A seriously ill, elderly man in Iran who received a visit from three members of a native ministry’s underground church reviled them for 20 minutes, questioning why they had come and who had sent them.
Dariush* had refused help from his own relatives, including a member of the three visitors’ church. The three Christians told him they only wanted to help him and had brought fruit and meat, items beyond the reach of many amid Iran’s economic decline.
“The house smelled very badly of sewage, but they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from,” the leader of the native ministry said. “When the man stood up to go to the bathroom, they realized it was him – he had very infected bed sores. They found out he was angry because he was embarrassed to be seen in that condition.”
When they asked if they could pray for him, his only response was, “Never! Prayer can’t help me. I’m waiting to die!”
They asked him if he was sure he didn’t want prayer, and again he refused. They began to pray in their hearts.
They asked Dariush if he was sure he didn’t want prayer, and again he refused. They began to pray in their hearts, the leader said.
“After a few minutes, one of them asked if they could check his bed sores, and he agreed,” he said. “They were terrible, all the way to the bone.”
The Christians stayed with him for three days and nights.
“They talked with him about the love of Jesus, and he believed,” the leader said. “He couldn’t be baptized by immersion because of his condition, but they sprinkled him.”
The house church paid to take him to a hospital, but soon he wanted to return home, and the Christians took turns caring for him for nine days.
“On the ninth day, he died, but as a believer,” the leader said. “Two weeks later, his children had dreams of him saying that he was lucky in his last days because he had met Jesus.”
Gospel Networking
Ministry workers training house church members in gospel outreach find opportunities through many such personal networks, quietly spreading the message of life in Christ.
One worker received a message from a man saying his wife’s music teacher was considering suicide. Native workers who went to visit the music teacher discovered she was very close to taking her life.
“They decided to share with her a story about the love of God,” the leader said. “She seemed interested but afterward said, ‘This is just a story. I don’t believe any religion.’”
They shared the gospel with her, and she gave them permission to pray for her with the laying on of hands, he said.
“She said that she felt so good that it was as if she were high on drugs,” the leader said. “They kept praying, but then she started crying. When they asked what was wrong, she said that she had just had a memory from her childhood of when her father raped her.”
They continued to pray, asking Christ to remove the oppressive weight from her, he said.
“She felt Jesus put His hand on her chest and ‘black things’ leave her,” the leader said. “She was at peace. They began to disciple her, and she got baptized. Later when they followed up again, they asked if she still had suicidal thoughts. She said, ‘Never.’”
New Life
After one Iranian accepted Christ and joined a house church, his uncle noticed a marked change in him and asked how it came about.
In a visit to the uncle with native workers, the nephew shared his testimony and shared the gospel.
“When we got to the part about the broken world with drugs and partying, etc., he gave out a big sigh and said, ‘All of my life was destroyed because of these things,’” the nephew said.
The uncle said he had been looking for peace and joy and had tried many things to become pure, but he always went back to drugs and alcohol, telling them, “I went to visit Sufi people but found that they were just looking for their own benefit. I feel lost, like a refugee in my own home. I can’t go back to Islam. Now for seven years I’ve had no peace, I can’t sleep, my wife is sick…”
The Christians told him the only way to God was through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection.
“His eyes got big,” the Christian said. “He said, ‘All these years, I’ve been looking for the truth, but now it’s too late. My life is destroyed.’ I said, ‘No, it’s not destroyed. Jesus sent us to you!’ He was so grateful that he said, ‘I will be a slave for Jesus!’”
They took him to his bathroom and baptized him, he said.
“After coming out of the water, he couldn’t stop crying for an hour,” the Christian said. “He said, ‘Now I know what life is. I was dead before.’ After a few days, he called us and said, ‘It’s a miracle, all of the pain in my body is gone!’ He later called and said his children wanted to become Christians.”
Native Christian workers are forming such disciples in various parts of Iran. Please consider a donation today to equip and encourage them.
*Name changed for security reasons