The Inheritance of Faith: A Conversation with My Mom

In this deeply personal season finale, host Hanna Eyobed sits down with the most important guest she could imagine — her mother, Asmeret Yosef Adhanom. An immigrant from Eritrea and a woman of extraordinary faith, Asmeret shares her journey from growing up in a Protestant family in a country divided between Orthodox Christianity and Islam, to surrendering her life to Jesus as a young woman, building underground churches in Bahrain, and faithfully raising three daughters who now walk with God themselves.

This is a conversation about generational faith, answered prayer, radical hospitality, and what it looks like to live an unfiltered, real life with Jesus — through the triumphs and the darkest valleys.

GUEST

Asmeret Yosef Adhanom — Hanna's mother is a lifelong woman of faith. Originally from Eritrea, Asmeret has lived and served God across multiple countries, building Christian communities in Muslim-majority nations, modeling radical hospitality, and praying for her family with relentless faithfulness for decades.

WHAT WE COVER

• The inheritance of faith — How Hanna's grandmother (Hadit) planted seeds of faith that carried through generations, and the Hebrews 11:13 picture of those who live and die as "foreigners and strangers on earth."
• Asmer's conversion story — A young woman in her late teens, taken to a Full Gospel church in Ethiopia by her uncle, feels the Holy Spirit move for the first time and walks to the front — twice
• Faith in Bahrain — Moving to a Muslim-majority country at 19, praying specifically for God to send a Christian woman to guide her, and receiving an answered prayer after three months in the form of Lanil Wing Phil, a woman who rented a house she didn't even like — just to be near Asmer
• Building underground churches — How a small group of believers gathered quietly in Bahrain at a time when Christianity was barely visible, and how that church grew
• What keeps you in faith? — Asmer's powerful answer: "Once you test Him, there's no way out."
• The lesson of persistent prayer — Asmer's mother prayed for Asmer's father for 30 years before he came to Jesus, and what that taught Asmer about never giving up
• Surviving painful seasons — Deportation, jail, prison, and hardship after coming to faith, and how God was present through every valley
• Passing faith to the next generation — Praying over Hannah before she was born, asking God to name her, and dedicating her to God's glory from the womb
• Radical hospitality as worship — How loving people regardless of race, religion, or background is a direct expression of loving Jesus
• Advice for young believers — Stay in community, stay in the Word, ask God hard questions, and don't mistake dry seasons for abandonment
• Philippians 1:6 — "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion."
• Psalm 116:15–16 — Closing reflection on faithful servants and the legacy of a mother's faith
• A closing prayer — Asmeret prays over listeners, the campus, and the young generation

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

• Hebrews 11:13 — "All these were still living by faith when they died…"
• John 1:4 — "In him was life and the life was the light of men."
• Philippians 1:6 — "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion."
• Psalm 116:15–16 — "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful

This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO. Find more media resources at https://slbf.org/studio.

Produced by Daniel Johnson, Dave Conour, and Brian Beatty

Edited by Dave Conour

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hey, this is Hannah, and I'm Walking with God. Thank you for joining me for the final episode of season two of this podcast. This episode means so much to me because I'm getting the chance to talk with and acknowledge someone very important, not only to me in my life, but on my life as a Christian. Someone who has prayed for me countless times, taken me to church, raised me, sang songs to me, read books to me before bed. The person joining me today is none other than my mother. While I've always felt connected and close with her, faith has made that so much deeper. My mom, also known to the rest of the world as Asmer Yosef Adano, is an immigrant from the East African country of Eritrea. Her home country is split almost evenly between Muslims and Orthodox Christians. So her being and becoming Protestant is something of an anomaly. Her mother, Mehedet, was a devout believer in Jesus Christ and is responsible for bringing and living out faith for their family. I know the Bible has a lot to say about inheritance, and over the past year in particular, I felt a deeper gratitude finding itself in me. I'm drawn to the end of Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13, where it says, All these were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. And that's precisely the picture I hold when thinking of my grandmother and also my mom. She was a sower. Now that I am in Christ, about three years into my journey, my mom will always tell me stories about how fervently my grandma prayed for me and my sisters, how deeply she believed in God for all things unseen. How when you met her, you genuinely felt like she was not from here. This was not her home. And I feel this way about my mom too. I've seen her endure life with Jesus unfiltered. I've seen her across triumphant seasons and really, really dark ones as well. I've seen a tangible God, a faith that can be activated and lived out through her life. It was that realization of God and his faithfulness to her in that way, which brought me to faith myself. When I read John 1.4, which says, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, I truly believe these words because of the light which shines in her, even when the world and everything in it seems peach black. I'm truly honored and grateful to have this conversation with my mom, who has such a great and beautiful story to tell of the inheritance that she's found in Jesus. So I'm very excited to share this with you guys. I hope you enjoy this episode. This is Hannah, and I'm walking with God. So hey mom. I'm so grateful to have you on this podcast. How are you feeling today?

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Oh my God. Thank you so much for inviting me. And this is the first time in life. I've never been interviewed by anybody. Which is um amazing and grateful, yeah, to be interviewed by Hannah Iovet. I call her Hannah Banana.

