Muslim To Christian (Akbar - India)

My name is Akbar, son of Mohammed Khaja Mohinuddin and Navanbee.

Before I could share my testimony, I would like to quote Romans 10:20 from the Epistle written by Apostle Paul where the Lord says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me” (NASB). Apostle Paul quoted this Scripture from Chapter 65:1 in The Book of Isaiah.

The reason why I quoted this verse is to testify to the gracious, loving-kindness God showed according to this Scripture in my life and in the lives of my whole family members. His Word has been proved to be true and it has been fulfilled in our lives. Though we did not seek Him, though we did not ask for Him, He found us and manifested Himself to us. Oh, I wish that each and every breath of mine be praise to Him and a sweet song for my Lord Jesus Christ.

Here Is My Testimony:

I am the sixth child to my parents following three oldest daughters and two sons. Our family was very religious and particular in following the traditions and beliefs of Islam.

My father was an engine driver working for South Central Railways and my mother is a house maker. My father was an active member in the Mosque and my mother, a teacher of Koran, was very passionate towards Islam and serious about following its traditions, rituals, beliefs and teachings. My parents had brought us up in the same fear and faith of Islam.

God Manifested:

It all started with my eldest brother, his name is Musthafa, who was born after my three elder sisters. One day as he was walking on the road, suddenly he heard a voice calling him by his name: “Musthafa, Musthafa, look at Me. I am the Lord your God.” He looked all around to find the one who was calling him but he could not find anyone except himself in that place. It was a strange experience to him which had never before happened in his life. When the voice came again the second time, Musthafa recognized that it was coming from above.

Though he came to know that the voice was coming from above, he didn’t know whose voice it was. Before he could think about anything else, immediately he was surrounded by Power which was like an electric power that led him to a small Christian tent meeting where a preacher was preaching about Jesus Christ. The Power which was all around him said, “The One who spoke to you on the way is the same One this man is preaching.” There as that preacher was preaching about Jesus Christ, Musthafa understood that the One who spoke to him was Jesus Christ. There he accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with a strong conviction as the Holy Spirit of the Lord dealt with him in his heart. As soon as my brother accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he saw Jesus for seven days continously. Since then he was changed. He was no more reading the Quran or going with us to the mosque to offer prayer. He was not doing what he used to do along with us every day. My parents found out about his faith in Jesus Christ.

When my mother, father, and all of my family members came to know about Musthafa’s new faith in Jesus Christ, they were very upset. We being Muslims did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. According to the Quran, He is just one of the prophets among many other prophets. Allah does not have sons or daughters and we did not believe in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ because we believed that before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ Allah took Him up into the Heavens. Christians thought that Jesus was crucified on the cross and even Jews thought that they have crucified Jesus Christ, whereas we believed they crucified someone else whose face was changed by Allah into the likeness of the face of Jesus Christ. We were also believing the Bible has been changed by the Christians, Jesus Christ came only for the Jews, and He promised about Mohammed in the Bible, who then came as a messenger of Allah for the entire world and we have to follow only Mohammed now.

My parents were very unhappy and they were very angry with Musthafa. For many days arguments and discussions between Koran and Bible were going on but none of the other party got convinced. However, my parents noticed that whenever my brother prayed in the Name of Jesus healings were taking place. The sick people suffering with cancer tumors, the blind, the lame, and demon possessed people were getting healed when he prayed for them in the Name of Jesus and these things were under observation of my mother and father.

One day my mother’s cousin’s sister, my aunt, came to visit us. She was suffering with the disease of blood hemorrhage (The Issue of Blood) since many days and became very weak because of continuous flow of blood. She expected my mother to take her to a good doctor. Meanwhile, my mother asked my brother to pray for her and my brother agreed to pray for her. We all accepted and we were watching as he laid his hands on her and began to pray. As Musthafa started praying for her, suddenly she fell down on the floor and a screaming voice came out of her saying, “I will not leave her, I will not leave her!” and we understood that she was possessed by an evil spirit. As I was observing, whenever my brother took the Name of Jesus that demon which was inside of my aunt was shivering out of terror and closing its ears. My brother questioned that spirit, “Who are you?” The demon spirit said, “I am a spirit sent by a person who was this women’s enemy and wanted to kill her with this disease.” When Musthafa said, “In the Name of Jesus Christ leave her!” that evil spirit was shivering and left her saying, “Because of you I am leaving her or else I would have killed her.” After some time she got up and asked us, “What happened to me, and why was I on the floor?”

I asked her, “Do you know what all you spoke?” She said she didn’t know anything about what had happened to her and what all she spoke. All she knew was she is healed! She could feel that healing and comfort and strength in her body; there was no pain, no flow of blood. She was full of joy and a great glow of happiness was on her face.

As this whole thing happened in front of my eyes I started reasoning, “Why evil spirit left in the Name of Jesus Christ? Why not in any other prophet’s name? Why the evil spirit obeyed the command which was given in the Name of Jesus Christ? What is there in the Name of Jesus Christ that even evil spirit had obeyed to that Name? Why not the name of Mohammed? What Power or Authority does the Name of Jesus contain?” My mind was filled with all these kinds of thoughts and reasonings.

My search for Truth:

I decided to read the Bible to know about Jesus Christ who is claimed to be the Son of God by Christians. With an open heart in search of Truth I started reading the Bible. As I was reading, I came across Scripture in the Gospel according to Mark 16:16-18 where in the 17th verse Jesus Christ said, “These signs will accompany those who have believed; in My Name they will cast out demons...” (NASB). This verse of Scripture almost knocked me down and it opened my spiritual eyes. When I read this verse which was spoken by Jesus Christ approximately 2000 years ago, I was amazed to see that the Word of Jesus Christ is true and still alive and that Word is working. It had manifested in front of my eyes and it is containing Life even now; still there is Life in those words. According to this Scripture, when my brother commanded the evil spirit in the Name of Jesus Christ, the evil spirit left. I could not deny the fact that the words of Jesus Christ are true and had manifested in front of my eyes.

This incident brought faith in me in the Word of Jesus Christ. My Muslim spiritual leaders had taught me that even if Jesus was given the Gospel, it is only for that time and for those people. If that was true, how come the words of Jesus Christ are working now? With this incident I understood that the words of Jesus Christ are not just for that time and for those people but for all the people for all generations till the end. I understood that, “If this Word of Jesus Christ has proved itself to be true, then all the words of Jesus Christ in the Bible, whatever He said about Himself and who He is, must be true.” As I continued to read the Bible, each and every doubt and misconception about Jesus Christ and His Word (Bible) was answered. I have got all the answers for all the allegations made by Muslims about Jesus Christ and the Christian Doctrine. When I read the Word of God in the Bible, it corrected me and made me understand all of the wrong teachings against Christian Theology which I was taught by Muslim Theologians.

