Who is a man with a lamb on his shoulders?
Matt, Global Gates missionary in Pennsylvania, was meeting with an Iraqi refugee who had recently relocated with her children from North Carolina, her entry point to the US. A Global Gates worker in North Carolina had shared her contact info so that she would have help in Pennsylvania. During their conversation, the woman suddenly said, “Here, talk to my brother,” and handed a very surprised Matt her phone with a WhatsApp call already started. As he talked with her brother Jadeed, Matt sensed something more was going on. After he left the meeting, he called Jadeed directly to find out what.
Jadeed had fled Iraq and was living in a neighboring country. One night he had 2 dreams. First, he entered a house with many people he did not know and sat in a large circle of chairs. Suddenly, a majestic person entered the room and everyone was in awe. He felt he knew this person but did not remember who he was. The man smiled at each person in turn. When the man looked at Jadeed with eyes full of caring, he said, “Come unto me.”
Jadeed awoke and was troubled by this dream and the identity of this unknown man. When he fell back asleep, he had a second dream but so many questions remained. About a week later, Jadeed had a third dream. This time, the man was carrying a lamb on his shoulders and simply said to him, “Come unto me, you who are lost.” This time, he searched on the internet “Who is a man with a lamb on his shoulders?” The answer came back: “Jesus.”
Almost 2 years later, his sister in the US introduced him to Matt on WhatsApp. Jadeed shared how he wanted to know more about Jesus but struggled with Christians saying Jesus was God. After hearing about his dreams, Matt told him that these words from his dreams were also found in the Bible. He encouraged Jadeed to read it for himself and learn who Jesus really is.
Jadeed did just that, and over the next month read the entire New Testament! When he talked with Matt again, he said he was convinced from the Scriptures that Jesus was God and that he wanted to follow him. Since then, Jadeed has led 17 others to faith in Christ. Because they are scattered in several countries as refugees, they have started a WhatsApp Bible study together.
Global Gates exists because we see, in stories like Matt’s and Jadeed’s, that God is truly at work reaching the ends of the earth through global gateway cities. The unreached are awakening.