from Fighter to free
In a country where there are only an estimated 30 known indigenous believers, Ali can say he is one of those few. But it wasn’t always that way. Growing up in the arid Arab Gulf in a Muslim community, Ali was taught to hate Christians, Israel and America. When the Twin Towers fell in America, and 2,996 people died in the attack, Ali celebrated their deaths with his family. His biggest aspiration as a teenager was to someday be a hero like the hijackers on the planes.
After entering adulthood, Ali decided to travel to Thailand for vacation. He was enjoying his time there, until someone decided to approach him with another thing he carried only hatred for: the Gospel. Ali became furious. He began to debate with the Christians in front of him. Soon, the debate turned into him raising his voice and cursing them. He then threw the Gospel tracks they handed him right back into their faces. He was having none of it. Ali moved on, but that interaction lingered in the back of his mind. Years later, Isis began to sweep through the Middle East. The atrocities Isis committed in the name of Islam shocked Ali. Even though the hijackers in 9/11 had been his heroes, the evils committed by members of Isis was too much. Ali began to question his faith. He began to question all of it. Soon, he was at a point where he was still going through the motions of attending the local mosque, but he no longer believed in Allah. Ali felt like an empty jar. He had no faith to hold on to, and no substance to fill him.
Time passed by, and Ali went on another vacation. This time, to Italy. While there, he decided to tour an ancient Catholic Church. As Ali walked into the silent sanctuary of the church, he immediately felt something. His heart began to race, and a power that felt like electricity hit him, causing shivers all over his body. He knew it was the presence of a living God. He ran out of the church terrified, but the experience was seared into his mind. Who was this God?
Finally, in 2019, Ali met a co-worker in the Arab Gulf who recommended the book of John to him. He found the Bible, and went home to read it. Soon, Ali began falling in love with Jesus as he read. There was nothing like the love of Jesus ever mentioned in the Koran. The fact that Jesus’ disciples were also willing and ready to die for love blew Ali’s mind. As he read, he felt like the empty jar of his soul was being filled with this same kind of love - a love he had never known.
Ali was confident that this was the way to the one true God. Filled with a deep love for Jesus, he became a secret believer. But he was still without a community of believers to support, disciple and encourage him. Then, in 2021, he met a missionary who spoke to him about the Holy Spirit and invited him to the Arab Gulf Missions Base. He entered the prayer room at the Arab Gulf Missions Base and sat down, staring at the wall. All of a sudden, he was feeling the same presence he had felt in the church in Italy. The presence of a living God. He not only felt the power and electricity, but the love of God. It overwhelmed his heart and mind. That very hour, those who were in the room were praying for Israel, and Ali felt an immense love for Israel, just as he had felt for Jesus. The Lord had given him a new heart and filled Ali with His love.
Today, Ali is growing in his faith little by little. The Arab Gulf Missions Base leaders are encouraging and discipling Ali, and continue to speak into his life. Alongside the Arab Gulf Missions Base, Ali deeply desires to see his countrymen come to know the love of the one true God.
What if the Arab Gulf Missions Base got to disciple more men and women like Ali, and the number of indigenous believers in his country grew to be far more than 30? Please pray with us for the Lord to bring more like Ali to be discipled at the Arab Gulf Missions Base!