TUESDAY, 16 APRIL 2013
"Often I have been insulted, humiliated and accused, but I have never doubted my identity in Christ. Some have deserted me, some have fled from me, of course in no way do I pass judgment on them. ..."
Mohabat News – Farshid Fathi is a Christian convert who has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Revolutionary Court in Iran. The court announced his accusations as, "action against the regime's security, being in contact with foreign organizations and religious propaganda". Mr. Fathi has spent several months in solitary confinement and has never received a leave permission during his imprisonment. He was born in 1979, is married, and is father of two children. He was arrested by security authorities in Tehran on December 26, 2010 as part of a crackdown before New Year celebrations. Currently, he is serving his six year sentence and his wife and two children were offered refuge by Canada in February 2013, after they fled to Turkey.
Farshid had written a letter in November 2012, which was published just recently. The letter is addressed to Farshid's father and in it he pours out his heart to his father. The letter is as follows:
Dear Dad,
Please accept my warmest greetings from the heart of prison in the name of Jesus. It has been a long time since I have been able to hear you. But I sense the fragrance of your prayers as a cool breeze on my heart and it strengthens me from afar. I have gone through difficult days, but more than ever before I have seen myself in the bosom of the Lord, which is full of love. I have had a deep experience of loneliness, but I have never felt alone.
Often I have been sorrowful because of certain things, but I have never been a slave of sadness. Often I have been insulted, humiliated and accused, but I have never doubted my identity in Christ. Some have deserted me, some have fled from me, of course in no way do I pass judgment on them. My Lord has never left me.
I spent 361 days in a locked cell, and I did not see the sunlight for days, but the mercies of the Lord were made new every morning. I have many things to say, but I like to say how much I love you. I miss you, our other brother and my dear aunty. I miss the little ones and their parents. Please give my greetings to my dear uncle. I know that with power and love he is praying for me and my family.
Probably I cannot be with you for a few years. However your word and exhortations are in the ear of my soul. I hope that at the end I will be able to see you. But if the Father calls me to the eternal abode, please protect and support my family more than before, especially my children who are dearest of my heart.
The narrow way that I am passing through I see as a cup that my Beloved has given me, and I will drink it to the end, whatever that end might be. What really matters is that I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine. This possibly is the sweetest truth of my life that I am His and He is mine.
Two of the brothers send you greetings from here. Also two sisters who are separated from us by a few high walls. I too here am continuously praying for you and your loving family. Please convey my greetings to all dear brothers and sisters who have been praying for me and my family and tell them: In our land the fig tree does not blossom, the produce of olive has failed. The flock is cut off from the fold. Yet we rejoice in the Lord and take joy in the God of our salvation. Because neither the walls nor the barbed wires, nor the prison, nor suffering, nor loneliness, nor enemies, nor pain, nor even death separates us from the Lord and each other.
With love and greetings in Christ,
Farshid
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