“My friends and family laugh at me. They say I need to see a psychiatrist or go on medication.” But Zemira knows that her experiences are real encounters with the living God.
Multiply workers K&K first came to know this young Afghan woman through their church in Austria. They learned that Zemira had come near death many times, too many to escape serious emotional scarring. The trauma of an arranged marriage at age twelve, the loss of a child, the murder of her first husband, the abusiveness of her second husband and the inescapable, unrelenting violence of the homeland from which she had escaped had all conspired to lead her into episodes of deep depression. Moved with compassion, K began to tell her about Jesus.
And then, the dreams started.
“Whenever I saw Zemira,” said K, “she would share that she was having strange dreams.” The dreams were vivid and rich with meaning. In one, Zemira was dressed like a bride, and Jesus was breaking loaves of bread and handing pieces out to her and to others in a crowd. In another, she was grieving, and Jesus came to comfort her, saying, “I have always been with you, always loved you.” K was astounded by how God was communicating the Gospel to Zemira in her sleep, and excitedly shared the scriptures that explained the symbolism of each dream.
And then, the coincidences began.
When her husband was arrested and Zemira and her children ended up on the street, a shelter took her in that was next door to a Christian outreach center, strengthening her connection to the family of God. K unexpectedly received a double stroller sent by a Christian in another country who felt inexplicably led to purchase it. Zemira needed it badly. Other unexpected and unsolicited gifts kept appearing. Then one day, Zemira mistakenly got on the wrong bus, and ended up far from where she had intended to shop. A pastor’s wife, having also taken a wrong bus, ended up at the very same place. Sensing her distress, the pastor’s wife insisted on buying Zemira groceries and diapers.
And then, her heart melted.
“I didn’t care how many strangers saw me cry that day,” Zemira later told K. “God was right there. He is with me all the time!” Pray for Zemira. Her journey continues to be difficult. But then, there is Jesus.
