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StoryAfghanistan | 07 March 2024
Afghan believer shares gospel in new home!
Show: false / Country: Afghanistan /
In the months after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August of 2021, more than 1 million Afghans fled the country. The economic collapse and the threat of brutal governance drove thousands of people to stream across borders each day. And now, more than three years later, there have been at least 3.6 million Afghans who have left the country, most of whom are in neighboring countries.
As Taliban forces went door-to-door, looking for non-Muslims and anyone who had worked with foreign militaries, followers of Jesus were left with a difficult choice: stay, knowing if their faith was discovered they could be executed; or flee into the unknown. Many believers made the painful decision to leave their homeland in the hope of saving the lives of themselves and their families.
One of these Christians is Abdulla*. He and his family made it out to a nearby country in Central Asia. Because the country Abdulla lives in is still not always safe for Christians, we cannot tell you where he and his family now live.
But an Open Doors partner recently checked in with Abdulla to see how he is doing now that several years have passed since the takeover and his family’s flight from Afghanistan and shared an update.
Abdulla has been able to get citizenship in the country where he lives. And now he’s working on securing citizenship for his wife, Fatima*. His in-laws were also able to escape to the Middle East, but Abdulla and Fatima aren’t able to leave the country where they live until Fatima’s citizenship is finalized.
And according to Abdulla, their new home is precisely where God has called them to be!
“When I escaped from my country and came to Central Asia with my family, my initial plan was to go farther to one of the European countries for ‘the better life,’ but I’m still here in Central Asia,” he says. “I prayed, and now I’m sure God is calling me and my family to serve here.”
Fatima takes care of their three children while working as a hairdresser. She also has a Sunday school ministry in a local church. Abdulla also serves as a home group leader in the church and works with other Afghan refugees. And even their children have been able to share the good news of Jesus!
“I know that many refugees from Afghanistan are already in Western countries, even some of our friends, but we are not going,” Abdulla says. “My wife and I decided to follow God’s calling. We can see how God is blessing our family. Our elder son, who is 12 years old, shares the gospel with other children in his school. He is also responsible for leading our evening family prayers twice a week. We gave him this responsibility to teach him.”
Abdulla has also started a new ministry project, where he shares the gospel in his native language and makes Christian content available through an online resource.
“It's obvious that people are using the information from this internet resource; we get phone calls very often,” Abdulla says. “A month ago, a man called us and asked a lot of questions about Jesus. It turns out that he was from a radical Muslim community but was very interested in learning about Jesus. That man is now ready to accept Jesus. It is very encouraging that we can serve such people through our internet resource!”
Recently, Open Doors partners in Central Asia invited Abdulla to a training about heresies. “This training is so interesting and informative,” he says. “As a leader of a home group, I needed to know more about what heresies were and how to deal with such things in ministry. I am very grateful for the invitation; I learned a lot.”
He also asks us to continue to pray for him and his family as they serve God in their Central Asian country. Abdulla shared specific requests with our local partners:
Please pray
For the safety and protection of my family in this Muslim country.
For the opportunity to visit my parents-in-law in the Middle East and to speak with them about Jesus. Pray also for wisdom, because they are strong Muslims.
