Wow...

Recently we got the latest Voice of the Martyrs magazine for September and it had this story in it. I thought it was kind of one of those "there is no such thing as a coincidence" thing.

******
When Muslims encounter the grace and mercy of Jesus they become "spectacular," a living Christian witness/JESUS film for their own family. One young spectacle we encountered is a Christian brother we will call Bobby.

In 2004, when Bobby was a junior in high school, he had three dreams of Jesus and heaven. Coming from a Muslim family, he was eager to know the meaning of these dreams, but he could not ask about them. Muslims may not question the Koran or investigate other religions.

"I bought three holy books," he told me, "a Bible, the Hindu book and the Buddhist book. I locked the door of my bedroom and placed them on my desk. I began to read them looking for the meaning of my dreams.

"One day I forgot to lock the door. My mother came in, and seeing the books she screamed. All 10 of my family ran into my room and began to rebuke me. My father told me, 'You are a sinner.'

''My parents called the security guard, who came in and wrapped his hands in black plastic bags. He put the books in a sack." [If a Muslim touches a Bible they are polluted and must say a five-minute prayer- the same prayer they say for touching anything unclean, like a pig.]

"The guard and my family went outside to burn the books. They locked me in my room, although I was not yet a Christian convert. I looked out the window. God gave me courage. I climbed out my third-floor window and slid down the drain pipe. I ran aross to the just-started fire and pulled out a book covered in gasoline. I ran out the gate with my family chasing me. I hitchhiked on a truck to a ctiy and, exhausted, fell asleep that night leaning against a wall.

''The next morning I woke up dirty with messy hair, looking like a wild man.

"People were walking beside me going into the building where I had slept. I saw them carrying a book like mine. I went in with them. It was a church. The book I had pulled from the fire was a Bible. I sat in the back.

"After church I went outside. I didn't know what to do. A Christian lady coming out wanted to help me. I lied to her. I was afraid. She came back again. I told her my problem, and then she took me home. Her family fed me for some weeks, and then I began to receive Bible training. I could read the Bible now without a problem.

"Encouraged by my Christian friends, I returned home to a family r0eunion. My family threw plates of food at me, beat me and broke my collar bone. I was in the hospital unconcious fo two days. On the third day I escaped through a bathroom window.

"After two years of bible study I took a ferryboat to another island with a Christian team. There we led Muslims to Jesus. One Muslim convert began a church. Som village leaders were particularly angry at me since I had been a Muslim. They dragged be into a house and knocked me out. When i woke up, I crashed through a window and ran into the jungle.

"I will go back to that island next week. Please pray for me."

We prayed for Bobby and his family. Bobby continues to share Christ. He does not have a death wish. He has a life wish- to bring a new life where none exists.
**********

What are the chances that he would have just happened to grab the Bible and that the building he stood against to rest was a church? I mean really? God was calling his name for sure!