Mary B Part 2

“Please Help Me”: A Refugee Mother’s Prayer, Perseverance, and Faith |

Mary B Part 2

KELLY

Mary grew up in a beautiful country of golden skies, majestic mountains and lush valleys. But her country lacked one thing: the freedom of religion. 

Many of Mary’s peers simply followed the rules and practiced the official religion of Shia Islam. But for some reason, Mary just couldn’t do that. In the last episode, we learned how her quiet rebellion led her to be baptized in a hotel pool, and she began meeting in secret with a small group of Christians.

But before long, the government caught onto their trail.

 

Iranian refugee story 

MB I said please help us I don’t want to stay in this country at all please help me

KELLY

Mary longed to be in a country where she could believe what she wished about God and worship freely. But the road to such a country would only get more difficult.

In this episode of Qavah, Mary shares how she and her family were exiled from beautiful Iran, and wandered around looking for a new home in the middle of winter.

KELLY

In Iran, Mary and her family tried to keep their faith a secret. But eventually the laws governing religion began to physically hurt their child, Atrid.

WHAT DOES KEEP THE FAITH MEAN? 

MARY

MB He was six he went to school when at first grade just three months or twos months someday I saw him in his school and that day was Muharram I don’t know Muharram I don’t think you know about Muharrem imam passed away 1400 years ago and the people still have I don’t know what you say in English something they hit in the head how can I explain and I saw my son was hitting his head because the principal at the school told to all the students you have to hit your head because imom passed away

KELLY

To honor the life of an ancient spiritual leader named Imam Husayn, the grandson of Muhammad, some Shia Muslims strike themselves on the head in mourning. This practice is called Tatbir, and it is a controversial tradition among Shia Muslims. However, at young Atrid’s school, students were forced to practice Tatbir on the tenth day of Muharram.

KA So you have to hurt yourself hit yourself on the head because someone passed away at school everybody at school had to do that

MB. They believe to imam passed away 1400 years ago and you have to hit your head and I saw my son and I said Atrid my sons name is Atrid don’t do that please and he said mom my principal said I said don’t do that you’re a Christian we are not Muslim and he said OK mom OK and then I went to my job after that I started to cry and I said Jesus look at us help us please help us because I don’t want my son hitting his head because of nothing please help us 

I want to go to other country I don’t know why I say something like that to Jesus and after I think One week later they arrested my husband you have to go and then my husband he said Mary we have to go we cannot stay here and I said that’s OK don’t worry

HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

KA I already prayed about that

MB I already pray yes don’t worry and he said where where and I said don’t worry Jesus make everything great don’t worry about that I said oh OK that’s OK

KA Whoa! What faith you have! That’s amazing so he’s your husband was arrested where was he when he was arrested?

MB In the jail something like jail not exactly jail we have some building and many many rooms and they took people to that room this is not jail jail is out of the city but this is in the city but they they kept kept him about five hours not more and they said you can go and take your your husband and your family with yourself go to other country

KA and so you sold your things and left did you go by car or plane or

MB Go by airplane

KA And then you went to turkey OK initially and did you go as a group or did you go just your family

MB Just my family because nobody knows about us we want to leave my country we cannot call to our friends we couldn’t call to our friends because they lead to jail we afraid enough

KA your husband was arrested and they said you have 20 days to leave and you got on a plane and went to Turkey with her a little boy and traveling with a little one isn’t very fun were you fearful were you afraid during this time 

MB YES 

KA And was he afraid 

MB. We went to UN that was very very busy with many people was were there and we waited for them to answer to us more then I think eight hours and eight hours we were in snow a lot of snow was very cold we were in snow up to here 

KA Wow to your thigh you were standing in snow So your thigh waiting for eight hours to talk to someone at the UN wow 

MB. Yes many people made fire to get some get warm and many people had blankets we put blankets on us and it was very very cold I think it was 17 centigrade under zero 

