I love Christmas. Not only is it the one time of year I am able to be with my family, but December 24, 2019, also marks the one-year anniversary of my friend Lana’s* spiritual birthday into God’s Kingdom.
Lana was raised in a family who faithfully practiced the majority religion. About 10 years ago her family encouraged her to memorize their holy book and participate in a local competition to see who could best recite it. When the awards were given out, Lana was shocked that she had made the top 3 out of more than 90 participants.
Her prize was a paid trip to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia—a coveted journey for many who practice that faith tradition. Yet, while on this pilgrimage, she was surprised that instead of feeling closer to God, she felt like He was far away.
Lana was searching for the truth, but she didn’t know where to find it. She did know that she felt empty inside. Over the years she found herself searching YouTube for answers and stumbled upon a famous Christian Egyptian pastor. His message was new to Lana—he said that God could be close in our hearts, that He created us and loves us, and that He has given us a purpose.
The Road to God
Despite hearing these truths Lana was still unsure. She felt anger in her heart and was full of stress. While continuing her search, she thought, I need to go where the Christians are. I need to know how to find the road to God. A friend told her about our adult English program in the Middle East, and she soon joined.
Three months into her classes she had a dream where she heard a voice saying loud and clear, “You must believe in the Messiah.” She couldn’t wait to tell her sister about it the next morning, but sadly her response was, “That sounds like a Christian thing. It must have been a dream from the devil.” What could this all mean?
A couple weeks later, Lana came to our annual ladies’ Christmas party for the English students. The wife of the local church pastor shared in the Christmas message about the importance of obedience.
After the party, Lana was thrilled to talk with the pastor’s wife and explained how much the talk resonated with her. A few days later, December 24, 2018, Lana visited with the pastor’s family to drop off a small gift. During their time of meeting together and sharing about the Christmas story, the Holy Spirit drew Lana to Himself and she became a new member of the Kingdom of God!
As I met with Lana the other day, she said, “Praise God for my new life! I am happy every day and now when I sleep, I have peace. I recently shared the good news with my sister, and she is now a believer as well!”
*Name changed
by an Alliance worker serving in the Middle East