Rivka.
Births.
Why is this taking so long?
These things take time Son.
Come and sit down.
She will be all right.
As long as she has the strength to talk,
you know things are going well.
Talk? She's crying!
She's a very strong woman.
She will be fine.
Yes?
Is she....
She's fine, Ayoub. Don't worry. I think we're going to have a baby very soon now.
Congratulations, Ayoub.
You have a beautiful baby girl.
A girl! A baby girl, ha, ha. May I come in?
Oh, not yet young man. I'll let you know when they are ready for you.
Ah! Ha, ha, ha.
Congratulations, Ayoub! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
Noah!
It's all over now. Come down.
You're an uncle Noah!
What is it?
She's a girl!
Oh.
Congratulations to you,
Grandfather.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, Our new baby has just been born.
Oh! Congratulations!
It's a girl!
Have you seen her?
How's Sara?
I... I don't know. They haven't let me see her. Do you think she's all right?
I'm sure she'll be fine Ayoub.
Father.
Congratulations!
Ah, Yacoub!
Moussa, Yacoub, Noah, Ayoub. Come and see your beautiful baby girl!
Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, lead me in, child.
Ha! Well, do you want to hold her?
Yes!
Father.
Yes.
A baby girl.
A miracle.
She's perfect.
Father,
will you bless her?
Yes.
This is a hard world,
and these are hard times.
May the God of our Fathers
look down upon this little one,
and help her face
whatever her life brings.
May He bless her with health,
happiness, and long life.
And may she be as sweet
as her grandmother
who could not be here to greet her.
What will you call her?
Laila,
after her grandmother.
Laila.
She is so beautiful.
Yes, child.
Dawud?
How did you get here?
Dawud!
How did you get out?
Did you escape?
Escape?
No.
More amazing than that.
They freed me.
You're hurt. Are you alright?
Yes.
You must be hungry.
Dawud!
Father!
Dawud!
Ah! Oh!
How can this be?
They freed me, Father. I have so much to tell you.
Oh, you must come inside, and meet your niece,
and tell us what happened.
The baby's here?
Yes.
This is good.
I'm sorry I wasn't here for...
We know my Son.
But you are here now.
For how long?
Are they going to take you away again? Do you have to run away?
No, little sister.
No more running.
Let me help you sit Father.
Your baby is beautiful.
You have given her the best
gift by coming home, Dawud.
Do tell us what happened.
Auntie Rivka.
You must know some of this story.
Welcome back Dawud.
It was Auntie Rivka's husband who interceded for me. And paid the fine as well.
Don't speak of such things right now, Dawud.
I can't ever thank you enough.
You or your husband. Or repay you.
You are not in our debt, Dawud.
But I am.
And not just for that.
Tell us.
After the Romans took me they interrogated me every day,
sometimes many times a day,
and night, too.
They wanted to know who I was associated with.
I wouldn't tell them.
I knew that once I told them, they would kill me.
As long as I could endure the interrogation,
I would stay alive.
But in the end,
I gave them what they wanted.
Oh, Dawud.
They are very good at what they do.
So the beatings stopped.
After that I knew it was only a matter of time.
I no longer had anything of value for them.
Two nights after they stopped questioning me, I was
asleep in my cell.
Halfway through the night
something woke me up.
I looked around and all the men were asleep
and the guards had left us alone.
And that's when I saw Him.
Who did you see, Dawud?
Him.
I saw your Jesus, Sara.
He appeared to me as...
as clear as you are now in front of me.
What did you do?
I fell on my knees.
He was so amazing!
He was dressed in a robe that reached down to his feet,
and a gold sash across his chest.
His head and hair were white like wool,
as white as the snow,
and his eyes were blazing like fire.
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,
and his voice sounded like rushing waters.
Daliyah needs to hear this!
Oh, all right.
Thank you.
I was so terrified!
At first
He just looked at me.
And in His eyes
I saw everything I had ever done.
Daliyah, I was just coming to find you!
What is it? What's wrong?
Wrong? No, not wrong. Something has happened that is so... right!
Sara had her baby today.
That's wonderful!
Yes, a baby girl. She's naming her after Mother. But there's more.
What?
Dawud is home!
He's home?
