[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”I Was Raped – Then I Found Jesus” tab_id=”1649177187146-10039601-be44″][vc_column_text]Sara grew up in a home where her father was addicted to drugs. He napped often and
tended to spend his days wandering around aimlessly. As a result, he struggled to pay for
the house in which his family lived. Sometimes, he resorted to stealing to keep the house.
Because of the father’s lifestyle, those around the family kept their distance. The entire
family suffered rejection because of him.
Deep down, Sara was a fighter. Weary from all the rejection, she sought ways to gain
respect and feel valued. She found a job, giving some of her earnings—as did her two
brothers—to help the family financially.
Wanting to show her brothers and others how strong she was, she became friends with a
group of men recently released from prison as well as others with less-than-desirable
lifestyles. She found acceptance in that group, where she proved to be a loyal and
honorable friend. But without realizing it, she gradually began to live like them.
Soon, she was doing drugs and drinking alcohol. Her effort to move out from under the
influence of her father’s addictions had led to her own addictions.
“I was in the middle of the same swamp as my father,” she recalled.
Then a man in Sara’s friend group raped her.
“Didn’t I want to fight against this life of humiliation?” Sara asked herself. “What made me
lose?”
In the middle of another lonely night, Sara pulled out a notebook and a pen and began
writing a letter to God. She described the pain and the misery and the lack of value that
consumed her. She signed the letter, “Your tired 24-year-old daughter.”
She tucked the letter away where no one would find it. The letter was her secret.
One day, Sara was furious at her life and hating herself. Then a friend messaged her and
said she had met two kind women who had told her interesting things about God.
“Do you want me to introduce you to them?” the friend asked.
Sara said yes, and the friend arranged a meeting in the middle of a busy park.
As the group talked, one of the women told Sara, “God has seen your letter.”
Sara was stunned. Only she knew about the letter.
“God has come to save you,” the woman continued. “Do you want to accept God’s
salvation?”
Sara nodded, and the women prayed with her. Sara later learned that the two women were
associated with our Channel 7.
Sara’s first step toward a new life was giving up drugs and alcohol.
“It was not a hard thing to do,” she told us. “I saw that God was fighting for me, so I got rid
of addiction easily. I was victorious because God always wins. There is no defeat in God.”
Sara reads the Bible regularly now—“line by line,” she said. Her feelings of inferiority and
worthlessness are gone. She has become one of our viewers. Through the teaching of our
programs, Sara realized that even though her earthly father had rejected her, her Heavenly
Father had forgiven her and made her a citizen of Heaven.”
She even went back to her old group of friends. But this time, she’s the one influencing
lives. She shares the Gospel with them, and several have accepted Jesus as their Savior.
“I must preach to people!” she exclaimed.
Sara sat down recently and wrote another letter to God. She described how she is full of
hope. She explained how it feels to live infused with the joy of God. She wrote that all her
wounds have been healed. And then she signed the letter, “Daughter of God and the
Father.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Providing Escape from a Life of Fear” tab_id=”1649177187165-03a6b33a-d55d”][vc_column_text]Najva contacted us recently from Bosnia, where she now lives. She was pregnant
when she wrote us.
“The story of my life,” she began, “is the story of a girl who grew up with fears, got
married with fears, and was worried about having a child who was going to enter this
cruel and fear-filled world. I always had this question in my mind: God, what will
happen to my family in the end?”
Najva was born into a religious family in Iran, but it was a religion of traditions and
superstitions. Najva recalled the chaos she always felt growing up in her family’s
home.
She tried many ways to find peace and security, including immersing herself in Islam.
But that only brought increased fear and anxiety.
“I was always waiting for something bad to happen, and I felt guilty,” she wrote.
“Many times, I blamed myself for the bad things in my life.”
Najva’s mother prepared prayers for her imbued with curse and enchantment and
insisted Najva take them everywhere she went. But Najva declined because she
knew they were of an evil spirit.
“I was looking for the true God and the God of peace,” she said.
Najva married, and she and her husband moved to Bosnia because of what she
described as “social problems.” There, they were required to attend church to apply
for asylum. They attended a couple of churches, including one to which Najva—then
pregnant—had to walk up 62 steps to enter.
But then the coronavirus came, and the churches were closed.