KA Oh my goodness and here you are with a little boy oh bless you

MB. Yes that was terrible and we went to other city in turkey because you UN was on curb and they told us we had to go to other city for for others we have to move for others yes that was that was terrible but I want to be rid of from my country because living with a stress lot of nervous you cannot live always we wanted to sleep my husband prayed and said mary maybe tonight the last night for us we don’t know anything

HOW DO YOU LIVE WITH STRESS

KA how long did you stay there

MB 3 1/2 years 

KA. Oh so did you did you live with someone or did you

MB. No we rented an apartment and my husband was a teacher a Bible teacher and by the Internet

KA On the Internet

MB He tried to teach about Bible to to Iranian by Internet

KA So in IRAN they have the Internet so is it is it open are they able to can they find sites that are like Bible or things like that are they able to

MB Yes

KA Or is that protected by the government

MB. Government government cannot cover and protect all of things because people use some thing to go to Internet

KA So they can get around that so your husband taught and you live there for three years and your daughter was born at that time how was that?

MB I didn’t like it

KA Was it hard

MB Very hard

KELLY

Here they were: in a strange land, barely making enough money to get by. At least Mary’s husband could teach the Bible in Turkey, where there were no laws against any religion. But just as they were getting settled, Mary found herself pregnant.

ARE ABORTIONS LEGAL

MB I tried to abortion abort it but my husband said you know God doesn’t want that and please don’t do that Mary and I don’t come to hospital with you I cannot support you if you want to do that OK that’s OK it’s not related to me you you know God doesn’t want it abortion is not good do you know what the Bible says about that and I said in this situation I don’t want to have another baby and I went to the hospital but the hospital is closed

KA Oh my goodness

MB I said why the hospitals close yes so 

KA you didn’t want her because you thought her life would be too hard

MB. I didn’t know that because I I thought just this hospital was close I went to another hospital in the hospital is close everything that day because they had celebration A celebration I don’t know I don’t know what happened but I went back to my house and my husband said OK what happened hospital is closed and he said Mary please please hold this baby this is a gift from God and I said OK that’s OK that was very very difficult because I had to use insulin four times a day

KA Insulin

MB. Yes insulin

KA so you had diabetes

MB Yes when I get pregnant

KA. OK gestational

MB. Yes yes

KA And that was a difficult time but I love my daughter and I’m happy I had her

KA and so a healthy birth? Healthy baby girl? 

MB yes

A HEALTHY BABY GIRL

KELLY

Mary’s daughter brought new joy into her life. After her birth, Mary’s heart and soul began to be filled with dreams and imaginations. She talked to Jesus all the time, asking him if these would be possible.

when I was praying and I just said Jesus you know I love America I don’t know why because I watched I was watching a lot of movies western movies because I didn’t know anything about America not America no country I don’t know it and just I said Jesus if you think I go to America please send us I love America I don’t know why

WHY DO YOU LOVE AMERICA

KA right

MB. My husband was praying about Canada because he thought Canada was better our friends are in Canada something like that and I but I prayed about America and we came here and I love Dallas and people American people because they can teach us a lot about your culture about everything

KA so did you come directly from Turkey to Dallas

MB. Yes

KA And you landed at DFW Airport and then how did you find a place to live and was there a group of people who helped you

MB No just that we had sponsor a sponsor

KA Oh a sponsor OK

MB Yes one of my friends my husband’s friends came to Dallas he was Valley and he told us about Dallas is good city in many many jobs is Yes one of my friends my husband’s friends came to Dallas he was Bowey and he told us about Dallas is good city and many many jobs is there. 

We chose Dallas 

KA and then did you find how did you find a place to live

MB IRC help us they IRC it was before we came they got to an apartment for us

KA Oh nice is it where you live now

MB no we moved apartment

KA And your kids were how old whenever you got here she was two

MB Yes my my daughter was two my son was 11

 A NEW HOME

KELLY

They made America their new home away from home.

KA. Did they speak English

MB no

KA OK

MB No English but now they can speak English very well much better than sometimes I try to talk with them because always we talk or speaking Persian at home nobody is speaking bed with me engage and I want to practice more try to talk with my own children but they don’t want to talk English no mom they want to speak Persian they talk to each other in English let me no their dad no

Mary and her family were met with assistance from the community and a local church, including a woman named Cheryl Read, who ministers to the refugee community.  

