The post below comes from one of our mentors, Fatma. It has been posted here with her permission. Please take a few moments to read her message. It is simply, Fatma's expression of anxiety and a call for prayer, faithfulness, and boldness. This is an opportunity for her to step out in faith, to be a leader, a change-agent, and a champion for cultural understanding and acceptance within her family. Read on....
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"My dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ,
The time has come when I need your prayers more than ever before. The times of trial in my faith have come.
On the 22st July I arrived to Kiev to apply for a visa to go to a Youth Conference in Germany. They granted me a visa and I stayed in Kiev for a week. We departed on the 29th and arrived to Germany safely. We were warmly welcomed by the most precious brothers and sisters you can ever imagine. The conference was held in Olpe, around 400 km away from Stuttgart.
While in Germany I received a text message from my younger sister saying, "Be prepared to talk with dad about your religion". (For those who don't know, my parents still are not aware I'm a Christian. Also my dad didn't know I was abroad). I was scared by this message to death. We were at the morning prayer when I received the message, so we started praying immediately.
Right after that I asked the church (250 saints) to pray with me. Praise the Lord I was out of the country at that moment. It turned out that my sister had a fight with my dad over Ramadan (the month of fasting in Islam). Being angry, he started searching out her room. He found the Gospel in crimean tatar. I gave him this book months ago. When he saw it, he said he would talk to me too.
Later when I was in the train headed to Crimea my sister called me and said, "Don't even dare to tell him the truth. He won't be listening...".
Then my dad called me and was suspiciously kind and soft. Sounds like he wants me to come home to [confront] me there. Some people say it is unwise to go there alone. Maybe. But I feel compelled to go and confess Jesus as my Lord in front of the people I fear the most.
Jesus promised that then He will confess me before the Heavenly Father if I confess Him before people.
I am encouraged by the following passages: Matthew 10:19-20, 32-33,37-39, Acts 21:7-13, 1 Peter 2: 6, 19, 21, 3: 14-17, 4:12-14, 5:6-9, Rom. 8:18, 35-39, 14:7-8, 1 Cor.1:25-27, 2:4-5 etc.
I realize that he may not hear and listen to me. Moreover he may [angry or] turn violent. In this case I consider a plan for an escape. But I also realize that I worship the God of the universe, Who can protect me if need be. But I'm scared and I need your prayers.
May the Lord bless us with His love.
The Lord is amazing.
Fatma"
"It is God himself who made us what we are and given us new lives in Christ Jesus and long ages ago he planned that we should sopend these lives helping others." ~Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
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