Najva received an invitation to watch Iran Alive’s broadcasts through Zoom. During
one of our virtual church services, Najva accepted Christ as her Savior.
“At that very moment, I received the peace and comfort I had been looking for all my
lifetime,” she said. “I felt the Spirit of God cast a shadow over me and untie all the
knots of my mind. Those vain thoughts and misplaced fears came out of my head, and
my mind was cleansed.”
When Najva wrote us, she was eagerly anticipating being baptized when churches
could meet in person again. She told us she had dedicated her life to serving God and
passing on everything she learned about Him to her family so they could accept
Christ’s salvation too.
“Today, with every beat of my heart,” she concluded, “I hear the voice of God. And I
know that the child I have in my womb will be comforted only by the whispering of
the Holy Spirit. I believe this child will walk on a path that is full of light and mercy—a
way in which there is no sign of fear.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Equipping Iranians to Minister to Iranians” tab_id=”1649177722252-d2396063-0f83″][vc_column_text]Afra, who is 31, described her life before Christ as confused and aimless. She prayed,
fasted, and did her best to follow Islam’s commands perfectly, but she felt empty. She
looked for God through her religious duties but saw no sign of Him.
Her life was consumed by addictions to alcohol and cigarettes and her partying.
An uncle and aunt who had converted to Christianity noticed the distress in Afra’s
life and shared the Gospel with her.
“If He is a living God, if He is still on the ground,” Afra told her uncle and aunt, “He
must show Himself to me.”
Afra continued to resist God until she had a dream in which she was standing on a
prayer rug of Islam. Out of nowhere, a force like lightning knocked Afra to the
ground.
Afra awakened and couldn’t wait to share her dream with her uncle.
“Try Christ once,” the uncle told her. “Open your heart and let God into your life.”
Afra still resisted the Gospel until one night when she became overwhelmed by
disgust over her destructive addictions and meaningless partying.
She spent the rest of the night praying for God to remove the habits.
“When I woke up the next morning,” she recalls, “it was as if I were someone else. I
hated cigarettes and alcohol and my ugly habits of the past. That same day, I turned
my heart to Christ and asked the Holy Spirit to be the guide of my life.”
Afra and her mother recently contracted COVID-19, which has had devastating
effects in Iran. Afra had a mild case, but her mother suffered from a lung infection so
severe that doctors said she had no hope of recovery.
“But with the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Iran Alive's prayer group,” Afra
reports, “my mother miraculously recovered in a few days.”
After years of aimless living, Afra is proud to identify herself as a servant of God.
“I have left my whole life in the hands of Christ,” she says. “I walk the path of the
cross and experience a good life in God with the teachings I receive from Christ and
the pastors.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Building a Far-Reaching Network – Together” tab_id=”1649177826107-7cc14405-88d3″][vc_column_text]Rojan spent years in misery before coming into contact with two members of our
network through a substance abuse program. Now, with her life transformed by God,
she is proclaiming the Gospel in nearby slums.
Rojan, who is 43, was born into a family of addicts. Her childhood memories are
dominated by images of her parents hungover or high on drugs.
When she was 15, uneducated, and looking to escape her home situation, Rojan
married a 30-year-old man. Her husband was kind and gave her the loving attention
she craved, and they had two sons.
But Rojan’s husband became addicted to drugs. She wound up mired in the same
emptiness and loneliness she hoped she had left for good.
Rojan’s husband encouraged her to try drugs. She did. And, gradually, she became an
addict too.
Rojan turned to an addiction treatment program in an attempt to save her life. Two
people working with the program’s addicts befriended her. She appreciated how
they helped her and stayed in contact with her during her treatment process. Rojan
left the program with her addiction broken but with the same lack of self-value
caused by all the friends who—she always eventually seemed to discover—were only
using her. She cut off contact with the two friends from the rehab program.
Off drugs, Rojan’s day-to-day life improved to the point that she and her husband
purchased a home. Then her husband died from a drug overdose, leaving her alone to
provide for their sons.
“My world was dark,” she recalls. “I kept saying, ‘There is no God. If there is, why does
He allow me to suffer so much?’”
Rojan returned to the rehab center, began crying, and asked God, “Where are you?
Enough of all this hardship and darkness!”
The same two workers who had befriended her before saw Rojan. They prayed for
her, and Rojan says her entire body instantly overflowed with peace and
comfort—“like rain from the sky.”