SPEAKER_02 3:19

Hannah Banana. So, what's it been like seeing your daughters or myself growing in faith and even having this conversation today? Like, how does that feel for you? Wow, this is so heavy.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

I mean, always every parent should should feel how I feel. Being interviewed by your own daughter. Your own daughter is having a connection with Jesus, fall in love with Jesus, praying over you and interview. This is like a dream.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Surreal.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Yeah, so it's very amazing. I feel so grateful, blessed, very makes me unpowerful and God is good. Amen. Yeah, all my prayers come through.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Amen. That's so good. But the first thing I want to head on actually is so the way that I found faith is through your faith. But I'm curious how you found faith. So, like when you were younger, I know we've talked about this before, but I'm curious what led you to fully surrender your life to Jesus in a time where you grew up in a Christian home and all these things, but what led you to be like, it's time to give my life?

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Yeah, I grew up with a believer, Christian family, Protestant. I remember my mom and dad when we are little, since you know, birds, we raised in church. So every Sunday, nobody's missing church. Every Sunday we have to look pretty, worship, and we have to go to church. So when we are little, we go to Sunday school. You know, when we grow up, we start Bible study and stuff like that. I know the Bible suns. But leads me to Jesus for real. You know, my sister and I, we are so close to each other. My mom is know Jesus very deeply. And they keep telling us about Jesus. But I wasn't serious actually until I was uh my 70s, 80s. When my sister is telling me about Jesus is this, Jesus is that, and I I used to listen to her. Yeah. Like, what? It's good to hear it from here because she said, Oh, I hear his voice, Jesus told me this, Jesus told me that. And I was like, How did he spoke to her? Not me. You know, it's like kind of that kind of questions. But I listened to her, I respect her. She's my older sister, her name is Eden. And then I keep it in my heart always when she tells me about Jesus, as like, I want to know him like her. Because she she says she saw him, she talked to him, he answered her. And I want to know that experiences. So I've been, you know, looking for word. And then one day I went to Ethiopia for uh my trip. So I have an uncle, his name is that guy. So I I stay with him, and he told me um, because I was so young, I was so you know, energetic, and um he said, I have to take you to church. I don't want you to you know running around here. This country is so huge. Yeah I don't want you to miss your road. He took me this to this church. This was like um full gospel church. And um since I grew up in a Christian family and all that stuff, I know nothing is new, but at that time when I entered that church, something happened to me. I felt something different. They were worshiping in a spirit, everybody was close eyes, lift up hands, and it was like something is in that that place. And I was like, wow, this is different. So I was worshiping with them. I know the song, because I know a lot of songs since birth. When the pastor was saying, you know, Jesus is loves you guys, come to Jesus for real. You know, you have to be closer to him. The Holy Spirit is calling you, and I was lifting up my hand, I didn't even know. Yeah, what happened? So I was like, okay. So my uncle was telling me to put my hand down because he doesn't believe in Jesus. The only thing is he's taking me because he doesn't want me to do something else different. So I was like, I was putting my hand uplift, and they say, Oh, if you want this Jesus, come to front. You know, I find myself on the stage, so I accept Jesus Christ. And I felt so that night I cried all night. I was like, I felt so different, no regular stuff. So it was like something is happening to me. This is really special, different. And then the next uh Sunday he took me again because I can't I don't know the city very well, so he has to draw drop me to this church because of me, he has to go too. So the second time this pastor says, if in a different way of kind, says, if you don't know Jesus, come to come to the stage. Jesus is waiting. Again, I was in the stage. I was like, and the pastor said, Oh, you were just accepting Jesus last week. And I said, I want to do it every Sunday, amen. Because I feel so great. And then um, they were so happy to teach me you know Bible study and walk with Jesus and phase, and I was like very touchy sense, and then not longer I fly to Bahrain, another Imrit Arabic country. Then with that phase, I don't know a lot about it, but I'm just change. So with that phase, I moved to Bahrain.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

And how did God fulfill any desires that you had going to Bahrain? Because I know you were praying for someone to guide you spiritually because there wasn't a big Christian community. So, how did that work?

