Miracles
As I mentioned in the previous blog, I will share at least one instance I will never forget. A moment when I personally experienced God’s miraculous work and protection. A moment when I had no idea what to do or what to expect one of the times when my husband was in prison. Before I begin, let me share a little background of the story.
One day, my husband was robbed by a group of black men, but when he reported it to the nearest police station, to his surprise, he was the one being detained overnight and eventually was put into prison the next day and the days to come. Before he was being transferred to the prison the next day, after his overnight detention, he was able to call me before he surrendered his phone to the police officers. He instructed me quickly to ask help from the two families in the villa to transform the church into a playground, to make sure that no trace of any church gathering or any church related activities would be seen when the authorities came to investigate the whole villa.
We had no idea and we were totally clueless as to why my husband was suddenly imprisoned at that moment. I asked help from the two families who lived with us in the villa to protect the church and I believed they did their best to help but because of fear and uncertainties of the situation they decided to leave and chose to live in a hotel to protect themselves from any possible charges just in case the underground church should be discovered or exposed to the authorities.
A day came when a group of men (some wearing white robes and some wearing police uniforms) arrived and firmly commanded me to open the second floor main door (where the church hall was). I was alone in the villa with my two children and all I could do was to pray in tongues quietly and obey the directive of the men who surrounded me and my kids at that moment. I entrusted everything to God and believed that it’s He who would help, rescue, and protect us from all danger, fears, and uncertainties. I tried my best to open the main door of the church villa, as directed by the men, while praying in tongues quietly. But the main door key didn’t work at all. The men were impatient already because it took so long and I myself wondered why the key didn’t work at all. So I surrendered all my keys in my hand to the men and I told them to do it themselves. But they were pissed off, talked with each other in their language, and they just simply told me, “KALAS! KALAS! KALAS!” After saying those repeated words, they all left. It was just me and my kids in the villa.
When they left I didn’t know what to do. I thought the key wasn’t working anymore and as a woman I’m definitely not strong enough to break the door with my bare hands. But the Holy Spirit whispered to me right at that moment to open the door with the key once more. I obeyed. Lo and behold the door was opened in just one click. What a miracle! My two kids and I were able to safely enter inside with peace in our hearts. The men didn’t return at all anymore even in the days to come. I knew in my heart that it was God who miraculously protected me, my two sons, the church. I could have been raped by those men, knowing that I was just alone in front of them with my two young children, but my two boys and I were unharmed and the church was never exposed. There are so many more stories like this, but one thing is for sure — God was, is, and will always be with us!
Honestly speaking, the imprisonment of my husband at that time, 5 years after we had arrived, was a defining moment for both of us because this was the only time in the Middle East that I saw my husband deeply cry again. He was disheartened and worried about me after all that we’d been through. He asked me personally if I was still willing to stay in the Middle East despite all that had been happening to us. He said that we could just go home (our comfort zone) if I wanted to where we could be safe from any religious police, free from false accusations, imprisonment, many restrictions (especially for women), and where we could start all over again as a family. But I assured him that I was fine and I was at peace with God because this is where God had called us and I was still willing to stay in the Middle East as long as God wants. Only God knows when our time here will be over. I don’t want to go ahead of God. God’s grace is sufficient for us and the peace that we received before we decided to move to this foreign land is the same peace that I had in my heart regardless of the difficulties we’ve experienced. God has been with us in the midst of every difficulty and He has been our joy and strength all these years.
There’s so much more to share about God’s goodness and faithfulness here in the Middle East, but I will end my personal testimony here for now. I thank the Lord for the privilege to witness what God has been doing and what He will do more in this muslim nation as He opens one door at a time. God has a great plan for this nation and we are so humbled and grateful to God for the great privilege to be part of His work in this place. I am amazed how God really works in this nation and we will continue to claim it for Jesus. Truly, nothing is impossible with God. Many are the plans in a man’s heart but the purposes of God will prevail. God’s plan for this nation will prevail. History is HIS STORY.
Photo by Raspopova Marina @raspopovamarisha via Unsplash