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How God Sent His Word to An Iraqi Interpreter
I saw an American soldier reading his Bible, and I wanted to know more.
ABBAS HAMEED | JUNE 21, 2017
I grew up in Iraq as the third oldest of eight siblings. My family was untraditional. My mom was Muslim, and my dad was Catholic. They didn’t force any religion on their children, in part because they didn’t take religion very seriously themselves. My father was a wealthy businessman, so we lived comfortably in a large house, blessed with several vehicles, a housekeeper, and more than 250 sheep.
When I was around eight years old, my father’s business began to struggle. The stress from his work made it unpleasant to be around him. He started drinking and hanging out with people who were a bad influence. About a year later, he was getting into trouble with the police on a regular basis. He would end up going to jail roughly 20 times.
His final stint in prison came after the government found out he hadn’t completed his three years of required service in the Iraqi army. He had joined the army for a year during the Iran-Iraq War, but then he ran away.
As punishment, he was sentenced to one year in an underground prison, where he endured complete darkness, except for two minutes above ground each day. There was no shower, and food and water were scarce. Broken from suffering, he grew desperate and cried out to God.
[...]
When terrorists killed my father a couple months later, I was angry at God, but he continued to minister to me through Scott. One day during a military mission, I went to Scott and told him that I hated myself, and that I didn’t want to be me anymore.
I asked, “How can I become a Christian?”
Scott told me to go into a quiet place and pray. He said I should tell Jesus that I wanted to change and become a Christian. He also said that Jesus would come into my life, and that gave me hope and encouragement. So I prayed a heartfelt prayer. I asked Jesus to come into my life and change me, that I might be embraced as God’s son.
The next morning, the whole military company noticed a change, just as I had noticed the change in my father after his own conversion. I had a smile on my face, and I wasn’t as mean as before. God had worked a huge and powerful transformation.
More:
How God Sent His Word to An Iraqi Interpreter
I saw an American soldier reading his Bible, and I wanted to know more.
ABBAS HAMEED | JUNE 21, 2017
I grew up in Iraq as the third oldest of eight siblings. My family was untraditional. My mom was Muslim, and my dad was Catholic. They didn’t force any religion on their children, in part because they didn’t take religion very seriously themselves. My father was a wealthy businessman, so we lived comfortably in a large house, blessed with several vehicles, a housekeeper, and more than 250 sheep.
When I was around eight years old, my father’s business began to struggle. The stress from his work made it unpleasant to be around him. He started drinking and hanging out with people who were a bad influence. About a year later, he was getting into trouble with the police on a regular basis. He would end up going to jail roughly 20 times.
His final stint in prison came after the government found out he hadn’t completed his three years of required service in the Iraqi army. He had joined the army for a year during the Iran-Iraq War, but then he ran away.
As punishment, he was sentenced to one year in an underground prison, where he endured complete darkness, except for two minutes above ground each day. There was no shower, and food and water were scarce. Broken from suffering, he grew desperate and cried out to God.
[...]
When terrorists killed my father a couple months later, I was angry at God, but he continued to minister to me through Scott. One day during a military mission, I went to Scott and told him that I hated myself, and that I didn’t want to be me anymore.
I asked, “How can I become a Christian?”
Scott told me to go into a quiet place and pray. He said I should tell Jesus that I wanted to change and become a Christian. He also said that Jesus would come into my life, and that gave me hope and encouragement. So I prayed a heartfelt prayer. I asked Jesus to come into my life and change me, that I might be embraced as God’s son.
The next morning, the whole military company noticed a change, just as I had noticed the change in my father after his own conversion. I had a smile on my face, and I wasn’t as mean as before. God had worked a huge and powerful transformation.
More:
How God Sent His Word to An Iraqi Interpreter