SPEAKER_01 9:35

That was special. So I am changed. So before I like a lot of friends, I want to go out, I want to do party, so a lot of things. I was very active. After this happening, I was like more with the Bible focusing, how do I continue my faith to grow, to know him more? I was having like an appetite for it. So I was praying at that country, it's a Muslim country. I didn't even know there is a Christian at all because that's a Muslim country, there is so mosque people are praying. Like everybody is like Muslim. And I was praying. I say, God, I know you now I want to walk with you. But I'm here with a Muslim family or Muslim country, and I want you to send a special person that knows you, so will help me to keep this phase, the new face that I have, to make me grow or to help me or to support me. Believe me, this was like I pray for almost three months, and I also pray specific. I say, Don't send me a man, send me specific women, don't send me a man, yeah, with phase of you know, God, seriously. I need a woman because if it is a man, it's something different. Yeah, even I specifically say, Send me a woman, and how do I pray that prayer? I don't understand because that country is a Muslim country. How do a Christian person will come to me? God knows that. So I was praying for over three months, continuously non-stop, every day. Exactly. A woman came to me and she was sending by God, the Holy Spirit is telling her you're gonna help this woman. She's giving me the testimony later on. When she sees me, she says, Oh, you look so sad, you're so young, I was very skinny, and I was really separate from my family, my country. I was so missing my family. I was only 19. I was like, very tiny. So she said, Oh, you look so sad. There's something about you, is my insight is telling me to help you. And I said, That was God. I don't speak good English at that time. I was like, still, still, I have accents, but at that time I didn't even speak at all. Yeah, so say, you know what? I was making her understand by hand, by you know, action. I say, you know, I pray God to give me somebody, but here you are, you come. I think you come from God, God is sending you, and I cried. And she cried with me. She said, You know what? I think God loves you. He's looking, he heard your your prayers. So I'm here. I don't like the house. She was coming to rent the house that I was living. Yeah, they have a rent house. So I have to show her the house. She said, I don't like the house, but I'm gonna rent it because of you. And I know that was God. Now I'm interested more because he's answering my prayer.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

So every night I have to get down from where upstairs where I live upstairs to get down to her to pray with her. And she is amazing. Her name is Lenille Wingfield. She's still my mom. She's in Florida right now. She was in my wedding, she was in all my births of the children. She always in my life, and I never ever forget this woman. Yeah, she paid a big price for me to be strong in this faith phase. And in life, I give her big credit. I love her so much.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

I love her now. That's amazing, mom. That story is so incredible to me. Like just seeing God's faithfulness so supernaturally, especially being in like a very like Muslim country with a deep, only like underground church. And if you are a Christian, it's like you get persecuted. So, yeah, that's it. That's really incredible. And so, moving more recent, you're talking about this really amazing way that God moved when you were younger and how he brought you to faith. What has kept you in faith? What has kept you walking with Jesus and saying, like, even when times are difficult, I still choose you. I still choose this.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Oh, I've been doing what I was doing. Everybody I met, either a believer or not believer, I took them to church. Actually, we do we um create church over there.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

Even though it's not allowed. Two, three people we gather and we create a church. And I used to go to the Navy church, the Navy base church over there, the Americans. So we create a little church for us to keep it. So right now, today the church was growing. A lot of people are going, and uh it's so amazing right now. But at that time, no Christian, no people that I know that believe in God at that time. It was like uh 20 something years ago. Yeah, it's more than that. 30 something. So what keeps me going is like once you know Jesus, once you test him, it's no way out. You know, I mean, it's like you fall in love with Jesus, and if you know him deeply spiritually, like the Holy Spirit guide you every day. Even though you make mistakes, even though you go the wrong way, sometimes you make bad decisions, and there's a lot of tests of life. But because Jesus is your savior once, it will never be changed. He will guide you, he'll take you out, he will help you. Uh doesn't mean that you don't make mistakes or you don't want to wrong ways, but once you have Jesus, because of the Spirit, God is on us inside, there's no way you will be lost. He will find you wherever you go the wrong way, He will bring us. Oh, that's not the that's the wrong way, come this way. So He guides me all these years. All these years was a lot of miracle in my life after that. A lot of miracles. Yeah. I was praying. Um I live in that country for six years. I really have a good job. I help a lot of people. We build a church, I bring all my sisters. My Aiden sister was with me in Bahrain. She created the church, she was a leader on church. We were so blessed. God blessed me with so many things, and I bless others. When I have money, when I have success life, I never been just you kept it for me. I helped my family, I help people around me, and I open doors to so many people if God opened a door for me. Amen. He always blessed me with a good job, bless me with a good people, lovely people around me. So I have to do the same to others. So uh we help a lot of women, we bring a lot of women to uh like to the phase with God, and um it was really a huge experience of life for me. Mostly like six years in Bahrain. It's a miracle, so many miracle life, it's a lot of um history in that country.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Yeah, and that reminds me so much of Jesus' life. Like he literally was just like wherever I go, he lived for others, he live like he lived for other people, exactly. And a lot of what I mean, I mean even think about my childhood growing up as your dog and like people just staying over at our house randomly, or like it's just stuff like where you invite people who are new to Madison, or like I feel like there's something about bringing people and making them feel comfortable. And you've always you've always highlighted hospitality, keeping the house clean. Yeah, and I'm really grateful for the lessons of that because even like here at Upper House, like the way that we like we cultivate curate events and make sure people feel like seen and known just by how the layout is, like how the food is set up, stuff like that. Like, I feel like I learned a lot of that from you and the way that you bring people, you invite people in, not because they're a Christian or not a Christian, but just invite them like Jesus would be. You love everybody, you just love people well, and then you know they'll see Christ in you, and even I mean, you're an evangelist, so you'll tell them about Jesus. But even the way that you act, the way that you act is an act of worship to God, an act of an offering to the Lord, saying, This is what I know you would want me to do, so I'm gonna do it for you, Lord. And so I think that that's really beautiful, and I see it in you all the time, especially when I think about my childhood.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