They didn't…
you know....
No. He's alive! And he saw the Lord!
What do you mean, Mariam?
Come on. Can you come now?
Ah, ah yes, I can come.
Hurry!
I don't know how long I worshipped,
but I finally fell asleep.
When I woke up the next day,
I started to tell all the prisoners what had happened to me,
that I had seen the Lord.
I knew I was going to die,
but I was no longer afraid.
I talked with them
and some of them called on the Lord Jesus to forgive them.
One of those prisoners was taken away the very next day,
and crucified.
But he was not afraid!
Oh, Dawud.
Then the next morning,
they came to get me.
I knew my time had come.
I said goodbye to all the other prisoners.
I'll see you in the house of our Father. Trust in Jesus.
But instead of flogging me they unshackled me
and told me I was free to go.
They told me that my fine had been paid, and that the governor had decided to have mercy on me.
As I started towards home,
I saw your husband, Rivka, leaving the courts.
He turned and he looked at me,
and I knew that it was he who had paid my fine.
Isn't that what happened?
Well, that was his intention.
But until you came here today, I didn't know that he had succeeded.
Oh, Dawud, I am so glad that you've been restored to your family.
But even more than that,
I am glad you are restored to your Heavenly Father.
There is no end to this!
Now I am in debt to this woman
who has dominated my son with her lies!
Moussa,
you are not in debt to me, or to my husband.
Can't we all just be at peace, and thank God for the miracles He is working in our midst?
And what will the family say?
Our elders, our neighbors?
The governor will find new charges to press against Dawud!
The followers of Jesus
are always in trouble!
I don't care what the others say, Father.
I have seen... the Lord.
He is the one who has died and rose again. Father, He is alive,
and He has forgiven me and set me free!
This is Good News!
Good news is that you are here safe and alive.
But now, boy, you must protect yourself.
You must
not become part of yet another crazy group!
You must do what is right.
Settle down. Take care of your family.
Do I look like I need more heartache?
I need for you to be responsible boy. Keep this to yourself for my sake!
Father,
I understand,
but I cannot do that.
I must share the Good News!
Oh, a plague on it!
My son has gone mad.
Father,
if you just had seen….
No you have gone mad! The beatings have made you mad!
Moussa! Do not speak against what the Holy Spirit is doing in your household.
God has delivered your son back to you alive!
Oh, these things are mysteries, Moussa.
Noura,
you have lived a very long time.
Surely you can see
that Dawud has responsibilities, here.
Jesus' words echo in my ears, Moussa.
Your own dear wife,
God rest her soul, taught them to me.
Even family comes second to our call to follow the Messiah. He asks us to follow Him.
Jesus is calling on me to take up my cross and follow him.
Take up your cross?
Jesus took up his cross,
and on that cross he died so that we could be delivered from death.
And now we, His followers, must be willing to suffer,
to pay any price, in order to spread the good news to the people around us.
Look at his disciples, Peter and the others. They have all suffered.
Some have even died for their faith.
Moussa,
there is only one way to follow the Master. And that is with your whole heart and life.
I am not ashamed of Him Father.
How could I hide what He has done?
I want to tell the whole world.
Father, Dawud,
let's finish this elsewhere.
Sara is weary.
Let's allow her and the baby to rest.
Come now. Let us celebrate.
I'll help you Father.
Give me your hand.
Please.
Brother. Ha, ha, ha.
Oh! Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Oh, sorry. I'm so glad to hear your good news.
Well not everyone will be.
But
I don't mind.
You're a brave man, Dawud.
No,
that's not true.
I am not a brave man.
But
I am forgiven.
Truly Yacoub I've never felt joy like this before.
Rest Father. I will bring you something to eat.
Everything will turn out fine. You'll see.
Daliyah, where are you going?
I need to leave, Mariam.
But we are going to have a meal and Dawud will tell us even more.
This is all
too much for me.
I really, I don't know what to think. I just, I need, I need to go.
But....
Goodbye.
Daliyah.
Daliyah!
Which of the characters in this story do you most relate to?
What happened to Dawud in prison?
Why did Moussa and Daliyah react as they did to Dawud’s story?
What changes might you expect to see in Dawud’s life now?
What is your story of faith?
