Loving the Overlooked

“J” came to Greece two years ago for one simple reason: to find work. He has found, however, more than he ever knew he needed. Last month, J put his trust in Jesus alone as his savior, and now follows Jesus alone as his lord.

J comes from Iran, and was raised in religious home. Although not fiercely religious himself, J had always sought to be a “good man,” assuming that this would find God’s favor. As J’s journey brought him into Athens, he was confronted with the gospel message; the message that, in fact, his own goodness could never please God so as to earn him salvation. J came to Helping Hands for food during a hard time in his life, but soon became fascinated by the life and teachings of Jesus. J began attending Helping Hands’ Sunday-evening, Farsi-language evangelistic outreach and was engaged in discussion by a fellow Iranian and a follower of Christ. This Iranian believer challenged J to read through the New Testament, which was offered as a gift from the Farsi outreach. In the pages of the New Testament, J’s real need became obvious. “I need to know this Jesus,” he thought to himself.

After several weeks, J entered Helping Hands’ Nest ministry, where he was provided with a roof over his head and the freedom to continue to study the scripture. God changed J’s heart slowly; and after almost four weeks of study and prayer (often late into the night after returning from work at a kebab stand), J found that he could resist no longer. J understood that only Jesus could bring him peace with God and offer him a hope beyond the passing seasons of employment.