Serving at VOR is like an adventure where, with each newly arrived family, one gets to discover the fingerprints of God who sees each family member and is continually at work to woo them home to Him. In the story below, all names have been changed for security reasons.
In early January 2025, right before the recent ban on refugee admission and resettlement, a new Afghan family arrived in Anaheim and was referred to VOR for English classes. Lacking a car, this family needed rides to join in person, and God provided! The story, situation, and needs appeared quite familiar, until we came to know one of the three children: 20-year-old Aisha. Dragged to ESL class by her parents, Aisha hung back from the crowd, sat in the shadows, and smoked a cigarette. VOR staff Sheida, who speaks Farsi and is herself a mother of a young adult son, reached out. Aisha was surprised to find this stranger who, unfazed by her cigarette smoke and defiant behavior, drew near to sit by her side. Minutes later, she started confiding about the pain, darkness, even sense of death that overwhelm her very being. “Everything feels….black.” described Aisha. From there, Sheida took the opportunity to share her testimony and about Jesus Christ, her redeemer, life, and hope. “This hope, in Christ, is for you, too. All the darkness you’re experiencing will leave in God’s light.”
The next ESL class, Aisha came to the office, looking for Sheida. “I want to talk to you.” she said, softly with urgency. “What you have, I want to experience for myself. I want to come to church and know Jesus more, but I’m worried about my family finding out. Please, will you pray for me?” Gladly, those present in the office came around to entrust this young woman, her pain and her plea, to the Lord.
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Meanwhile, the parents Amin and Asal have quickly settled into the VOR community. Amin, especially, brings great energy to the classroom, by being congenial, thoughtful, always ready to share. He is candid about the sadness and worry he feels for Aisha. Understanding his limitations as a parent, he pleads with staff to talk to his daughter. “She lies in her bed like a corpse. No hope, no joy. Please help her!”
Neither parents appear resistant to discussing the gospel, but rather, observant and curious. In the classroom, on rides home, themes about salvation and faith have woven in and out of conversations naturally with volunteers and staff. For example, in the car one day, Asal mentioned openly that her middle child, 12-year-old Armon (also in the car), saw a movie about Jesus; how it was 2.5 hours long but he became so hooked on it that he wanted to watch until the end. Unfortunately, it was a school night so he had to go to bed. Since then, Armon has been curious about the Cross, especially as it was also Easter holiday at school. From there, the family was invited into a focused sharing about the meaning of the Cross and what Jesus did, in His perfect love, to reconcile each of us to God.
Let’s remember this family in our prayers and seek wisdom to see what God wants to do!
For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. – 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
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