“It was as if that great distance between me and God had been removed,” she says.
Rojan’s two friends told her they were associated with Iran Alive Ministries and gave
her a Bible. They described how they prayed for their neighborhood and distributed
food and medicine to those in need. Then they led Rojan in a prayer of salvation.
“At that moment,” she describes, “my eyes were opened, and I was no longer in
darkness.”
This time, Rojan stayed in contact with the two, and they helped her start her faith
journey. Rojan said she grew stronger day by day as they taught her more about
Christ.
The peace Rojan felt praying in the rehab center remains, and she has devoted her
life to helping drug addicts and prostitutes discover the peace that only God can
bring.
“By the grace of Christ,” she reports, “I am spreading the words and love of God so
that they can kneel in the same ruined neighborhoods and recite the prayer of
salvation. Hallelujah!”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The Real God Who Drives Away Fear” tab_id=”1649177959208-e389526f-a17e”][vc_column_text]Bahar is one of our viewers who came to Christ through our Channel 7, or Shabakeh
7 as it’s known in Iran. Before her eternity changed, Bahar was afraid of God and
followed Sharia’s rules and regulations to avoid being sent to hell.
The more Bahar read the Quran, the more she noted contradictions in how God was
being presented. At times, God was compassionate. At others—particularly when it
came to the “dos and don’ts” of the Quran, as Bahar called them—God appeared
cruel.
Bahar asked a teacher for help with her confusion about God, but the teacher
replied, “Do not focus on these issues!” Bahar, who is 45, now knows that Iran’s
politics and bureaucracy made it too risky for her teacher to respond otherwise.
Even though Bahar studied the Quran and prayed consistently, she could not shake
the fear that God seemingly wanted to punish her for eternity. That fear kept her
awake at night, as she imagined scenes of graves and death.
Feeling trapped and looking for a way out of her family’s home, she married at 15.
Her husband began abusing drugs, and Bahar soon became afraid of him, too. By 20,
she had given birth to two sons and a daughter. Her children were her only source of
joy. Yet, wanting to please God and the Imams and fearing rejection from others, she
suffered through her marriage in silence and isolation.
Bahar’s turning point began when she enrolled in a Narcotics Anonymous class.
Programs in Iran such as Narcotics Anonymous are completed anonymously and can
offer Christian-based resources and tools without mentioning Christ’s
name. Underground house churches have developed an evangelistic strategy
through these practical programs that meet Iranians’ everyday needs.
Through Bahar’s class, she learned to substitute positive behaviors for negative ones.
She also says she felt the Spirit of God in her. She was able to forgive herself and
others. Her fear of death gradually disappeared.
Eventually, Bahar was able to leave her home with her two sons, although her
daughter had to remain with her father because she was not of legal age.
Bahar’s family disowned her because of her divorce. Financial difficulties ensued, and
her sons dropped out of school to work. Bahar applied for financial aid through a
charity, but the calls she started receiving were not job offers but unwanted offers
for temporary marriages. Until one day when between those types of calls, she
answered a call informing her of a job possibility. She interviewed and was hired as a
secretary for a boss she still enjoys working for.
Then Bahar came across our Channel 7, and she heard a sermon that described God
in ways that Islam didn’t teach—in ways that Bahar believed a compassionate and
merciful God would be at all times. She accepted Jesus as her Savior.
A deep peace entered her life. That peace extended over her financial situation and
the remaining fears she battled. She was able to place behind her the pain and
tribulations she had endured. Relationships with family members were restored.
“Peace and love to Shabakeh 7,” she told us, “because through this network, I have
met the real God. Every day, I am getting a lot of peace and blessings from the
Shabakeh 7 network. And with the sermons of dear Pastor Hormoz, I am growing in
my faith.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The Light of Truth Exposes Islam’s Teachings” tab_id=”1649178285472-ea633fac-baf9″][vc_column_text]Gandom, who is 27, was born paralyzed in both arms and one leg. She grew up in a
deeply devout Muslim family, including eight uncles trained in Islamic seminaries.
Because of her disability, Gandom sought to know God at a young age. But the God
she sensed comforting her in her loneliness was different than the God her uncles
described to her. She questioned why the God of Islam would create her and set His
Spirit within her yet send her to hell if one hair fell out of her scarf. And set gates that
opened at a certain time and permit her to speak to Him only at specific points of the
day.
