Faten's Testimony (Coptic Orthodox)

Very well, as if it's today. And that was more than 25 years ago. That are almost 24 and a half years ago that even if I have to convert to be a Muslim to keep my child, I'm willing to do that anyway. I kept my child. When she was one year old, my husband left me and he came to America planning that he will send, to take, take me with him, me and my child. And I knew in my heart that this is not going to happen. I was thrilled with joy when he sent me the divorce paper through the embassy. And I never regretted that this happened because I wanted that to happen. But that did not bring me back to Christianity or to church or anything. But I was just happy that he's not in my life anymore.

My family were in my life before even I delivered my baby. My mother came to Kuwait and she was with me and she was okay with that. But deep in her heart, never forgot what I did. Anyway, the years passed. When my child was 5 years old, out of nowhere she came and she said, mom, I want to be Christian like you. She never saw me going to church because I, I wouldn't dare going to church risking my child's life to be taken away or accused that I'm raising her as a Christian. And she wanted to wear cross. And I said, no way. You cannot do that. Not in Kuwait. Wait until you are 18. That's what I hear about America. You can go there and change your name, your life, whatever you want to do, you can do it there, but not here. She kept asking year after year. And when she was five years old, it was our trip to Europe, went to Cyprus and Greece, and it was the first time in her life to see church and to see a picture of Virgin Mary and picture of Jesus.

The idea never left her to be Christian anyway until 1990, out of nowhere, she wanted to come to America just as a tourist. And I tried to find excuses for her. I don't have money. She said, you're working in a company. They can loan you and you can use the credit card and you can come and take me to America. I said, okay, I promise you, as I always did, if we go to the American embassy and they give us the visa, we'll go to America. I did. They gave us the visa. And then I said, okay, if the company approved me to go to America on a vacation, I will take you. We got the tickets and they were booked to be back in Kuwait on the 2nd of August. And that's the exact day when Saddam invaded Kuwait.

By the grace of God, hen we were in America, like a week before the 2nd of August, she asked me if we can extend our stay and stay more few days in America. And I said, that's okay. And we did. And that was God's plan to protect us from being back in Kuwait. And when I heard about the news that Saddam attacked Kuwait, I did not thank him for protecting us. Did not hit me, did not come to my mind to thank him. But all I did, I was angry at him. I know that you are God. And I know that you know everything in advance. Why you did not ask me to take my belongings, why you did not tell me to take my money and my jewelry from the bank. How do you expect me to live? Why did you do that to me? And I was angry for over maybe two weeks, three weeks. And then I started to calm down when my daughter we were invited to, in Rochester, New York with a family, gave us a room in a basement. And it was so tough for me. I used to be executive secretary. I used to have money. I used to have nice bedroom. I used, I used. It was always me. Myself was the center of my life. And then one day I went out to work. I couldn't find anything because I don't have any visa to allow me to work. So my daughter was at the living room watching tv. And when I came, she was really frightened. She said, mom, I saw two crosses on the wall. And there was nothing on the wall. And she thought, like, this is the reflection of the shades on the window. She picked up the camera from the floor where we had our things, you know, our suitcases and our clothes and everything on the floor in that room. And she took the camera and took the picture and the two crosses.

When we developed the film, came exactly as she explained it. But when she explained it before we developed the film, I told her, this is a sign from Jesus. I didn't say from God. I didn't say from Mary. I said, this is a sign from Jesus to say that he is going to be with us. And things went from worse to really better. That she was not accepted at school. We started accepting her. That I waited until my visitor visa expired and I got work permit and I started working and I got apartment and everything started to be really perfect until the April came of 1991. And then I had to make the decision whether I stay in America or go back to Kuwait. My boss wants Me to go back. But something in me. God, what are you doing? You allowed my daughter to get baptized, and you showed us that you are with us. So why do you want me to go back to Kuwait, where we cannot go to church or we cannot do anything. We cannot even say we're Christian. So tell me. Give me signs and tell me really what you want me to do, and I will fall whenever you ask me to. I knew that my money and my Jewelry in the bank, they are intact. It means the enemy did not touch them. But I was not really very anxious to go back for that. But I wanted to be anxious to go after the Lord.