By the words of Jesus Christ, for the first time in my whole life I was introduced to God as a loving Father to whom I could go closer and speak to Him personally and fellowship with Him. For the first time the emptiness in my spirit was filled with God’s Love and His Presence. I understood the Love of God and the purpose and plan of God which manifested through Jesus Christ by sending Him into the world to die on the cross to take away the sins of the world. And also the Judgment of the world as we see in the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel according to John 3:16-17 which says: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved” (KJV).

I understood that salvation is a free gift to all humankind through Jesus Christ from God, which man cannot achieve it by his good works. I realized God the Father had imputed Power in the Name of Jesus Christ for his Glory when I read the Epistle written by Apostle Paul to the Philippians Chapter 2:8-11: “And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name: that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of the Father” (KJV).

On December 24th of 1998 I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and took baptism. Since then the call of God and the strong passionate urge in me to preach His Gospel and His Word of Truth to the dying world has been very strong like a burning fire in my heart. I resigned my job from a multinational company and I dedicated my life to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Word of Truth all over the world till my last breath.

Ministry:

My brother Musthafa and I started preaching the Gospel. As the days were going on, this news of our conversion spread all over the town and it was very embarrassing to my parents as, being an example to our whole Muslim community in our town and among all of our relatives, my father and mother felt very ashamed because they felt that it’s a shameful act on our family’s name that my brother and I were following Christianity and preaching the Gospel. But as the days passed, one after the other of my family members accepted the Gospel and came to Jesus Christ miraculously as the Lord opened their hearts like He opened the heart of Lydia (Acts 16:14).

My Mother And Father Accepted Jesus Christ:

One day my mother questioned God, “If what my sons are preaching is the Truth, I want to know about it.” As she prayed she saw a vision in that she saw Jesus Christ. His whole body was wounded and blood was flowing from all over His body. When my mother saw this she could not bear it and she accepted Jesus Christ.

Though my mother accepted Jesus Christ, she was a secret believer because of my father. One day as my father was driving his train, he got down to check the engine. After checking it, he was getting back inside the engine and suddenly he felt something bite him on his leg. But he ignored it and by the time he came home his leg was swollen. When he consulted the doctor the doctor said, “It is elephantiasis and there is no cure or medication for this disease.” My father was upset, feeling sad and thinking, “Why has this disease come to me since in my whole genealogy no one has gotten such a kind of a disease?”

We took the opportunity to share about Jesus Christ and we told him that Jesus Christ is all capable to heal him. Immediately my father said, “If He heals me I will believe in Him and accept Him as my Lord and Savior.” We prayed for him and we gave him a bottle of oil. We told him, “This oil represents the blood of Christ which He shed for you on the cross and by faith apply it.” My father took the oil bottle and whenever he got the time in his working hours he applied it. When he returned from his work after two days, all the peels fell from his leg and his leg became normal. He was amazed at this miracle and this miracle brought faith in him and he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and also he took baptism.

One by one in our family everyone accepted Jesus Christ. My sisters, their husbands, all of their children. Even my second brother, who was against us and used to criticize us, accepted Jesus Christ. Of course everyone had experienced miracles in their lives when we prayed for them so all of them accepted Jesus Christ.

Excommunicated:

We have been excommunicated by Muslims from our religion and from our relatives, and all who were near and dear had forsaken us. Being reproached for the Name of Christ we esteemed ourselves to be blessed because He made us worthy to suffer shame for His Name. Many times being threatened to be killed we never looked back. Whatever we have suffered and are still suffering, it is nothing before Our Lord’s Love and Crucifixion for us.

In our same town we started the Church Ministry by the call of God and we went on preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the villages which are all around the town and district. I have worked with Campus Crusade for Christ. I took The Jesus Film projector and went on doing Evangelism all around the villages and even into deep forests where tribal people lived, showing The Jesus Film and preaching the Gospel. Many came to Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Savior. The Church was increasing day by day; many people were joining the Church as the Ministry expanded all around.

I have done Master of Divinity in Theological Studies (M.Div), Master of Theology in Christian Apologetics (M.Th), and now I am doing Doctor of Theology in Apologetics (D.Th).

The Lord led me to Mumbai to minister in a new mission field, especially among the Muslims. I shifted to Mumbai in June 2005 along with my wife Susan to start the Ministry called “Winning Muslims for Christ.”

Winning Muslims For Christ Ministry:

This Ministry is working among Muslims, having committed to the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Go into all the World, and preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Jesus Christ commanded us to preach the Gospel to all creation. All will not be all without Muslims.

If we see throughout the history of the Church and even now, the only people who were not being evangelized are Muslims. We find very few people from the Muslim background who have come to the Lord all over the world. If the Lord questions the Church, “Have you preached the gospel to all creation?” the Church may respond, “Except to Muslims, Oh Lord!”

In Matthew 8:5-13, we see a centurion coming to Jesus and asking Him to heal his servant who is sick and suffering with palsy. Jesus said in verse 7, “I will come and heal him,” but the centurion said in verse 8, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof: but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Verse 10 says that when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” He continues in verse 11, “I say to you that many will come from EAST and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven” (NASB).

Jesus said, “Many will come from EAST and west.” Who are there in the EAST? In the EAST we see all Muslim nations. I believe that this is the time for them to come to Christ.

Two Reasons Why Muslims Are Not Evangelized:

When I was praying to God He spoke to my heart and gave me the two reasons why Muslims are not being evangelized:

(1) The Church is neglecting the Muslims and thinking that it is someone else’s work.

(2) Though some Churches want to evangelize Muslims, they do not know how to do so.

The Vision And Mission:

The Vision and Mission of this Ministry is to impart the vision and burden for Muslims in the Churches and to train and equip the Churches for Muslim Evangelism. This Ministry conducts Training Programs, Conferences and Seminars to train and equip the Churches and the individuals for Muslim evangelism.

By this I can once again say that the Word of God according to Romans 10:20 has been fulfilled in my life and in the lives of my family members: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”

Let all the Glory and Honor be unto God Almighty who is rich in His Mercy and Grace. Amen.

Please pray for me and for the Muslim ministry that I am doing.

Yours in Christ’s Service,
Rev. Peter Akbar
Mumbai, India

For further information please contact me at: wmfc@rediffmail.com / peterakbar@rediffmail.com

Moslem To Christian (Seham's Testimony)

"Ye shall know the truth, and the Truth shall make you free" John 8:3

"You did not choose me, but I chose you" John 15:16

I want to give praise and glory to God almighty and to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Alpha and Omega. Jesus Christ the Word who came into the world to save a sinner like me. The same Savior wants to save you too, and his love is forever.