“That was not the God I found in me,” Gandom says.
For years, she wrestled with these contrasting ideas of who God is. One day she was
riding a bus, pondering her questions about God, when a woman sitting in front of
her asked why she seemed so preoccupied.
“There are two Gods in me,” she responded in a humorous tone, “and I am thinking
about which one to choose.”
The woman smiled, reached into her bag, pulled out a book that told the Gospel
story, and handed it to Gandom.
“Read this,” the woman suggested. “It will tell you which one to choose.”
When she reached home, Gandom began reading. She finished the book just before
midnight.
“My whole body was frozen, and my heart was pounding,” she recalls. “I was
surprised that in one evening, I had reached the answers to all my questions.”
Gandom’s search for more about this Gospel message led her to purchase a satellite
dish so she and her mother could watch Iran Alive’s broadcasts. Her mother followed
her in becoming a Christian.
Twice, one of Gandom’s uncles informed Gandom of a temporary marriage arranged
for her.
The first time, she and her mother fled Tehran, moving from city to city to avoid
being located. When Gandom was 25, she received word that the planned marriage
had been called off. She and her mother returned to Tehran and found a community
of believers to meet with.
Then she learned of the second arranged marriage. This time, she escaped alone to a
faraway village.
“When I entered this village,” she says, “I cried a lot. I was heartbroken and kept
asking the Lord, ‘Why did You send me to this place without my mom, alone and
helpless?’”
She soon found her answer.
“I am the light in this village,” she says.
Gandom has led four people in the village to accept Christ as their Savior, and the
five have formed a house church.
“We are like a light on the top of a mountain,” she says, “and our light is seen by all
people here.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”What Would You Do in a Prison Cell with ISIS Members?” tab_id=”1649178380943-e7673510-68eb”][vc_column_text]Ali and Dari are longtime Christians and viewers of our broadcasts who are
evangelists at heart. In 2015, they had to leave Iran for their security and settled in
neighboring Turkey, where they promptly continued spreading the Good News of
salvation.
When several Muslims sued Ali and Dari for “insulting the sanctities of Islam”
through their evangelism, Turkish officials designated the couple for deportation
back to Iran with no regard for what awaited them in their home country.
Before boarding the plane, Dari became overwhelmed by the fear and worry of
returning to Iran. She broke down crying, and medical personnel were called to the
airport gate to treat her. Ali began praying for his wife, and she turned out to be okay.
But instead of being placed on another flight, Ali and Dari were taken to a police
station.
They were sentenced to eight months in prison, had their Bibles taken from them,
and were ordered not to talk about Jesus with other prisoners. Over the first two
months, they were allowed to see each other only four times and for no longer than
five minutes each time.
“We survived by the power of God,” Ali said. “We were imprisoned in a dungeon
where there was no sunlight, but the true light of Jesus never left us. We felt His
sweet presence.”
After the third month, Ali and Dari were finally given their Bibles but still forbidden
from sharing the Gospel.
Near the end of their sentences, Ali was placed in a cell with 15 ISIS members. The
ISIS members had committed, upon their release from the prison, to participate in
suicide missions targeting innocent people in Syria and Iraq.
Of course, Ali had to tell the ISIS members about the One who had given His life for
them. All 15 gave their hearts to Jesus!
“It was there that I realized God has a plan for us, and that made the suffering times
easier,” Ali recalled. “I owe this blessing from God to Channel 7, which led us to
believe in Jesus Christ so that through us—and others like us in the darkest places in
the world—we could prevent the killing of innocent people.
When Ali contacted our ministry, he and Dari had completed their prison sentences
and were awaiting a trial. A judge had rejected their appeal, declared them
“dangerous,” and designated them for deportation to Iran. Ali said they are receiving
no support from the Turkish government, not even needed medical assistance.
However, the United Nations has selected the United States as a “third country” to
which Ali and Dari could be deported.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”The Impact of Our Viewers Spreading the Gospel” tab_id=”1649178596029-b6da25a1-1feb”][vc_column_text]Mahsa is 26. The early part of her story is familiar: She grew up in a devoutly Muslim
family and was a practicing Muslim herself. But as a teenager, she began asking
questions that caused her to doubt Islam.