So, yes, if you yeah, if you know Jesus deeply, if you connect with the Holy Spirit, you always don't live for yourself. Because you know, Jesus says, You love me, take care of my ships. You love me, you have to obey my commandments. That means like you have to love everybody, no matter what race or religion, color, whatever. I love, I'm international. I have a lot of friends, Chinese international, both white, uh, Ethiopian, Eritrean, uh, Muslim. And all yeah, your friends are very diverse. Somali, everybody, I love it. I love people. People I love when I see them, oh, they are image of God for me. Yeah, it doesn't matter how bad or good. Yeah, I kept all the people that I met. I know a lot of people. I kept them. I have connecting from Bahrain up to this date. I know people like Arab, Filipino, Indian. Yeah. They're all lovely to me. Yeah, you know, everywhere I go, also I have a place to stay because of this connection. Uh, I love people because God makes all these people.

SPEAKER_02 19:38

You're taking what God teaches you and you practice. Isn't that a big thing is practicing.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

You're no longer greedy, you no longer think for tomorrow. You always said, Okay, here I am in this planet to do God's work. Until God gives me that opportunity to live in this planet, I have to do his work as much as I could. Or yeah, uh, there's no choice, you know. Love one another as Jesus loves you.

unknown 20:05

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

So we'll have to love everybody. To be honest, I'm very blessed all my life because I know Jesus. That's a smart way. To know Jesus is smart way, it's a hack to life. Yeah, you make your life in order, it keeps you from all the troubles, all the stangers, all everything. Yeah, my life is always uh miracle, always something.

SPEAKER_02 20:27

And I I think there's something about it that like it's not even necessarily, I think, just your life, but I think that because you are saying you're just able to see God, He's always working in everyone's life, everybody, your heart of gratitude. You're like, okay, Lord, I know that this is a crazy world I'm living in, but where can I see you? Where are you moving? And even when you pray, sometimes you're like, okay, God, like help us see what you're doing here. Help us to be grateful and to and you always say, Thank you, God, thank you, Jesus. Everyone, every single day. When we pray, thank you, God, for this. Thank you. And then you're able to like connect with God truly because you're actually able to see him, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:05

But if you're not like able to come in with gratitude, you're not actually able to see what he's doing because you feel like he's abandoned you or something, because you're looking at the big, crazy world of whatever. So I think being able to look and say, Wow, well, my kids are alive, my family is doing well, like you have you somehow we're still alive, even though we had this difficulty here. And so I think that that has been a really big motivator for me to just be a person who is so grateful to God all the time. Because that's how you really connect with Him. But my next question goes back to your mom a little bit. I love your mom. I wish that we were she was with us though. But she, I'm just curious because she was such a fervent woman of God. She loved the Lord, and even at times would like challenge you, challenge you in your faith. What is the biggest lesson that your mom taught you about living a f a life, a full life of knowing Jesus?

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Yeah, my mom is amazing. She's a superhero. She always prayed. My dad was not a believer. He used to drink, he used to he used to be a man, you know? So she always a housewife in Africa. The mothers, they don't um work. They're always housewife. But she taught me or she I learned from her is like she keeps the family together. And she always prayed for my dad to come to Jesus. To know him, like she knows him. My dad is always saying, Oh yeah, I love Jesus, but I have to go to work. Oh, I have to provide for the family. And she used to tell him, No, no Sunday. He even cannot give Sunday to Jesus. Yeah. That kind of dad. But he's so lovely, he's so amazing. He's so honest, he's so humble, but he doesn't understand. So she always prayed. The thing that may amazed me about my mom is even in the middle of the night, two o'clock at night, in the morning, or anything, she's in the floor. So my dad says that. He said, Oh, that's your mom's prayer. That's not me, that's your mom's prayer. So he saw that all that year. So after 30 years of praying, my my dad came to Jesus. 30 years without giving. You know, I was like, that amazed me. I said, okay, this is 30 years prayer. One soul is safe. I learned that we shouldn't be giving up on prayer.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

You have to keep praying. God will answer one day. So I learned this is a big lesson for her. So that phase I got it from my mom, and I said, anything happened to me in my life, I was like, okay, God, I trust you. I know you. You will do it. Even things are getting so crazy, unbelievable mess. And I say, no, God is God. He's gonna fix it one day. I'm not gonna give up. So I I'm praying. I'm not losing the spirit, or like you know, pray in the spirit all the time.

SPEAKER_00 24:21

Yeah, without 24-7.

