A Family Transformed in the Middle East

A young man, whom we’ll call Amir, arrived in Europe from the Middle East to pursue a Ph.D. He and his wife encountered Jesus for the first time through a movie they watched during Easter week. When they saw His love and His power to heal, they were drawn to him. They had been trying for years to have children, but doctors had repeatedly told them it was impossible for them. When they saw this movie, they said to themselves, “If Jesus can do all of these miracles, then we should pray to him.” They fervently prayed to Jesus for a child, and the following Easter they were holding a little girl of their own. They gave their lives to him in response. 

The young couple was not content with only their new baby and their new faith. They knew they had to respond to Jesus by sharing about the great things God had done for them. Amir’s desire turned to his family.  After a few months, they saved up enough money to fly his 70-year-old father to visit him. 

One week later, a Converge missionary received a call from Amir to meet him and his father for coffee. He introduced the missionary to his father and said, “This is the first time that my father has ever been outside of the Middle East. This week, he stepped foot inside a church for the first time. He saw Christians worshiping God for the first time. A week ago, my father would not have had coffee with an American. I would like you to tell my father about Jesus.”

Ninety minutes later, the Amir’s father kissed the missionary on the forehead and thanked him, saying, “You have shared the truth with me. I have learned more today than in 70 years of teaching from the religious leaders in the Middle East. You have showed me the straight path.”

For the next two months father and son studied the Scriptures together. Then Amir’s father left for home, and for 2½ years they could not talk about faith due to the strict monitoring of communications and fear of the risk to themselves and their families. 

Amir made a short visit back to his home country, and when he returned, the missionaries asked how his father’s faith was doing. He said, “He just won’t stop talking about Jesus!”