“Matthew,” a young college student in Yemen, had given up on Islam. Why? Let’s listen to him as he tells his own story.
“Everyone instinctively needs to love God and to live with love and peace, not with the hatred, fear, and racism of Islam.
“I know how it is to live without faith. It is like being lost in a stormy, dark ocean and not knowing who to call for help. But my heart never stopped searching for God. Then I found you! [his WEI teacher].”
As soon as Matthew read Isaiah’s prophecies of a divine king who would save the world, he knew he was reading something important. When he read about Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus the Son of God, he wrote, “Some people have great faith. I wish I could be like them and have the spark that gives people the strength to overcome all the evil in this world. This spark is from God.”
At this point, his teacher explained how God sent his Son Jesus to deliver us from sin and Satan. Matthew replied, “Your words were all I needed. Now I understand it, and I believe it. There is a war with Satan which I intend to win by following the Savior Jesus.
“The Al Qaida and Muslim Brotherhood are everywhere here. They won’t think twice before killing another Muslim if he doesn’t agree with them. However, that has nothing to do with me. I will do the right thing. They don’t own my heart. How can someone be baptized?”
When his teacher explained to him how to be immersed in baptism, he went to the beach that night, confessed his faith in Jesus, and was baptized for the forgiveness of his sins.
Afterward, he said to his teacher, “I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. It made me forget all the hardships of life’s road. It was a great moment, and I will never forget it!”
When he went home from his baptism, his mother sensed that there was something different about him, and she cried. She had thought he no longer believed in God. Now she sensed that he did. He prays that he can convert his mother.
His teacher gave him the Christian name “Matthew” which means “gift of the Lord.” Matthew said, “I like it.” Indeed, our new brother in Christ is a gift from God. He is a young single man attending a university with courage. We look for great things that this young man will do for the kingdom of God in a hostile environment.