SPEAKER_01 24:23

Yeah, all the time. You don't have to be loud praying and all that stuff. Even inside, always I pray. So that's how I defeat enemy. I defeat life. Um, I went through so many, so many painful life. That was heavy stuck right now, but God is all with me all this time. I was in a deportation, I was in a jail, I was in a prison, so many painful lives. After I received Jesus, all these things happened to me. Because God is with me, I go through this painful life. When God takes you through painful life, he's trying to teach you, he's trying to be, you will be a living testimony for him, for his glory. That's why he used me for that. That he was with me. I was an Alon. So he was with me. So, and he teaches me also if God is responsible for our life, he's responsible until the end. And he will once he starts something, he will never let you till he's finished. Yeah. So I am one of God's creates and God's miracle daughter. I'm so blessed to choose by God. Yeah. If it wasn't for God, if I didn't have a God, I don't know what my life will be. Yeah, a mess. But because of I have God, I was defeat all my problems, troubles, and all that stuff. So here I am today. I see God who is my my children. Yeah. Such a blessing. Yeah, that's a good thing. Such a blessing.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

And I love that even as you're talking, I can like hear the scripture that you're saying. You're saying so much scripture. Like, uh, I think that it's Philippians 1, where you're talking about like he who began a good work and you will complete it, and he will finish it until the day of Christ. And so obviously, you're being your Bible. So that's a lesson you've always taught me is to be my word. So I'm really just I just wanted to point that out. I'm just curious, like, I mean, you mentioned your kids and stuff, but what are you most grateful for with how God has been faithful as like you've been a mother the past 20, almost 23 years. So, how do you feel um passing on your faith and things like that?

SPEAKER_01 26:44

This is really amazing for me. And I always pray, even I was not married, I I save some stuff, some collecting items. I say, God, I will have this for my future kids. My daughters, my you know, I was saying that I keep a little gold, a little silver, you know. So I said, I'm gonna give to my first baby. I'm seeding seed. And I know God will give me kids one day, I don't know when. So I get married on my 30, and I've been blessed with uh three children. At uh the first children, I was like, uh I was trying to go to school, I tried to try to uh arrange life, but God says he wants to bless me with the with the kids. I wasn't ready, I was trying to go to school and stuff like that, but it's coming. That was a very beautiful experience. And I have Eofella, and I give her all my you know, the thing that I was saved for years. And uh she's uh lovely. And uh about to graduate college. Yes, about to graduate college. I love kids when I was young. I was interviewing my mom every day. I say, Mom, you have six kids. How do you feel? I was get out of here. Why are you asking me every day? I used to ask her, like, how do you feel? You have six kids, these kids come from you, and she was like, Are you crazy? Why are you asking me these questions? She says, I love, I said, I don't know how I'm gonna feel if I have my own kids from me. So when I that experience for me, it's like so beautiful. Yeah, I don't even still I didn't believe it. Yeah, interview me right now. So, yeah, my my first my first one Yovella born joy was like, yeah, I never experienced like that joy, so much joy, and I still have that joy. Then I don't know for some reason that having kids or having my own kids was like hard, or I'm gonna have one kid, you know, stuff like that. But when you had it, my world was changed, and I was so happy, so blessed with the baby, and then uh Vela she always wants another sister. Oh, I want baby, baby. And I was like, wow. Then I before I get pregnant, I said, okay, God, I really appreciate you give me kids. I'm so happy, I'm so blessed, thank you. But I need another one. I was praying, believe me. The first one, like I said, we were uh uh I was moved from other states and all that stuff, but the second, and I was like, okay, now I'm now I have my house, I have my everything, my Aston and all. I pray, said I put my hand to my stomach, say, God, I want you to bless me with the second one. I want a choppy baby, I want like I want to kiss her every time. You know, I was praying. This is a prayer. Exactly. I got praise God. So uh you came with a lot of prayer, and of course, the devil tried to destroy typical day. Yeah, it was like uh a lot of challenging, but um I got you. So at this time I was I was praying in my belly when I was pregnant with you. I was like, okay, God, thank you for giving me this baby. When this baby is born, she'll be for your glory, she'll work for you, she'll sing for you. You know, I was saying it as you know, simple prayers, but I'm saying stuff. And then uh that time the doctor was telling us there is some difficulty with the baby, something like that. But I reject it in the name of Jesus. I pray for this baby, baby is gonna be perfect, baby is gonna be beautiful. Then I wait until nine months. We were praying, praying over. And nine months, we didn't know it's a boy or girl, but the doctor said I have a surgery and said I'm gonna, you know, do the surgery, bring the baby like that. Father, you have to say boy or girl. So you come and then they say, Oh, she's a boy girl. So you were a girl, yeah. You didn't know if the last uh last minute. So exactly when I see you, like I know you. I was like, that's what I pray for. Wow, that's she's a choppy baby, just 10 pounds. The nurses and everybody was so happy. And then since then I was praying over you. I even name you Hannah because specific, God give me that name. I was praying, I said, God, what do we want your daughter to be named? He said Hannah. Hannah's story came to me that morning, and I asked the nurse, I say, if anything happened to me, because I have the heavy surgery and stuff. Call this baby Hanan. I write a name and I give her. And with the correct spelling. Your dad he was trying to name you different, and uh, but the nurse defeats say, no, the mother was giving me already the name, so I have to respect that. So we call you Hannah Hannah story. Today I really glorify God for you, and uh he uses you for his glory, like I pray, and then you are so special, you're so I don't know. I ask and I say, Wow, you give me this kind of kids are very loyal, very powerful to all of my kids. God is like faithful for those who trust him, he gives that whatever we pray, whatever we seat, he makes it happen. So I see God on you guys, on my children.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

Praise God. That's so cool. Just like seeing like your mom and then seeing you and your sisters all still like you guys go on prayer calls sometimes together, even though you're all in different parts of the world. I can see me and my sisters doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

But it's different when you see it in your kids. Yeah, yeah. I know I see it in my mom. My mom saw it on me, and when I see it on you, I was like, there is nothing, nothing special than this. You see, God is uh working on your kids, or when you pray for me, I was like, my daughter is praying for me. It's like, you know, it's so special, and God is faithful.

