Ali and other Iranians living around the nation’s capital often feel like strangers in a strange land, but they adapt.

Ali and his family felt their D.C. suburb was too fast-paced and impersonal compared to the relaxed warmth of Iran, but he was committed to fitting in, and not only learned the language of his new neighbors, but also adopted their values of wealth, prestige, and partying.

Ali’s passionate pursuit of the world, however, left him feeling empty, and he saw little point in living.

Christians tried to share Christ with him, but he brushed them off.

“Crazy blasphemers,” he thought.

But after a series of supernatural experiences—including two dreams and a miracle—Ali’s resistance to his savior ended. He placed his faith in Christ, was baptized, and today is a dedicated follower of Jesus and a faithful evangelist of the Good News.

There are 40,000 Iranian Muslims in the Washington, D.C. metro area, according to Global Gates’ North American UPG Priority Matrix. Most identify as Muslims but are nominal in their practice of Islam, and there are only a few Iranian-majority mosques to serve the population.

Many turned away from Islam after the 1979 Islamic revolution married fundamentalist religion and nativist politics. Some are now jaded toward all religion, while others are open to other forms of spirituality.

Pray that Jesus will find more Iranians like Ali in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

• Pray that God shows the capitol’s Iranians the vanity of riches.
• Pray that those who reject Islam don’t reject God.
• Pray for the multiplication of laborers, Iranian evangelists, dreams of Jesus and other demonstrations of His power, love and truth.