Sometimes we cannot immediately see what the Lord is doing in a person’s life. Events seem disconnected until years later, when the pieces come together and we realize how God was at work all along.
About five years ago, a thin, small-framed man in his fifties named Mo came to a church in one Middle Eastern country. He wanted to know Jesus Christ and learn about Christianity. As Ahmed, one of our missionaries there, got to know him, however, he became concerned. Mo suffered from severe depression and serious psychological struggles. He was taking strong psychiatric medication and sometimes thought about ending his life.
Our staff did not give up on Mo, and he did not give up seeking Jesus.
One day, Mo asked to speak with Ahmed privately. "In my office, he revealed he had attempted suicide by taking an overdose of medication. But his family rushed him to the hospital, and he survived," said Ahmed.
Mo wanted to repent and asked Ahmed to pray for him. They prayed together that day and continued praying in the weeks ahead.
Despite his struggles, Mo faithfully attended church. Over time, our staff watched the Lord bring healing to many wounded areas of his life. He was baptized on a cold winter day in early 2021.
In time, Mo’s brother, Mustafa, began bringing him to church every week because the family was concerned about leaving Mo alone.
“I have no interest in your faith,” Mustafa told Ahmed. “But we can see that the church is very good for Mo. As a family, we want him to continue attending.”
For nearly five years, Mustafa brought his brother to church. They cared for him, talked with him about faith, shared the gospel, and prayed for God to work in his heart. He listened carefully but never openly professed faith in Jesus.
During Christmas and Easter, Mo also began bringing his elderly mother, Fatma, to church. Now in her 80s, she often thanked the church because she had seen such a dramatic improvement in her son.
Recently, ahmed and his wife visited the family at their home. After sharing a wonderful meal Fatma prepared, she began telling her story.
Fatma had been married at only 14 to a man, whom she had never met. Over the years, their marriage grew into a deep love. Together they endured poverty and hardship, becoming devoted to one another.
“I loved him very much,” she told them. “I was deeply in love with him.”
When he died, it devastated both Fatma and Mo. Fatma was grieving her beloved husband while watching her son fall apart.
Fatma said, “One night, I fell asleep while crying in my bed and had a dream.”
In her dream, Jesus came toward her through the clouds. He took her hand and asked why she was crying. She told him how deeply she missed her husband.
Jesus led her upward and showed her he husband in heaven, who appeared happy. Then Jesus told her he would wipe away her tears and always be with her too if she would follow Him.
“When I woke up,” Fatma said, “I felt very rested and deeply peaceful. From that day on, I never cried for my husband again.”
The experience awakened something from Fatma’s childhood. As a little girl, she had an aunt who occasionally spoke to her about Jesus. A tiny seed planted decades earlier had suddenly come alive.
While Fatma cannot read or write and never read the Bible, she began praying for her children in the name of Jesus Christ. Then we learned something that helped the pieces fall into place.
Fatma told Mo and the rest of the family about her dream. Her testimony was what first stirred Mo’s desire to learn about Jesus and eventually brought him through the doors of the church.
Five years earlier, Ahmed had no idea what had brought this troubled man to them. Now they understand that the road to their church had been watered by his mother’s tears.
Today, Mo continues following Jesus and experiencing healing. "During our visit, another wonderful thing happened,"said Ahmed. "After years of listening, Emre openly professed his faith in Jesus Christ for the first time."
We thought we had been watching God transform one man. Instead, the Lord had been drawing an entire family to himself. And Fatma’s journey continues.
Because she cannot read, Fatma is now watching the JESUS film to learn more about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Since she is slowly going blind, she also listens to an audio Bible and wants to be baptized.
Fatma reminds us that knowing Jesus is not dependent upon education or the ability to read. Nicodemus struggled to understand the new birth even when Jesus explained it to him. Yet this elderly widow, unable to read a single verse for herself, has embraced Christ with remarkable simplicity and faith.
The world before Fatma’s eyes may be growing dimmer each day, but the light growing in her heart is becoming brighter. Please pray for Fatma and her entire family—that God will continue the work he began years ago through a grieving mother’s tears.