SPEAKER_02 33:29

I just I feel very grateful, especially now. I feel like when I was younger, I was like, I didn't accept the faith for myself when we were growing up. I mean, I was going to church, like you said, you're going to church, I'm going to church, we're having a time, you know, and I'm seeing you, you're putting your hands up, you're like, even though we're in this kind of dry church, I love them, but a dry church. But you're putting your hands up, sometimes you'll cry, sometimes you'll just like be like, wow, God is so good. And then you just seem so excited after church. And I'm like, oh man, that sounds kind of cool. But I didn't really get it until I feel like at the right, I know the Bible says at the right time Christ died for us. I think it's the same thing for when Christ saves us as well. I think that at the right time he met you when you were 19. At the right time, he met me when I was 18, and so on and so forth. So I think that that's so incredible to see like the inheritance of faith and how God is like, He works through families. Like you see, every single Bible passage or whatever, the beginning will have so-and-so, the father of so-and-so, and so-and-so, the father of so-and-so. I think that that's very intentional because even the like God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, it's a family. We're all getting to see God and glorify God through community and then through our children and through our parents and all these things. So I just love the thread of that. But speaking of that, even if we're so like kind of more broadly, when you think about young people, people my age, I know we're always talking about like, yeah, how are the Gen Zers? Are they gonna be okay? Are they, you know, they need Jesus? What is some advice that you would give to people who are trying to not just like walk with God for now, but like people who really are hoping to like live full lives for Jesus? What would you say to that person, someone like my age or even younger, who is just like really looking for God, but not for a faith that will be like quenched if they don't feel the spirit, if they don't feel God, for example. Because I know you said like even in the hard times, it's like, well, how do I keep going if I'm only there for the feeling? But if we're there, oh yeah, you know what I mean? So I'm just curious what you think about that.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

Oh, yeah, for the young generation, it's the key is like, you know, as a parent, parents, grandparents, community, church, neighbors, we all have to connect with praise for our kids, for our neighbors. It doesn't have to be our kids, just everybody. I always pray, oh, Father God, I keep you all this young generation, babies, uh, college students. They are not my they are mine in spirit because we are all one in family. I think the encouragement groups and all the family and the church has to be together. And then for someone who is um it's not overnight comes everything. It's like once you accept Jesus Christ, it takes you every day, it's like you know, it's a teaching kind of walking. So I say don't give up, keep connect with the spirit, read the Bible, uh do fellowships, yeah, fellowship. Yeah, a community, community, church, things like this, you know, you have to get together. Even us when uh as a as as mothers that we experience God's love, we have to pray 24-7 about it because the generation is the future, this generation. So the devil wants them, God wants so we have to encourage them, we have to pray for them, we have to not discourage if anything doesn't go through their way, they are a Christian, but they still, you know, sometimes you get so tired. Is is God is listening to my prayer or what's going on with me? Am I bad? You know, it's not that. Once you accept Jesus Christ, the day that you accept it, you are written in the book of life. So God will not throw you, will not forget you, he will not forsake you. Yeah, you're always in his agenda every day. Yeah, sometimes I feel like, oh, I wish our eyes will be open every single day. How God is protecting us, how God is protecting us from accidents, from bad people, from a lot of the enemy was trying to throw on us. And God was like, There's a lot of angel cells. Sometimes I feel like angels are like fighting, and you know, I wish we could see that. Yeah, we could see that so we don't have to, we cannot caution God. But it's good to caution God sometimes too.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

God likes to, you know, the cautioning means like you feel it, then you're gonna cut talk to him. Oh, you know, it's good to be asking him questions. I say, God, am I, you know, doing something wrong? Please forgive me. Am I, you know, do you know what I'm going through? Do you know how I'm feeling? I know it's very hard in America as a young generation to go through phase to be with Jesus. It's so challenging, it's so hard. Because this world doesn't love Jesus. They reject him. This world, God is not uh accepted by people. Came to his people, his people didn't accept him, reject him. So, what do we expect as a Christian? We're not gonna be accepted. This world will not be for us, it's just temporary. So we have to connect with him, no matter bad, sad, successful, not successful. Jesus is in his throne all this time, all the time. So we have to trust him, we keep going. But fellowship and um supporting system is good. I always in a Bible study, I always in neighbors, friendship online. And also as a Christian around us, we have to talk and minister or like you do, you tell people about Jesus even though they reject it. That's our job. Since we are in this planet, our job is to encourage people to tell the good new the good news of Jesus, to tell them about it, about him. It's not like, oh, I'm saved, I was Jesus, I'm okay. That's it, I have this is it. No, it's not that. You save, yeah, but bring fruits, bring some people, tell people, tell people about Jesus. Try to supportive, be supportive. Yeah, even for the snow believers, not believers or Muslim or other things, we have to tell them no matter what. We don't have to judge people for who they are, tell the good news, and God will work the rest. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 40:04

