church leaders and said, ‘We have believers here. Can you help us start a church?'"

Because of religious oppression, Avant is no longer able to run camps and distribute literature in Morocco. But the work of Friesen enable Avant to support a growing underground church, reaching Morocco for Christ.