From fear of Daesh to faith in Christ: Iraqi boy shares testimony
I used to be scared of Daesh [Islamic State] but Jesus filled my heart and filled it with joy and peace.”
The Cry for Peace, the children’s cry
Nouh, a young boy from Iraq, shared on a SAT-7 children’s show how he came to faith in Christ after his family were forced to flee from Islamic State militants.
He explained on As Sannabel News (or AS News) that though his family were of Christian heritage, they didn’t know Jesus personally.
Nouh said that when Islamic State seized control of his home town, he was “very afraid that they would kill us because we heard they killed many people”.
His family, like thousands of other Iraqi Christians threatened by the militants, fled their homeland. They went to Lebanon where they were welcomed and supported by a local church.
“We got introduced to many people who love Jesus Christ,” Nouh said. “I now have many friends who love Jesus.”
“I know that Jesus takes care of my life”
The turning point for Nouh came at a Christian holiday camp, where he was convicted of his sin and came to trust in Christ for himself. He said:
“After the camp I stopped doing all the bad things I used to do. I used to be scared of Daesh but Jesus filled my heart and filled it with joy and peace. I began giving praise to God and reading the Bible.”
Despite all that Nouh and his family have suffered and lost, he said he is glad: “I am very happy that I came to Lebanon and learned about Jesus. Now I know that Jesus takes care of all the details in my life.”
AS News is the longest-running show on SAT-7’s dedicated children’s channel, SAT-7 KIDS. It is a news programme with a difference: its reporters are all children or young people. The stories it tells focus on the good things children are doing and on their physical and spiritual wellbeing.
Producer-director Roy Abu Khalil said: “The aim of the show is to be the voice of the kids in the region and to show that there are activities in the church and conferences for Christian kids in the Middle East, and that they are active in the region.”
ANSWER THE CRY
Our campaign, Answer the Cry, tells some of the stories of our viewers and the challenges they face, living as Christians in the Middle East and North Africa. Every day, SAT-7 receives more than 800 responses to our programmes – and demand is growing. The people of the Middle East and North Africa need your support more than ever before.
Your support can help us to be there for these people – to make programmes that will encourage their faith; to answer their questions; to give them a way to connect with other Christians.