Faith

Speaking out to Help Prevent Suicide

10th September 2019 / written by: Melissa Fleck

Suicide affects people everywhere, regardless of wealth, privilege, or education. Your support is helping to save lives as Insiders, a Farsi-language program on SAT-7, explores this deeply emotional topic.

Across the world, around 800,000 people take their own lives every year.[1] Although official statistics show suicide among Iranians to be relatively low, the accuracy of the data is uncertain.[2] First-hand accounts from Iranians on the ground suggest significantly higher figures.

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE

“The first time I attempted suicide I was 14 years old,” recounts Sarina[3], a courageous young woman who shared her story on the live Insiders program. Events that led to her experience of hopelessness and depression included a family broken by divorce, an absent father, loneliness, and a lack of love and attention.

“The second time [I attempted suicide] I was young, with two children, in a marriage that I had not wanted. I was seeking release from the situation in which I found myself. Of course, I was unsuccessful, otherwise I wouldn’t be here,” she says while smiling.

HOW TO HELP

There is a common perception among Iranians that if someone talks about suicide, it is only talk with no intention behind the words. However, the reverse is true and speaking out is an indicator of real intent.[4]

Insiders encourages viewers to be alert to those around them, to listen and pay genuine attention. When asking someone how they are feeling, do not be satisfied with the expected ‘Fine, thanks.’ There are ways to help those who are depressed and help prevent suicide:

Look for signs of suicidal thoughts such as withdrawing from others, talk of being a burden, talk of feeling trapped, signs or talk of self-harm
Tell them you value them and they’re good to have around
Tell them God made them in his perfect image for a purpose and he loves them no matter who they are, what they have done, or what they think they have done
Tell them you love them and they have worth
Show kindness and empathy for their struggles
Believe them when they say they are depressed

Sarina advises those who are depressed to resist suicidal thoughts and seek healing in Christ, using her own powerful journey of faith. She says: “Forgive those who harmed you, or made you feel unloved or worthless. Forgive, because the act of forgiveness is the greatest prescription for the world.”

Grateful for having come through that period of her life, she says: “I thank God that He saved me from my predicament, and I am here today able to give this message that you are valuable and loved.”

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[1] World Population Review places Iran 154^th on suicide rates by country: http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/suicide-rate-by-country/

[2] Suicide in Iran: The Facts and the Figures from Nationwide Reports: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5425355/

[3] Name changed for privacy.

[4] Suicide among men and women: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/21/suicide-gender-men-women-mental-health-nick-clegg

SAT-7 Viewers Share Answered Prayers

6th September 2019 / written by: Melissa Fleck

In the Middle East and North Africa, where people are often discouraged from sharing their personal troubles, brave viewers are speaking up on SAT-7 ARABIC programs. By sharing their struggles, as well as their victories and answers to prayer, they are encouraging an audience of millions to open up and receive healing in their lives.

In the MENA, sharing personal troubles can be seen as a sign of weakness. For this reason, many people suffer in silence, with no outlet to share, speak up, or ask for guidance.

However, SAT-7 ARABIC’s programs are a source of light – offering a platform for honest discussion, prayer requests, and sharing testimonies.

ENCOURAGING VULNERABILITY

During live programs, viewers are encouraged to call in and share their testimonies or ask for prayer on-air. Viewers can also send their requests and testimonies via email or social media.

“It is so encouraging to see so many viewers respond and engage with Presenters, especially since society often discourages them to do so,” shares George Makeen, SAT-7 Arabic Channels Programming Director.

‘IMPOSSIBLE’ PRAYERS ANSWERED

Presenters Mariam Kamal & Mariam Joseph
on the set of *New* *Needle and Thread.*

On a recent episode of the program Needle and New Thread, Samah* a mother of twins shared her testimony on her struggle to get pregnant.

“My husband and I tried to conceive for 20 years,” Samah shared. “I would avoid family and friends and situations where someone might ask me when my husband and I will finally have children. They had no right to ask about such private matters.”

When Samah reached the age of 42 the doctors told her it would be impossible. “I prayed to God for children and I finally submitted myself to His will.”

Shortly after her prayers, Samah began to feel dizzy, sick and lethargic. “I did many pregnancy tests in different labs just to confirm it because we were in disbelief. No one could believe that I was pregnant after trying for so long, and at the age of 42!”

FREED FROM ADDICTION

On the praise and worship program Keep on Singing a viewer shared through Facebook how God freed him from addiction.

“Thank you for your prayers! God intervened in my life and liberated me from drugs, and now He is continuing His work in me. Please continue to pray for me, pray for protection on my eyes, my tongue, and my thoughts because I’m afraid of falling in sin again. The pressure is too much, and I need the Holy Spirit to continue in my relationship with God. I trust that He will answer your prayers for me.”

VALUABLE ADVICE

A recent series of episodes on the live program Speak Up addressed the issue of unemployment in the MENA and offered practical advice to viewers on how to achieve financial stability and employment.

A female viewer called into one of the episodes to thank the program for their valuable advice.

“I had applied for a job and during the interview I was asked about ‘the four Ds’. I hadn’t heard about them before, but I learned about them from one of your episodes and I was able to answer the interview question. Thank you for helping me to feel confident of myself during the interview.”

SAT-7 offers viewers both practical and spiritual guidance. By offering biblical insights as well as self-development guidance, our millions of viewers can benefit in all areas of their lives.

An Invitation to Make Fishers of Men

6th September 2019 / written by: Melissa Fleck

“I will make you fishers of men” – with these words Jesus called Simon and Andrew to follow Him. Is God calling Kerem, from Turkey, in a similar way today? After an encounter with a priest and repeated dreams, Kerem is looking for answers and has shared his story with SAT-7 TÜRK.

