I felt weak and helpless like a newborn baby or I could barely lift my head off the pillow that was beneath it.

I could not sit up.

I could not stand.

I was completely paralyzed by weakness and by the terror of not being able to see.

I called out asking where I was and what had happened to me.

An elderly voice answered me, speaking in Arabic with an Iraqi accent.

The voice belonged to a man who told me that my name was Ibraim al- Yusfi and that I was in his home in a small village near the Kuwait Saudi Arabia border.

He told me that he and his sons had found me lying unconscious in the desert early that morning.

He told me that I had been talking in my sleep saying the name Jesus over and over again.

He told me that when I woke up I was blind and that I had been screaming about what I had seen.

An Ibrahim brought me water to drink and help me sit up so that I could drink it without choking.

The water was cool and clean and it helped to ease the terrible dryness in my mouth and throat.

As I drank, Ibraim told me his story.

He told me that he was a Christian living in a Muslim country.

He told me that he had converted to Christianity 50 years ago when he was a young man.

He told me that this conversion had cost him everything.

His family had disowned him.

His community had rejected him.

He had been arrested and imprisoned several times for his faith.

But he had never regretted his decision to follow Jesus.

He told me that he and his family lived quietly in their village trying not to draw attention to their faith.

But they also tried to help anyone they encountered who was in need.

He said that when he found me in the desert.

Something in his spirit told him that I was important and that I needed his help.

I asked Ibraim how long I had been unconscious.

He told me that I had been sleeping for almost two full days.

He said that I had been brought to his home on the morning of March 3rd and now it was the evening of March 4th.

I had lost almost 2 days of my life without knowing it.

I asked him about my blindness.

I asked him if the doctors said whether I would ever see again.

Ibraim told me that there were no doctors in his village.

He said that he and his wife had cared for me as best they could.

They had cleaned my wounds and given me water and let me rest.

But they had not taken me to a hospital because they were afraid of what questions would be asked.

A stranger appearing out of the desert blind and traumatized and speaking in Persian would attract attention that they did not want.

They had decided to wait and see what what would happen.

That night I lay awake in the darkness listening to the sounds of the house around me.

I could hear Ibraim and his family moving about.

I could hear them praying in a language that I did not understand.

I could hear them singing songs that I did not know.

And I began to understand that I was in a Christian home.

These people were followers of Jesus.

These people were the kind of people that I had spent years hunting down and persecuting.

These people were my enemies according to everything I had been taught.

And yet they had found me in the desert and brought me into their home and cared for me.

They had given me food and water and shelter.

They had treated me with kindness even though they had no reason to do so.

And I began to understand that everything I had believed about Christians was wrong.

Everything I had been taught about them was a lie.

On the second day of my blindness, Ibraim came and sat beside my bed.

He asked me what I had seen before I went blind.

I told him that I had seen Jesus.

I told him about the light and the figure in white robes.

I told him about the visions of all the people I had heard.

I told him about the message that Jesus had given me.

Abraim listened to everything I said without interrupting.

When I finished speaking, he took my hand and he told me something that would change my life forever.

He told me that Jesus was real.

He told me that Jesus was the son of God who had died for the sins of the world.

He told me that Jesus loved me more than I could possibly imagine.

He told me that everything Jesus had shown me and told me was absolutely true.

And then he asked me if I wanted to give my life to Jesus.

I hesitated.

Even though I had seen Jesus with my own eyes, even though I had heard his voice, even though I had felt his presence, I was still afraid.

I had spent my entire life as a Muslim.

I had prayed five times a day facing Mecca.

I had fasted during Ramadan.

I had dedicated myself to serving the Islamic Republic.

And now I was being asked to turn my back on all of that and follow a different God.

It felt like betrayal.

It felt like I was abandoning everything my father had taught me.

It felt like I was rejecting the faith of my ancestors.

But then I thought about what Jesus had shown me.

I I thought about the faces of the people I had hurt.

I thought about the love I had felt in his presence.

And I understood that I had a choice to make.

I could either continue serving the God of the Islamic Republic, the God of fear and violence and cruelty, or I could follow Jesus, the God of love and forgiveness and redemption.

I told Abraham that I wanted to give my life to Jesus.

I told him that I wanted to be forgiven for everything I had done.

I told him that I wanted to be born again and become a new person.

And Ibraim did something that reminded me of the stories I had read in the Bible about a man named Ananas who prayed for a man named Saul to receive his sight.

Ibraim placed his hands on my head and he prayed.

He prayed in Arabic asking Jesus to forgive me for all my sins.

He prayed asking Jesus to heal my blindness and restore my sight.

He prayed asking Jesus to transform me into a new person.

He prayed asking Jesus to use my life for his purposes.

And as he prayed, I felt something changing inside me.

I felt the weight of my guilt and shame being lifted away.

I felt the presence of Jesus surrounding me with his love and his peace.

