A VIEWER’S LIFE TRANSFORMED: MAYA’S STORY
Mariannne Awaraji Daou, Arabic Audience Relations Manager, shares the story of a viewer whose life has been changed. We are telling “Maya’s” story here with her permission, and with her name changed to protect her identity.
“Maya is from a North African country. She is from a non-Christian background but has been a believer for some years. She married a man who was also a new believer. But a few months later, Maya discovered that her husband was unfaithful and was also addicted to pornography. She was heartbroken.
When Maya asked for help from her church, her pastor refused and gossiped about her instead. Maya left the church. Struggling in her relationship with her husband, who was also an absent father to their child, Maya felt broken.
Maya reached out to SAT-7 after watching From Heart to Heart, the relationship counselling program I present with my husband, Rawad. She watched an episode in which we discussed addiction to pornography – which Rawad shared that he once struggled with, too.
After messaging with me, Maya agreed for us to speak. During our video call, she was very low and hopeless. Maya still loved her husband, even after ten years of his infidelity. I felt somewhat helpless, and I asked God to give me the words to say.
“She had hope again”
After listening to Maya for an hour, I simply prayed with her and shared His Word. After that call, Maya messaged saying, ‘I felt the Holy Spirit perform an operation in my heart.’ She had hope again, and she felt energised to pray for her relationship. We continued to connect with her, and she shared many details about her life. But Maya had no Christian friends to support her, and she did not feel ready to go back to a local church. Finally, I felt ready to invite her to join an online discipleship group, run by a partner church in Dubai and welcoming Arabic-speakers from across the region.
After attending her first meeting, Maya said she felt like King David when he danced in the Bible – like her spirit was renewed. She felt joy for the first time in a long while. The group had also prayed for her mother, who was very sick, and Maya felt so supported. Maya’s mother’s condition improved, and she felt she had been healed.
But there is another wonderful chapter to this story. I found out the group leader felt led to help Maya financially, to protect her from losing her home. The leader also told Maya to tell her husband that Jesus still loved him. Maya’s husband was brought to tears, saying, “Truly, God still loves me.” He agreed to join the discipleship group with Maya – another miracle. Before, Maya’s voice was empty and lifeless. Now, she is filled with the Holy Spirit. Filled with life. Praise God.”