Listeners may be hidden away in rural Yemen, but Feba’s broadcasts in Yemeni Arabic are reaching them with the Good News, as Ahmed’s story reveals

“I am from a village in Yemen,” says Ahmed (not his real name). “We still live very much in the way my forefathers used to live, farming the land and my wife fetching water every day from the well.

“We live in one room with our four children. We have a few cushions and one metal bed and a metal trunk for our clothes. That’s about all – oh, and we have a radio. As is our custom, I married before I was twenty. I bought a small world receiver on batteries so that I could put on some music to make my bride happy. I enjoyed listening to the Arabic news broadcasts and wondered what the rest of the world was like. Searching for another news channel, I came across an Arabic programme and heard a story. It was so beautiful that I listened to the end.”

Puzzled

“My best friends came over to chew qat [a narcotic leaf] with me and we listened regularly together. I didn’t agree with the things the broadcasters said about our prophet Jesus, but my friend got more and more convinced that what they said about Jesus was true. It contradicted what I had learned in the mosque and I was puzzled.”

Understanding

“Then one day visitors came to our area. One of them talked about the radio and mentioned Feba. I couldn’t hold back and blurted out, ‘I listen to that programme’ and told them about my feeble faith in what I heard over the radio. They helped me understand why Jesus had to die on the cross and I embraced it. I wish others in my village to know the peace that I know.”

Telling others

“People have noticed that I don’t go to pray in the mosque any more and keep telling me that I must. I feel afraid to let others know what I have found, but I ask the Lord to help me and try to speak with a few people whom I really trust. One friend really likes what I tell him and whenever we can, we spend time reading the Holy Book the visitors gave me. He also wants a copy of that book.”

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