For two young people living in the predominantly Muslim country of Kosovo, it was an unforgivable sin to believe Jesus Christ was God. But through the Bible, the Holy Spirit brought the truth of who Jesus is to Astrit Fetahi and his wife, Fatmuse.

Paul Walsh / Living Stones News Astrit Fetahi stands outside of Bayside Baptist Church in Superior, Wis., where he and his wife, Fatmuse, attend. Astrit and Fatmuse chose to follow Jesus Christ rather than the faith of their Muslim upbringing when the Holy Spirit spoke to their hearts about God’s truth and the Salvation he offered.

For Astrit Fetahi and his wife, Fatmuse -- Duluthians who grew up in the predominantly Muslim country of Kosovo -- faith in Jesus Christ took root as the words of Scripture slowly persuaded them to believe.

“We say that we started to believe in Jesus,” Astrit said, rather than saying that they were converted from being Muslim to Christian.

Fatmuse’s search for God began as a young girl. She hoped that there would be something more after death, but she was disillusioned by attending Mosque.

“It is just religion,” she said, describing the way she felt at that time. “There is no god, so where everybody goes, I will go, too.”

But then her older sister became a believer. Fatmuse’s family harbored worries that her sister might be getting swept up in a sect, so Fatmuse kept it to herself when she began attending church along with her sister. Soon after, she began reading the New Testament.

“The Bible was something new to me. I couldn’t stop reading the Bible. It was like new light for me. All religions say, ‘Do this or that and you will be saved, probably,’” Fatmuse said. “But the Bible said that to believe in Jesus Christ, you will have eternal life.”

About six months later, she believed in Jesus Christ based on the certainty of the Salvation He offered.

“Even if I am deceived, I’m not losing anything,” she told herself at the time.

After that, the more Fatmuse read the Bible, the more things she began to understand.

“The Spirit will testify that you have become enlightened,” she said, perceiving how God was revealing His Truth to her.

Astrit’s belief was part of a chain reaction of faith. He was a student at the time in the capital city of Prishtina, Kosovo, having grown up in a more progressive household where religious faith wasn’t stressed. But an uncle in Finland became a follower of Jesus Christ and began sharing God’s Word with Astrit and his cousin and college roommate, Hilki.

Unlike Astrit, Hilki had a strong Muslim background and was quite knowledgeable in the Muslim faith. But their uncle was also “very equipped with knowledge,” Astrit said.

Together, the two cousins made a decision to try converting their uncle back to the Muslim culture and religion. But while Astrit began reading more about the Muslim faith, his uncle mailed the cousins a New Testament from Finland.

“We sometimes stayed up until three or four o’clock in the morning studying, discussing, searching, and asking each other questions to be able to convert our uncle,” Astrit said.

He explained how no matter what refutation he and his cousin came up with, his uncle was always able to give them an appropriate reply. Sometimes phone calls would get too long, so their uncle began sending them explanations of Scripture on tape.

They researched and studied for five or six months. “Our uncle said we were stubborn,” Astrit said with a smile. But Astrit also felt that “there must be a reason to start believing something that’s new to you.”

And then he found it in the very certainty that separated the teachings of Jesus Christ from those of other religions. “Oh! There is a way for a person to get saved!” Astrit said, describing the moment he discovered it. “It was a new concept for us.”

He described his astonishment at discovering that he could know what would happen after death: “Whoa! If you believe in Me, you’re going to go to Heaven!”

But Astrit also noted that it was hard to give up what he was raised to believe for 20 years. Therefore he began weighing various belief systems against one another, concluding at the end that only one of two could be true, while others had no concept of Salvation at all.

“There was common ground,” he said, “but in (matters of) Salvation there was a contradiction. For a Muslim, it is considered an unforgivable sin to consider Jesus a God, while that is the foundation of Christianity.”

After he’d weighed the teachings of both faiths, Astrit concluded that Muslim teachings and Biblical philosophy contradict each other fundamentally when it comes to the concept of Salvation and the death of Jesus Christ.

After eight months of study, both Astrit and his cousin decided to give up trying to convert their uncle.

“Now we were concerned about how to get saved,” he said.

He described what followed as sheer desperation. Sensing the incredible gravity of what they should do, they were desperate to find the truth.

“We decided it was best to pray straight to God,” Astrit said, instead of going through one religion or the other. “Soon after that it started to make sense. The Holy Spirit started to convince us about sin. Eventually I felt like I’m a sinner. I needed something to get forgiveness. I really needed Jesus.”

One night, after he finished reading the book “Escape From Hell,” Astrit fully put his faith in Christ. At the end of the book was a simple prayer that an individual could pray. Astrit followed that prayer and asked forgiveness for his sins.

“I was convinced that Jesus Christ was the only way to get saved,” he said. “I could see that there was a distinction between Christianity and Jesus Christ, and that it is just Jesus Christ Who brings Salvation, peace and forgiveness.”

He immediately felt the joy of the Holy Spirit, very strongly, and he told himself, “I have a Father Who never dies and He will take care of me!”

Hilki struggled a while longer, however, and urged Astrit not to rush him.

“He could see I was so convinced and happy,” Astrit said. “He even thought about leaving the apartment.”

But, about two weeks later, Astrit left a book by Oswald Smith lying where Hilki might pick it up. Astrit believed that the book held answers to many of his cousin’s lingering questions.

Like a thirsty man, Hilki picked up the book and spent an entire night finishing it. The following morning, when Astrit arose, his cousin greeted him with the thrilling words, “Good morning, brother!” Hilki told Astrit that he had been set free from the stress and prison of his doubts. Hilki felt like opening the windows at 4 a.m. and screaming, “People, I have found the truth!”

“Hilki was so happy, and his face was shining,” Astrit said.

During weekend trips to his hometown, Astrit discovered a small group of believers that was meeting to worship in a similar way as in the days of the early Church. Fatmuse was one of them. In 1999, a war in Kosovo found them working together on church-based aid projects and with refugees through nonprofit organizations. They began dating later on, and from 2002-2004 they searched for schools and scholarships in an English-speaking country. That search eventually brought them to Duluth-Superior where they have both completed their undergraduate degrees.

The couple have made many friends who have helped them to integrate in Duluth.

“We feel very blessed,” Astrit said.