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Lola's family said she was cursed by god. The fall from the swing that left her deaf at age six also left her family ashamed—of her disability, of what neighbors would say, of a future they assumed would amount to nothing.
They were wrong on every count.
Today, this deaf believer in Central Asia risks arrest and imprisonment to share the gospel with other deaf people—because she knows exactly what it's like to be ignored, rejected, and considered worthless. And she knows the transformative power of a God who sees the invisible and calls them His own.
"Before I lost my hearing, I really felt my parents' love," Lola remembers. Her father took her to another country twice for medical procedures, desperate to restore what the accident had stolen. Nothing worked.
What followed was worse than the silence itself.
"During holidays, my relatives would visit us, and I'd eagerly look to see if I could understand what they were talking about, but I couldn't," Lola says. "It felt like people saw me as a different person—I was the deaf kid."
In her Central Asian Muslim community, deafness wasn't just a disability—it was divine judgment. Her parents sent her to a regular school, not because they thought she could succeed, but because they were "ashamed to show people that I was deaf." When her grades revealed what everyone already knew—that she was struggling—they finally enrolled her in a school for deaf children.
The message was clear: Lola was the family's disgrace.
Years later, during an especially difficult season, a Christian man invited Lola to church. "Your life will change," he promised.
What she found there stunned her: "I met a lot of deaf men and women. They were talking and laughing. I was surprised to see how they respected each other."
For someone who'd spent her entire life being ignored and excluded, this glimpse of authentic community was irresistible. Here were deaf people who weren't treated as cursed or shameful—they were beloved children of God.
"I felt the difference, so I chose Jesus. In 2014, I accepted Jesus Christ into my life."
But choosing Jesus when you're already married to a Muslim man comes with consequences.
Lola's husband discovered her conversion and exploded. "He had such anger on his face," she remembers. "He started swearing, taking things, throwing things, smashing windows, breaking everything." He beat her repeatedly. Her relatives urged him to divorce her for betraying their religion and traditions.
For years, Lola lived a double life—knowing Jesus but unable to follow Him openly. The isolation was crushing. She couldn't attend church. She couldn't meet with other believers. The only person she could talk to was God.
So that's what she did. "For me, prayer is communication with God. And it is also a comfort for me. When I have fears and worries, I pray and God gives me peace."
Prayer became her lifeline—and God answered in ways that stunned even her unbelieving family.
When Lola's son got married, the family had no money for the wedding. Lola fasted and prayed. "Many people, both deaf and hearing, helped me and sent me money. They knew I was deaf and that I didn't have anything to give in return, but they still gave me money. We were able to have a big wedding party because of their help. It really was a miracle."
Her husband couldn't deny what he was seeing. "When my husband saw how God was working in my life, he understood that I believed in a powerful God," Lola says. "He told me I could go to church if I wanted because he saw that his wife was different."
Today, through local partners, Open Doors supports deaf believers in Central Asia with sign language classes, livelihood training, and safe spaces to gather. For Lola, these gatherings provided more than skills—they gave her community and a new identity.
"[It] helps deaf people to see themselves as normal people, not as how society sees them—sick people," Lola explains. "I can't imagine my life without the deaf community."
But Lola isn't content to simply receive. She's now carrying the gospel to other deaf people—despite the risks.
She's been arrested during gatherings. Police have interrogated her: "Who are you? What are you doing? Where are you from? Why?" With enough evidence, they could imprison her.
Does that scare her?
"I'm not afraid if I get caught because I know they caught me for a reason and it's not all for nothing," Lola says. "I think I need to preach. I won't be afraid because Jesus is with me."
When discouragement comes—and it does—she remembers Christ's suffering and finds strength to continue. "Every time I have difficulties, the Lord helps me in different ways."
The girl her family once called cursed is now boldly proclaiming blessing to others just like her—people society has written off but God has chosen.
"I knew a lot of deaf people who didn't believe. And their lives were simply disgusting," Lola says—not with judgment, but with urgent compassion. "I got the urge to preach to them, to tell them about Christ so that they too would change so that their lives would be better."
Pray for Lola and our deaf brothers and sisters in Central Asia: