I received this letter from a missionary in Greece and wanted to share it with you.
Hello! I wish I had the time and space to write to you all the things that God has been doing here! Every day I am amazed at the way He has been answering specific prayers (this past week within an hour of praying with an Afghan woman He had already answered the prayer), moving in hearts, and breaking down cultural strongholds and barriers! I feel like John 21:25 ‘if all the things Jesus did were recorded, the world could not contain all the books that would be written’ (my paraphrase) is being played out in our midst every day. I would like to share one story of radical hatred to redemption.
There was an Afghan man that would come to our center regularly. We will call him Ali. He was devout in his faith and threatened anyone he saw that showed interest in Christ or asked questions. He actually beat people at times and even threatened his own extended family when they became close with many of us on our staff.
Fast forward to January and we see Ali in action again. This time he gathered a group of Afghan men and surrounded an Iranian believer (regular volunteer at our center who we will call Fardin) and said he needed to come do namaz (muslim prayers) or they were going to kill him. Fardin had already been beat so bad he was hospitalized for his faith, so he knew this wasn’t an empty threat. Fardin told them he didn’t do that anymore, so they responded they were going to kill him. Thankfully some people came and broke it all up before they could hurt him.
A few months after this incident Ali had an extended family member that really needed help. Ali’s family asked him for help, but he wasn’t able to do anything thus he was shamed in front of his family. We were able to intervene and help the family member, but we didn’t do it directly. We provided Ali with the resources necessary to help. The next day Ali asked to speak privately to me. I was sure he was going to ask for more help, but instead he said with tears in his eyes, “You covered my shame by allowing me to be involved and you restored my honor. I will never forget this.” After saying that he left.
This past Thursday Fardin was leaving our refugee center and heard Ali shout, “Hey Fardin. Come over here.” Fardin said his stomach dropped and he wondered if he was going to get beat again and he even asked God why He let Ali find him again. When Fardin approached Ali, Ali threw his arms around him and called him brother. Ali said, “We are brothers now! I believe. I love Jesus!” Fardin stood there with his mouth opened, shocked at what had just happened. Ali said, “Why do you look so surprised? God is big! I believe!”
We serve a God that is actively turning hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. He is still in the business of turning Sauls into Pauls!
We get the extreme privilege of serving a God who is alive, active, and moving and who is longing to lavish His love upon us. I hope this story encouraged you that no heart is beyond God’s reach!
Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. I wouldn’t want to be here a single day without them!
This story is one of the many reasons Missional Living exists.
