He rejected Islam; God sent vision and the name of a church, hundreds of miles away

By Mark Ellis –

He was raised Muslim in a very religious family in Tehran, and his father and grandfather took him to many Islamic events starting when he was six or seven years old.

“I thought I can find my joy and satisfaction in obeying Allah. They told us he’s the merciful God. He’s like the God of joy and happiness,” Mohsen Khaleghi told God Reports.

But the more he observed Muslims in Tehran, his heart sank. “When I saw the action of people, it raised a big question mark in my brain. You are talking about good things, but you are not doing those things. It’s a big contradiction between your words and your actions,” he decided.

Mohsen began to read about the history of Islam when he was 14. “I found so many contradictions and so many problems. I couldn’t believe when they are there talking about God is good and merciful, (when) he’s commanding to kill and torture and to be violent to any other guys.”

Only one branch of Islam was considered good, according to the Mullahs in Iran. “They believe the Sunis are infidels. They believe if they kill innocent people they would go to heaven.”

After Mohsen turned 16, he had a confrontation with his father, who had noticed his son was not interested in fasting, praying or attending mosque. “I decided not to follow that,” he told his surprised father. “I told my dad that I would prefer to live in hell rather than living in heaven surrounded by these guys that rape and kill.”

“Then you are an infidel!” his father declared.

“No problem. I prefer to be in hell. I don’t want to be in heaven with them.”

At 18 Mohsen left home to work in Dubai. Over the next decade he built a successful construction company. Most of his projects were in Muscat, Oman. “I was making very good money, especially from providing (building) materials from China,” he noted.

“In my way of thinking, I was going to find my joy and happiness in material (things), in cars, girls, gambling, due to the fact that I was making a lot of money.”

He became a high-stakes gambler, visiting countries in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. An island off the coast of Spain, Ibiza, became his favorite spot for clubbing. He sometimes rented an entire club for a night, spending $5000 or more on drugs and drinks for his guests.

At the age of 25, Mohsen realized that all the pleasurable pursuits in the world left him empty.  “At 27 I hit rock bottom; nothing was enjoyable for me. When you try to enjoy earthly things, the first try is good, but the second or third try, you have to increase the intensity of that thing. Otherwise, it won’t be pleasurable, it won’t be satisfying. It’s like any drug.”

People observing his life from the outside may have thought he had an amazing, successful career. “Everyone wished to live like that, but inside it was devastating. I was like a balloon– the outside was large, but the inside was empty.”

Mohsen became embroiled in a battle over control of his company. “I hired a lawyer to get my share of my company. After a year, I found out that the attorney got the money from them, but he didn’t give it to me. He got around $9 million.”

Then Mohsen consulted with a second attorney, and discovered he had been tricked into giving power of attorney to the first lawyer. “So, I lost this money twice.”

Overcome by emptiness and despair, at 31 he attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself from a chandelier hook in the ceiling. “I was at home alone, and no one had the key to my house.”

He put a rope around his neck and dropped from a suspended chair. “I dropped the chair, and then after two minutes, I found myself on the ground.”

Mohsen survived the attempted suicide, but when he examined the rope, he could see it was not frayed or torn. It appeared it was cut evenly and cleanly, as if by a very sharp knife or sword.

“I didn’t know God, but I know he saved me at that time. I told myself that this is impossible, even I cannot kill myself. It was like a miracle for me; I didn’t know what happened.”

After Mohsen returned to Tehran, he volunteered at a school run by his mother. Interested in pursuing education, he asked his mother to make his position permanent, but she told him he would need a master’s degree.

He applied to programs in Canada, Germany, and the US. One program in San Francisco offered him scholarships, so he came to America to study.

His emotional state had not fully recovered following his suicide attempt. Feelings of devastation and loneliness overwhelmed him one evening.

He walked outside, gazed upward, and prayed to the unknown God: “I know you’re real. I know you’re there. Show yourself to me. I’m devastated. I’m shattered. You know, there is nothing in this world that can satisfy me. You know I need you, but I don’t know your name. I can’t believe that all the complexity, all of creation came out of nowhere.”

After his prayer, Mohsen went back inside and fell asleep. Then something unusual happened.

“I remember I had a vision that was vivid. It was so clear, and in my dream, there was a guy, who was tall, white, an older guy.”

