Meet Ali. He grew up in one of Iran’s most religiously conservative cities. During his teenage years, he turned away from Islam and became an atheist.
As political pressure in Iran increased, the government invited him to work for them. Instead of saying yes, Ali fled the country and went to Turkey.
A few weeks later, he received devastating news: his girlfriend had been killed by police during a protest. Ali was grieving, angry and trying to make sense of everything when we were introduced to him.
I spent time with him and listened to his story. At one point he told me that he had cursed at God and cried out, “Are you blind? Do you not see the suffering of my people?”
I felt God prompting me to tell him something simple: God is not a concept. He is a person, and He wants to reveal Himself to you.
Around midnight that night, I received a message from Ali. He had actually prayed to Jesus—and Jesus had made Himself real to him.
Ali knew almost nothing about the Christian faith yet, but he described what had happened in his own words: “This is my reborn moment.”
God is working in Ali. Since that night, we have watched him continue to grow in his faith and discover what it means to follow Jesus.
Ali’s name and any accompanying image may be changed or illustrative to protect privacy and security.