A lot of people ask: “What happens with all these people that say they believed in Jesus?”
Our answer is that many of those who have truly accepted Jesus Christ in their life continue, like the first Christians, to talk about Him wherever they may be. For God’s glory and the encouragement of all those who support this ministry, we report some true stories of refugees who have accepted Jesus and talk about Him wherever they are.
“H” from Afghanistan… took the path of immigration and arrived in Athens. Searching for food, shelter, bath, clothes, company, he came to our center. There, he found food and company, but, above all, he had the opportunity for the first time in his life to hear about Jesus Christ. One day, he prayed with us asking for salvation, and continued learning about how to live like a Christian. He eventually gave his testimony publicly and got baptised.
After a while, he continued his journey into Europe and arrived in Belgium. There, he sought to find other Christians so that they could worship God together. At the church he found, he met another Afghan refugee who had also become a Christian at Helping Hands. That was when his faith grew and so he continued talking to others about Christ. In the meantime, the Belgian state granted him asylum and a Belgian passport, so he could travel legally. God then called him to preach the Gospel to his own ethnic group. Obeying Him, he left the safety and security that Belgium offered and returned to Turkey in order to preach the Gospel to thousands of Afghans who live there.
In October 2005, he started his first home gathering, to which 12 Afghan people came and heard about Christ for the first time. The Sunday after that, 13 Afghan people participated, one of whom prayed, with a crushed heart, for salvation. He was an Afghan judge. The Taliban had killed his whole family and, in order to escape, he fled to Europe. He was deported fifteen times from various countries, the last one being in February 2005. Two Turkish soldiers transported him to Iranian borders. Before leaving him there, one of the soldiers said to him: “Look around you. The snow is plenty and it’s extremely cold. The first Iranian village is 12 hours away. Even if you have the strength to walk, wolves will eat you up. You will surely die. On this side is Turkey. The first Turkish village is three kilometers away. We will leave you here because I am Christian and I will not be able to face my Savior, Jesus Christ, one day if I let you die”. And he continued after giving him 30 dollars: “Remember that today you are alive because of Jesus. So live for Him”.
Until that time, the Afghan judge knew nothing about Jesus. This experience was constantly in his mind for the next months to come, until someone invited him to the gathering the Afghan man from Belgium had organized. There, he met Jesus and started truly living for Him!
Will you look at that! A Muslim refugee comes to Athens and receives the love and care of God’s children at Helping Hands. He believes in God. He grows in faith and matures spiritually in Belgium. God then calls him to go to Turkey and, while risking his own life, preach to Afghan people. There, God sends another Afghan man, a judge, prepared by a Turkish Christian soldier, to listen to the former’s message and be born again! Isn’t that how it was done during the beginning of Christianity? One sows and another reaps… and God saves!
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