An older woman heard the good news of God's grace for the first time during Eid el-Adha.
This story is about an encounter Alana* had during last year’s Sacrifice Holiday week. Alana has lived in Türkiye for three years and is part of a local fellowship. She loves to share the good news of Christ, especially alongside her local brothers and sisters.
We had just finished a prayer meeting at our local church. Defne*, a local believer, and I had some time to spend together before we returned in the evening for a young adult’s gathering.
“Let’s ride the ferry,” Defne suggested, “It’s free during holidays.”
“I would love to,” I answered, “But I have to join this online meeting.”
“No problem, I’ll wait for you,” Defne graciously offered.
Little did we know, God was orchestrating our departure time to line up with a divine appointment.
As we boarded the ferry, we prayed for opportunities to share the gospel. We continued praying for those around us during the journey and chatted casually with those who came near us.
Towards the end of our trip, an older lady sat in the seat right next to me. We began talking and I learnt that my travel companion, Mrs. Aksoy*, was visiting her son for the holidays. I asked her if her family made an animal sacrifice. She responded with a yes, so I asked her what the meaning of this sacrifice was.
“We give a portion of the meat to the poor,” she said.
I took the opportunity to briefly explain what the Bible teaches about sacrifice and how sacrifice is needed for the forgiveness of sins.
“Actually, I know I’m supposed to read all of the holy books, but I haven’t yet,” Mrs. Aksoy admitted.
At this point, Defne joined in and began sharing more with her. Later, Mrs. Aksoy said, “As people get older, they start thinking more about what they need to do to have their sins forgiven. They start fasting, praying and making sacrifices.”
I pointed out to Mrs. Aksoy that none of these things actually change our hearts or cause people to love God. Defne shared about how our relationship with God didn’t begin with what we could do for God. Instead, our God became a sacrifice for us and offered Himself freely. He did this so that we could receive new hearts and have a loving relationship with God.
“Since you haven’t read it yet, I want to give you this,” Defne said, handing Mrs. Aksoy the small New Testament she had with her. We encouraged Mrs. Aksoy to read it prayerfully, asking God to give her understanding and reveal the truth to her.
We explained that it wasn’t a coincidence that we had met. Mrs Aksoy agreed that God had arranged for us to meet, and now that she had a copy, said she would begin to read God's Holy Book.
*name changed