“I heard about Jesus for the first time in Bulgaria,” Pouya shared.At 18, he had just left Iran to start his studies, and relatives in the Netherlands, who were already Christians, had begun sharing with him about Christ and sin.Over the next few years, and although he grew up and was still nominally Muslim, Pouya began to feel the weight of his own sins and twice attempted to commit suicide, until one day, he heard a voice.“I knew that this was not of the physical realm, and I knew this was in the Christian realm,” he explained.Seeking advice from his Dutch family, who directed him to a “building” church in his hometown, Pouya finally made the decision to leave behind his Muslim faith and follow Christ.“After a couple of days, I shared this with my family,” Pouya said, adding that they were extremely upset, particularly his mother, who was a devout Muslim.In spite of their response, Pouya continued to press on in his newfound faith, and over the next few years he saw both of his younger brothers become Christians. Even his father was almost persuaded.When his father became ill, further education for Pouya had been cut short, as he had to return home to help care for his family. The illness left his father with partial paralysis of his arm, and there seemed to be no medical hope for a cure.Pouya and his Christian family had continued to press his father to attend the Christian church for prayer - perhaps God would heal his arm.Eventually, his father gave in, and after much prayer, Pouya’s father saw complete healing. However, as close as he was to becoming a Christian, and despite the miraculous healing he had experienced, he wanted one more sign - to see his devoutly Muslim wife become a Christian first.However, God had also been working in his wife’s life.“After three years of researching the Koran,” Pouya shared, “she learned that she didn’t want to follow Islam any more”, and both Pouya’s mother and father became Christians.Early on his is Christian walk, Pouya realised that he needed to be prepare himself for Christian ministry, and even managed to spend some time outside the country, helping to plant house churches there. He also sought out work with foreign “charitable” organisations working within Iran.Then, in June 2009, along with two foreigners, Pouya was arrested. One of the foreigners had been caught taking photos and the group were accused of spying. However, upon searching the vehicle, police also found numerous Christian materials as well, all of which were confiscated.Blindfolded and handcuffed, Pouya was dragged to four different locations for interrogations, and even threatened by police to be shot where he was seated.Amazingly, he was finally released.He knew he had to leave the country, and fortunately, he already held a UK visa to attend Bible school, and was working for a British company in Iran. Between the two, they were able to get Pouya safely out of Iran and to the UK, where he now holds refugee status.Unfortunately, for now, that means he cannot return home, even when his mother has been sick and under threat of arrest for refusing to renounce Christianity.Pouya admits that he still fears for those he had to leave behind.“It’s not just about yourself,” Pouya said, “the family is there. Every day in my daily prayers, it’s my family. For three years they watched us, they try to inject fear ... The difficulty in living is that it is a daily fight. Is it intense? Yes. Is it real? Yes. Am I a hero? No. Is there fear? Yes.”Pouya has found it very difficult to enjoy the freedom he now has, especially when he sees Western Christians living their lives and complaining about the most mundane of issues.“It’s easy to judge,” he admitted.“My prayer always is that I just want to finish this race with victory. You have to live its not about preaching, its about living what you are telling others.”