Then something miraculous happened.

My vision began to return.

At first, it was just shadows and light.

I could see the outline of Abraham’s figure sitting beside my bed, but I could not see his face clearly.

But slowly and gradually, the world came into focus.

I could see the room around me.

I could see the walls and the furniture and the window where light was coming through.

I could see Ibraham’s face and the tears that were running down his cheeks as he continued to pray.

I could see my own hands lying on top of the blanket that was covering me.

And I began to weep.

I wept because I could see again.

I wept because I had been forgiven.

I wept because I had been transformed.

The old Farad was dead.

A new Farad had been born in his place.

Over the next few days, while I recovered my strength, Ibraim and I spent long hours talking about Jesus and about the Bible.

He gave me a copy of the New Testament in Arabic, and I began to read it with hunger and desperation.

Every word I read confirmed what Jesus had shown me.

Every story I read about Jesus healing the sick and forgiving sinners and loving his enemies spoke to my soul.

I read about a man named Saul who had persecuted Christians just like I had.

I read about how Saul had met Jesus on the road to Damascus and had been completely transformed.

I read about how Saul had become Paul and had spent the rest of his life preaching the gospel of Jesus.

And I understood that my story was just like Paul’s story.

I had been a persecutor of Christians.

I had met Jesus on a road in the desert.

And now I had been given a new mission.

I had been given the opportunity to spend the rest of my life telling people about the love of Jesus.

By March 10th, I had recovered enough strength to travel.

Ibraim helped me arrange transportation to Riyad.

He introduced me to a man who was traveling south into Saudi Arabia and who was willing to let me ride with him in his truck.

Before I left, Ibraim embraced me and told me that he was proud of me.

He told me that my life would never be the same.

He told me that I would face many challenges ahead because I was turning my back on everything I had known.

Thus, but he told me that Jesus would be with me through all of it.

He told me that I would not be alone.

And then he did something that I will never forget.

He gave me a gift.

It was a Bible, not a copy of just the New Testament like the one he had given me before, but a complete Bible with both the Old Testament and the New Testament bound together.

I arrived in Riyad on March 12th, 2026.

My wife and children were shocked to see me.

They had been expecting me to arrive weeks ago by airplane.

Instead, I showed up at their door, having come overland through a war zone.

having been blind and healed, having been transformed from a servant of the Islamic Republic into a follower of Jesus.

I sat down with them and told them everything that had happened.

I told them about Kam’s death.

I told them about my escape from Thran.

As I told them about getting lost in the desert, I told them about meeting Jesus.

I told them about being blinded and healed.

My wife Nasin wept as I told my story.

My children looked at me with confusion and fear because they did not understand what was happening to their father.

But I told them that I had been given a new life and a new purpose.

I told them that I was no longer the man they had known.

I told them that I had been reborn in the love of Jesus Christ.

Now I am recording this testimony on March 15th, 2026, just 15 days after the death of Ali Kam and my escape from Iran.

I am speaking to you from a safe location in Riyad where I am being sheltered by underground believers.

My family thinks I have lost my mind.

The Iranian government is hunting for me as a deserter and a traitor.

which the IRGC would execute me if they found me.

But I am not afraid anymore.

I have seen the face of Jesus.

I have felt his love.

I have been healed and transformed by his power.

And I know that whatever happens next, he will be with me.

I want to speak directly to my brothers and sisters in Iran.

I want to tell you that the regime that I served for 40 years is falling apart.

The Supreme Leader is dead.

The government is in chaos.

This is your moment.

This is your chance to break free from the chains of fear and oppression that have bound you for so long.

And I want to tell you about the only thing that can truly set you free.

His name is Jesus.

He is alive.

He is real.

He’s reaching out to you right now with his hand of love and forgiveness.

To my fellow I RGC commanders and soldiers, I say this.

While we have spent our lives serving a government that promised us glory and honor, we have done terrible things in the name of protecting the Islamic Republic.

We have hurt innocent people.

We have persecuted believers.

We have maintained a system of fear and cruelty.

But it is not too late to change.

It is not too late to turn away from the darkness and turn toward the light.

Jesus is calling you right now.

He is waiting for you.

He will forgive you for everything you have done.

He will heal you.

He will transform you.

All you have to do is open your heart and say yes to him.

I am living proof that even a man who has done the terrible things I have done can be forgiven and can be made new.

If Jesus could transform me, he can transform anyone.

And to everyone else watching this testimony, I say this, the fire has already started in Iran.

Yeah.

Thousands of people are coming to know Jesus.

The underground church is growing faster than any government can stop it.

Jesus is coming.

His kingdom is at hand and every knee will bow before him.

My name is Brigadier General Farad Rostami.

I am 58 years old and I am alive today because I met Jesus on a road in the desert.

That is my story.

That is my testimony.

And I pray that it will touch your heart and draw you closer to the one who loves you more than you can ever imagine.

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