Testimonies: God at Work during Sleep

Testimonies How God Words at Night from Christian Leaders Institute Students

Gilda Shadkar from Turkey: 

My name is Gilda Shadkar. I am Iranian and have been married to my husband Mostafa for over 8 years. We are Christian refugees currently living in Turkey. In my role, I serve as a leader, pastor, and counselor in an Iranian Ministry. I was introduced to CLI (Christian Leaders Institute) through my husband.

I have been walking with the Lord since 2012 and hold a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Counseling. I was a student at UTM (University Technology Malaysia) studying Educational Psychology, but I did not complete it because I became a Christian, and God redirected the course of my life.

How I Came to Know Jesus

Despite living in a Muslim country, my family didn’t believe in God. The primary values instilled in me were education and morality, achieved through human effort and self-righteousness. As a top student, I constantly faced pressure to meet my family's high standards, compounded by the societal pressures and humiliation of being a woman in an Islamic country. Consequently, I always felt stressed and anxious. In my quest for peace, I turned to psychology books from the age of 15 and later to Yoga, meditation, and similar practices, but none provided relief. Even my formal studies in psychology at university did not help.

In October 2012, after returning from Malaysia, where I was pursuing my master's degree, I felt utterly broken and disappointed. Despite trying various methods to find inner peace, nothing seemed to work. One night, feeling despondent, I talked to a friend who had recently converted to Christianity. She suggested I needed a miracle. Skeptical yet desperate, I accepted her short prayer and a New Testament, resolving to give it a chance. That night, I prayed, "Jesus, if you are real, help me," before falling asleep.

Miracle

The next morning, I woke up with an overwhelming sense of peace in my heart, a peace I had never felt before. It was as though the old sinful Gilda had died. Although I knew nothing of the Gospel, the concept of being a new creation, or the forgiveness of sins, I felt reborn, clean, and sinless. Realizing the profound change within me, I began to believe in the reality of Jesus. I eagerly read the New Testament my friend gave me, finishing it in just one week.

Challenges

Later, I joined an underground house church and eventually got engaged to my husband, the pastor at the time. However, the day after our engagement, he was arrested by intelligence services for his Christian activities and sentenced to 10 years in prison. God granted us the strength and courage we needed to persevere. I faced interrogation and threats of imprisonment, but by God's miraculous intervention, my husband was released after 10 months, and we fled the country.

Now in Turkey, we live as refugees but see ourselves as servants of God, fulfilling the mission of the Father. CLI provides us the opportunity to study according to our schedule, which is invaluable as we both work and serve. Thanks to CLI's free courses, we can study and receive training that would otherwise be impossible.

Study Interest and Goal

Steven Kulpa United States: That night, I had a dream in which I was fishing on my lake, and Jesus came to me, asking me to join Him for dinner. Startled, I woke up and sat straight up, waking my wife. Concerned, she asked me what was wrong. I told her that I had just dreamt of having dinner with Jesus. Falling back asleep, I had another dream, this time of an angel reassuring me that everything was right. In the morning, I shared my dreams with my wife, Jan.

Later, I went to my computer and searched the internet to understand the meaning of my dreams. What I found was astonishing. It suggested that when Jesus visits you in a dream, it signifies His approval of your life and the direction you're heading.

After months of researching and reflecting, I’ve decided to pursue my goal of becoming a minister. I’ve chosen Christian Leaders as my choice of schooling. My goal is to spread the word of our Lord to as many people as possible. 

Annelize van Tonder From South Africa: In 2015 God showed me in a dream in which I was led up a mountain when out of a cloud, a pair of hands handed me a book and a sword. I went through a lot of healing in and through the Holy Spirit, who cleansed me from corruption inside of me. God filled me with His love and forgiveness. 

Jazmiera Janay Smothers United States:  Fast forward to 2017, when the Lord spoke to me and let me know that, even at the age of 21, after having a child out of wedlock, battling mental illnesses and attempting suicide, and being far from perfect, He still had a calling over my life. Prior to receiving this message from God, my relationship with Him was on and off, just like many other relationships where we don’t receive what we’re asking for right away. The last time I asked God about my specific calling, He did show up, but I turned Him down, thinking He must be joking. In a dream, I found myself standing at a podium in the church where I had been baptized for the first time years ago. At that time in real life, I stood there as a Self-Published Author and a Motivational Speaker, so I assumed from the dream that God was telling me to continue on my journey as the speaker and author He called me to be. It wasn’t until later, as I continued to sleep, that I heard someone in the dream shout 'Preach, sister, preach!' while I was speaking. God made a note of it, intending to remind me of it for the rest of my life. Again, I was there as just an entrepreneur, not a preacher. But God had other plans, and that is why I am here now, sharing with you my why and reason for continuing on. 