Despite not being a Christian, on a visit to Ephesus, Kerem found himself praying at a church. After finishing his prayers, he went to sit outside with his friends.

A STRANGE PREDICTION

“There was a group of priests sitting near us and we started talking to them,” explains Kerem. After some time, one of the priests addressed Kerem personally:

“He told me that there was something different about me, and that someday, I would be with them and become one of their brothers.”

Surprised, and put on the spot among his friends, Kerem laughed it off, dismissing the comment. “Why on earth would I follow Christ?” he thought.

A DREAM WITH A MESSAGE

Time passed, but Kerem was not able to forget the events in Ephesus, and soon after, he had a dream.

“In my dream, Jesus Christ handed me a fishing rod. He told me to leave the lake I was at and to go to another lake to go fishing with Him. So, I went to the other lake and began fishing with Jesus,” Kerem explains. “I caught a fish, inside the fish were four coins.”

Waking up from the dream, Kerem was surprised by how real it felt, and he kept having similar dreams.

A SEARCH FOR MEANING

Because of these dreams and his encounter with the priest, Kerem started looking for answers. Discovering SAT-7 TÜRK, he began watching the programs and wrote to the channel to ask the questions burning on his heart.

“What do all these dreams mean? Why are these things happening to me?”

“Please pray for me.”

Unable to find an active church in the city Kerem lives in, the SAT-7 TÜRK Audience Relations team put him in touch with a pastor in the area.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please pray for Kerem, and people like him in Turkey, who are hearing God calling them. Pray that they will respond like Simon and Andrew did when they heard Jesus call “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).

SALMA AND IBRAHIM – FAMILY FINDS REFUGE IN CHRIST

23rd March 2017 / written by: SAT-7 USA

As you listen to Salma* tell the story of why she, her husband, Ibrahim* and their three girls became five of Lebanon’s millions of Syrian refugees – you start to understand why so many have taken the ultimate step of leaving their home country.

The chaos and violence have made life in their home country impossible and they feared especially for the safety of their three girls, Mariam, Aziza and Iman*. But they are unusual in that this family, brought up in the majority faith, also turned to Christ and are fleeing religious persecution from their relatives.

This took them initially to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, and later, to another part of the country, where they cannot be threatened by family members and the girls are not required to be taught in the faith they used to hold.

It is Salma who tells the family’s story because Ibrahim experienced the country’s arbitrary violence long before the present conflict. He was mistakenly arrested and tortured and can now barely speak – his vocal chords were so severely damaged.

It was over 13 years ago that the family began the spiritual journey that took them from their home country.

“We were raised to know that Christians and the Christian religion are not good,”

“Ibrahim’s brother came to Lebanon and came to believe in Jesus through meeting Christians here,” Salma explains. But Salma wore the veil and was committed to her religion. “We were raised to know that Christians and the Christian religion are not good,” she says.

When Ibrahim and Salma married, they moved in to live with Ibrahim’s family, but his brother’s excitement about Christ angered her. “He was always telling us about the love of Christ for us. He told us there is a Christ who will save you and give you eternal life. We asked ‘Why do we need Jesus when we have our own beliefs?’

Not wanting this pressure, Salma told her husband “I don’t want to live with my in-laws any more” and they left the house.

ANSWERED PRAYER

After this, Ibrahim inherited some money, bought a car and started work as a taxi driver. But there was a problem: “The car was always breaking down. It was a piece of junk and we couldn’t sell it,” Salma says. “Ibrahim’s brother told us to pray and ask the Lord: he will listen to you. She said OK, I don’t believe but let’s ask. The second day after our request the car was sold. We said it seems there is a God and he can hear us: is it possible? This was our first prayer and Jesus answered it.”

Salma describes this time as “a period when we were not following our former religion and we were not Christians. It was a doubting period. It was not easy to live all your life as one thing and then decide to become a Christian,” she says.

ASKING FOR A SIGN

To take a step as big as this, she says they needed God’s help. “We said, ‘Please, Lord, if you are the God we read about, that everybody is telling us about, please show yourself – any sign, any sign.”

The sign came in the form of a dream: “I saw a hand holding my hand and saying ‘Come with me’. This hand was leading me and pointing to a Bible and said ‘You will find the truth here’. So the couple started going to a church and “reading more and believing more”.

“We were not 100 per cent Christians. I don’t think we were strong enough”

As time went on Salma says she started wearing a smaller and smaller veil – slowly pushing it back a bit more, she chuckles. “We were going to the church but we were not 100 per cent Christians. I don’t think we were strong enough and we didn’t know a lot of things.”

Then came the crunch point. “One day a man from our family came and asked us why are you praying to Jesus, why are you believing Christianity? We were at a family gathering.”

Ibrahim, who had already taken this step stood up and said “Yes, I am a Christian,” and walked out of the room.

“They told us, ‘Go away, we don’t want you any more’. They all looked at me waiting to see what I would do. I thought if I stayed I would have a very difficult time convincing them I am a Christian too. I stood up, took off my veil and followed my husband.

She continues: “This was a step that made us stronger but still we had some weaknesses. But as time went on, we still had difficulties with the family: we were not accepted.”

Like many who have trodden this lonely path away from their own community, a time came when Salma questioned her decision. “At one point I had doubts: had I done the right thing? I didn’t want to be isolated, to be different from other people.

“I asked God: ‘If you are there, please will you send rain tomorrow’. It was August when it doesn’t rain, and the next day was a bright morning. Then in the evening Ibrahim came in and said ‘Do you know what’s happening outside?’ I said ‘Is there trouble?’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘it’s raining’.

“This was amazing,” Salma smiles. “God had sent rain on the whole land just for me. I knew then if God could do this for me, he must love me very much. From that we gained real strength and power, and I thought we will never leave God.”

*All names changed for security