We are Heja and Lina and we have been married since February '06. We are both Iraqi Kurds. Lina: I became a Christian, aged 14 - both of my parents are communist/atheists. Heja: I became a Christian at the age of 18 on a church youth holiday. Jesus spoke to me for the first time saying, "If I am not worthy of praise, then who is?" My father is also a Communist/atheist and my mother is a muslim. Around the time of our wedding, we experienced God's overwhelming blessings during an emotionally, spiritually and financially tough time. Financially, all together we needed £2,000, as we had no money for the food, clothing and honeymoon! God kept providing with various cheques, given to us in various ways. On our honeymoon we received a final cheque for £200, and as we counted up, we realised that we had received exactly £2,000 worth of cheques! The blessings keep coming to us as are continually learning to rely on God for all our needs. God has opened many doors for us to share the Gospel with our family, which we are thankful for.   I had what most people would describe as an 'ideal' childhood. I grew up in a lovely small town, had ample friends, loving parents and was never without anything I needed. My parents brought me up attending our local baptist church, and I had great fun there. However, I was a shy child and in my early teens I was definitely insecure. My life was missing something essential. I believed in God because it made sense to me, but I was far more concerned with who liked me at school, than telling people about God's love. It took me years to grasp the mesage that the Bible tells, but I'm glad to say that today it is impacting the whole course of my life. It went from being a nice story that good people at church told me each week, to being a life-changing reality. I went through some very low periods in my teenage years, but I would turn to the Bible for answers. If God was really who everyone said He was, then I was sure He would help. In Jesus I found a healer and the closest friend. It says in the Bible that people look at the outward appearance of others, but God looks at our hearts, and without Jesus in our lives, our hearts are separate from God - we can't know Him. As God is the Author of life, I knew living without Him would be crazy - He even died and rose again to life, that I might have life to the full! This was the love and hope I had been unknowingly searching for. At 15 I got baptised - a symbol of my faith. God has been taking me on the ultimate adventure since then - free of insecurity, because I'm secure in Him.  When I was growing up, my life was good. I had a solid family background and attended church regularly with my parents. I didn’t really know God at this time and stopped going to church, playing football on Sundays instead. All through my teens and twenties I liked to be in with the crowd, one of the boys, Jack-the-lad and Mr Popular. This led to me drinking, smoking and taking drugs! I was always in pubs and clubs; to me this was normal and all my mates were doing the same. Due to my lifestyle, I got into a lot of debt, and I also had a bad attitude – which came with a bit of a temper. The strange thing is, I thought I was all right – but I was soon to find out I wasn’t!By the time I was 28 years old, I had been with my girlfriend Donna for 6 years and we had a son, George, who was then 3 years old. My girlfriend’s mum, Meral, was a born-again Christian and she would always bang on to me about Jesus! Around this time, Meral was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, and I was so amazed how she handled her situation – she didn’t complain about her illness, she wasn’t depressed or blaming anyone, and through it all she was talking about Jesus to the doctors, patients, and anyone that was in her presence. She wasn’t afraid to die – she knew she was going to heaven! This really stirred something inside of me, and I began to pray for Meral and think about God for the first time in years. At this time, my parents, who are also Christians but hadn’t been going to church for a few years, felt stirred to visit an old church they used to attend. Me, Donna and George went along with them. Through the service we sang songs to Jesus, and the preacher also spoke about Him. Strangely it meant something to me – something was happening inside of me! At the end of the service, the preacher made an appeal for people to come forward and accept Jesus into their life. I wanted to do this, but held back. After the service one of the church elders gave me a Bible, and later on that week I read the New Testament and found out about Jesus and all the miracles he performed. I also read that Jesus died on the cross for me so I could be forgiven and that He would wipe the slate clean concerning every bad thing that I had ever thought, said or done (the Bible talks about this in the book of Acts, chapter 10, verse 43). I also read how Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day and how He defeated death, and those who believed in Him and followed Him would have a place in heaven. Thefollowing Sunday I attended church again, but this time I was on my own – this amazed my wife and family! I felt the same again during the singing and sermon – I felt God calling me, and when another appeal was made I rushed to the front and gave my life to God – what an amazing feeling – I felt saved! Myfamily were overjoyed – Meral had been praying for me to become a Christian and now she could finally cross me off her list!After I was saved, I married Donna, did an Alpha course to find out more about Jesus, and shortly after this I got baptised!Since becoming a Christian, Jesus has changed my whole life: I am more patient, kind, caring – everything I used to be, I no longer am.It’s amazing because I wasn’t about to change my life for anyone – my parents, my wife, or even my son! That’s how I know Jesus is alive today, as He is the only one who could have changed me.Jesus has done an amazing thing, He gave up His life for me and for you, He’s paid the price, there’s a free gift of salvation on offer and a place in heaven waiting for you too.I urge you to seek Jesus, because giving my life to Him is the best thing I have ever done.

"We experienced God's overwhelming blessings during an emotionally, spiritually and financially tough time."     "God kept providing..."         "I was never without anything I needed."     "My life was missing something essential."     "It went from being a nice story to being a life-changing reality."   "the ultimate adventure."   "...in with the crowd, one of the boys, Jack-the-lad and Mr Popular."       "diagnosed with an aggressive cancer."         "She wasn't afraid to die - she knew she was going to heaven."     "something was happening inside of me."       "I rushed to the front and gave my life to God - what an amazing feeling."       "Everything I used to be, I no longer am."