Raised in a strict Muslim family in Egypt, Esther was given the responsibility of teaching children the Koran in the mosque, but through her teaching she found Jesus.
Esther’s parents divorced when she was young; her mother and grandfather raised her in the Islamic faith. Her grandfather was an Imam at a local mosque and taught her about the Koran and gave her the responsibility of teaching the children.
One of the young children she was teaching was researching for an assignment and began asking her a number of questions about Mohammed and the book’s validity. Esther was unable to answer the questions and she started to uncover inconsistencies in the book.
After this, the little girl moved on but Esther continued to research for two years.
“I came to the conclusion that this book is not God’s Word. Knowing that filled my heart with fear.”
Doubting the Koran is considered an offence with consequences and Esther became ill with stress. She began seeing a doctor and on her way there, she would walk through a Christian cemetery. Each time she walked past a cross, she felt immense peace.
“I often told the children in the mosque that this cross is just a piece of wood or iron – why would you worship it? But now it was providing me with so much peace,” she said.
Even though she felt apprehensive, she wanted to warn people about Mohammed’s teachings. Soon, she began anonymous social media pages to urge people that the prophet Mohammed was a liar.
“I wanted to warn people,” she recalled.
In time she found Christian forums and one day, through the forum, she received a message from someone who told her to stop focusing on Mohammed’s lies and look to Jesus.
She began her search for a Bible but it was difficult.
As Esther was fully covered in Islamic dress, it was difficult for her to buy a Bible in Christian bookshops and when she asked Christian neighbours for one, they refused. They assumed she was tricking them as they knew she taught in the mosque.
She soon met a young 14-year-old boy in the forum who said he would bring her a Bible and travelled over six hours to deliver it.
“When I held the Bible in my hand, I felt that it had the answers to all my questions,” she recalled with tears.
“I was so hungry to read it that I finished it in four days but I didn’t understand a thing. I didn’t even know how to pray.”
Esther contacted the young boy who gave her the Bible and he suggested she attend a church discipleship group for Muslim background believers in her area.
“In the mosque, I was taught that evil things like adultery would happen in the churches and so I refused to enter the church building, but the pastor’s wife spoke to me outside.”
The pastor’s wife told her to come inside and look at the church to see there was nothing to be afraid of. Eventually Esther went into the church and the pastor’s wife prayed for her.
“I felt different; it wasn’t what I expected,” she said.
When Esther walked into the discipleship group the next day, she saw about 30 people who, like herself, had found Jesus after Islam. Some of the women were even wearing hijabs.
“I had always been taught that many Christians were coming to Islam but not the other way around. I thought I was the only one!”
Esther accepted Christ that day and when she left the meeting, she felt God speak to her.
“The Lord reminded me of all the sins I had committed and I was crying and shouting in the street. I couldn’t see anyone but God in that moment,” she said.
“Later, I knew it was repentance and God showed me the heavens open and I saw Him in a different light for the
first time.”
For two years, Esther was discipled in the church and studied the Word before the leaders encouraged her to join their evangelism group, where she developed a passion for missions.
She had already begun evangelising in the streets but felt God call her to other nations – especially the country, Mauritania. She soon had the opportunity to travel to Turkey and spent two weeks ministering there.
When she arrived home, she continued to evangelise in Egypt but she and the other team members were arrested in the street.
“The security officer questioning me, knew everything about me, even that I had been to Turkey to evangelise and gave me a stern warning to stop.”
Before releasing her he told her, “If I hear about you evangelising or preaching, I know how to make your life difficult. I will punish you.”
Despite the threats, Esther continued to evangelise and even began arranging another mission trip, this time to Mauritania.
The day came for her to go but she was arrested at the airport. The same security officer questioned her and Esther admitted to him that she was indeed travelling to evangelise. He gave her another stern warning and even threatened her mother.
Months passed and Esther planned another trip – the plan this time was to spend a year in Tunisia preaching the Gospel.
The morning of her departure, she was again arrested at the airport. This time, she was kept in an underground room for three days.
The same security officer came to her for questioning.
“He was angry and aggressive and kept me waiting all day. He told me he would fill my heart with fear but the Lord had promised me no one would touch me.”
Instead, the officer played loudly an audio recording of men and women being tortured. He told her that these were former Muslims too.
The security officer opened the Bible and told her, “I know Jesus said to go into all the world but I will not let you go. I will follow you everywhere you go.”
He again sent her home with another warning telling her that as long as he was around, she would never be allowed to travel. Esther was filled with such fear she collapsed.
Over the next few months, the sounds she had heard haunted her. For a whole month, she couldn’t sleep and needed to seek professional help to heal the trauma.
After three months of counselling, she was set free from the fear and God promised her she would never be in that place again.
Recently, however, Esther left the mission group.
“My heart broke for the nations,” she said, “but I can’t travel so I couldn’t stay any more.”
Esther still continues to be a witness and even led her mother to the Lord a year ago, and she is hopeful she will one day travel again.
“I believe I will not die in Egypt,” she said.
“I know the Lord will let me serve in another nation, maybe even Mauritania.”
Voice of the Martyrs Australia continues to support the discipleship and outreach group of which Esther is a part.
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