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Stories & News from Arabia
The Son of the Desert
I was born in Saudi Arabia as a member of a Muslim family. We where a very happy family, I loved my relationship with them. I also felt very happy because I did all the things that God asked me to. I had learned 1/6 part of the holy Quran by heart. When I was a teenager I was Imam for the mosque. Until the time that the devil find his way to our home and our life. My parents divorced, my family fell apart and the life became very hard for me. Slowly I drifted far away from God until the time that I believed in no God at all.
In the desert:
My life became busy. I had a very good job and earned a lot of money. Still I was not happy because I was afraid for the day that I should die. I decided to kill myself. Then I would die one time instead of dying one time every day. I went to the desert to spend the last night of my life there. In the morning of the day that I planned to kill myself I woke up and I was feeling very happy like I had a party to go to. Then I sat down and I remembered a dream of that night. There was a man speaking to me. I had never seen him before. He said to me, "I am with you." But I didn't understand this so it meant nothing to me. I took the gun from under my pillow, but it was gone! I was afraid and because I could not understand what happened and I went back to the town. In the city I spoke about this with a woman from England whom I knew. She said to me, "The one who spoke to you was Jesus." I did not believe her.
A little prayer:
After eleven months there was a big problem in my life. I was in my room looking through the window up to the sky. Then I remembered God. And I wanted to pray to him to ask him for help. But which God should I pray to. Allah? I was sure that he was very angry for me because I didn't pray for a very long time. Or Jesus? The one who made the gun disappear. Then I said, "Jesus help me!" I didn't know why I spoke like this. I sat down on my bed and spoke to myself, "what is this stupid thing you just did?" Anyway, nothing is going to happen and the problem will not go away. However, one and a half day later my problem was solved! Then I decide to find out who this Jesus is. Is he God like the Christian people say or is he a prophet like I know from Islam? So I left my country and went to Europe.
The dream:
On the third day my situation was very difficult for me and I decide to go back to Middle East. In this night I had another dream. I was standing in a cross shape with a low wall around it. In my right hand I had a big stack of white unwritten papers. I was standing at the cross beam and I was looking to a small group of people who where standing in the top. They all wore long white clothing but one of them was different. He was standing at the right side and with his left hand he was leading the people through a door in the wall. Behind the door was light and I could not see what was in there. One moment I was standing in the dream and the next moment I was seeing the cross from above. It was difficult for me to understand this. After one year reading the Bible in an honest way I understand now what happened to me in the desert and about the last dream. I found my way to God, the real God, the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope now for all the people I love, my family, my friends, and everyone also to change and begin to read the Bible in an honest way. I am sure that God will help them to find their way. Amen.
Feel free to write me.
~ The son of the desert
Testimonial from Arabia
Talal's Testimony
Talal was the first born son of a sub-continent Muslim family living in Saudi Arabia. He was born in the one of the major cities where his father was a powerful manager in a Saudi owned company. He was able to attend some of the best schools in the city and mix with children from many different Muslim backgrounds.
While in the university: While he was in university in a neighboring country, he met many students from different countries and faith backgrounds. He met a number of Christians, mostly from the sub-continent like him. He began to explore what it was that these Christians believed. He read mostly from Islamic sources like Ahmed Deedhat and others who are condescending in their treatment of Christianity and Christians. Desiring to learn more about Christianity so he could refute their claims, he asked his father if he could download the Qur'an and the Bible from the Internet. After determining that his motives were appropriate, his father consented.
Talal was amazed: Talal was amazed at what he read in the Christian scriptures! It was different than the Qur'an, it was written by many different people over a long period of time. The Qur'an which he was familiar with was about the size of the New Testament and covered a much shorter time period. Some of the stories, or parts of stories, were the same, but significant differences became evident to him. What stood out mostly was the love that exuded from the Bible - God's love, which was in stark contrast to the anger and condemnation noted throughout the Qur'an.
Over months: Over months, Talal found that he was spending far more time reading the Bible than the holy book of his faith. He was drawn to the person of Jesus, as described in the Gospels and illuminated by the New Testament authors. He began to long for a tangible God he could communicate with in prayer-- not just the rote, 5 times daily prayers of Islam. Before the year was out, he expressed as best he could, his faith in Jesus in a simple prayer one night after wrestling with the two different faiths. He found that he had a greater joy than before, as if he was freed from a tremendous burden.
At the university: At the university he longed to be able to tell someone about his significant change, but found that he was afraid of rejection by his peers and more importantly by his family. He got to know one of the leaders in a Christian campus group where they studied the Bible weekly during a lunch break in one of the many restaurants on campus. He would visit them once in a while under the guise he was still a Muslim but inside thrilled to be studying the Bible with other believers like himself.
it didn't take too long: It didn't take too long before he let down his defenses and told a few of his Christian friends of his decision to follow Jesus. Again a great burden was lifted as he was now free to be keenly interested in the discussions, sharing prayers and fellowship with these special people. He still had a problem with his family, how could he possibly tell them? They noticed some changes in him, mostly for the better. They expressed concern that his mosque attendance had been less than it was before he went to university, but he was such a good student and conscientious young man, they searched no further. However, Talal has begun to drop hints that he is making spiritual changes, and praying fervently for the right words at the right time to bring the Gospel to his Muslim family. Let's join him in these prayers!
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