Daddy’s Brother – Background

I have a little time, while Baby is sleeping and Daddy is at work and so while I’m blogging my from computer instead of my phone, I wanted to write down a little of this story.

Through a set of amazing circumstances, which include my job, my meeting someone at a Eurocup game, my wanting to travel to Istanbul because a German friend once did, and Daddy’s willingness to leave all he knew to come to a new country and marry me, Daddy was recently reunited with his “American Brother.”  His father had a child with a woman in America when he was young and then lost touch with him because of international circumstances.  Last year, we were able to find him, but he was serving time in Texas prison for killing two people.  He did it in a fit of rage after his brother’s face was slashed by some co-workers about 15 years ago.  This was initially hard for Daddy to wrap his mind around because he always envisioned his brother as a business owner or a professor.  Growing up he and his brothers bragged about their American brother and idealized him.  But this new information did nothing to decrease his desire to contact his brother, but we had no idea if he would want to hear from us.

I did some research and saw that he had a clean record before that time, but was still uncomfortable contacting him with our address.  For all I knew, he had become a hardened gang member in prison.  I used a friend’s office address and we wrote him a letter.  I was so nervous for Daddy about the response.  He was already beginning to admire his brother again for his strength to fight for his own brother.  And then the letter came.  My friend called me and said the letter had arrived and I asked her to read a bit of it to me.  It made me cry tears of joy.  This man had no bitterness at all, but was filled with joy for the miracle that God has wrought by bringing us back in contact.  The verse he quoted, and one I now know he often quotes, is that no eye has seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him and are called by him.  He had once had someone in Iran search for his father and had been told he was dead, but just shortly before we found him, his grandmother had a dream that his father came back around.

This man is truly a Child of God.  He has completely given his life to the Lord and devotes much of his time to studying scripture.  I love the letters he write to Daddy.  He is so full of wisdom and godly advice.  I believe he is discipling Daddy as a true older brother.

Their father was visiting us at the time and letter soon started flying back and forth.  I wasn’t able to set up a phone call before he left to go back to Iran, but I pray they will be able to talk some day.

Meanwhile, just this past week we were able to travel to Texas to have a visit with him in the prison.  Daddy got to stay in their four hours and Zoya and I, and then Shahram, got to switch out after two hours.

I wanted to travel while I had these three months off, but was unsure about going to Texas for this visit.  I thought we could do this some day for sure; but part of me thought it sounded hard with the baby, part of me wanted to go someplace else, and part of me didn’t want to spend the money.  But Daddy was determined to go, and one of his wonderful qualities is once he sets his mind to something he works to make it happen.  So tickets were bought, plans were made, and off we flew to one of the more important and life weekend vacations of our lives.  (And if Baby keeps sleeping I’ll talk a little more about what I learned from this man.