“I come from a strict religious family.” Those words formed the background for everything 77-year-old Omar* was about to share.

As he calmly took a sip of his tea, he continued, “You won’t believe all the religious books about the afterlife I read, all the questions I discussed with many religious leaders in the Middle East, and the many ways I tried to reach God through other religions, which was useless to me.”

Omar is like millions of others who spend a lifetime trapped in other religions — knowing there must be more, longing for a personal relationship with God, but unable to find the way.

“I even tried going on a religious retreat,” Omar added. “All those attempts did not truly satisfy my soul to reach God Himself. I did not feel I was able to reach Him directly!”

Over the years, Omar had many close calls with death, including a work injury that left him blind in one eye and visually impaired in the other. The injury left him unable to work, yet he continued to seek God. He finally took a chance and asked a family friend, who is a nun, for a Bible.

“Finally, my desire to connect to God came true and I found what I was searching for, for 77 years: our Lord Jesus Christ . . . all praise to Him! I finally received a Bible, and now I know that I can have a relationship with the Creator Himself directly.”

His life was transformed as he read the Word of God. Since his vision has grown weaker, he and his wife now enjoy hearing God’s Word on the audio Bible they received, thanks to the faithful support of friends like you!

*Name changed for privacy