How I became a Christian? What I experienced words can't explain. I was transformed and became a new person, I was set free from a lie, I saw the light, and I experienced a new life with Christ "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulations, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Roman 8:35 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" Roman 8:37

I was born in a Middle Eastern country from a Muslim family of eleven children, the only education my father had was how to read the Koran and write. My mother had no education because of the Islamic belief that there is no need for girls to have education. She became a wife at the age of 13 to a much older man. Women's opinions and rights were ignored and oppressed, they did not enjoy the freedom Christian and Jewish women enjoyed. I was the only girl among my sisters that had some education. I had no choice but to accept the way I lived and suppressed my feeling of unrest in the family. I never thought one day that I would live in a Western country. It just did happen. I left with members of the family to this new country which became my home and I loved it. I did not know about Judaism and Christianity and the Holy Bible, Islam kept me in the darkness. The Quran taught me that Jews and Christians are infidels (Kuffar), it taught me if I reject Islam I will be also an infidel (Kaffir). Women do t have to go to the mosque, it is not important and if they go they are separated., this is the practice of Islam in the Middle East and Muslim countries, if you see it differently in the West, that is not the true Islam, they are changing it to attract the westerners to follow this belief.

I was 17 years old when one day I was down and depressed, it was a new beginning for me in this foreign country. I went for a walk in the street alone, I felt no one can understand me at that time, only the creator who I loved and feared, but there was a wall a barrier and emptiness and doubts. Across the street was the house of a neighbor that I never met, the door was opened and the children were going in and out happily, I approached the door and I was shy. A sweet old lady asked me about my name, I told her that my name is Seham, she lived alone she was peaceful, joyful, smiling friendly and respected woman. I did a fast comparison in my mind, I saw the joy on this woman that my mother did not have, then she asked me if I go to church, I told her I don t , then she asked me, do if I knew Jesus Christ as Lord? I was interested and curious. I asked her to tell me about Jesus, in a few words, she told me about Jesus , His second coming to judge the world and stopped. She gave me a Bible and a small oklet about the Lord Jesus' second coming, on the front page was the photo of Jesus. I took them from her, but she asked me if I can give or share this Bible with my brother. I left her house rushing home, I felt I wanted to know Jesus. I did not know this Christian woman, not even her name. So I went straight home and secretly I entered my bedroom, closed the door and alone without telling any one, I turned the Bible pages. I told myself that later I would read it, but I was not patient I wanted fast response from Jesus because I needed help Immediately, I held the booklet she gave me in my hands and on it was a picture about the second coming, but I did not want to read it, I held it in my hands, and I said Jesus you the Lord help me, I need help, I was on my knees calling Jesus to help me, I wept, my tears were coming down, trying to get relief. I felt tired and weak I wanted to sleep, as I got up I was in doubt, I said maybe he did not hear me. I laid my head on the pillow closed my eyes, I saw unusual dream that I was alone outside, all of a sudden the sky was darkened, I looked up , I saw the sky opened, immediately I knelt down in shock and speechless, looking at this opening in the sky, a bright shining light I saw a man, wearing a long white robe slim with long hair till shoulder neat and a short beard, standing in the middle of this bright light, He looked with power, behind Him a few men were standing in a raw wearing pure white robes, they have white short hair and a white short beard it was pure white, but my eyes was fixed on this great man standing. I also saw a beautiful throne, a chair, I felt this man has control and power, then He began to come down towards me standing on a small cloud, on His right a man all in white hair and short beard and have white wings riding a white horse, on His left side a man with the same description, both coming down but He is in the middle ahead of them, then he stopped in the air and both of them stopped. He looked down at me I was in shock speechls my mind was telling me He looked like Jesus. I was on my knees, He looked serious and He said these words: "What do you want?"

I was surprise, speechless and I did not know what to say, I felt, who am I? that this great man is coming down for me, I was trembling not knowing how to answer Then He said to me: You will live another life." He spread His hands, beautiful pure sparkling drops felt on me, I was electrified and comforted, then He moved far away and stopped, I couldn't explain why He made that stop again at a distance? Then He returned back at the opening of the sky, when it closed, a strong earthquake shook the ground I was still in the same spot on my knees. I saw stones falling down but none touched me. I woke-up in the morning knowing that what I saw that night was unusual I couldn't forget it. I told myself this person is Jesus Christ no doubt, I felt no one will believe me, so I kept it to myself. I did not go back to this woman to tell her what happened, I avoided her completely, I did not know why? I never saw her again. But don't forget, there is a spiritual warfare that was the reason why. I went on with my life and I tried to forget the dream, so It will not affect my Muslim belief and I had felt If I got closer to Christianity I will become a disbeliever and subject to what the Quran teaches.

One day I got rid of the booklet and gave away the Bible after I kept them in my drawer for a while, so that way they will not affect my belief and the fear of becoming a Christian, this gave me uneasy feeling. But I could not apply Islam, I felt always an obstacle it did not benefit me, and every time I read the Quran I was down, uncomfortable and have an unexplainable fear. How changeable and unpredictable feeling surrounded me. I felt like a barrier exist, an emptiness not filled I used to think this is how it should be when I worship God.

Years passed by, and the dream will come back to my memory. One day I was visiting my sister in law at her residence we were watching television. I turned the channels and there was someone speaking, but deep in my heart I wanted to hear about Jesus and the Bible, but we both wanted to laugh at his speech pick on him and he repeated a word as we were laughing, all of a sudden he hesitated and spoke these words, he said: "there is a lady watching, her name is Seham, you are 33 years old, the Lord is going to work with you."

When I heard what he said I was speechless and we both stopped laughing looking to each other surprised. These words did not affect my sister in law as it did affect me. I told myself it couldn't be me? I am a Muslim, maybe someone else has the same name, same age... I tried to forget it for a while.

Few years later, it happened one day when I was at home. I felt helpless without hope, and this world is leading me down the hill. All of a sudden, I felt weak and a thought told me: why you don't seek Jesus? I answered back:: how? And a thought told me: go to a church, find a church. I listened, I felt at ease, I drove determined to stop at a church that I used to pass by many times before. I was anxious, the door was opened, I entered, I was alone all was quiet, but my eyes focused on a big crucifix on the wall. I felt that I needed to kneel, when I knelt I was touched, my tears came down, I said: "Jesus, you did it for me as I stirred at the cross, at that moment." I gave my heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, I was very sorry I waited too long to know Jesus. I felt a peace never experienced before, the barrier broke, my burdens, my worries were gone, and I was set free. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

I felt the love of Jesus for me and for all of us, it was a new life a new beginning for me with the Lord. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16

Later the Lord guided me to open the Holy Bible at a page that talks about baptism. I wanted to follow the Lord's words I wanted to get baptized, and I didn't know what it meant. Then I was led to a woman, that I never met before, I contacted her, and she was surprised because I was a stranger to her. We arranged to meet, and her name was Hala. At that time I didn't know about the divisions of Christianity. What was on my mind is to follow Jesus Christ and to fulfill his word.

Hala told me she belongs to another church, the Orthodox Church, I told her it's OK with me if this is God's will. She arranged the appointment between me and the priest. So it happened before the baptism the evil one tried to interrupt. I was disappointed and I complained to the Lord Jesus, I depended on the Lord . At the end the baptism happened, the priest was helpful to me. The Lord is my strength I was alone in this journey only the Lord understood me. Through the Holy Bible I received many answers to my questions.

