An Update from Afghanistan with “S”
You're about to read one of the most incredible stories I've ever heard. I heard her story for the first time because of Pastor X and his team of security operators that helped get people off the ground in dangerous places when they need to be removed.
This security detail person was telling the story of a woman that was outside of Afghanistan that wanted to get back in when the Taliban was taken over. They gave her the option to get out, but she said, “no, I have to go back in, and I have to be a light for Jesus in this dark moment with my people.”
So, they were sad. In fact, the security person was devastated that she wanted to go back. He said it felt like we were signing off on her death warrant.
He said, “we don't know that you'll be able to get out if you go back.” And she said, “I understand that.” She was risking her life, but she did it because of her love of God and her love of people.
Now, she has risked her life to do this interview. Don’t take this lightly, this is for you. She did this to encourage and strengthen your faith so that more and more people wouldn’t be afraid of what the enemy throws against them.
She did this in the hopes that you would rise up to do the things that God has put in your heart to do.
“You are in Afghanistan right now. I want to hear just a little bit about your story growing up and your time in Afghanistan.”
“I grew up in a big family. My mother didn't expect to have me. I just came. I came at an inconvenient time in their lives, so therefore, I wasn’t really wanted. My family wasn't Christian at all. My father died when I was 6. And after my father died, the family became a mess. My three brothers got into crimes and drugs, and even went to prison at times. My mother really got bad emotionally, and my two sisters were pretty normal.
My family was really destroyed. My 3 brothers would get into fights. I had seen them stab each other. This was the context of my growing up. When I was 12-years-old, I met Jesus. My life changed. I started to see the love of God through the other believers. I started to pray for my family. It took 5 years for the first person in my family to come to know Jesus, and it was my sister. After that was my mother.
As soon as my mother became a believer, she was changed. After that, my brother was saved, then my sister, and then my other 2 brothers. Now, they all follow Jesus. My family changed. When I look at people here in Afghanistan, their life is a mess.
I’m broken, but I have hope.
I know what Jesus did in my life and in my family's life. It doesn't matter how broken or messy life is. I know that God can change the life of the Afghan people.”
“We hear about stories from the Afghanistan church out here. We would love to hear how it's grown. How has that happened?”
“There were very few local believers, but not many. That started to change and get a little better in 2014. And now after 2017, I’m seeing much more. I’m seeing a movement. I would say we have seen God Himself touch the hearts of people. That makes all of the difference. In the past, it was more about letting us share about Jesus. I always had an agenda in mind about sharing about Jesus. We would start to share about Jesus and they would put up a wall and want nothing to do with you.
Today, we pray, we fast, and we love people. When we get to their hearts, we start by sharing a little at a time.”
“Would you say that it has felt communal? Do you felt safe?”
“Security was never very good. The old government was not much behind the Christians. They gave us less trouble, but if they found out, they would take us to prison to have us killed. With the law here, you can get killed or punished to death. That's not something I think of every day. If I give too much space to it, fear can take over. I try to think of being careful. I avoid thinking of what can happen. God has given me strength many times over.”
“Life has changed in the last year. Let's talk about that for a minute. How has your life specifically changed? I want you to get into the story of how you had the opportunity to go to get out of Afghanistan, but you didn't take it. Talk a little bit about your life since the Taliban took over.”
“By chance, I was in a neighboring country when the Taliban came. Imagine, you’re working in the garden and you hear your children screaming. Then, you look at your house and see it smoking. What do you do? You don't just sit there and look at your house burning. You run there. You run there because they're your children. It has nothing to do with being bold, brave, or courageous. Sometimes people say that about me, but it has nothing to do with that. For me, Afghanistan is like my child. I can’t watch my child burning. The only thing that can change Afghanistan is the gospel.”
“So, while everyone is leaving the country, she is running back into the country. There was something in you that had to get back. Have you regretted it? Did it cross your mind that you might die?”
“This has crossed my mind many days. I was very nervous when I was coming. Then, I was the only one coming. Many people were going to the neighboring countries. I saw an old lady and she started to cry to me. She said, “what are you doing coming back, my daughter? You should not come back. This country is not the same anymore.”
That really touched my heart. It made my conviction that it is okay if I die. To die is not a problem for me. I am often afraid of suffering physically. I pray and try to take that from my mind. I try to keep focusing on what God wants for me. It’s a fight in my heart about fear. The difference is that fear doesn't control me.”
“It's not just death. It's a fear of suffering or torture too. How do you live amid so much fear? I'm sure that everywhere you look, people are afraid and their lives are being impacted daily. Tell us some of the stories of the people you love there and how they’re facing unthinkable circumstances right now.”
“I knew a very bad person. He was involved in drugs and crime. He had killed many people. He started to change little by little until he accepted Jesus. One day he said, “I need to talk to you.” He wouldn't look at me, and then he started to cry. He kept saying, “forgive me, forgive me.” He then shared with me that he had planned to kill me and a few other people. For me, I exploded in joy. I saw what a privilege it was to have someone who had planned to kill me sit in front of me crying and asking for forgiveness. Today, he is on fire for God and for Jesus.”
“Tell me about what it's been like to be in a community with people there right now. I'm sure you’re so dependent on each other and take care of each other. What does that look like after the country has changed?”
