ELMIRA, ONTARIO – Hamid, a 38 year-old dental technician, wasn’t supposed to defect from Iran during a vacation in Turkey. Neither was he supposed to convert to Christianity, which is illegal for Iranians and carries with it a death sentence.
Hamid never intended to become a refugee in Austria. Debbie (39), ITCanada missionary to Austria, wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a refugee. But that’s exactly what happened and who knows but that all this rule-breaking doesn’t have the fingerprint of God on it?
Hamid (name changed for his protection) felt restricted and pressured as a young person in Iran. He used drugs and hung out with the wrong crowd. After several failed attempts to defect first to India, then Dubai and then Turkey he finally found a way to leave on his fourth attempt. After living in Turkey for awhile he became friends with an Iranian Christian. They attended church together but Hamid got angry over the issue of Christ’s deity and stopped going to church. When he returned to church six months later he was surprised that everyone greeted him warmly and welcomed him back.
“I prayed that Jesus would reveal Himself to me,” Hamid said, “and He did!”
After attending church for two and a half years, he became a Christian. But Hamid didn’t feel safe in Turkey and so he immigrated to Austria. There he met an IT missionary who visited the refugee home where he lived. He began attending an evangelical church and volunteering his time serving other refugees alongside IT missionaries.
Deb, who had been working with refugees for ITCanada in Austria for six and a half years, had been proposed to many times previously. She was therefore a little skeptical about Hamid’s invitation for coffee.
But Deb discretely inquired about Hamid and discovered that his Christianity was genuine and he had already been voluntarily serving with IT missionaries.
Their romance began in 2004, they were married in 2006 and are the proud parents of a 6 month old son.
This past fall Hamid, who is now an Austrian citizen, left his job as a dental technician to become a full-time IT missionary. Hamid works with refugees in Austria helping them adjust to the culture, fill out immigration documentation and find the things they need. He also translates from German to Farsi for Iranians who attend his church. He leads a Persian Bible study and twice a year organizes a flea market so that refugees can buy household supplies and clothes for a cheap price.
Deb runs children’s programs for refugee kids and organizes a refugee women’s program among the five refugee houses in Innsbruck.
“I have learned about the ‘ministry of presence’,” Deb said. “It means that I will not get uncomfortable and leave when all possible conversation has been exhausted because of language barriers. Instead, I stay and try to meet the needs of these women who come from very sociable cultures and are desperately lonely.”
Hamid dreams of starting a Persian church in Innsbruck and Deb is excited about the International Café their church is sponsoring for refugees and internationals.
It’s no surprise at ITCanada when what isn’t supposed to happen is exactly what God had in mind all along. BLM
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“I prayed that Jesus would reveal Himself to me,” Hamid said, “and He did!”
This past fall Hamid, who is now an Austrian citizen, left his job as a dental technician to become a full-time IT missionary. Hamid works with refugees in Austria helping them adjust to the culture, fill out immigration documentation and find the things they need. He also translates from German to Farsi for Iranians who attend his church. He leads a Persian Bible study and twice a year organizes a flea market so that refugees can buy household supplies and clothes for a cheap price.