When Joe Biden announced last April that all American troops would be leaving Afghanistan, those familiar with the country knew it would eventually fall to the Taliban. But nobody predicted it would collapse before the Americans had even left the country.

Caught off guard, Afghans began to run, especially those who feared for their lives—former government employees, American interpreters, and Christians.

The Christians were especially interesting, because while conversion was illegal even under the Afghan government, the number of believers had been steadily growing, from an estimated 2,000 in 2013 to about 10,000 in 2021.

How were so many hearing about Jesus? With everybody keeping their faith a secret, how were they connecting with each other? And how on earth were they going to get out?

This is their story.