That's good. It's really good. I love what you're saying too about it's okay to question God. I think it's nice to hear that from like a mother figure as well, because like you know so much about God, and it feels very validating even for me and in my faith right now, to be like, yeah, I do have a lot of questions, or this is really confusing, or God, what am I doing? What's happening? And that actually cultivates a real a deep relationship with Him. Because every time that I ask, even now I'm asking you questions, right? You're able to tell me a story and you're able to tell me about yourself, about what you're doing, how you feel about something. And we've had deep conversations as well. So I think that that's the same thing with God. I think that in a you know how in the Bible says we are made in the image of God. And if God is in community with like Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and they're constantly in community with each other, is probably the same thing with us as well. If we're made in his likeness, we're gonna be the same way. We need relationship, like you said, we need community, need to be part of a church body and all the things. So I think that's a really, really great thing to add as an encouragement, and even sharing that with people as well.

SPEAKER_01 41:06

Even his disciple, they used to ask him every day. All types of questions, even yeah, John asks him questions. John, yeah, John is like, you know, but he asked him, Is it you coming? Or some, you know, he's you know, yeah, that kind of doubts. We can doubt sometimes. Is it is it the right way I'm doing, or something like that?

SPEAKER_02 41:28

Is that good to feel that way, but God will um so I feel I will feel this person in this position in this kind of so it wouldn't be and he'll teach us by the spirit, like he'll teach us, like I feel like he's taught me a lot of things through you. Like, even just when I see you, like I don't think I would have had faith if I didn't see someone act their faith. Exactly. Because someone, like you said, like preaching the gospel is amazing and it's what you we have to do. We have to go tell people. But I think the gospel was preached to me probably thousands of times when I was young. Yeah, but it was like I'm watching and I was like, okay, I'm about to graduate, I'm about to go into my life. Who am I gonna be if I continue living the way that I'm living? And it was gonna end in destruction if I was living my sinful life. And once I turned to Jesus, I just it was small. For me, it was like, I'm gonna listen to worship music. I'm gonna just try praying. What is praying about? I'm gonna just read John and the Holy Spirit slowly, it was like a slow, beautiful river. He's not in a rush to like get us fixed, you know what I mean? And even now we're not fixed, you know, we're only gonna be redeemed fully when we're in um glory. But I I think it's so beautiful, even when I think about your story and the way that my summer, that summer 2023, me just like, I'm gonna go to church with myself, I'm gonna worship. I just feel like God was so kind to me in that process where I'm just like really genuinely unsure of what I'm doing. I was like, I don't, I don't know what's happening, but I feel I feel something. I feel a connection with you that I never felt before. And even if I did feel it, it was like a moment and then it was a feeling and then it was gone. But then I had the Bible to give me background knowledge. Why do I not leave my faith because of my feelings or whatever? Like my feelings do not dictate if I come to Jesus to pray that day or not. So I just love everything you're saying. I think it's very, this is like evergreen. It's never gonna get old because it's it's in the Bible. It's just this is biblical. So, and even as I have my Bible out, there was a we're going through a psalm over in um my church over the week. And yes, so Psalm 116, verses 15 and 16 says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly I am your servant, Lord. I serve you just as my mother did. You have freed me from my chains.

SPEAKER_01 43:47

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

And I I always like I pictured when I read that, I pictured like, I mean, obviously, it sounds kind of crazy to be like, well, God is happy when his people die, but when his people die, they come back home, right? So it's like, even when you think about your mom, it's like Like we can we can be sad for a little bit, but it's so beautiful. To live is Christ and to die is gain. And so we look to that day with so much readiness, ready for that day. Exactly. You know? And I love that it says just like your mother did, because I think it relates to this topic we're speaking on right now. But it's been really, really beautiful just being able to walk with you as I walk with Jesus. And like we're all walking together now, it feels like. And just building the body of the family. Because even as a mom, like you've been an evangelist to your kids and then to my friends, even like you've prayed for my friends and been there. Like I feel like everything that you're saying is not just something that you're saying, but something that you have become. You've become a like minister to the people, you've become a home for people who are feeling broken. Or, you know, even the guy who Mosalan, you're like, let's have a church. I'm like, there's just no one else that I know who's doing stuff like that. It's just like there's no one that you're saying, oh, I'm gonna exclude them, even if someone is maybe not great, you know. So it's like, but no one is excluded. And that is so biblical. That is so what God is trying to do. There's no one that God excludes from his from his family. And so I'm just really grateful that you are my mom because I get to have an example of Jesus, not an idea of Jesus or distant Jesus, but close Jesus, Jesus who is with us, who walks. And everything that you were saying reminds me of all the parables, all of the stories of his life. He's when the woman touches him with blood, he turns around and he stops. How many times have I seen you stop? I see you stop all the time. I see you stop for homeless people all the time. And it's like, mama's going. No, I can't stop. I have to stop. I have to stop. And so I think that first, not to be like sentimental, but I think God is very well pleased with you and very well pleased with your life. Not because you're particularly amazing or whatnot, but because of your love for him. When you love him, you love people. Yep. Like everything that you're saying, it's like the river. Like when you are, or like a fountain, let's say, when you're like in the fountain or whatever of God, like everything that you do, just like it pours on other people and it pours on the rest of the people. And so I think that that's so good.