“It’s a little more complicated. There are leftover believers here. I say leftover because they're the ones left. The ones here are mostly new. Sometimes I go to their house. Or sometimes they come to my house. Sometimes we talk by phone. My house has not been very safe during this period though. Somehow we’re all grieving the loss of the country and for friends who have disappeared. So, for the ones we can still meet with, it’s sweet because it’s precious. The connection we have in our hearts makes it so special. It’s a reminder about Jesus again. We’re family, and we’re fighting the good fight. We know we’re more than conquerors. Even the simple things have been sweet and nice.”
“I think about my own life and the people I love. It seems the more I follow God, the more resistance I face and the more the enemy attacks. I wonder what that looks like for you over there right now and for the people that love Jesus beside you. Do you get discouraged? What are the ways that the enemy attacks you?
“The enemy attacks through stress, depression, fear, discouragement, and despair. It's always here. But it's what we do with that. Will I let that overtake me, or not? It's a daily choice, but it's not easy. I meet with believers every morning, usually 6 days a week for prayer in the early morning. This is something that encourages me.
Of course, throughout the day we have good things and bad things that come to break our hearts. There are some times that I don't know what to do. It's very easy to not know what to do and get in despair. But if I turn back to Jesus, pray, and give this situation to him, He gives me peace. It doesn't mean that the problem will be solved the next morning, but it does give me peace again in my heart to keep going despite the fear that is present. The only difference is that the Holy Spirit is in control and nothing else. Not fear, not depression, and not stress. It’s the Holy Spirit controlling. That's the only difference. However, fear, depression, anxiety, and stress are present. There's no way for it to not be. It's just not controlling me.”
“What do you hope for?”
“I hope that Afghanistan will keep growing towards the gospel. I do believe all of these people, all of these children burning inside of the house, will get saved. That's why I’m privileged to be in the house that is burning, holding their hands and showing them how to go out from this place that is burning. I’d show them how to find Jesus and get experience with Him and become strong.
A new thing happens every day. Every day I cry, but in the presence of Him. I don't always feel His presence, but I see His presence. I see Him touching people's lives. It's not about how I feel or don't feel because I see Him touching people, and that makes everything worth being here. I'm not worried about being here, even if I get burned.”
“When we reached out to do this interview, we knew that we were asking you to risk your life. And you knew that you were risking your life in doing this. Why did you do it?”
“The focus is to encourage men and women to stand up and believe that they can make a difference. I have in my heart Afghanistan, and I love Afghanistan and I am here to die for them, but God loves the whole world. It's not only Afghanistan that He loves. If this interview will bless people in the United States and make people have courage to stand up and get into what God is calling them, it doesn't matter where they go, as long as they have courage to go and share with the people who are burning. That was my motivation for this interview.
I believe people can be encouraged by this despite their weakness to stand up and do what God is calling them to do. I’m weak, but I’m seeing God use me. People use the word boldness about me. Boldness, courageous, and brave. That makes me afraid. I'm like, “what are they seeing that I’m not seeing?” That’s the thing about love. It was love that pulled me from the comfort of my place and made me do what God wants. I cannot sit and watch my kids be burned. I can't do that. As a mother, you run inside to see them be safe.”
“Steve and Pastor X, it’s so good to have you with us today. I would love to hear your perspective of her because you're watching her life lived out day after day, and you have for many years.”
“She’s a hero. We know a lot of people who would not choose what she has. But she considers the Afghan people as children in the fire. For example, I live in a very dangerous place, but compared to where she lives, it’s heaven. She encourages the whole team inside the country. The women always pray for her and spend time with her. It’s such a beautiful picture of the body of Christ. In a sense, you have to be crazy to do what she did. And she is crazy. She's crazy in love with Jesus and people.
This is something we should all strive for, especially in the West where no one cares about anyone. No one wants to talk to anyone. It's like they're afraid to get made fun of. What drives you to get over that hurdle? It should be love. The foundation of everything should be love. And she has it.”
“Steve, you and your team did not want her to go back in. What did that feel like for you, knowing that you were potentially sending her to her death when you allowed her to go back?”
“We wanted the world to hear her story because it's such a beautiful display of the love of Christ. We're in the West, we're hearing this and we're challenged, we're convicted because of the inconveniences that we face. The social persecution is so minimal here, versus what she's experiencing. There's no social cost for us like there is for her.
She's a reminder to us that grace is sufficient. Whatever place, season, or calling God places on your life, He will supply everything that you need to fulfill that call. It's not about being brave or courageous, but it’s about being obedient and willing. Then, Jesus does all the work. We just get to come along for the ride. She reminds us that hope is not on the other side of suffering. Hope isn't on the other side of the crisis. Hope is right in the midst of it.
The greatest encounters with God and His grace aren't at the breakthrough. It's right in the pit. It's in the suffering. It's in the brokenness and despair. Therefore, she is a living, breathing example of that. She’s the Lord’s, so we release her to God and trust that God is faithful and good. And now we sit back and watch God do an amazing work through her, in her, and around her.”
“At the thought of all of the women that are watching this, all of the women that have been inspired and will be inspired because of your life and what you’ve risked, what comes to mind?”
“It's not about inspiring people. Our hope is to throw crowns at Jesus's feet, because he's worth it all. We live for eternity. She's risking her life because she's madly in love with Jesus and madly in love with the Afghan people. What are you madly in love with?”
We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Global Catalytic Ministries at this moment.
If you're interested in giving to Global Catalytic Ministries so they can provide necessary funds to believers on the ground, go to catalyticministries.com/giving.
For a 7-day prayer guide and more information on giving, visit ifgathering.com/afghanistan.
