Rarely do we get to see exactly how all of our ministry efforts bear fruit, but on occasion the Lord allows us to see and enjoy the fruits of our labor. These sweet moments of reflection on God’s sovereignty and greatness are noteworthy, which is why I wanted to share this amazing story.
I met with a man named Walter this week to discuss helping an international church in our area. Walter is from Church at the Mill in Spartanburg and helps guide international churches in the Upstate. While we were catching up, we discovered how God wrote an amazing story of redemption, and it all started at the Good News Club at Brushy Creek Elementary.
A little girl gave her life to Jesus this school year at Good News Club, and Brushy Creek members befriended this girl and her mom who is originally from Iran. For privacy, we will call them Ana (girl) and Heather (mom). Ana was soon baptized at a church they had been visiting, and Heather was in search of a better job. Brushy Creek eventually connected Heather with a job opportunity making candy for one of our church members’ businesses in Greenville.
Heather had been struggling in her faith over the last few years, but after Ana came to know Jesus and she was ministered to by some Brushy Creek members, Heather said she was both encouraged and challenged in her walk with Jesus. Not all stories are perfect. Heather later left the job she had been given because she was challenged in her faith to live more like Christ and no longer walk in sin.
Months later, Walter shared with me that Heather decided to attend the Upstate Iranian Bible Fellowship on a regular basis so she could speak her first language, Farsi, with others in community. She was faithful to attend and soon invited two Iranian brothers who did not follow Jesus to join her at the Farsi Bible study. These men showed great curiosity in the Bible for some time, and then their mother came to visit them from Iran.
Soon after their mother landed in Greenville, her husband fell deathly ill back home in Iran, having less than a week to live. Their mother desperately wanted to find a local Mosque (Muslim place of worship) where she could pray and speak with an Imam (Muslim spiritual leader). Instead, Heather recommended they go pray at a local church, and while they were there praying, some other Christians prayed that her husband would be healed in Jesus’ name.
Days later, they received news that her husband made a full recovery in Iran. Everyone was amazed and celebrated together, and the sons give credit to Jesus healing their father just like they had been reading about in the Gospels. Weeks later, both Iranian brothers gave their life to Jesus at the Bible study and Walter baptized them upstairs in a bath tub!
Their mother returned to Iran, relieved that her husband was still alive. Her sons began to share passages of Scripture with her over the phone for weeks after she returned to Iran. They showed her how Jesus is the one true God and prophet who has the power to heal and save all of us from our sins. Very soon, their mother also came to accept Christ as her Savior while living in Iran! Walter is now working to try and connect with the underground church in Iran to help connect her with other Christians in her city.
God works in miraculous ways! We may not always understand them or have the chance to see how he works all things for good, but he calls us to remain faithful in obedience to him and faithful to witness for him. We never know how God uses our witness to make an impact in this world, but we should remember that God can utilize all our efforts for the sake of his kingdom work.
After all, God can even use a Good News Club and two churches in the Upstate (whose pastors are brothers from rural Alabama) to reach a family in Iran for Christ where there is little to no access to the gospel.
— *Author’s name changed for security reasons.