SPEAKER_01 46:16

So good. Everywhere, every day I was praying. Like I said, okay, God, this is another beautiful day. Give me a and what should I do today? Yeah. And then, of course, when God is um the Holy Spirit will tell you, okay, I want you to do this, to do that. There is for that day, there is some assigned things to do. And then if it is a homeless, if it is somebody I minister, or somebody I have to go in the hospital, or something, I obey. If something comes up, he will tell me I'll obey. And I was like, okay, I'm going to that. So that's our job in this planet, wherever we are here. And I know we have to work, we have to run with life, but at the same time, if we are walking, somebody's having a struggle. And we have to stop for that. We're not gonna neglect that and go, that's not Jesus' way. That's not Jesus' way.

SPEAKER_02 47:10

I love when you always say, like, you can't pray for someone, like you can't pray that someone gets money if you have money in your pocket.

SPEAKER_01 47:17

Exactly. I'm like, yeah, that's that's what that's saying. Oh, give that money for that three.

SPEAKER_02 47:23

Not so funny. As a kind of like final wrapping up question, what is God teaching you right now? How do you feel like your journey with him is in this moment?

SPEAKER_01 47:33

Put it this way, I'm very proud. I'm very like my chin is up. Like, okay, God, this is me. I'm your daughter. I'm very successful in life, even though all the struggles is in the place, but I'm very successful. The devil's always not sleeping to put us down, but put the veteran. We as a king of king daughters, we have to put our chin up always because God defeats the devil and the cross, and we raise with him. So our life is not this world, we have another beautiful place to go. So in this planet, and just whatever is we have to do, we have to do it fastly, and at the end of the day, we're going home. But before that, we have a lot of science to do on this planet. So I'm proud by Jesus and my life. Yeah, I'm glad my uncle, my dog, my mom, uh Lannelle, all of them are brought me to this Jesus. God is good. And now I'm very successful because uh my generation is serving Jesus. That's powerful to see your generation is serving Jesus. I always pray. I say, God, you give me these beautiful children, and I give it to you back. You raise them, you are the father, you guide them. I remember when you go to college, I was crying. I was like, Oh my god, Hannah is going to college. I know college is like you heard a lot of negative or positive, and I don't know how to feel, but I remember I pray, I say, God, here's your daughters, they're going to college. Be with them. I trust you, guide them, show them your Holy Spirit, your angels will be with them, and then make them in college to make a difference. It's not just them, all college kids, the whole generation. So I pray every morning for the generation, for younger generation, babies, all kinds of people. Um so I'm so proud that my generation is serving God, and I want everybody to have this blessing and um praying for the rest of the generation that to know to get this experience that I have.

SPEAKER_02 50:05

I was wondering actually, could you pray for people who are in need of just more of Jesus and to endure in their faith? Just for anyone listening, could you pray for them as we close out?

SPEAKER_01 50:15

Yes. Thank you. Thank you for Hannah for having me here. And God is good. Thank you, Jesus, for this uh beautiful time. Is uh interview, but Jesus is interviewing us right now. Father God, I pray for this day. This is a beautiful day, Lord. You give us opportunity to talk about you and your spirit and your work and your mightily work in my life and my kids' life in this generation, in this place. Father God, I really thank you for this place. I pray, Lord, there's a lot of opportunity. There is a lot of uh people that they need you around this campus. For those they don't know you, Lord, please open their hearts, open their minds and to know you before things are getting so closer to the end. Jesus, before that, we ask you to bless everybody individual here in this place, and let your Holy Spirit work mightily and fast. In Jesus' name I pray this uh old generation at this age, young generations, the minor like uh youth groups and all that stuff. Let them know you, know your power, know who you are, know you are real. In Jesus' name. I pray you make everybody first um preaching. Uh help this place also, Lord. Uh use them mightily and use them powerfully in this place. Thank you, Jesus, for this place. Thank you for these people in this building. They will glorify your name. They are they are working for your glory and give them power and then give them the knowledge, make them everything like uh uh understand them more, to know you more and more. And I pray for this gathering for the person who is with us, for the camera man and everybody in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 52:27

Amen. Thank you, Jesus. Well, thank you for coming on the podcast, Mom. I really appreciate it, and I'm so grateful that we'll have this to look back on as well as we get older and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 52:36

Thank you for inviting me.