To Mahsa, Islam portrayed God as wanting us to fear Him. She felt shame and guilt
over her sins and believed from her upbringing that she faced punishment for her
sins on the Day of Judgment. But when Mahsa sought forgiveness from the God that
Islam taught him about, she felt no connection or sense of relationship.
She turned from her religious beliefs and decided to enjoy the days of her youth as
much as possible. But as she went about living according to her desires, Mahsa
couldn’t stop being fascinated by the world around her. The world was clearly
created in an amazing order, she realized. She could not deny the existence of God.
Mahsa was walking to work when she came upon several police officers known for
arresting people for not following Islam’s religious mandates, including the
requirement that women wear hijabs to cover their heads in public. The police had
arrested a woman and were dragging her by her hair toward a police car to take her
away. Mahsa tried to intervene on the woman’s behalf, but an officer struck her over
the head with a baton, opening a deep wound.
Mahsa was bedridden at home because of the injury. As she lay there, she kept
asking a couple of penetrating questions. How could such a horrible law come from
God, as Islam taught? How could people like the police officers behave so violently
and claim their actions were to please God?
“This is where the case for Islam was completely finished for me,” she said.
A friend came from another city to visit Mahsa while she was bedridden. Mahsa
noticed her friend was different than when she had spent time with her before. The
friend showed more patience and enjoyed sitting and listening to Mahsa talk. She
was kinder with a more forgiving attitude. Mahsa asked why she had changed, and
her friend said she had become a Christian—that Christ had transformed her life.
Mahsa’s friend was the first to tell her that Jesus is God.
She also recommended Mahsa watch Iran Alive Ministries’ broadcasts. Mahsa
struggled at first to understand what she was learning about Christianity because of
the Islamic beliefs she had grown up with. She had been taught that all religions were
alike and sought human captivity to please God. Christianity was completely
different. Each day, she continued to watch our programming.
Mahsa and her friend discussed Christianity numerous times, and she began
compiling a list of questions she needed answering. She contacted someone
associated with our ministry who knew her friend, and Mahsa, her friend, and our
pastor met in a crowded park. Mahsa asked her questions, and the pastor answered
them one by one. Mahsa learned that God did not want anyone to perish. And she
learned that God loved us so much that His Son Jesus came to earth to bear the
burden of our sins so that we can be saved for eternity.
“Does this include me?” she asked.
“Yes,” the pastor answered. “This God can change your life and change your sinful
nature.”
Mahsa began crying. The pastor prayed for her, and among all the people going about
their daily routines in the park, Mahsa accepted Christ as her Savior.
“Since that day,” she said, “a new hope has entered my life. Not only do I not feel
lonely, but I feel close to my God. Now, I am no longer afraid of death and the Day of
Judgment because I believe that our God has promised salvation, and He is faithful to
His promises.”
Today, Mahsa is involved in discipleship through our online church. She prays that
others will come to know the true Jesus as she has. And, in the same park where she
received salvation, Mahsa goes out in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s direction,
searching for and talking with Christ’s lost sheep.
“I testify,” she said, “that I am one of the shepherds for my Lord, Jesus Christ.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Taking Scripture to Those Thirsting to Know Jesus” tab_id=”1649178671753-386dd586-8196″][vc_column_text]Nasrin is 75, and she has been a Christian for nine years now. She recalls being
taught in school how Jesus is one of the five most special and select prophets, but
nothing more. She also remembers her mother telling Nasrin and her siblings
“with such a delicacy and elegance” the story of Jesus being born to a virgin
named Mary.
As Nasrin became an adult, she grew disillusioned with the restricting,
cumbersome rules of Islam. With those stories of Jesus still in her mind, she was
drawn toward the God she knew created the universe in order and with beauty.
For years, she wrestled with those contrasting approaches to religion.
At 66, Nasrin fulfilled the Muslim religious duty of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
But in her spirit, she didn’t feel that the God to whom the Hajj called her to
worship was the same God she felt a longing to connect with.
Back home, Nasrin turned on Iran Alive Ministries’ channel on satellite television.
She listened with intrigue as a speaker declared that Jesus is God. She prayed,
“Show me Your light if You are true.” Nasrin fell asleep earlier than usual that
night. In a dream, she heard a knock at her door. She opened her eyes and saw a
bright light.
“It was the light I had asked for that day,” she said.
