Once, Sadyk met a girl at the market where he was selling halvah and offered her to date with him. But she turned to be a Christian and told him about God, who doesn’t like such a behavior. He laughed at her and asked Rashida (girl’s name) what kind of God she was telling about. Rashida invited him to visit home church.

At the beginning he intended just to make fun of it but went from the meeting with a changed mind. He started to visit church meetings more often to read Gospel and was telling us about Jesus. That days we kept fast according to Muslim tradition. But he didn’t, therefore we were telling him that he was twice a sinner as he didn’t keep fast and moreover was visiting church meetings. In his turn he quoted the Bible verse:”But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you”. Again we were making fun of him as we thought he doesn’t believe in Jesus seriously. Surprisingly but he was replying to our sneers with love and was telling: “May God bless you”.

Indeed the relationships with my brother changed and he became loving brother to me. He told me that God is Love and He shed blood for our sins. While I always thought about God as severe who gave laws which were impossible to observe. I prayed because of fear and imagined God as the Terrible King and me as His slave. When I came to know more about Jesus from the Bible then I felt how feelings of love and peace filled my heart.

My father started to listen about Jesus. But when colleagues found out about his faith in Jesus he was dismissed. At work they told him that he became unfaithful and thus they refused to eat food prepared by him because it became profaned then (he worked as a cook).

After two weeks since I was baptized my husband got into trouble. He ran over a boy with his car. Our neighbors were telling that it was punishment from God for we had betrayed our faith. We prayed and all church was praying for my husband. We were afraid that he could be imprisoned for that accident. And we have three children to care and it seemed to be impossible to sustain ourselves without a job and supporter.

God showed His mighty and grandpa of that boy didn’t go to police, though he planned to make a statement.

Afterwards my husband stayed jobless. As for me I was only a house wife till that moment. We again asked God to give us an idea how to earn for living. And God gave us wisdom and talent to bake cakes. We didn’t know any need almost for five months. But in winter there were almost no demand for cakes and I decided to learn sewing. Within two months I became a seamstress and had some clients.

God never left us behind!

God blessed me with pupils. I use every opportunity to spread good tidings thru my work. Some women begin to read Bible and some accept Christ as their Savior but they can’t confess it openly because of fear before parents, who get them married to Muslims very soon. And thus we lose contact with them. One of our sisters Dilbar who accepted Jesus couldn’t go to church as her husband forbade her and didn’t allow her to communicate with anyone. Another asked if Jesus was Russian prophet. I told her Jesus is God’s Spirit as it written in Bible and in Koran.

For a month Rano and Ikrom and their children suffered from the insults, slander of relatives and local Muslim leaders in Kurgan–tyube.

Muslim leaders call for inter-religious hostility, using local TV channels, discussions in mosques and simply instigating neighbors.

Mulloh** Murodjon organized the visits of relatives to their home. Four or five relatives and neighbors have been daily coming to their home during a month to persuade them to deny Christ, used threats, offended them for their faith in Christ as a Saviour. They repeatedly name them “Kafir***, dishonoring their ancestors who should be dug out of tombs and thrown away…, your house is “haram” (unclean in Tajik)…” calling them to deny the Christ. Relatives even dared to blackmail them by relationship ties and involve Ikrom’s parents to that mission.

Ikrom’s mother being incited by local religious leaders begged his son to deny the Christ as she was ill with Hepatitis C and the time was too short for her to live. Ikrom and Rano suggested that they would pray for her but in her opinion the only way of healing was turning back of her son to Muslim religion.

As for her it would be better if her son would have become a drug addicted or alcoholic and never would be a believer in Christ.

Rano and Ikrom had to address Shokirov H., the Chair of the Committee on Religious Affairs in Khatlon District with a statement and ask for protection from behavior of the local Muslim leaders. The chair stated the following: “I’ll talk to them and take measures”. He made them to write the explanatory note. But in a few days unwelcome guests came and threaten them again they also checked if Rano and Ikrom were at home by ringing them up.

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And respected priest teachers should know that they by their behavior violate not only laws of the Republic Tajikistan but also precepts of Kitab (Holy Scriptures), and Koran.

In 2007 Rano and Ikrom relocated to Northern region of Tajikistan as missionaries as their relationship with relatives were getting worse and worse.

* Holy Muslims’ Scriptures
** Muslim teacher or leader
*** Apostate, ungrateful or pagan (lit.)