Photo via assistnews.net

A prisoner of hope married twice to the same man

Heather Mercer has found happiness in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq

Heather Mercer, who was held by the Taliban for three-and-a-half months along with other Christian relief workers in 2001, has found happiness by getting married twice to the same man, reports Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST Ministries

Heather Mercer went to Afghanistan back in 2001 to help the people of that tragic country and was “rewarded” by being arrested by the Taliban and spending three-and-half-months in prison, not knowing whether or not she would be executed for her “crime” of breaking Muslim law by teaching Christianity.

Mercer and her friend, Dayna Curry -- along with four German and two Australian aid workers -- were arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban in the fall of 2001.

While in prison, America suffered attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, and then began its military campaign against Afghanistan and its ruling Taliban government.

Eventually, Mercer and her colleagues were rescued as Kabul fell to Northern Alliance and American forces.

Now Heather has revealed in message to friends that she has married Mohanad, a Kurdish Christian, first of all on August 21, 2010 in Texas, and then on April 29, 2011 they married again in Kurdistan!

“I feel so blessed to marry the same man more than once! Many of you have never had the opportunity to meet Mohanad in person, so we thought he could share a bit of his story and how the Lord brought us together as partners in this vision to advance the worship of Jesus throughout the this part of the world,” she said.

Then her husband told his story:

“I grew up in Iraq, a nation where only three percent of the population is ethnically Christian. I grew up among Muslims, but I come from a Christian background. My parents raised my siblings and me in the Eastern Orthodox Church. My grandfather and great-grandfather both served as lead pastors in the Orthodox church in Mosul, Iraq - the city known as modern-day Nineveh. I am so thankful for my Christian heritage because it planted seeds of truth in my life at an early age.

“In the southern region of Iraq, the area where I spent most of my childhood, there were no churches to attend. We lived in towns with only a few known Christians. My father would teach us the foundations of the faith by reading us the Bible and sharing the Word of God. It was not until we moved to Mosul that we were able to go to church regularly. I always had a hunger for the things of God, but when I met a group of evangelical believers in the Kurdish region of Iraq, I discovered for the first time that I could go deeper in my relationship with Jesus. Eventually, my family and I were forced to flee targeted persecution of ethnic Christians in our city and permanently moved to Kurdistan in search of a more stable future.

“In 2005, I attended the opening worship service of one of the first evangelical churches in the Kurdish region of Iraq. We worshipped freely and prayed fervently. At this gathering I experienced Jesus in a more personal way than I ever had before. He came near to me, filled me with the Holy Spirit, and gave me peace, hope, and joy in the midst of great instability. I felt His love and care for me. Since that day I have never been the same!

“After graduating from the University of Mosul as a civil engineer, I began working in my profession with the US Army. I built buildings, worked in facilities management, and did some translating on the side. My family and I developed many close friendships with Americans serving in Iraq. Ever since that time, Americans have had a special place in our hearts.”

Mohanad continued by saying, “Never did I imagine that my career would lead me into full-time ministry work. In 2007, I learned of a job opportunity with a church-planting team developing a large community outreach center, called the Freedom Center, in a city hours from my home. I felt the Lord leading me to explore it, and ultimately I joined the team as the site engineer overseeing construction and quality of work.

“God continued to bless my life with unexpected surprises, and it was shortly after I began working with Global Hope that I met Heather. Little did I know the day they told me the manager was coming that Heather would arrive on the scene. Almost daily we worked side-by-side, and after more than two years God began to show us that He had more for our future. What initially was an unexpected match became a beautiful blend of two cultures worlds apart. God confirmed again and again our shared calling, and in April 2010, I asked Heather to marry me.

“The scripture says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord (Proverbs 18:22). I am learning how true that is! Heather and I are so excited to walk together as life partners in the calling of God for the Muslim world. We feel so privileged to serve Jesus in the nations and to call others into God’s purposes for those who have never heard the Gospel. In my new role within Global Hope, I am very excited about reaching out to and discipling new believers, serving the broken, and assisting in the development of our international projects. Thanks for sharing the journey with us. The best is yet to come!”

For more information, please go to: http://www.freedomcenteriraq.org/emails/eblasts/061711/eblast_061711.html

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TAGS: USA happiness marriage Heather Mercer Taliban prisoner of hope Dayna Curry

[06/24/2011]

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