Despite the horrible ordeal he faced while imprisoned in Iran, Pastor Saeed Abedini has every intention of going back there and sharing the good news of God's Word.
"Love forced me and pushed me to go there and share the gospel with people," Abedini told KTVB. "I think one day I'll do it again, but one day I think I'm going to go back again or they're going to change their behaviour."
Abedini reiterated his plan to return to Iran in a different interview with ABC6. He even shared some things that he would do differently this time around.
"The Iran intelligence police told me, 'We know you are going to come back again. The other Americans we are sure will never come back.' I told them I'm going to come back, but this time I'm going to come back with the U.S. army and they started laughing," he said. I know I'm going to do that but I don't know how it's going to be. But it will be at a time when I can preach the gospel in freedom there."
Abedini actually thinks that his life after imprisonment is much harder than his time in Iran "because of the media and all the false accusations." One such accusation is the one made by his wife Naghmeh, who said that he sexually abused her even while he was in prison.
Abedini would like to stress that the accusations made against him are false. When asked about the status of his marriage, he said that they are working hard to repair it. Many pastors and counselors are actually involved in the restoration of their marriage, shared Abedini. And even though the situation looks bleak, Abedini remains rooted in God's Will.
"We are working on our marriage. But it's not as good as I thought it would be. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be," he said. "In the last six months my life has gotten harder, but I trust the Lord is in control. As he let me free of the worst situation in the world, Rajai Shahr prison in Iran, he can do it the same again today."
