On Christian Kindness: Holly and Sahar Exchange Gifts

This is Holly

Chance meetings can have remarkable results....

Last night was absolutely one of my favorite nights lately! I went to dinner with my friends Kimberly and Dennis, Red Robin baby! After dinner we ventured to Starbucks to talk for a while, and we saw some of my other friends there as well. Well, as Kimberly, Dennis and I were departing and going our separate ways, I drove by the friends I saw earlier to just say goodbye and noticed a girl was having trouble with her car in the middle of the lot.

So, I backed up to her and asked if she needed help. Justin came over and we pushed her car to the side so she wasn't blocking traffic (no worries, I only used one arm, my other arm was perfectly safe and not strained at all!). Anyway, when she tried to call her roadside assistance, she found she wasn't covered - though she said specifically asked to be covered. So, Justin called AAA to get a tow back to her house. While he was speaking with AAA, Amy and I were trying to get to know her a little (al biet I wanted to make sure she knew I wanted to stay and help her). She is currently studying for her Chemical Engineering degree and will be transferring to UC San Diego this fall. When Justin finished his call, he went with Amy and Kamy back to Starbucks and I stayed with the girl. We decided to walk and talk while we waited for the tow truck.

Her name is Sahar, she came here from Iran 6 years ago because she wasn't allowed to continue her education past high school due to her faith. She and her family are not Muslim, and they were persecuted immensely for that fact. They had to practice their faith "underground" because of the turmoil the Iran government placed on them. She also, is not Christian. In fact, most people haven't ever heard of her faith. I have heard of it though because I like to study that stuff. She is from the Baha'i faith. I don't know a whole lot about Baha'i, but I wanted to hear so I probed. She was actually extremely open about answering my questions (I wonder if she thought she had a potential convert on her hands - that'd be funny). Baha'i is a new faith, only 800 years old compared to the other major religions of the world. She said that basically, they believe that ALL religions are true and ALL prophets are true. When asked how she can believe that the Qur'an AND the Bible both portray the same Truth when they are both so distinctly different, she told me this analogy:

As times change, so does the human mind. Therefore, different prophets must proclaim the Truth as it is needed for that time period. Though Jesus and Muhammad said different things, it's because the minds of the people needed to hear that Truth at that time. She then explained their religion's practices regarding prayer, fasting, feasts, etc. When the tow guy came, I decided that I wanted to spend more time with her, so I gave her a ride home (she didn't really want to ride in the tow truck) and I was able to pay for the tow for her because he couldn't accept a check - paying her bill for her was an added bonus, I loved being able to serve her in these ways!

When he was finished and about to take off, she invited me into her home. So, I took my shoes off before entering and was able to spend about an hour with her, talking about my faith and her faith. On the walls of her living room, were no pictures of family but instead a huge picture of the Baha'i Temple in Haifa, Israel and on the opposite wall were portraits of the family of the Baha'i Prophet (Bahá’u’lláh) or "the Messenger of God for this day and age". She wanted to see my Bible - I have a compact one I always keep with me - and she showed me her prayer adn meditation books for Baha'i. She told me about her ordeal in Iran, and the process of coming to America (amazing story! But too long to share now), and her family. We drank Persian Tea and ate carmel and just had a great time talking.

As I was leaving, she asked me to pray for her brother Sahid, who is currently stuck in Turkey in his process for coming to America. She told me a little about him and his life and said she would be honored if I would pray for him. I joyously agreed! She also said she wanted to see me again before I move - I told I would love to and hopefully we can find a time in our schedules to do so! It was such a wonderful night of service and discussion with her! I then immediately called Justin, Amy AND Kamy to see if they wanted to come with me... of course, they were still at Starbucks so I joined them so I could tell them personally.

It was such a fun night! And to think, I wanted to just go home adn get thigns ready for my move, do some laundry and go to bed early - God totally had other plans for me and I'm so glad I was available and willing to do it! He blesses us so much when we walk in obedience to His Word and truly place ourselves available to those who don't know Him! It was awesome!

Holly, "All Inclusive (this is long but worth it!) " Standing at the Microphone