But Jesus looked at them and said to them ,"with men this is impossible but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 "Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." Matthew 10:16

"Ask , and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

And behold , I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to his work." Revelation 22:12

God Answered Me! (Amal's Testimony - Moslem To Christian)

Hello and God bless you. My name is Amal and I testify that what you are about to read is all true and correct to the best of my knowledge as God Himself is my witness. My prayer is that God will speak to your heart and use this testimony to bless you in a special way in your life.

Basically I grew up in a strict Moslem home. My father is Palestinian from Israel. My mother is from Brazil. She was Catholic. My father met my mother in Brazil while away from his homeland on a trip. They got married and my mother converted from Catholic to Islam. Like most people who come to the states, they both traveled to the USA in search of a better living. They settled in Los Angeles where I was born less than a year later.

I believed everything I was taught about Islam and felt our religion was superior to all religions of the world. Though, as I grew older some of the teachings of Islam began to bother me, like the dress code of being all covered up. I could never figure out why I had to wear long sleeves. I mean how much can a man be stumbled by my elbow? Then there were the ritual prayers. I didn't like saying the same thing over and over. It felt so strange like a kind of alienation towards God. I was taught that if you prayed in the Arabic language God would hear it even more, but I couldn't speak the language and felt left out. I tried writing out the Arabic prayers in English, but still something was missing. I wanted to pray from my heart, not from words that were not mine. Other teachings bothered me also like abstaining from certain foods, but the one that got me most was the - many wives in heaven - theory. I asked my dad if I was going to heaven and he couldn't answer me. He was quiet about it. As a teenager I thought "I don't want to be in heaven in some strange man's harem...just the thought gave me shivers up my spine. No, I definitely knew for sure I did not want to go to "that heaven" at all.

In 1981 at the young age of eighteen, I made the decision to marry my first cousin in order to please my family. I was always wanting to please my family, especially my father. I had never attended a high school dance nor had I ever dated anyone because it was against my fathers' wishes. Yet two months out of high school I was married. To my dismay not even this action seemed to please my father.

In 1985 I enrolled in college against my husbands and my fathers wishes. They felt that I should be home in the kitchen "where a woman belongs" . With the agreement that I was to maintain all my "wifely" duties at home, I was allowed to continue college. I had become pregnant with my first and only child. I had a precious baby boy. It was probably the biggest struggle of my life but, I managed to complete my tasks at home, maintained an honor roll status and won two awards at school, became a new mother, and finally graduated college. As I look back I now know that I had done it all for my fathers approval, yet still this did not seem to please him either.

It was 1991 when I was away on a business trip with my husband. He had started this business of selling clothing at state fairs. My husband, me and our friend, whom I'll call "John" to maintain his privacy, had traveled through different states. We slept in hotels, and worked 16-18 hour days. Oklahoma was our next stop. We had a fourteen hour drive ahead of us and we had to leave in a hurry to make it there in time to set up for the state fair. I wanted to take something to read on this long drive, except I didn't have anything with me and we had no time to stop at the convenience store. Instead of being bored for 14 hours, I decided to take a brown Bible that was sitting on the night-stand of the hotel room we were staying at. When I was approaching the door to leave, my friend John, a catholic, stopped me and said "Amal you've never stolen a thing in your life and now your going to start with a Bible? You can't do that! Are you O.K. ?" I laughed at him "Oh John," I said "It's just a bible it's not like someone's going to miss it. No one really reads these things, and anyway I'm just borrowing it. I will mail it back." Then John said "Hey I thought you were a Moslem, why do you want to read the bible all of a sudden?" I replied "Well, I'm just curious about what it says and besides, there's nothing else to read on this trip." With that we all hopped into the truck and started the long drive. While in the truck for about an hour I soon became bored. I was sitting on a small stool in-between John, who was driving and my husband, who was sitting in the passenger seat. I was staring in awe at the array of colors the setting sun was casting against the clouds in the sky. At the same time I began singing a song I remembered as a child... "Glory, glory hallelujah, glory, glory hallelujah, glory, glory hallelujah." and then I stopped because I couldn't remember the rest of the song. We were passing through a scene that I gave thanks to God for creating. Once again I sang those words again having no clue what they meant but somehow knew it was exalting God for his creation. With the frustration of not being able to recall the rest of this song's lyrics, I asked "God teach me a new song to sing to you." I looked into the clouds thinking surely He'll answer me, but alas I heard no thundering voice coming through the clouds as I imagined this is how God would speak. All of a sudden, I thought to myself how silly I am while remembering I was taught, "God speaks to no one". I looked down at the bible I brought that was sitting on my lap and opened it. I had decided I would read whatever page I opened to. This is what I read:

Psalm 108
A Song or Psalm of David.

O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. [2] Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. [3] I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. [4] For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. [5] Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; [6] That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me. [7] God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. [8] Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver; [9] Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph. [10] Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? [11] Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts? [12] Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. [13] Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

It was so odd, but I felt that somehow God was speaking to me through what I read. Out of curiosity I looked at the page number I was reading, it read "666". Whoa! I shut that book so fast remembering all the teachings of satan and his number, 666. "Is God trying to tell me this book is satanic?" I thought. After more pondering I came to the conclusion that all books with so many pages had to have that page number also. Feeling terribly silly, I discarded the thought of the bible being satanic.

