Omeed's Story
:: By Omeed Dorroudi, in his own words ::
(Editor's note: If you are following this story from Pastor Dennis' recent year-end letter, please click here to pick up where the story leaves off in the letter. Or read on . . . this is an extended version of the condensed "letter" piece.)
My parents are Muslims. My father is more agnostic than Muslim. My mother introduced me to Islam when I was a young teen. I prayed for God to help me, to give me direction. Nothing ever happened. It felt as if I was living life blindfolded. I felt helpless and weak. I felt like life had no purpose. I read the Quran, and that was it. Nothing I read clicked in my heart. I felt nothing. The years went by, and I was living for the weekends. All I wanted was to be surrounded by the things that really drowned out the idea that I was going nowhere. I would play videogames and waste time hanging out with the wrong people. I was never into drugs, sex, or alcohol. I was just lost. I had no direction and I was living for fake dreams. High school itself was a painful four years.
One day about a year ago, a very dear friend of mine invited me to go to church with her, and I agreed to go. I went to church a couple of times at Emmanuel Faith. I wasn’t used to going to a place of worship. I listened to Pastor Denis, and as I listened my heart felt like it was pumping with fresh blood. It was like I felt someone was calling me to come to this place, and to listen. I instantly knew that it was God. One Sunday at Resonate, they were serving communion. Pastor Rob Klein was up on stage and he said, “If you are here today and not yet a follower of Christ then I encourage you to open your heart and accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.”
At that moment, I was holding the wafer and the cup in my hand, and I started to think of all the weight I was carrying. I knew at that moment that God was calling me. I was numb that day and very scared. Then I bowed my head and prayed and asked God, “Jesus, if you are really God then I want to accept You into my heart” What happened next was unbelievable. All the questions and concerns all went away. It felt like my heart calmed down and then jumped up, and it felt like God was right there with me. I felt so much peace. I felt so much happiness and joy. I prayed again and said, “I accept you into my heart Jesus, transform me, change me, shape me, show me who you are.”
I walked out of Church feeling like a weight was lifted of my chest. I was so happy and overjoyed, but everything didn’t just change all at once. My life was still filled with troubles and mistakes, but I knew that I couldn’t make it with out Jesus. I was a little nervous and it was a new experience.
Jesus then directed me into what would be the most life changing year of my life. God sent me to all the right places and introduced me to all the right people. I started to go to The Well (EFCC’s college group). There I met Pastor Ryan Paulson. Ryan’s sermons touched my heart and really focused on my troubles. It was like every message was directed towards my troubles. Ryan then told me about someone that was willing to mentor me. I had no idea what that was but something inside of me jumped out and said, “Yes!”
One night after The Well meeting, I accidentally locked myself out of my car. I was sitting alone in the parking lot, waiting for the tow truck, and then this guy came and sat down next to me. He introduced himself and told me about himself. His name was Josh. Josh stayed with me that night until the tow truck arrived. Funny thing was that the tow truck arrived four hours later! It was like God wanted me to meet Josh, and it was amazing to see how much time I got to spend with him. It was incredible. When is a tow truck four hours late?
It was amazing to see how everything played out that night. Josh inspired me to grow more in my faith and he was a missionary, which is something I’m interested in. Later, Pastor Assad Saif came into my life as my mentor, but he became something more than just a mentor. He was friend, a brother and most of all he played a key role in helping grow in my faith. We met and we talked about my life and he guided me and started to teach me about God.
I started to ask for direction from God. I wanted to serve him so much. God opened so many doors, and brought me to EFCC’s High School group, Collide, where I now volunteer as a core group leader. God also brought me to the International Christian Fellowship (ICF), which is a very big part of my life. I absolutely love ICF, and can see myself working with international students for as long as I live. I’m also interested in missions, and will hopefully get involved with soon.
My life has changed so much, and I have felt the presence of God. He has opened so many doors in my life and I’m so thankful for his love and direction. I plan on working with ICF and going to a Bible college in the near future. Praise the Lord!