Omar Tunau from United States:  I currently live in New York City, United States. However, my journey didn’t start here. I was originally born in London, England, on the significant day of July 18, 1971. My early childhood was spent in the United Kingdom, but not for long, as my parents moved to Nigeria due to my biological father's origins. I grew up there until my teenage years. In Nigeria, my father's side of the family practiced Islam, which I became familiar with. However, I must confess that I became somewhat rebellious against it and, needless to say, got into trouble. My mother, a professed Christian, did not adhere to any of their cultural beliefs.

Fast forward to my teen years, we came to the United States for a vacation. It was then that my siblings, mother, and I decided not to return to Nigeria. As a result, I have been in this country for over 30 years. I completed high school in New York and then attempted college. However, realizing that my chosen major was not my calling, I dropped out and joined the Air Force, serving for four years. Afterward, I returned to New York and enrolled in a different school to study psychology, continuing to the graduate level and earning two master's degrees. Meanwhile, I gained employment.

Throughout my life, I’ve always felt like an outsider, never quite fitting in, which led to my reluctance in social interactions. Then, one evening while working with a client, I purchased some new age meditation CDs. After using them for a few months, I had a life-changing dream where I met the Lord Jesus. The next morning, I was exhilarated by this experience and decided to start attending a local church. Although initially afraid, I responded to an altar call for salvation prayer. Eventually, I abandoned all new age materials and sincerely prayed the sinner's prayer.

During my newfound hunger for God, I developed a passionate commitment to prayer, which nourished me regularly. On another night, as I prepared to pray, I had a profound spiritual experience where the Lord's presence overwhelmed me, and I wept for a time. Later, a prayer partner informed me that the Lord had called me to serve in His kingdom's work. This revelation deepened my intimacy with the Lord in ways I had never experienced before.

Now, with a heart committed to following Him, I am focused on fulfilling the mandates the Lord has set before me. I am an active member of a church in my community and continuously thirst for the things of the Lord

Russel McAllister (Canada): Then it all clicked! I had rejected God, but He never rejected me! The Holy Spirit had been with me all along, allowing me to suffer through things but never letting me fall too far. Everything I had gone through had now built an incredible faith and love for God in me. I knew I had to share this faith with others, just as my father-in-law had shared it with me. I prayed for guidance, and that prayer was answered. In a dream, Jesus reminded me of the parable of the 99. He wanted me to go out and find one lost sheep, to guide that sheep to Him. I have now dedicated my life to trying to inspire others. 

Matthew Ashfield (UK) Here is an example of how our gracious God has worked through me this year. He gave me a dream one night of a friend I used to work with, a friend who I have not seen or spoken to in over 10 years. I dreamt that this friend had committed suicide. On the morning I woke I decided I would be obedient and call him. I called in the afternoon, he answered, we talked for a while. Then I asked how he was, to which he replied that he couldn’t remember the last time someone had enquired how he was. I asked what he believed in, then I told him my belief and faith in the Lord Jesus and that He is the living God. I then explained why I had called. The poor guy was shocked and couldn’t quite believe it, he asked who I had been speaking to, my reply was no one. This is something God has shown me in a dream and I wanted to reach out to you. I then invited him along to church the next morning, of which he agreed and came along.

Precious Gadzingwa from Zimbabwe: In a dream, God showed me my mother on a sick bed. I prayed against the spirit of death, but God had other plans; a few months later my mother fell sick and she was bedridden on her sick bed my mother called for the pastor of the small Baptist church to pray for her. He came, prayed and she was led to Christ, but that evening, the day my mother received the Lord Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, the Lord told me He was taking my mother home. Peace flooded my heart, godly peace. In the morning, on the third day of December 1999, my mother went to be with the Lord. She died saved and that's all that mattered.

Rhonda Vappi from the United States: Not long after this, the Lord came to me in a dream and showed me a vision of getting hit by a car. He told me it would be okay; I wouldn't be hurt. About 6 months later, it happened exactly as the dream showed, with the exception of a newer model, red Thunderbird. I felt no pain, I only saw a white light and came back to myself with an expression and feeling of awe... I instantly remembered the dream when I saw the car and that He said I would not be hurt; that I would see how much my father loves me. Let me just say that cars in the 70's were VERY heavy! That accident could have, and should have, paralyzed me. But God said I would not be hurt, and I believed. As my sister was running for me, crying out that I should not move, that Daddy was coming (he was an EMT), I got up and walked to her telling her "God said I would be okay. I am okay... " After being brought to the hospital, I went home later with a bruised hip bone, nothing more! Yes, the Lord used it to bring me to a deeper understanding of my daddy's love for me. But this story doesn't end there...

Gilda Shadkar from Turkey: