Cyprus (MNN) — The Orthodox Priest was speaking in Greek, but Petros heard the words in his mother tongue: Farsi.
That’s when everything changed for Shiva and Petros, a married Iranian couple. They moved to Cyprus for job opportunities 22 years ago. There they made friends who were Christians and started attending church.
Joe Willey with SAT-7 USA says, “Petros specifically, he would read the Quran and the Bible to compare both. Now, he couldn’t reconcile the two. The Quran says this, and the Bible says this. And he wrestled. In fact, he wrestled so deeply that he became an atheist.”
Then Petros heard the priest speaking in his own language, not once but three separate times. Fourteen months later, Shiva and Petros were baptized.
The surgery
Things wouldn’t get any easier for the family. Petros needed heart surgery in Switzerland. But the family needed help. Willey says, “Two women volunteered to help in their home with their children while he and his wife were in Switzerland. Two unknown churches provided financial support.”
Beforehand, the surgeon said he had a 10 percent chance of survival. Willey says, “So as he’s on the operating table, in his words, he said, ‘I saw Christ. Not a vision. I saw Christ there with me.’ Interestingly, he came through the operation so well that the hospital staff said it was a miracle.”
Today, Petros’s heart is completely healthy. He also doesn’t need to take any medication.
He and Shiva work at the SAT-7 PARS studio in Cyprus, sending the Gospel back to Iran. Praise God for being present with them throughout their lives.
The header photo shows Petros and Shiva. (Photo courtesy of SAT-7 USA)