Nasrin did not tell anyone about her dream, but she began watching more of our
programming. She wanted to learn more about Jesus and what the Bible said
about the early Christians who were persecuted for their beliefs. She was afraid
to go to a library and ask for a Bible, so she prayed that God would somehow
provide one for her.
She was visiting her daughter one day and asked for help finding a Bible. The
daughter knew where to get one, and Nasrin couldn’t wait to start reading.
As Nasrin read Scripture, she sensed the Holy Spirit speaking to her and
drawing her closer to God. Then during one of our broadcasts, she said the
prayer of salvation. From that moment, she has had a constant thirst to know
Jesus more and more.
“I am 75 years old, and I have seen Jesus working in my life many times,” she told
us. “During these nine years of peace, I have preached the peace of Christianity to
those around me with love and passion, and several of my family have also
believed in Christ. He is alive and full of love!”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Providing Community Where Churches are Not Allowed” tab_id=”1649178786885-105350b6-aba3″][vc_column_text]Raha is one of our online church family members. The 56-year-old grandmother of
four accepted Jesus as Savior through our programming. In our broadcasts, she says,
“I found my place.”
Raha grew up in a devout Muslim family. Her mother read to Raha and her siblings
about the prophets from the Quran. Stories about Jesus were always Raha’s
favorites.
During the Christmas season, she eagerly anticipated visiting an aunt who lived in a
neighborhood that included Christians.
“Christmastime was fascinating and beautiful for me as a child when I was in my
aunt’s house,” she recalled.
But based on Muslim teachings, Raha viewed Jesus the same as the other prophets.
She believed all could equally answer her prayers when she prayed in their names.
After Raha had left home, married, and started raising her own kids, a Christian
invited her to a small prayer and worship gathering. Her parents disowned her when
she joined the group. Shunned by her family, Raha struggled to find hope. Her
passion for life was drained out of her. Her only happiness came from her children.
Fourteen years ago, Raha traveled to northern Iran. A friend recommended she
watch Iran Alive’s satellite TV channel. She listened intently as the pastor talked of
Jesus in a way she had never heard Him described—not as one of the prophets, but
as the Savior of the world. When the pastor invited viewers to join him in saying a
prayer for salvation, Raha repeated his words, and Jesus entered her heart.
Raha soon learned that becoming a Christian does not guarantee an easier life. The
family that once had been her only source of happiness began experiencing
difficulties. Included was an unmarried daughter who became pregnant. The father
abandoned Raha’s daughter when he learned of the pregnancy.
Under Islamic law, children born to unwed parents cannot obtain a birth
certificate—they are considered what is known as “paperless.” In the Iranian legal
system, paperless children do not exist. Schools can deny them enrollment. They
often are forced into the outer edges of society. Many unmarried pregnant Iranians
choose to undergo an abortion rather than subject their child to a lifetime of
marginalized existence.
Raha’s daughter had a dream in which Jesus told her that the unborn child belonged
to Raha. Raha decided to raise the child, and when her daughter gave birth, Raha
named the girl Mary.
As the family issues piled up for Raha, friends blamed the problems on Raha’s
decision to leave Islam for Christianity. But Raha remained committed to Christ. She
lacked connection with members of any underground churches. All Raha had to help
her stay strong in her faith was the Bible she read alone.
One evening, Raha contacted Iran Alive through Instagram. We provided her our
broadcast church’s schedule so she could at least have a regular connection with us
until an opportunity arises to join an underground church. Our broadcast church is
the “place” she said she has found.
Raha recently shared some of the blessings she is experiencing. All of her children
and grandchildren are Christians. Mary’s father was located—“amazingly,” Raha
said—and he agreed to go through the process that resulted in Mary receiving a birth
certificate and identification cards. That alone brought great peace to Raha’s family.
“As a mother, Jesus freed me from all my worries and difficulties,” Raha said. “I am
filled with Jesus’ love!”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Through the Strong Faith of One Woman” tab_id=”1649178887370-4a7eef20-d00a”][vc_column_text]Parvin has raised four children. Two of her sons were prone to aggressive and
even violent behavior. One son was often depressed and talked of wishing he was
dead. Parvin was terrified and discouraged as a mother because she had to be
careful with every word she spoke and every action she took around her sons.
