Hope from Ashes
Kinaaz* is a Hazara widow who had become a Christian and was being pursued by the Taliban. The Hazara people are an ethnic minority that is actively persecuted by the Taliban. Her husband was killed in 2016 in a demonstration where about 80 people died in an explosion set by the Taliban. As a law student, she had a 5-month old baby boy at the time and was just 40 days pregnant with her daughter.
With the loss of her husband, Kinaaz was faced with a world of despair and difficulties. It even reached a point where she could hardly take care of her children. Her husband's family beat her and threw her out of the house many times. “You are a woman, you are a mother, you cannot take care of your children, and you do not have the right to take care of your children,” his family would say. Kinaaz became desperate and suicidal. She struggled with God and wondered why he had abandoned her like everyone else had. Everyone, except her Indian friend Bahkti, who was a fellow law student with Kinaaz at the university. This precious friend helped her investigate Jesus Christ, gave her books to read, and loved her with the love of Jesus. She was also introduced to a man named Jim who was there serving the Lord. She grew to know 100% that Jesus was God’s Son. It was not long until Kinaaz chose to follow Christ.
When the Taliban took over Kabul, Kinaaz raced to get out of the city. It was too risky for her: a Christian, Hazara, single woman whose husband had worked for an American company before he had passed away. She greatly feared being married off to a Taliban man. She had no choice but to flee with her life and the lives of her children. She asked her brother to join her as they tried to flee Afghanistan. When Project Alpha heard about her, she was living under a bridge in Afghanistan with her small son and daughter. Jim received a call for help from her and he brought her to a Project Alpha team leader who heard her story; it brought tears to his eyes and pierced his heart. He wanted to do everything he could to help her. Different attempts were made to get her out until finally, after weeks of trying, she arrived at a safe house outside of Afghanistan. She faithfully attended the Bible studies that were offered in her house and has sought to reach out courageously to others. As a Hazara, she was fearful of living among other Afghans, yet she found the courage to continue to love others despite their differences.
A church from Canada heard about her story and wanted to help Kinaaz and her family get to Canada. But then the Ukrainian war erupted, and the church decided to sponsor a Ukrainian pastor and his wife instead. Later, the church was persuaded to take on Kinaaz and her family as well. They are now awaiting their Canadian visa, which is expected to take about a year to process. Please pray for Kinaaz and her family as they live in limbo, awaiting their visas and their new lives to begin.
Thank you for reading and for blessing people like this family with your faithful prayers and donations. Our current needs are approximately $20,000 per month to cover the costs of caring for the people we host and helping them to move to safer places. Would you consider a gift towards these needs?
*Name changed for security reasons.