“I’m Randy,” the older gentleman said.

Mohsen poured out his heart. “I’m devastated. I need help.”

“Search for the light,” Randy said.

“I’m confused, where do I find this light?

“Mariners,” the man said. “Search for the light and you will find peace.”

When Mohsen awakened from his vision he was drenched in sweat. “This was like a puzzle in my in my brain. What does Randy mean…Mariners?

As an IT engineer, his first instinct was to search the web. Mariners Church in Irvine, California popped up. “I had no idea about Christianity, no idea about Southern California, no idea about Irvine, nothing at all. I just came to San Francisco and never left.

“I have to go to that place,” Mohsen decided. He got in a car and began to drive. It took him nine hours to reach Irvine, where he settled into an AirBnb.

He arrived at the church’s sprawling campus and went into their thrift store. “I’m looking for a guy called Randy. Do you have Randy here? he asked.

They sent him to the global cafe. Then they referred him to the ministry office.

“I’m looking for a guy called Randy,” he announced once again, in his heavily accented English.

“Wait here,” they said. “We’re going to send someone to talk to you.”

The ministry office placed a call to their security team. “They sent me the top security guy because I look Middle Eastern, I was sweating, not in good shape, after driving nine hours.”

Mohsen was devastated when the security official introduced himself. He thinks I’m a threat, Mohsen thought.

However, the security official listened attentively to Mohsen’s story, prayed with him, and told him they would find Randy.

“He invited me to the young adult service, so I wanted to see what’s happening.” When he arrived, Mohsen was struck by the music. “The message starts with a beautiful song, but I didn’t know that’s the worship of Christianity. Because in Islam worship you don’t have music. You don’t have singing, it is just repeating a few words in Arabic.

“I was amazed, (it was) so beautiful, so touching.”

In Young Adult Pastor Dallas Viva’s message, he said: “Jesus is the light of the world. He will conquer the darkness. If you follow Him, you will find peace.”

Mohsen’s mind was struck by those three sentences, which answered the first part of the puzzle in his mind. “Randy told me to search for the light, and you will find peace.”

He pondered the implications of the message. If Jesus is the light of the world, I have to search for Jesus, he thought. He will conquer the darkness, my devastation. And if I follow him, I will find peace.

Mohsen introduced himself to Dallas after the service and asked, “Do you always talk about this sentence, that ‘Jesus is the light of the world?’”

“No,” he replied. Dallas informed him the last time he taught on it was two years ago.

“I was blown away,” Mohsen said as he walked away and considered the puzzle pieces God put together, starting with the vision, the long drive, the security official inviting him to the young adult service, and the message that answered the question on his mind, without the pastor knowing about Mohsen’s vision.

Mohsen was so excited about the community he found at the church and the opportunities for service, he decided to move nearby. He volunteered for the homeless ministry.

He shared his testimony with others at the church. After several months, the woman overseeing volunteers, Sharie Morse, came to him and said, “We found your Randy!”

“How did you find him?” Mohsen asked, incredulously.

“He is one of the shepherds, the elders of the church. His name is Randy McDougal.” Mohsen learned he had been traveling frequently to Texas but had recently returned.

When the two men met for the first time, Mohsen recognized him immediately. He was the same man who appeared in his dream!

Mohsen hugged Randy and exclaimed, “You are the angel sent by God to me.”

“I heard about your testimony,” Randy told him.

“I need to know something,” Mohsen said. “How did you find me? I was a Muslim guy living in San Francisco, no idea about church, no idea about Southern California, no idea about Mariners, nothing at all. How did you find me in my dream? Your face is still in my brain, in my memory.”

“I didn’t find you, Mohsen. The Lord found you. In my job, I deal with lots of Muslims, and before I go to bed every night, I pray for them. I pray that they would be introduced to Christ.”

Mohsen marveled at the creative way God answered Randy’s prayer.

Mohsen has been discipled by one of the pastors at Mariners, and continued to serve the homeless, minister at rehab centers, and lead his own small group. “I decided to dedicate my life full-time to Jesus and to share the gospel,” he said.

“I was always in my life looking for joy, and I found joy in serving, the joy which I was looking for, joy which makes me happy. I don’t need to intensify it to keep on making me happy.”

 

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