Parvin’s journey to faith began with a neighbor who gave her a book that talked
about Jesus and the Bible. Reading that God was a “God of love” made her curious
to learn more. One night, she was flipping through satellite channels when she
came across the Iran Alive Ministry channel. Dr. Hormoz Shariat was speaking
about this Jesus of whom Parvin had become curious, and she was drawn to the
power of the Gospel message.
Parvin gave her heart to Jesus Christ that night.
That was eight years ago. In the years since, Parvin says her family has received
many blessings from God. The Holy Spirit has brought peace into their home.
One of her daughters lives in Canada. Parvin kept her daughter updated on how
Christ was transforming their family and home. Her daughter called one night
while Parvin was watching an Iran Alive broadcast. Parvin placed the phone next
to the TV so her daughter could hear the speaker praying. The speaker prayed, “I
command your throat cancer to stop.”
Parvin quickly pulled the phone back and started to apologize to her daughter.
But Parvin heard crying. Her daughter revealed that she had been battling throat
cancer for the past year and had not wanted to tell anyone.
The daughter later scheduled surgery. Doctors offered her little hope and
warned she might not survive the operation. Her family wanted to travel from
Iran and, they expected, share their final goodbyes. But they could not obtain a
visa.
From halfway around the world, Parvin prayed vigilantly for her daughter.
During the surgery, Parvin sensed Jesus saying, “Healing her.” The daughter not
only survived but now is completely healed of cancer![/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Satellite Broadcasts Lead to Stories of Miracles” tab_id=”1649179102781-88ae33ef-d49e”][vc_column_text]Satellite television broadcasts are the core of Iran Alive Ministries. The Iranian
government regulates and monitors internet activity, but Iranians can safely
watch satellite channels in the privacy of their homes.
Most Iranians have access to satellite dishes, and many look to non-government-
sponsored channels for trustworthy information. Our programming is essentially
going over the heads of the mullahs to share the Gospel 24/7.
Through our broadcasts, we receive numerous reports of miracles occurring
among Muslims who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. A common story we
hear is of Jesus appearing to Muslims in their dreams, and they either recognize
Him then or later. Here is one example from a man whose eternity changed
through our channel.
Afshin, who is in his late forties, became a Christian last year. His story goes back
to when he was six years old.
Afshin developed a tooth infection, and his parents had to take him to a different
city for treatment. At the hotel, a Christian woman handed a Bible and a cross to
Afshin’s mother and said, “This cross—do not take it away from your son. Your
son will become an engineer and will have sons and daughters.” After the family
returned home, Afshin’s mother placed the Bible and cross in a secure location.
Afshin grew up and became an oil and gas engineer and a father.
In 2020, he suffered severe injuries in a work accident. In addition to a back
injury, both legs were crushed. Afshin became ill. Even though his wife took good
care of him, Afshin felt weak. He also battled feelings of uselessness because of
his inability to work during difficult economic conditions.
Afshin recalled, “I was thinking that not only was I not being helpful, but I also was
an extra load.”
His mother visited one day and brought the cross the Christian woman had
handed her forty years earlier.
“My mother, despite being a Muslim,” Afshin said, “asked for my healing from
Jesus Christ.”
Afshin had forgotten about the cross. When his mother handed it to him, he said,
“Thank you, God. You were with me as a child, and thank you for hearing my voice
now.”
The cross inspired Afshin to see if he could locate that old Bible his mother had
tucked away. As he searched, an Iran Alive broadcast was playing on the TV.
Afshin contacted us through the program and requested prayer for his faith and
his physical needs.
A member of our team reached out to Afshin, and a local pastor followed up with
him. Afshin’s knowledge of Jesus grew through his talks with the pastor.
In one conversation, Afshin told the pastor of his plan to smuggle his son out of
Iran.
“Do not rush,” the pastor advised him. “It is not the time.”
That night, Afshin fell asleep while listening to a hymn. He dreamed he was in a
park talking with a smuggler. A park ranger was present, and the ranger called the
police. The smuggler was arrested, and Afshin complained to the park ranger
about his plan for his son being thwarted.
The park ranger looked Afshin in the eyes and told him, “My son, you had a good
night’s sleep.”
“Who are you?” Afshin asked.
Afshin said the man glowed as he replied, “I have been with you since you were
six years old. Now, I have sent my ambassador to you.”
Afshin understood the pastor to be that ambassador.