Though I never heard anything about being born again. I never read the Bible in that period for, like, over 25 years. But somehow he put in my heart to know that this is God, this is Jesus calling me to choose what I want to do. And I asked him for two things. Give me signs. And the first sign I asked him. I said, a year ago, before I came to America, the Egyptian Embassy in Kuwait did not allow me to extend or to renew the passport of my child because they said, you have to prove whether she's in your custody by court order. I did not have that. Or to prove whether her father is dead or alive. I did not have that. Or to prove that he gave you a written approval to renew the passport on his behalf. And I did not know that I did not have that. And I was really, really angry. I mean, what am I going to do? How am I going to solve this problem? As soon as they contacted the Egyptian embassy, they told me, man. After they heard the whole story, ma'am, you are in America, and we are abiding by the law of America. And they renewed the passport for other seven years. So I did not have to go back to any embassy because she's over 18. And I didn't have to worry about that problem anymore. I praise the Lord for that. And the second thing, that I was not allowed to take my child back to Kuwait because it allowed only people to go back with work permit. My boss, the Kuwaiti boss, he got her a work authorization to be with me. And I said, no, this is not right. I cannot lie to authority. I cannot allow my child to get into America. Sorry. To enter Kuwait as a worker and she is a student. So he said, solve your problem. You come with her or you come without her or your job. You're losing your job. I was willing to do that. And I said, okay, I'll Try to solve it my way. And I prayed to the Lord and I said, jesus, please give me another sign if you want me to go back to Kuwait, or I am leaving everything back, and I'm not looking to Kuwait again, and I'm staying here, if this is your will. I contacted the Kuwaiti embassy, and they heard my story. I wrote to them everything in details, and they sent me the application to apply for her to come with me and went back to Kuwait. As soon as I went back to Kuwait, the Lord also gave me a few things to see that this is not the place. He took me back just to give me the choice. Like he took Abraham to give him the choice when he was with Lot. Lot chose the best plan. But Abraham took what God gave him. And this is what the Lord did to me, really. After a few months. I asked him, if you want me to stay or you give me another sign to go back to America to be able to worship you. And I thought, worshiping is just to be at the Orthodox church, But this is not the worshipping. And then I went to American embassy, and I said, lord, if you want me to go back to America, please, this would be the time to get the visa to go back to America. I went, and I got it instantly. And this was very unusual because a lot of people were rejected to get visa to America.

Especially in that time, they knew everybody wants to escape what's going on in the whole region, whether from Saudi or Kuwait or Bahrain or any part of that world. And I got the visa, and I said, another sign, please. Would you allow me? Would you help me to sell the furniture and everything that I have in the apartment for three months? I had ads everywhere trying to find someone to buy the furniture. Then I can benefit out of the money, like $5,000. It would be really good money to help me, but I was not able to. And this was the first time to hear the voice of the Lord. I heard him saying fasting. And I didn't question. I didn't say, who's that? Or is that your voice, Lord? Or anything like that. I heard him saying. And I opened my hands doing exactly like this. I saved your car. I saved your company. I saved your position. I saved the school for your child. I saved the bank account, and I saved your jewelry. All that in one hand. I am on the other hand. What are you choosing? I said, I'm choosing you, Lord. And I decided to come back to America. And I did not succeed to sell anything, but I left everything behind. And I left 17 years of living in Kuwait. I did not look back. I did not want to be like lot wife. I just wanted to follow Jesus. And we came to America and my daughter was in Egypt that time. And she said when I told her we're going to America, she said, mom, were you able to sell the apartment? I said, no honey, we did not. I said, how we're going to go? I said, I'm following the law. We came to America and everything went well. And I praise God for that. But three months after I came, I slipped in the ice. I was living in Rochester, New York and I injured my back badly. Back and shoulder and neck and everything. I was not able to move at all. And during that time I gained weight and I hated myself. I hated my look. And I kept feeling angry again towards God why you're not healing me.

The pain is overwhelming and people are not with me. And I don't see love or adeption or this or that. And I decided, I said one day to my child, do you see Jesus in that church? She said no. I said, how did we know about Jesus? She said, in the Bible. I said, are you willing to sit with your book, with the Bible, with your English copy, and I will sit with my Arabic copy? She said yes. For a whole year we were home, not going to any church. We needed support, a lot of support from people and from friends. We didn't have neighbors, from relatives. Nobody but Jesus. And that time, only that time, I decided to sit with the Bible and I decided to start reading from Genesis, the first page in the book. And he took me through the book and I praise God for that, that he changed my whole life, my whole understanding of knowing who Jesus is and what is my faith. And I, I came to the point really not looking back to my health or the money that I lost for the treatment. I came with $120,000 and in less than four years I had no penny. I have been living by faith since 1990 six until this moment. And the Lord started taking me to conferences. And the first conference was in 1995. That was the first conference ever to hear about it even. And I attended like three conferences. And the third one I gave my testimony. And since then the Lord has really changed my life inside out. And he has been using me, especially with Muslim background. And one day he told me at the beginning, start with what you hear. All the thief. Don't just rejoice with them by yourself, but share it with others. I started the faith ministry, and then he took me from that to be in contact as individuals with people in the street, at the mall, at supermarkets, anywhere.

Wherever I meet people, I talk to them about Jesus. I started reading books and comparing Christianity with Islam to be able to reach the Muslims. And I really praise the Lord that He brought me from the deepest pit and. And he lifts me up to be with him and to be with his people. I am so grateful. I'm so thankful. And I really cannot thank him enough for being so gracious to look upon someone like me. I feel like I am like Rehab. I am not less than her. I feel like I'm the same woman who are sitting at the well. I feel like I'm like Judas who sold Jesus. I feel I'm like Peter who denied him. I feel like Paul who persecuted him. I was all of that. But now praise God. Praise Jesus that through his grace, you know, I became in his kingdom. I thank the Lord that He gave me the chance to be standing before you, sharing the wonderful love and wonderful grace. Thank you.