They Kept Coming Back

THE CALL: 2026–2027    |    5 MINUTE READ
JW, CREATIVE ACCESS GLOBAL WORKER

After resisting Jesus for three years, a young man in the Middle East finally understood why Christian friends kept returning to his family.

For four or five years, a family of WGM global workers faithfully walked alongside a refugee family in the Middle East. They spent countless hours building relationships, meeting practical needs, sharing meals, and pointing the family to Jesus through both their words and their actions.

Every member of the family came to faith in Jesus except Samir.*

Samir had heard the same Gospel his family had heard. He had watched the global workers continue showing up year after year and had seen the love and care they extended to his family. Yet for three years, he resisted Jesus.

In May 2026, I visited the Middle East with two colleagues to learn more about the ministry taking place there. Everywhere we went, we encountered people eager to connect and share their stories, and one of those stories belonged to Samir's family.

Samir's father was facing serious health challenges, and the family was navigating difficult circumstances. Through it all, the global workers continued to show up, offering practical help, friendship, and a glimpse of the heart of Jesus through their faithful presence.

When we arrived at their home, we were welcomed with tremendous hospitality. In Arab culture, being invited into someone's home is a high honor, and guests are often invited to speak. Talk about feeling unqualified. I don't speak Arabic, and every conversation moved from English to Spanish to Arabic and then back again.

When it was my turn to speak, Psalm 139 came to mind. I don't remember planning any of it. I just remember looking out at the desert and talking about what David wrote:

“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand...”

Looking out across the desert, I asked, “Can you count that? You can’t count that. You couldn’t do that. David says God’s thoughts toward us outnumber the grains of sand. Not just the sand beneath our feet. All of it. All of the sand on the face of the earth.”

As we sat there looking out across the desert, Samir spoke up.

“Allah doesn't do that. My god doesn't think that way. He is not interested in me.”

Then he paused before continuing, “These people who keep coming back are talking about Jesus who thinks about me so much that His thoughts outnumber these grains of sand. I need Jesus. I need the Savior.”

So we prayed. English became Spanish. Spanish became Arabic. There in a refugee camp home, Samir surrendered his life to Christ and became a son of the King.

The celebration that followed had to remain quiet. In a place where following Jesus can come at a significant personal cost, we didn't want to draw unnecessary attention. But we were shouting with joy on the inside.

We looked over at Samir's father, and his face was beaming. He didn't have to say anything. After years of praying for his son, he now knew they would spend eternity together.

Then Samir's younger brother came to us carrying his prized baseball cards, one of the few possessions he could truly call his own. Because of how precious the day was, he gave them to us as a gift. It was his way of saying thank you.

“We just cried and were in shock,” I remember saying afterward. "And I don't know why, because God does what He does. He redeems people.”

*Name changed for security.

ACTION STEPS

PRAY: Pray for Samir as he begins growing in his relationship with Jesus. Pray for the missionaries who have faithfully invested in his family for years and ask God to continue drawing people to Himself throughout the Middle East.

GO: For years, missionaries faithfully walked alongside Samir's family, helping them experience the heart of Jesus through consistent presence, practical care, and relationships built on trust. Across the Middle East, global workers continue serving in communities where many people have never encountered Jesus for themselves. Explore if God could be inviting you to help awaken others to His heart and mission in the Middle East.