A few days later in Oklahoma I was very sick with a bad flu. I was so dizzy and unable to walk that I stayed in the hotel room that day while my husband and John were working at the fair. I was alone and in bed in this dimly lit room. My thoughts began to wander and I began thinking of how miserable my life was. I was so unhappy. I missed my child because I hadn't seen him in a month. And here I was on this "so-called business trip". My husband was not a very sharp business fellow, he was always searching for that "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow", so to speak. I had calculated out that we were losing about $400.00 a day yet we were bound by state fair contracts. This and so many other problems in my life began to scream at me inside my head. I decided that if I went on thinking about my problems it would not be good for my health. With that thought, I grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV. I was switching channels looking for a movie or some show that could get my mind off of my problems yet, it was too late. I began crying and in anger threw down the remote control on the bed and the TV switched channels by itself. I didn't know what channel it had landed on because my eyes were so full of tears. As I was crying I heard a voice of a man on the TV he was saying something about Jesus and immediately I thought "Oh great that's all I need now, one of those crazy Christian preachers on my TV set. In self pity I cried even more while this man kept talking. He said "Your feeling so confused because you've got so many problems" and in my crying state I agreed and said "yes I'm feeling so confused and I've got so many problems". Then he said "Your crying and your desperate." And I replied out loud "Yes I'm crying and desperate". It was that moment that I decided I wanted to see who was talking to me. So I sat up in bed and reached for a tissue to wipe my tears and focused on this man on TV. Then he shouted, "You just sat up!". I began to cry even more loudly while I put both my hands up to my face shaking my head left and right. "Yea I just sat up", I replied. Then he said "You just put your hands up to your face like this and your shaking your head like this" I gasped and quickly and intensely stared at the TV set as this man was imitating my exact action. I couldn't believe it, He was talking to me! Then he said very loud while pointing straight at me through the TV, "Woman Jesus is your answer! Come right now to the TV set right where your at !" Without even thinking twice I leaped from the bed, and ran to the TV set and knelt down in front of it. Mind you I couldn't walk prior to this though somehow I was able to almost fly all of a sudden. He said, "Quickly there's no time to waste, put your hand up to mine and repeat after me." He held his hand up with his palm towards me and asked that I put my hand up to his. As I pressed my hand against his hand on the TV screen he said, "Now repeat after me." He then began what I know today as "the sinners prayer". Somehow I knew deep within that this was the way to God. He began talking so fast while I was concentrating hard on the words... you see in Islam I was taught if I didn't say the prayer correctly God wouldn't honor it. As I began to repeat after him the best I could a strange blue neon colored light pierced through the very center of my palm that was pressed against the screen. This light went through my hand, up to my shoulder, to the top of my head and down to my feet but only on the right side of my body. It then shifted to the left side of my body. It felt like a type of soothing energy. This blue energy light then began to circle in an oval shape inside my body and began to grow outward spilling out into the dimly lit room. I was not frightened at all and knew this was good. The circle of light grew bigger and lighter in color until the whole room was filled with a brilliant white light. A feeling of love that I never knew overwhelmed me. I felt so safe, somehow I had become one with this light of love. I knew this was the closest I had ever been to God. When it was all over the man on TV said to call the number on the screen if I had said that prayer. I quickly picked up the phone and called. A dear sweet old lady answered the phone. She congratulated me on accepting Jesus into my heart. And I said "Oh thank you. I knew something good was going to happen today you see because it said so in my horoscope." She replied, "Now dearie... as Christians we don't read horoscopes." That was my first lesson. She said to me that God wants to give me gifts now that I'm a Christian and asked if I would like info on receiving these gifts. "Sure I would like that" I said while my mind pictured a pretty box with a ribbon on it. I didn't really know what she was talking about. Still I gave her my address to mail the info. I hung up the phone and sat on the bed thinking of all that had just happened.

Was this real? What did just happen? Immediately God brought to my memory a day in my life two years prior. I remembered crying out in misery to God while kneeling on the floor of my living room at home. I remembered holding my fist up towards the ceiling and saying to God "Are you real? Why don't you answer me if your real? Why is my life so miserable? I want you and no one else to answer me because I just can't trust anyone anymore! I want to follow you but I don't want to waste my time in the wrong religion, I want to be sure. Answer me, please answer me!" God was reminding me of my questions to Him in such a vivid way it was like a movie screen in front of my eyes. Now I knew what had just happened. God Himself answered me in His own miraculous way. I don't know if the light I saw in that room that day was a vision or actually in the physical realm, but I do know that what I saw and heard was real and that I had finally met the one true God in a very special way.

The next day I was back to work at the fair. Earlier, I found a blue bible in the hotel room that was exactly the same as the brown one from the previous hotel room. Secretly in my heart thinking blue would look better in my living room, I exchanged bibles. My mind was not on work, but rather on the bible and I had a strong desire to read like I never had experienced before. When my husband finally left the booth I took out the bible being so careful that he didn't see me. I then began to read Genesis. Wow! I was reading the same bible but it was different now, more powerful, more real! I loved it and kept reading even to the point that I forgot I was at work. All of a sudden a man's voice asked "What are you reading?" Startled, I looked up and realized my booth was filled with about a dozen people, yet I hadn't heard any of them come in. Shyly I held up the bible to the man and showed him the title on the cover and then I put the bible back down. Suddenly shame and fear filled my mind as I thought "Oh if my dad saw me reading this bible he would be so angry." Then the same man again asked with a big smile "Well, what are you reading?" Could this man not read I thought, what is his problem? In frustration I finally said out loud "The Holy Bible!"

All of a sudden the other people in the booth began shouting in turn, "Glory to God", "Amen", "Praise the Lord", "Hallelujah!". I looked around the booth smiling back at these faces that seemed to be beaming with light and they all seemed to be so happy.

I looked back at the man who asked me the question and asked "Are you all together?"

"No, I'm just here with my wife" he said with a huge smile. Feeling so overwhelmed with all these customers all of a sudden, I quickly went around the booth asking if any of them needed help. No one needed any help, but each one in turn encouraged me to go sit and read the bible. They were all Christians! Then another man that stood beside me said, "You sure look like your enjoying what your reading" "Oh yes it's very good. Have you ever read this book? You really should." I said. "Yes I have read that book and it is very good" he replied. "Are you a Christian?" I asked. He smiled at me and replied "Yes, I am". "Oh", I said shyly "Are you with any of these other Christians here" "No", he replied. I stood up from my chair, "Really? Can you answer a question about Christianity" I asked. He looked at me grinning "Well he said I think I may be able to help you because that's what I do. You see I'm a minister and my father is a minister and my grandfather was a minister and my son is studying to become a minister. So you can feel safe to ask me a question about the bible." "Well", I said "I have this problem. You see yesterday I became a Christian and I kind of took this bible from the hotel and now I fear that God may be very angry with me for stealing." He chuckled and said "That's great that you've become a Christian but you have no problem because that there is a Gideon's bible and these people make bibles to put into hotel rooms for people like you to take. They are happy when they find a bible missing. And God is even happier that you are reading His Word." I was relieved and filled with joy that I could actually keep the blue bible. When they all had left I found that I sold more that hour than I had in any day during the month and it happened while reading God's Word. From that day on I never again was fearful or ashamed of reading the "Holy Bible". God had placed all these Christians who were all separate yet there in my booth at the same time that day to encourage me. Is it coincidence? No it's God!

Back at home in California, I received that pamphlet in the mail with info of "How to receive gifts from God". I remembered the sweet old lady on the phone the day I became a Christian. It was evening time and I was alone in my bedroom. I took the pamphlet and began to read about the "gifts". The first gift was called the gift of tongues. It said pray that the lord will touch your vocal chords then wait. So I got on my knees next to my bed and prayed to God that he would touch my vocal chords. I then got back up sat on my bed and closed my eyes and waited. About 2-3 minutes later my mouth moved and made the shape of an "o" and I spoke the sound "O" then in turn my mouth began making other shapes and I would speak those sounds...the sounds repeated to form different words and the different words repeated and became sentences. I was speaking a language I had never heard in my life. It was fun. I looked at the pamphlet again and saw the next gift called "Interpretation". I prayed again and received that gift. Then came prophecy, and so on down the list. By the third day, the God that was so far away was now my best friend in the whole world. The very first thing I remember Him saying to me was "Amal I love you", I cried for 3 days after that because I was feeling so unworthy of his love. I couldn't understand why Jesus would die for me. I was not accustomed to this kind of love.

