They were homeless Muslim refugees in England. It was snowing and they were starving. They thought they could find shelter at least for a few hours inside a mosque.
But their hopes were dashed: The people inside the mosque told them to get out, telling them that the mosque "was not for sleeping in."
Then they heard of St. Mark's church in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire and went there. They were welcomed with open arms by Rev. Sally Smith, the church's pastor.
Now, Muslim refugees from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Bangladesh and Eritrea have been streaming into the church, accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour and getting baptised as new Christians, the Guardian reports.
Naziyar Morajabi, 25, was one of the refugees who found not only shelter and food inside the church; more important than anything else, he found God, the real One.
"When I was homeless I went to the mosque and I asked them to let me stay for just two hours and to please give me some food. I had nowhere to go. The leader of the mosque said I was not allowed to stay there as the mosque was not for sleeping in," he recalls.
A Palestinian refugee who wants to remain anonymous tells the same story: "One time I went to the mosque in London and I was homeless and it was snowing. I had spent five days in the street and I asked them to let me stay for just one or two hours. I did not ask them for anything, just somewhere to get warm, but they turned me away."
At St. Mark's church, the refugees receive a warm welcome – the building is packed with donations of essential goods. Food parcels are handed out twice a week. They are given bus fares if they need to travel.
Smith, called Mother Sally by the refugees, even takes some of them into her own home. She feeds them, clothes them, buys new shoes for their children and looks after their medical needs.
That kindness has led many of the asylum seekers to convert to Christianity.
The church now looks like a refugee processing centre. Many of its white congregants have been turned off the by the hundreds of new-look Christians and have left the church.
But this does not worry Smith.
"I have lost lots of congregation members because of what has happened at the church. They don't want the hassle and they don't want the church being messed up. They see the church as having a very definite role and opening the doors to refugees isn't one of them."
She says some white congregants have accused her of caring "more about the people outside the church than those inside."
Her response: "Well, this is what I am meant to be doing and you're meant to be doing it with me. We should be doing this together."
