They were taking us with very long interrogators, eight hours, and in that first week, I really broke.

I couldn't hear anything from the Lord. That was really hard.

I was complaining to the Lord.

I stand up, dancing in my cell and singing this song with a loud voice, I have victory.

I was singing and I was dancing.

Suddenly I heard next to my cell is singing with me the next line of this song.

It was my sister, next cell and I didn't know my sister Leila was there.

Welcome, everybody. This is Simon Gilbo with Inspired. Inspired, if you're new to us,

is all about meeting people that have got incredible stories. Sometimes it's living out their

faith journey in the mundane. Other times it's very dramatic.

This week's a more dramatic one.

But I think we just had enough all of us of just the negativity and the grimness that we get relentlessly bombarded in the press.

It just makes us more fearful, anxious, cynical, depressed.

And what we need is to hear stories of great news that inspire hope and joy and challenge.

And guys, you are in for a treat this morning because we've got with us the wonderful,

the brave, the courageous, Sarah Akhavan. Welcome, Sarah.

Thank you so much, Simon. Great to be here. Thanks for inviting me. I'm super excited for this episode.

Yeah, well, it's going to be fantastic. So Sarah is from Iran. She's now living outside the country because, well, you'll hear from her story, but what a brave lady. And we've connected through Ilan ministries. And yes, I think Sada, we'll just get straight into it because we've got a lot to pack in. Let's go way back. You know, you're raised, you're born in a Muslim family. What was it like?

Yes, I raised and born in a Muslim family, in a very normal family. But my mom and my dad, they were

really, how can I say, fanatical. And they really loved their habits. They really loved their

Quran or all the time. The sound of Quran was in the house or or my mom reading her her

core on doing her namas she was not very very very how can I say close person

...