We invited him to our house-church meeting to share how he had become a follower of Christ. Although he was shy and hesitant to speak in front of...
Heartbeat
The monthly newsletter of Free Methodist World Missions
How Can I Forgive
Sumayya*, a Yazidi girl, had attended a seminar about forgiveness at our center. I later visited her at home to ask her about the seminar and her thoughts about the topic. Her mother and two of her siblings were present as well. Sumayya shared that she couldn’t understand how to forgive people who committed horrible acts such as Dae’sh (ISIS) had done to the Yazidi people. They had killed men, raped women and young girls, and destroyed their homes and possessions. Those who survived had to leave their homes and become refugees.
“I loved the message, but…”
We invited a woman from one of our searching groups to join us for an event explicitly organized to reach people for Christ. The messages we delivered were very clear, and we felt the Holy Spirit surrounding and touching the event and many hearts. When the event was finished, the woman came to me saying: “I loved the message. It was good, but I can’t accept Jesus as Savior for my life. That decision would turn my life upside down.”
Learning Firsthand
In Iraq, Haris* had heard about Christians. He had heard they are good people. Haris, his wife and his son learned this firsthand when they found refuge in our country more than three years ago after fleeing their homeland. Haris and his family are of Sabean background and did not know about Christ.
The Lord Goes Before Us
I visited a village where I had never been before. I planned to start a house church there and came to gather information about the area, the people and the culture. While sitting at the coffee shop, I prayed and asked God to guide me to a man of peace. From experience, I know the Lord goes before us and brings the right people in our path. Later, I went to a shop to have some of my clothes ironed. While there, I started a conversation with the shop owner. I asked him about his village, and then I asked him where I might find a place to spend the night. He asked me, “Why are you here?”
The Strong One
Em-Elias asked me to have a meeting at her home and speak about love and forgiveness. A few days later, I held the meeting and spoke about the importance of forgiveness in the Christian faith. Em-Elias was listening carefully. After a while, she asked me to repeat what I had been saying. I didn’t know why she asked me to do so. As I started again, I noticed Em-Elias was gazing at Umaima, her daughter-in-law. Umaima was listening carefully.
The Happiest Day of My Life
I am Kibar. I was born in Syria to a religious, fundamental Muslim family. My father and mother prayed often and taught my three sisters and me to pray as well. Despite this religious atmosphere, I did not feel my prayers helped me come closer to God. Eventually, I met some neighbor girls my age and became friends with them. They were Christians. I asked them about their religion and even went to church with them several times. They started sharing with me Christian teachings from the Bible. My father found out about my relationship with these neighbors and about my going to the church. He hit me and demanded I have no more contact with these Christian girls. I did not give up and continued to see them, despite his threats.
The Toktok Drive
My wife and I traveled by Toktok to a house church. I asked the driver, Zechariah, to come back at 8 p.m. to take us home after the meeting was finished. When Zechariah returned, the meeting was still going on, so he decided to come inside to wait for us.
As the house church leader spoke and prayed, the Holy Spirit began to deal with Zechariah. He started to cry as he recognized his sins, particularly his addictions.
With You Forever
She was a young, polite woman but always looked sad. We didn’t know much about her. Even after joining the house church group, she never shared or prayed. When the meetings were over, she left quickly. We respected her silence.
One day, when we shared about Jacob in the Bible, she spoke for the first time. She told her story:
This message opened my eyes. I was married when I was 13 years old to a man 26 years older than me. My family arranged this marriage. I was a child who just wanted to play with my friends and go to school.
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