Courageous

The following is the amazing story of a woman called Alina,* a listener of the Women of Hope programs.

Alina was kidnapped and forced to marry a man who practiced the dominant religion in the region  where they lived. She felt bound to stay with him because of tradition and because his family threatened to place curses on her if she left.   

Unexpectedly, Alina’s husband allowed her to visit her mother, who was a Christian.  After Alinas’ mom witnessed to her, she accepted Christ as savior.  They knew Alina would face staunch opposition from her husband when she returned to him and his family, so her whole family prayed for her before she left. Pressure to renounce her new-found faith would be great, and she would face persecution if she did not.

The village elders did try to force her to renounce her faith, but she said that Jesus put in her heart, “Just be silent.” They took her silence as obedience and gave her several conditions she had to meet to avoid persecution. The first two, to cover her head and to always dress modestly, she already did. Promising to pray five times a day was the third condition, and she gladly complied as she now had specific times to pray to the true God while being seen as practicing her husband’s religion.

Throughout it all, Alina clung to the promise of God “I’m holding you in my right hand.”  This gave her great hope during her trials.  Alina shared, “I’m so grateful to God who allowed this to happen in my life. Hard times teach us humility, patience and love no matter what they do against us”.

Alina continues to walk in faith and is grateful for the Women of Hope programs. They are the only source of her spiritual growth, and they remind her to persist in her faith.  She uses content of the programs, including poems and other ideas as witnessing tools, despite being surrounded by people who are in opposition to her beliefs. *Name changed for privacy

~ Maribeth Stevens, volunteer writer