One day in prayer I asked God who the Holy Spirit was. He answered very clearly "1 Corinthians 2: 12, 13, 14, 15, 16". I said "God, I don't understand" . He then repeated the same answer and told me to open my bible. I had never heard of this word "Corinthians" before and I wondered what all those numbers meant. But God knew me and knew that I would open to the table of contents. I soon found it and this is what I read:

1 Cor. 2:12-16

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. [13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. [14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. [15] But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

After reading that I said to the Lord God "You mean the Holy Spirit is my teacher?" Then I heard very clearly "Yes" said the Lord. Oh was I overwhelmed with joy. Then I asked "Holy Spirit do you mean You will teach me this bible?" Once again the Lord God spoke "yes" He said. A feeling of warmth and joy overwhelmed me so much I thought I was going to burst. You see I wasn't allowed to go to church. My newly divorced father had disowned me, my brothers were ashamed of me and my husband persecuted me daily. I had Moslem relatives calling me daily, because they wanted to teach me Islam in a better way. Yet my heart was fixed and no one could ever tell me that what happened wasn't real. God does speak to us! God himself took care of me and every time I had a question, he told me where to look in the bible. This took place for three months. One day he instructed me to go get baptized at this local church in my community. So on the day of my baptism my friend "John", yes the same one that was in Oklahoma with me, asked to come. He said he never witnessed a "Christian baptism" before. While at the baptism, John was holding my towel and the Pastor mistook him for someone whom was there to get baptized. John told the Pastor that he was planning to get saved at the church service first. I stood there in shock at what I just heard come out of Johns mouth. Then right there he repeated the sinners prayer and was baptized also. I was so full of joy that my friend had found God. To this day I claim Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And heaven, yes I want to be in heaven with Jesus where I will praise the best friend I will have ever had on earth. He is my Father God and it's Him whom I try to please today.

It took two years for God to answer me and it was His perfect timing. You may have finished reading this just now and probably wonder if this is true. I assure you I wouldn't have wasted my time writing this if it were not. Jesus Christ is the answer, He is God!

In Service to My Lord,

Amal

The Lord is My Shepherd (Fatima's Testimony - Moslem To Christian)

It was February 10, 1990 on a Saturday when I sat at the airport at the age of 23. I thought about what happened in my past life, what is happening to me now, and what could happen to me in the future. My plane to Jordan would leave in an hour and my life would never be the same. I would marry a man whom my father chose for me and I would never return to the U.S. unless my husband decided to move here.

You see, I was born in Jordan to a Palestinian family. As the third and middle child, my grandmother decided I should be the first of my brothers and sisters to carry a Muslim name. She named me after one of the messenger Mohammed's daughters. When I was at the age of eight, my father decided to come to the U.S. to make some money and eventually go back to Jordan because he feared his daughters would grow up to become American women and possibly even marry American men. My father held very strongly to his Arab customs and wanted his children to follow the customs and Islam, especially his daughters. It is a disgrace to the family and forbidden in Islam for an Arab Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. On the other hand my brothers were allowed to marry anyone they want as long as they are believers of the Books (Torah and Gospel) because Islam gave them that right. That is why my father sent me to Jordan to go to school.

I lived with my grandmother, my uncle and his family for a few years. My father was so pleased with me because I became a devout Muslim. He was relieved to know he didn't have to worry about my older sister because she was already married to an Arab Muslim, my younger sister was too young for him to worry about, and I was living the life that would please God and him. I traveled back and forth from Jordan to the US so I can be with my family while I was going to school in Jordan. As much as I loved seeing my family, I felt happy living in Jordan and following God's ways. I prayed five times a day, fasted the month of Ramadan, read the Qur'an daily, wore the veil (covering the entire body and showing only the hands, face and feet) and tried to imitate the prophet Mohammed in every way. No matter what I did for God, I felt I needed to do more to show him how obedient I am to Him. I would sit with my brothers and sisters and start quoting the prophet Mohammed and the Qur'an to them. My father was so proud of me.

The more I spent time in Islam, the further I drifted from God. The Muslims I knew didn't seem to truly love God. They worshipped Him to obtain heaven and feared His wrath and anger. I also began wonder about my motive in following Islam. "Was I following it for God or for the people around me?", I thought to myself. I'm not sure what my answer was, but I decided not to wear the veil anymore and act like a Muslim instead of looking like one. Worshipping God suddenly became an issue only between God and me.

At the age of twenty three, my father decided I should be married. In the Arab culture, the marriage process required a man asking for a woman's hand from her family. Dating is not allowed, but both have a chance to talk to each other in the presence of their families before they decide if they are right for each other. Several Arab Muslims came to ask for my hand, but I refused. I had a hard time marrying someone that I didn't know just to please my father. The culture and Islam allow marriages between first cousins. I refused to marry my cousin along with distant relatives and even strangers. "Why would my father want me to marry someone I didn't love or even know?", I felt. At the same time, my father didn't understand why I would refuse all these good men when he knew quite well that love comes after marriage and not before. When my dad realized that reasoning with me wouldn't work, he tried force. He decided I should go back to Jordan and stay there until I was married. My younger sister was sixteen at the time, so my dad felt she should come with me. That was a trying moment in my life.

Disgrace in the family brought by a daughter is the worst shame a family can go through. Many families have killed their daughters for what the culture considers disgrace. That was what I had to think about when I sat at the airport with my sister as we prepared to leave for Jordan. My dad flew to Jordan before us to prepare for my wedding and my brother made sure we would get to the airport without any problems. As I sat in the airport, I knew what I had to face; disgrace or misery: disgrace the family if I ran away or be miserable when married to one of my cousins for the rest of my life. At that point, I was so angry at my father and God: angry at my father for what he was doing and angry at God for allowing what was happening to me. I felt my heart screaming at God and saying, "Out of everyone in my family, it was ME who prayed to You, ME who fasted for You, ME who studied the Qur'an and this is what You allow to happen to me?! Why did You allow my family to send me to Jordan when I was still a teen-ager? Why did I have to live in an uncaring home? Why didn't You help me pursue my education when my dad refused to let me continue my education? Why did You allow my grandmother, my uncle and his family to treat me so harshly when I was with them? Why did You allow all these bad things to happen to me? Why God, WHY?!" I made a decision that day to stop praying to God and stop worshiping Him the way I did in the past.

February 10, 1990 was the day that completely changed my life. My younger sister and I took our luggage and we were on our way to the nearest hotel. The plane landed sixteen hours later as my father, along with other relatives, waited for us in the airport to greet us. When my father realized that we weren't on the plane, he went out of his mind! He called my brother and told him we weren't on the plane so my brother began to desperately search for us. My sister knew she had to go back home because the family would kill us both once they found us. There was a possibility they would claim I kidnapped my sister because she was under age. We both agreed she would tell them that I dragged her off the plane and forced her to come with me so they would not harm her. I promised her that if they try to force her to do anything she didn't want, I would come back and get her. We tearfully said good-bye to one another thinking that we would never see each other again.

