Recently, an Iranian friend contacted me years after we had last talked. It would become a life-altering experience for both of us that the Lord orchestrated!
Let me give you a bit of the backstory. My friend grew up in a mostly devout Shia Muslim home. Many of his extended family were very devoted. Once he entered college his doubts only grew, but for a reason that was difficult to understand. He believed that he had seen Allah answer his prayers for his friends. And because of the answered prayers, he came to the conclusion that he could not worship a god who would answer the prayers of a puny person, and if he did, that must make him a puny god. My friend went on to get married and go on with life.
I met him in grad school. His wife was pursuing a PhD and he was pursuing another Masters at that time. He was in my home for Easter at that time. He had told me that he had become an atheist. We had a follow-up meeting later the next week and he conceded that maybe he was agnostic instead.
Fast forward to the fall of 2023, this friend reached out to me to meet with him as soon as I could, because things had gotten desperate. I met with him at a local restaurant. He informed me that the pandemic had been brutal in his life. He and his wife had gone through a divorce and she was already remarried. He had suffered a deep depression during the pandemic and because of that, he lost his student status in the university. There were other desolating things that had happened to him. He reached out to me because he had remembered our conversation from six years prior, along with conversations he had with other friends and colleagues regarding the Gospel. He had come to the end of himself with “nothing to show”, BUT he remembered that Jesus was the ultimate expression of love that he desperately needed.
At the restaurant, I went back through the Gospel with him. He humbly understood that he was a sinner in need of a Savior and that Jesus wanted to be his Lord and Savior. We walked out to our cars, which were ironically and unknowingly parked nose-to-nose in a back parking lot. We prayed right there and my friend gave his life to Jesus!
Since then, my friend has been actively involved in our local church. He is seeking asylum in our country. The process is long. He is being patient, knowing that the Lord will provide. He is seeing the Lord meet his needs in crazy ways.
Often, when we share the Gospel with someone, we can have an expectation of an immediate response. If it’s a negative response, we can believe that it is a decision sealed for eternity. But, the truth is the Holy Spirit is at work and our patience is required because we don’t have the capacity to save a person. We are simply called to obedience to share and leave the results to Him, no matter how long that takes.
Book Recommendation: Foreign to Familiar [1] is a book that I highly recommend for my students and volunteers to read first. It was given to me when I began to work with international students. It provides a sweeping view of culture in order to better understand where students are coming from. The book will provide you with questions you can ask to begin conversations as well as a glimpse into the priorities in each culture. It’s a simple read, but great information to begin with.
Dennis Runner is the International Team Minister for Launch Campus Ministry. You can learn more about the ministry at launchcampusministry.com.
Want more information about resources on connecting with international students? Sign up here: ismbaptist.net/connect.
[1] Sarah Lanier, Foreign to Familiar. Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/h1HlWSt
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