How a Muslim Girl became a Christian

 She was the baby of a large Muslim family in Central Asia. When the communist government collapsed, a terrible civil war broke out. There was hunger, murder and chaos. Women and girls were abducted, raped and murdered on a daily basis.

Her parents were educated and good people. She was tenderly loved by her parents and siblings and she wanted to honour her parents and their God.

Despite the genuine love in her family, she learnt that women were second-class people in Islam. She always aspired to become a virtuous Muslim woman in the hope of not suffering in hell.

She had a teacher at school who gave her a children's Bible. She was fascinated by Jesus, especially by the signs and miraculous healings.

Then she began to dream about Jesus. These dreams were real visitations and they kept coming back. She could feel the unspeakable love of God as Jesus explained how He loved her and that He was the only way to God.

She was very lively and loved sports and she learnt karate at school because martial arts were useful in a civil war where women and girls were always at risk. But then she could no longer pay for karate lessons.

Then came Americans who taught martial arts for free. It was Taekwondo, a martial art from Korea. She was thrilled.

The teacher explained that not only the body is important in martial arts, but above all the mind and soul. He was a Christian and boldly proclaimed the love and power of God.

She was deeply touched. She heard, ‘God is love’. In the Koran, Allah has 99 names, but no name speaks of love.

She heard that God is the Father, but she had learnt in Islam from an early age that Allah has no children.

She heard that God created men and women in His own image, but this was unheard of in Islam. She had always learnt that as a woman, she was only a second-class human being. Now she heard something totally different and immeasurably better.

She was still a Muslim. She asked the second coach if he believed that Jesus was the Son of God. This idea is blasphemous to Muslims, and the missionary already knew this.

He gave her the Gospel of John and said she would find the answers she was looking for in this little book.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

When she read these words, she was touched, but she was still on her journey of discovery.

She still prayed her Islamic prayers five times a day, but Allah never answered.

As a Muslim woman in a religious civil war, it was life-threatening to attend a Christian service.

Nevertheless, she wanted to attend the service with the missionary, even though she feared not only persecution and murder, but also the flames of hell because of Allah's judgement.

She could not say a word to her family. She said she went to a training session with the martial arts trainer, but she said no more.

During the service, she immediately felt the overwhelming love of God and also the love of the Christians. The light did not come from countless candles, but from the hearts of the Christians. Here was something completely different from the old Christian religion she had seen before.

Allah had never answered her daily prayers. So she had the pastor pray for her in Jesus' name. The loving touch of the Holy Spirit came upon her and she could no longer stand on her feet.

As she lay on the floor for hours, she saw Jesus on the cross in a vision. God spoke to her for hours.

‘When I was finally able to get up again, I had become a new person.’

Face to Face with Jesus: A Former Muslim's Extraordinary Journey to Heaven and Encounter with the God of Love Kindle Edition. by Bodie Thoene, Samaa Habib