“For thus says the Lord, I will make you light to the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the Earth.”
– Acts 13:47
This month I’m pleased to have our new fatherhood coordinator, Geoff Trapani, provide our story of love, hope and faith. Read below of how Jesus works through him to bring peace to a man from a faraway land.
– Paula
A few weeks ago, an older man walked into our The Dad Project class we had not seen before. He introduced himself as Mohammed. Mohammed was a sixty-year-old Muslim from Iran. Accompanying him was his pregnant wife in her forties. Immediately we invited him to make himself at home, grab some food, and join us as class was starting. That night our lesson was titled When and How to Discipline for Ages 1-5. I opened with an icebreaker and when I asked Mohammed if he wanted to share, he began telling his life story. His tale was one of coming to America from Iran, enjoying success at first, but after a time came loss, pain, and grief. Jobs were lost, as was his wife and three children along the way. He became a broken man with no real friends here in the States except for his mother with whom he would talk daily. She kept him from falling apart. He then told us of her passing. Tears rolled down his cheeks. We all sat there in silence as he shared his deep hurt.
When he finished, I asked if we could pray for him. This man of another faith responded with a resounding yes. We invited Ken, a dedicated volunteer who has been part of the pro-life moment for over thirty years, to pray for Mohammed. Ken was more than honored to do so. He moved over and sat right next to Mohammed reciting a simple, elegant and powerful prayer softly over him. I then asked all the men of the group if we could pray over him as well. The place erupted in petitions to our Lord. It was beautiful.
While we were cleaning up Mohammed walked over to me lifting his hands in front of his chest as a Muslim would in prayer and slowly declared This is a holy place! Not once, but twice. This is a holy place! Clearly he was overcome by the love and peace of the moment and I agreed, This is a holy place.
He has come back three times since this amazing session. Jesus was indeed light to this man.
In Christ,
Geoff Trapani