Shortly after her father died, Amara and her older brother left their village in the Somali desert to live with their uncle in the city. The family thought it would be a positive change for teenage Amara but they weren't expecting the results that occured!
Shortly after moving, she began to speak with her new neighbours. To her surprise, she learned they weren't Somali - and they were Christians.
She had always thought (as the TV and movies portrayed) that Christians were evil and drunkards but these Christians weren't evil, adulterers or immoral at all. The Christian family welcomed Amara into their home even sharing meals with her. She noticed before each meal they thanked God in such a casual way...they sounded like they were talking to their father. "It was different than what I had seen on TV," she said. "Sitting with them and listening and seeing it, I realized I wanted it. That's how I wanted to pray, except at the end when they said 'in the name of Jesus'. That part I struggled with."
The family began talking to Amara about God and religion, using the Bible to correct misunderstandings she had about Christianity. Wanting to learn more, she asked for a Bible to read in secret. "The Quran says the Bible has been twisted and distorted, yet as I read the Bible, I was drawn to it, convinced of it. But I thought, even if this is true, there's no way I can accept it...I'm a Somali. I will be killed. I won't have a life. I won't be married. I will be without a family."
Understanding the possible consequences, Amara began to question her uncle and brother about the Quran. The questions made them angry. Her brother made her watch several Islamic videos to draw her back but they had the opposite effect. One video said she couldn't be friends with Christians. She challenged her brother which only angered him more. "You are shaming us," he yelled and beat her. She was then sent back to her mother in the village.
When she arrived back. Several sheiks were waiting for her at the local mosque. For 5 days they chanted passages from the Quran and spit upon her and made her drink their spit for 'purification' purposes, believing they were removing the devil from her. "I didn't want this life they had planned for me, my heart was completely against it." She decided to run away. She put on her headscarf and hurried to the bus station. She got the last ticket and with beating heart boarded the bus. Two hours later the bus broke down. In her anxiety she remembered the prayer her neighbors had taught her 'in Jesus name'. So she asked God to prove if Jesus was real to give her protection and safety. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a whisper in her ear "I am real and true. You should believe in me". When she turned no one was there! Then she heard shouts the bus was fixed.
Amara returned to the city and started a new life and eventually got married. She and her husband moved to Kenya where they ministered to ex-Muslim Somali believers. In 2015 her husband was arrested on false charges but released on lack of evidence. They now live in a Safe House and do much ministry in Somali communities there.
Despite everything she's been through, Amara said she knows she's now on the right path. "I am a Somali Christian, a contradiction. It hasn't been easy, especially those first years moving from house to house. The threats. The loneliness.
FOLLOWING CHRIST COST ME EVERYTHING, BUT IT WAS WORTH IT"
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