Skip to main content

On 6 August 2014 ISIS came to our city

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

‘On 6 August 2014 ISIS came to our city and we were forced to leave. ISIS had said that Christians should convert to Islam or they would be killed, or taken with them. 

I was a teacher and had an ordinary Christian life. We wanted to stay Christians and we wanted to stay serving God. I stayed with my grandmother and my husband took the two girls and went back to Turkey.

They went into the ocean in a small boat trying to get to Greece. The motor on the boat broke down. The boat started to sink. My husband had an internet connection so he called me and told me to take care of his mother, to forgive him and say hi to everyone. I told him, “God will be with you. God will save you”. I started praying for them and asking God to save and help them.

Then I put their pictures on Facebook and people started praying for them. I lost the connection with them. I was only praying to God. After that I got a call from an unknown number. It was my husband saying he was in the detention centre. "The Turkish authorities picked us up," he said. "We were sinking. We were drowning." The girls were with my husband.

"I will be with you until the end of the world,” says Matthew 28.29. I believe in this. I know that God answered my prayers, especially when my husband and daughters were in the middle of the ocean. We are now together in Jordan. He even helped us when we came here. We found a place to stay and schools for the girls. He has fulfilled all our needs. We didn’t need anything. Everything was prepared for us.'

Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected]


More Stories

I had some dark times in my life when I lacked certainty

I had some dark times in my life when I lacked certainty and John 6.37 gave me the thought that I didn’t have to be perfect. I realised that, lo and behold, I wasn’t perfect.

I went through a period in the pandemic of quite poor mental health

I went through a period in the pandemic of quite poor mental health. I had previously been diagnosed with OCD and general anxiety. They were well-managed, but in the job I was in and with things at home, I became quite poorly...

Yesterday, I became aware that I wasn’t really trusting God and his promises

Yesterday, I became aware that I wasn’t really trusting God and his promises. It’s the everyday things that preoccupy me: financial worries, an elderly mother.

I was raised a non-believing family

I was raised a non-believing family. We scoffed at the idea of there being a God when it was brought up at the CofE primary school I attended.

The Bible has always been important for me

The Bible has always been important for me, and I realised that when I was young. Proverbs 3.5–6 is the ethos of my life

I’m a retired dentist, and about 30 years ago I was involved in a project in Romania

I’m a retired dentist, and about 30 years ago I was involved in a project in Romania, to provide dental care for Romanian orphans and support the local health services. It was a special time. There was so much potential...

Want to share how the Bible has impacted your life? Email [email protected]

Read the Bible icon Read the Bible
Open the full Bible