‘God held my hand and gave me a friend in you’ – Rael’s story in Kenya

In 2019, Rael’s husband abandoned her and six of their eight children after he discovered she had become a Christian. She spent a week on the streets and was taken in by a good Samaritan. In 2021 Open Doors came alongside Rael to help pay her rent, hospital bills and have some basic materials for her and her children.

Rael never thought she’d be a 45-year-old single mother, raising six children on her own. And she never thought that she would place her faith—and life—in God’s hands. But as this sister in Kenya knows, our plans are not God’s plans.

Like most Muslim girls her age, Rael was brought up to follow Islamic laws and when the time came, marry a Muslim man. Following Islam was all she knew. Life was comfortable, she says. Her husband provided for all her family’s needs.

But that was before 2018 when she went to a church outreach and heard the gospel. That night, she had a dream in which Jesus appeared to her. After that, Rael decided she wanted to follow Jesus. So, she began doing what new Christians do: going to church, praying, reading her Bible.

But unlike most new believers, she had to pursue Christ in secrecy.

For months Rael secretly attended church services, sometimes taking her children with her—until her husband discovered that she had converted from Islam and was attending a church. He was furious, Rael says, and threatened to kill her or one of the children if continued to follow this path. A year later in 2019, Rael’s daughter saw her dad pacing, enraged and holding a knife. She wasn’t prepared for his ultimatum: give up her mother or give up her life.

By God’s grace, the young girl escaped and notified Rael. Together, they fled, ending up on the streets. They knew they could never return to their house, or the life they once had.

  "I was in bad condition, because my husband left me when I came to Christ," Rael shared with us.

After spending a week on the streets, a good Samaritan gave Rael and her children a room to stay. With no food or bedding, they slept on old clothes laid on the floor. Rael soon fell ill from the poor living conditions and stress.

That’s when Open Doors’ partners met her and offered needed support. “I reached a point when I was tired and said to God, ‘Help me.’ And God did help me, He held my hand and gave me a friendship in you.”

  Our partners recognized this family was in dire condition and identified the needs, including money to cover Rael’s medical bills.

“You bought me mattresses, you gave me food, paid my rent for the month, since I started walking with you to date. You reached me. I am still moving on. God helped me through you. What He promised, He fulfilled.”

Today, through tears, Rael can talk and sing about God's faithfulness. Because of you, she can sing: “If you are with me Lord, there is no death, there is no trouble, there is no loss, there is no cry, there is no pain.”

Watch her worship here:
“Remember in your prayers all my children, my entire family and all those who have problems like mine, remember them,” she asks. “Remember me, that God may continue blessing me as He has, so that I can educate my children. And when I am done, I will give a testimony because of where God has brought me from—and may God bless you so much, God bless you.”

Thank you for your continued support that allows us to help new converts and their families become financially stable and a witness in their communities.