David Nasser shared how his father, a former Iranian military member, opened his heart to Christianity because God’s people showed up. The church’s hospitality led him to encounter Jesus.
David Nasser
When the Iranian revolution happened, David was only nine years old. He remembered how the violence and tragedy destroyed their nation. Since his dad was high-ranking in the military, they knew they would be in danger if they stayed longer. So, they escaped to the United States as refugees. However, the new community they settled into also brought them emotional trauma. The hostility they received from their own country and their new place only made them bitter and miserable.
In high school, one of his friends invited him to church. David did not want to go because he blamed God for what happened in his life. So, he made his father, who was a Muslim, as an excuse not to go. He reasoned that his father would not allow him to. But his friend kept bugging him, so he went to his dad to ask permission, expecting him to say no. But his father only asked, “What’s the name of the church?”
David did not know that before he went to his dad, members of the same church had been friends with his dad.
Church’s hospitality
David’s father owned a restaurant, and some church members went in to dine. They noticed how his father was understaffed during the lunch rush. Instead of complaining about the poor service, they stood up and helped out. They waited on tables and served other customers. The following day, they returned to the restaurant, waiting tables and assisting.
One of the helpers was the worship pastor of the church. He eventually invited David’s father to choir practice, to which David’s father agreed. Their kindness warmed his heart, and he went with the pastor.
The pastor and other choir members assisted in David’s father’s restaurant for two weeks. After this time, David approached his dad to ask permission.
He said, “I was allowed by my Muslim father to go to church because of the kindness and the hospitality shown to my father.”
David became a believer, and his family followed suit in the following years, as the church also visited their home and shared the Gospel with them.
“My story is… we went through traumatic hostility, and then it got hijacked by traumatic hospitality. God’s people showed up. They did not ask me to show up in their church. They showed up in my home, in my dad’s restaurant. And they were just gracious and kind and hospitable.”
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