When Daughters Want to ‘Disown’ Mothers
As a young schoolgirl in the Middle East, Ayah* was taught that Christians were only out to undermine and overtake her Muslim country, and she was furious when her mother became a Christian.
The 16-year-old could not understand how the woman who raised her as a devout Muslim could now be spouting talk that would make them exiles among their own relatives, community and country (undisclosed for security reasons).
Feeling betrayed at the deepest level, the girl could barely contain the shrillness in her voice as she told her mother she had been tricked by the ridiculous material she had seen on the Internet. Her mother, Noura, had been watching online videos of a pastor talking about what it means to believe in and follow Jesus Christ, and Ayah said the Christian claims were so absurd and contrary to the Koran that she would have to find some way to “disown” her own mother.
In an attempt to salvage the relationship, Ayah began watching the videos in order to gather ammo for an intervention in which she would methodically, rationally shoot holes in her mother’s new religion.
The girl could barely contain the shrillness in her voice as she told her mother she had been tricked by the ridiculous material she had seen on the Internet.
“She attempted to study our wrong thinking so she could convince her mother to return to her Islamic heritage,” the indigenous missionary who produces the videos said. “She began listening to our video clips, just as her mother did, and she also decided to believe in Jesus. She came to us wanting to be baptized and brought her mother along with her.”
Noura had never visited the church before, knowing that as a government employee she could lose her job if anyone discovered her faith in Christ. For the same reason, she declined to be baptized, even when her daughter was immersed and symbolically rose with Christ.
Over the course of a year, Ayah then watched as her mother gradually fell away from the Lord. This time, she did not become angry at her mother’s shift. Ayah prayed, put on compassion and began to talk with her mother anew about the gospel.
“This brought her back to believing in Jesus,” the indigenous pastor said. “Yes, this girl, who had initially intended to bring her mother away from faith in Jesus, rescued her mom and brought her back to us, asking to be baptized. For sure, God is greater than what our minds expect.”
Indigenous missionaries throughout the Middle East are seeing God move in remarkable ways. Please consider a gift today to help provide them the tools and means to bring God’s healing and salvation to hurting people.
*Names changed for security reasons