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 by this stranger who, unfazed by her cigarette smoke and defiant behavior, saw her and drew near to sit by her side. Minutes later, she started confiding about the pain, darkness, and sense of death that overwhelmed 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 fade 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 and 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, with her pain and her plea, to the Lord.
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Meanwhile, her father Amin and mother Asal are quickly settling into the VOR community. Amin, in particular, brings fresh energy to the classroom, being congenial, thoughtful, and always ready to share. He opens up about the sadness and worry he feels for Aisha. Aware of 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. Both in the classroom and on rides home, themes about salvation and faith have woven naturally into conversations with volunteers and staff. For example, in the car one day, Asal brought up how her middle child, 12-year-old Armon, saw a movie about Jesus. The movie 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. Plus, it just happened to be Easter holiday at school. Asal wondered aloud about a story presentation about Jesus that she had heard while in Iran. Amin responded saying how there were likely to be discrepancies in the “Muslim version” and now they have a chance to hear the original version for themselves. From there, the family was led into a focused sharing about the meaning of the Cross and what God did, in His perfect love, to reconcile each of us to Him.
Let’s remember this family in our prayers and seek wisdom to see what God wants to do!
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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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