God alone was the only One who could protect me, but I was so angry at Him that I didn't ask for His help. I didn't have much money and I couldn't work because they would find me under social security number. I didn't have many American friends because my father wouldn't allow me to be influenced by their "Satanic ways". And more importantly, I didn't know what to do in a society I hardly associated with. I needed courage, strength and wisdom.

I joined the U.S. Army National Guard so the government can protect me. Once I was done with my military, I went back to a suburb in the city where my family lived and lived there in hiding. During that time, I found a job and became very successful at work, I rented an apartment from the money I saved while I was on active duty in the military, and met many friends that would care for me as if I was a member of their family.

Four years later, I slowly began to contact my family. My father had moved to Jordan and married another woman there, my brothers were living on their own, and my mom and younger sister were living together. After five years, I made peace with my family and they accepted me living alone and running my own life. It amazed me to see how accepting my family was of that I began to see God's grace in my life. "He didn't neglect me after all", I thought, "I don't know what I would have done without His love and grace. He took me out of a bad situation to put me in a better one. He protected me and gave me the courage, wisdom and strength to survive on my own." I felt ashamed for being angry at Him and I needed to make peace with Him by going back to Islam. I didn't pray five times a day, but I thanked daily and did nice things that I thought would please Him.

February of 1998, I accepted a job for a company that would move me to another state to work as a salesperson. That same month a dear friend of mine died of a car accident leaving me in agony and distress. Because I had made peace with God, I was able to talk to Him and for the first time have conversations with Him. I didn't know why He did what He did, but I had to accept it because from my past experience, I knew He did things for a reason even though I don't understand. Nonetheless, I asked for His help, and actually asked Him to help everyone in the world who needs help.

The month of May had arrived and it was time for me to move. I arrived not knowing anyone or what to expect from this city. I was scared being in a new city, and sad that I left my family and friends, but excited about my new job. I wanted to be close to Mexico so I could learn more Spanish and travel there for my company. My plan was to be successful in international sales, but the Lord had other plans for me.

Under the strangest circumstances, I met a woman one evening that was walking her dog in front of my apartment. She and I became friends instantly so one day she invited me to go to her church. I didn't think there was any harm in me going to church, "After all", I thought, "God sent down Judaism and Christianity so He would not be upset if I went to church even though I'm a Muslim"

I really enjoyed the pastor's sermons and felt that he offered sound teachings. The only thing that didn't seem sound to me was when the pastor talked about Jesus being the Son of God. I felt, though, that God would forgive the pastor because he was misled by his family to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Sometimes the pastor would say that Jesus is God in the flesh and sometimes he would say that Jesus is the Son of God. I knew for sure that the pastor was obviously confused because how can Jesus be God and then be God's Son? That just didn't make any sense to me. I continued to go to church until one day the pastor said that Muslims didn't know Jesus Christ. I was struck by that comment. Something inside of me said, "Of course Muslims know Jesus; the pastor is sadly mistaken and I need to set the record straight." After the service, I went to the pastor, introduced myself to him that I'm a Muslim and I DO know Jesus Christ. He apologized for making a blanket statement, and said, " I know that Muslims believe he is a prophet." I told him that I would like to meet with him to talk about his faith. Sooner or later, I would have approached the pastor, but that comment expedited the whole process for me to search for the truth. That was another turning point in my life.

My heart and soul were convinced that the prophet Mohammed was the last messenger and the Qur'an was the last book sent by God. The Qur'an clearly states that Jesus was a messenger that was born of a virgin mother, Mary. He had many miracles including bringing the dead to life, healing the sick, speaking when he was a baby, and creating a bird out of clay. The Lord loved him so much that when his enemies were preparing to crucify him, God sent someone to look Jesus and die on the cross instead of Jesus. Muslims believe that he never died, but was raised to heaven to be protected from his enemies. Jesus, in the Qur'an, claims he never told anyone to worship him but to worship the One true God. The Bible has been changed, according to Muslims, that Christians and Jews really don't have the true Books. When God gave Mohammed the message, God preserved the Qur'an and made sure no one would change it like the Torah and the Gospel.

I continued to go to Church and listen to the pastor's sermons, but I began to wonder why Christians had different beliefs than Muslims. As I listened and began to read different books on Christianity and Islam, I became very confused and didn't know what to believe anymore. I had to wrestle with many issues: Was Jesus crucified? Did Jesus die on the cross for man's sins? Is Jesus God or the Son of God? Is God a Triune God? Is the Bible really accurate and had the Bible been preserved after all these years? If the answer was yes to all my questions, that would mean then that Mohammed was a liar and the Qur'an was not from God. Work, family, friends, and everything else around me suddenly became meaningless. My days and evenings were consumed with tears and agony over God and the truth. How could I know what really happened 2,000 years ago? How could I betray my family or maybe even God if I believed in Jesus Christ? That was a decision I was not willing to make myself. Nonetheless, I continued to read and search for answers to all my questions.

My questions needed convincing answers and I didn't know who would help me until the pastor recommended a professor at a seminary. As I spoke with the professor and read many books, things started making sense. The Bible had to be accurate because of the Dead Sea Scrolls. One of the Dead Sea Scrolls was the book of Isaiah that dates back to 125 BC. Apart from the Dead Sea Scrolls there are also parts of very old manuscripts of the Gospel according to John and the Gospel according to Matthew that we currently have that are in museums around Europe and the Middle East. I began to read compare the prophesies that were in the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah and how they were all fulfilled in the New Testament. The Old Testament talks about the Messiah's hands and feet being pierced for man's transgressions, he would be born of a virgin mother, he would be led like a lamb to the slaughter, he would be sold for 30 pieces, he would enter Jerusalem on a donkey, and he would be called the Almighty God and Prince of Peace. These prophesies in the Old Testament and how they were fulfilled in the New Testament lead me to believe in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The only thing left for me to wrestle with was Jesus' deity as part of a Triune God. "I can not, under any circumstances, believe that Jesus is God; that would be pure blasphemy!", I thought to myself. I had to either end my search or challenge Jesus' deity because I knew I couldn't embrace Christianity if I knew I had to believe in Jesus' deity. I needed a miracle.

One day I said to Jesus, "O.K. Mr. Messiah, it's my way or the highway. If you are God, you would prove it to me by doing what I want you to do." Jesus didn't respond. I was beginning to believe that God didn't want me to trust in Jesus because I thought for He'd respond to my prayers. Then one Sunday, I went to church and the pastor was talking about prayer. He said, "When I pray for something, I usually say: God, if this is Your will, then open the door wide open or slam it shut, but please Lord, don't let me make this decision myself." I felt good about that prayer because I was afraid of making the wrong decision about God. As soon as I got home that day I prayed and said, "God, if you want me to follow Christianity, then open the doors wide open or slam it shut, but please Lord let me make this decision myself." For a whole week nothing happened.