“Who are you?” Afshin asked again.
The park ranger extended both hands, palms up. Afshin looked down to see a nail
hole in each hand.
The ranger told Afshin, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
accept me so that you and your children can be saved.”
Afshin bent over to kiss the man’s hands, but he disappeared.
Afshin woke up with tears in his eyes. The hymns he had fallen asleep to still
played. Afshin rose to his feet.
“Even though my legs were paralyzed, I started dancing,” Afshin said.
Afshin has since undergone successful surgery on his legs.
And when the “park ranger” disappeared during Afshin’s dream, He did not leave
Afshin alone. The pastor who befriended Afshin is helping Afshin grow in his
newfound faith.
“Not only is she my pastor,” Afshin said, “but God has given me a sister I never
had.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”A Family’s Healing Creates a Longing for Scripture” tab_id=”1649179255164-e28981f3-92e4″][vc_column_text]Susan’s family had suffered enormously. Her husband, a truck driver, spent time
in jail after accidentally killing someone in a wreck. After his release, he became
lost in drug addiction, depression, and darkness. Their daughter experienced
depression, sought medical help, and became addicted to prescription drugs. She
attempted suicide several times.
The stress and financial pressure from the family’s issues left Susan sick much of
the time, and she lost one of her kidneys. A doctor told Susan she also was on the
verge of going blind.
Every day and night, Susan desperately cried out to God for help. While flipping
through television channels one day, she came across an Iran Alive broadcast
with Dr. Hormoz Shariat. Susan wrote:
“I just sat there and watched him talk about God’s love and goodness. I was very
touched. At the end of the program, I prayed with him, and I felt a sense of peace
pouring over me. I kept watching your programs day after day. I also asked my
husband to join me. After a few days, my husband also prayed with Pastor
Hormoz. Then our daughter joined us and prayed the prayer of salvation.”
Susan then described how because her family did not own a Bible, they wrote
down verses as they were read on our broadcasts. Gradually, they were
compiling their own handwritten Bible. Their favorite verse is from Psalm 23:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need” (NASB).
“The Lord has healed each member of my family,” Susan concluded. Her husband
is drug-free, and their daughter is no longer addicted to pills. Susan’s vision is
improving, and doctors say she is no longer at risk of losing her eyesight.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Providing Muslims the Answer Islam Cannot Offer” tab_id=”1649179554962-91f6157d-c114″][vc_column_text]Atefe grew up in a Muslim family, and instead of finding peace in Islam, she
carried loads of guilt and shame because her religion left her feeling she could
never be good enough. Admittedly short-fused and hot-tempered at the time,
Atefe said the slightest disagreement could set off an angry outburst.
Atefe knew she needed emotional support. She knew she needed to talk with
someone trustworthy. But she had no idea where to find that help.
On one of her anger-filled days, Atefe experienced a sudden desire to read the
Bible. She had heard about the Bible and was curious about what it contained.
Finding a Bible in Iran is difficult because it is unsafe to keep one in a home. So,
Atefe began searching Christian sites on the internet. She messaged a few with
questions. As she waited for responses, a “small voice or a sense” directed her to
search the satellite channels on her television.
Atefe came across a Christian channel where a preacher was speaking. For the
first few minutes, she wanted to change the channel. But something inside her
told her to continue watching. She began to enjoy what she watched and heard.
Afterward, her desire to read the Bible grew stronger.
She made a deal with Jesus: If You are real, send me a Bible.
One day, a close friend gave Atefe a Bible as a gift. Atefe began reading, and
despite some skepticism about what she read, she told herself, “I’ve found my
way, and I believe in Jesus.”
Atefe noticed her outlook on life improved. The hopelessness and
discouragement that had shadowed her disappeared. She no longer battled
depression, confusion, and the feeling of being lost. Her life was more joyful, but
she recognized that she still needed to resolve her lingering anger issue. She
determined to find the root cause of the anger.
That’s when Atefe sent a message to Iran Alive and asked for help. We
connected her with pastors in her area who, first, showed that they loved and
cared for Atefe. Then, they led her in the prayer of salvation. Atefe repented of
her sins and declared Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
“Now, my anger problem is under the submission of the Holy Spirit!” Atefe told
us. “Today, I feel happy, free, and in perfect peace. I want to be what God wants
us to be.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section]
