I meet Yasmin in a neighboring country to Iran. She is part of the underground church in Iran. She says: “I grew up in a strict Muslim family. My father was so religious that we were not allowed to listen to music and we had to cover all our hair. We had a lot of respect for our father as he had a strong personality.”
“I got married at 14 to a man 10 years older than me. We had a child when I was 17 years old. We were very religious, but at the same time, there was room for us to watch the movie Bernard and Santa Claus at Christmas, and we sang a Christmas carol.”
“My ex-husband was rich, but suddenly his business went bankrupt and he lost everything. He didn't really want me to work, but the bankruptcy forced me to. I started working as a hairdresser.”
“My father's second marriage shocked me”
“Around the same time as the bankruptcy, my father found himself a second wife. My father's second marriage shocked me and had very negative consequences for me. I felt rejected because he left my mother and us four siblings for another woman.”
“Step by step, I started going to parties with colleagues. I started smoking and drinking alcohol. I stopped praying and didn't cover my hair with a hijab, but only a part of my hair as required by law. I forgot about God and didn't believe in anything religious. It was a big shock for the family. During those years, I decided to get a divorce. My son was only 13 years old.”
“One day my brother told me that he had become a Christian. I was very surprised. He asked if I wanted to go to church and when I entered the church, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere and started crying, probably because I had had such a hard time. Someone came up to me and started praying for me. At that moment I felt better.”
“Several times my brother started talking about Jesus, but each time I said ‘no’. One night I wasn't feeling well and was watching Christian TV. I started crying about my father, my divorce, my loneliness, my son and my future. I got down on my knees and cried.”
“If our earthly father leaves us, our Heavenly Father will not forsake us”
“Suddenly, to my surprise, I heard the host of the Christian TV program say: ‘Jesus asks you - why are you crying? Jesus is alive and wants to be with you. Come and give your heart to Jesus and he will transform you.’ At that moment, I began to pray along with the prayer the TV host was leading the viewers in. After that night of becoming a Christian, I talked about Jesus everywhere I went. At my workplace, with clients and friends, even my whole family.”
Becoming a Christian has had major consequences for Yasmin. “My parents disowned me.”
“When I think back to this moment, I compare myself to the Samaritan woman,” says Yasmin. In the New Testament, we read about Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman who had had five husbands before the husband she had when she talked to Jesus. Jesus didn't condemn her, but told her about his living water that could quench her spiritual thirst.
Yasmin continues: “If our earthly father leaves us, our Heavenly Father will not abandon us. People in Iran are searching for true love because they are so thirsty. That's why they become Christians. In our culture, man is above woman. That's why many women who come from divorce, rejection or drugs become Christians.”