MB in my country I learn English at school but English just alphabet and basic grammar just nothing else for speaking nothing and I didn’t I had no choice because I had to go to Richland College to learn English and because that was very very important to important for us and communication between people and how can I survive I went to Richland College and but I think it took two years after two years I went to College level and I chose computer science and I didn’t like this field at all and I drop it and I went to school as a I learn phlebotomy but I am looking for a job now because I don’t have any experience I cannot get a job and I have a problem after four years living in Dallas I have problem yes I need to help a lot most of the time Cheryl is my best friend for all of situation I have in my I text a message to Cheryl Cheryl help me I need help after four years I need help again and again 

KA she’s a good woman

MB Yes yes I love her

Mary’s family has settled in Dallas, Texas, and both of her children are in English-speaking schools now. 

KA. Did they go to public school

MB. Yes

KA And so is he in high school

MB YES

KA He’s learning to drive

MB Yes

KA Oh bless you

Is She like in kindergarten or first grade

MB first grade my son is ninth

KA OK ninth grade that’s yes school is I’ve had three I have three children and they’ve been through school so bless you getting up in the morning getting everybody ready it’s not fun

KA So what are you and your husband do now here in Texas

MB my husband made a decision to have a company

KA. OK he started a business

MB Yes a business yes about three months ago

KA. Oh wow awesome so what kind of business does he have

MB. It he worked for AT&T before as a subcontractor not directly with AT&T and he is the same job now he has three workers employees yes he’s tries to expand expand his business and I am looking for a job as a phlebotomist I still have problem I cannot

KA Do you miss food or miss anything from home from Iran?

MB No because I cook Iranian at home

KA Nice so do you have a certain grocery store that you can go to to buy things

MB. Walmart Kroger sprouts

KA OK just regular grocery stores you can fix up a Roni and food so what do you like to cook

MB Iranian people like rice and vegetables most vegetables and a little meat not not like American people will eat meat

KA so your kids when they come home from school are they pretty typical American children now like have a snack and do their homework and all of that was your life like that when you were growing up or was it very different from your children

MB. As for my children especially my son my son loves Iranian food because he he grew up on this kind of food but my daughter is different now Mexican food 

KA OH me too

MB Yes and chicken nugget  I said don’t like it

KA She’s a Texas girl huh? That’s funny

MB yes

Sometimes she said mom please don’t cook a running in food why we have to eat a lot of rice I don’t like it and I said OK that’s OK I don’t know anything else I cannot cook another another I don’t know

KA Right right did you learn to cook from your mother

MB. Yes

KA. And so what are your days like in America what do you do like you get your kids off to school and then what do you do 

MB. I take my daughter to school in the morning around 730 and pick her up around three and my son this year my son has school bus

KA OK he rides the bus to school

MB. Yes this is very good and for four years I took my son to school and picked him up and that was difficult but now this year is much better

KA. Right has he acclimated or adjusted to life in America it’s OK for him

MB Yes he loves here he doesn’t like my country at all because he remember many many bad situations and especially for religion and yeah he doesn’t like it when he thinks about my country he says mom I don’t like to back to my country at all I feel Dallas is my city America is my country but me sometimes I’m thinking about my country because I miss some a lot sometimes now yes and sometimes I am miss my mom my older brother

Since settling in America, Mary has learned English and is back in school. But she still misses her home in Iran. When she has a hard day, she remembers the God who led her to this safe country through a series of miracles. She believes that this God will continue to make miracles happen in her family’s life.

MB Just I think we have to trust Jesus if you have doubt in your heart you cannot achieve to your goal

KA Wow

MB You have to concentrate to God just God if you think about something you can do that you destroyed everything you have to be humble and say I cannot do anything I’m not able to do that you have power and you can do anything just trust just this if you trust and just concentrate and focus on Jesus you can you achieve everything you want

KA Wow that’s awesome that’s a good word