Sunday morning August 2, 1998, I woke up feeling depressed as usual about my search. I decided not to go to church because I didn't want to hear people say that Jesus is God anymore. An Iranian Christian pastor called me and said he would like a Qur'an. That evening, I went to his church to give him a Qur'an because I thought it was nice thing to do. He knew I had been searching for a few months. When I arrived at church, he asked me where I was in my search. I told him that I believed in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but I didn't believe in his deity. I also told the Iranian pastor that I've studied the life of Jesus, I would want a man like him to be my neighbor, my brother, my father, by boss, my judge in a court of law, my king in a country because no one in history compared to him. He said, "Well, if you think he is that wonderful and that he died on the cross for your sins, will you confess that before God?" I agreed so we prayed together and he told me he would like to be the first person to shake my hand and congratulate me for being one of God's children. He asked me to continue to pray, read the Bible daily, and tell everyone what I just did. I had no idea what he was talking about. The pastor and I said good-bye to one another and I headed for my car. I got in my car and it all hit me. I sat there in total shock and said out loud as if God was sitting right next me, "You really wanted me to do this all along didn't You? You really wanted me to take this step, didn't You? " I then began to cry because I realized what happened. God made the decision for me! I fought with Jesus and I lost! I wanted him to reveal himself to me on my terms, but he was willing to reveal himself to me on His terms. It was clear to me that Jesus wanted me to walk with him instead of challenge Him.

I am grateful that the Lord has been my shepherd throughout my life. He has been there for me when I needed Him and even when I thought I didn't need Him. He has taken me through roads and routes I never dreamed to take. Above all, I'm amazed and that He loved me so much, He sent Jesus do die on the cross for me! How humbling and precious that is to me! The Lord is my shepherd and He has been leading His sheep.

If you would like to contact me, send me an email.

Muslim To Christian (Mary's Testimony)

Some of my earliest memories revolve around Church, I was taken to many church related activities from the time that I was a little girl. As I grew, my family attended less and less often and soon we spent Sundays watching television and at other leisure activities. When I was 9 years old we began attending a small, independent church that was heavy on doctrine such as spare the rod and spoil the child and wives obey your husbands. They never mentioned any responsibility on the husband's or parents part. I was really frightened when I went to school, church and sunday school that I would either be whipped or shamed. They would not let the girls lead the flag salute or pray since girls were suposdly less than boys. We only went to that church for a few months, but it made a huge inpact on my life.

After a major move when I was 12 years old, we began attending church regularly again. I recall being happy to feel a part of a "church family" but what I did not see at the time was this was one of those churches known for "having a form of Godliness but denying the power within." I attended regularly, even though my parents began to attend less and less. Soon I was the only one from my family attending. I listened to the Pastor's stories of goodness and faith, but they never really made sense when the members of the congregation were involved in lying, cheating each other and showing off who had the most money. By the time I graduated for high school I was attending only sporadically at best.

I went away to college in 1990 and began to live my life as an agnostic, radical feminist. I did not want to believe anything that religion had to say about women being submissive. After a relationship that I was in fell apart, I began to turn back to God and religion in general. A large group of Muslim students began attending the University around this time and I began to talk to them about the way of life called Islam. They told me that Islam was a way of life and not simply a religion. I became fascinated by all the aspects and more and more interested in the fact that Muslim men were duty bound to take care of and treat their wives with care and gentleness. I was told that the prophet Mohammed told his followers that "the best of you is the one who is the best to his wife" but no one told me about the sura that states that if your wife is disobedient, you may beat her until she is. I wanted a good husband who would support me and treat me right.

I became a Muslim in November of 1991 and soon things began to fall apart in my life. I was so convinced that I had found the proper path that I became belligerant to my co-workers and was soon fired. I began to look for another job and was told by the Imam that I had to return to my parents home since Islam forbids single women from living alone. I moved home in January of 1992. Understandably, my parents did not like the idea of me wearing the traditional Muslim garb and they tried to forbid me from wearing it at any chance they got. Of course this only made me more adamant about wearing it. Soon my family and former friends were all reluctant to be around me and I spent more and more time exclusively with Muslims.

In February of 1992 I was introduced to my future husband. I was simply led into a room and told that he was the man that I was supposed to marry and I had no choice in the matter. We married in May. I soon entered hell. I was not to leave the apartment without his permission and was not to turn the airconditioner on for any circumstances. This was during 100 degree weather in the summer. I sweltered my way through the rest of the summer with heat rash and an eventual case of heat exhaustion. Mohammed forced me to relinquish control of my car to my parents in September, so I was truly stuck at home. What I did not understand about my new husband was that he would spend inordinate amounts of time away from home and never ask me to go with him. I soon learned (painfully) that Islam forbids the listening to music. That was the first time that he hit me.

After our first year of marriage, he was preparing to return to Morocco (without me) to visit his family. Shortly before he left, we had been on a day trip to Dallas where he had not allowed me to have any food except a small bag of chips. As we did not have anything in the house to eat, I called one of his friends who knew that Mohammed often left me without anything to eat.

I waited for him to bring me just a small sandwich for dinner when Mohammed came home unexpectedly. He had heard of the call and was furious. He told me to get my stuff together and leave the next day, he began to beat me and scream at me, rupturing one of my eardrums. I ran to a friend's house gain help. Mohammed tearfully apologised and we stayed together.

After he returned from Morocco, I was able to get a job and be able to pay some of my bills and have enough to eat (he let me have my car back). But I began to understand that this was no marriage. We were simply roomates and one was terrorizing the other.

I began to question some of the things about Islam, the hypocrisy and infighting as well as the treatement of women. I was abruptly informed that I was not to question and all that I had to do was to read and I would understand. I began to look longingly at women who did not have to wear the heavy oppressive clothing and endure the rude looks from others. I was accused of causing a miscarrage with the evil eye since I was trying desperately to become pregnant. I would cry and ask God why he would not let me achieve the supreme Muslim woman's duty of bearing children. I became more and more depressed and even prayed for God to take me out of this world. Little did I know that he would answer my prayer in a way that I had not dreamed of.

At the end of the third year of our marriage, Mohammed decided that he needed to go to Morocco again. He told me that he did not care where I went or what I did; he was going home. Well, I got my own apartment and when I did not hear from him in a month, I filed for divorce. My faith was destroyed and my health and finances were also destroyed. I began to attend church again.

I went from church to church until I really gave my life to Christ in December of 1998. I was Baptised with the Holy spirit in April of this year and my life has really changed for the better. I praise God every day that he has brought me home and given me a wonderful Church Home with people who love me.

Praise to the Lord now and forever !!!