Thanks brother Giannis for your earlier question, hence this new thread.
So true, those we believe are too primitive or uneducated to know better, are quite often those who have learned to sort out their difficulties, whether in day-to-day matters or even dealing with sickness (by using the vegetation around them). It's just that we have refined ancient methods because of developments in technology & trial & error attempts to get over hurdles in life.
And yes, I'm happy to answer your query: I'm not of Pakistani origin, but of Indian origin: a hybrid actually, where my Father was Indian & my Mother was Armenian. As you would know that country: where the mountains of Ararat are located in that area comprising eastern Turkey & western Armenia. During the Armenian genocide (1915-1916) by the Ottoman Empire, a million or so Armenian Christians were either slaughtered or deprived of food, etc., though some escaped into nearby countries (my grandparents were amongst those who fled & went first into Iran & then into India to settle there).
Now to my short-term ministry: I went out with a specific calling by the Lord to serve overseas, even given the name of the Mission group, which I hadn't heard of before. Prior to that call, there was a group of us who went out each week to evangelize on the city streets, by preaching, tract distribution, & discussions with any who would listen (of course not many did). As my Church Fellowship (in Australia) was very missionary oriented, I remember many of the sermons were focussed on serving the Lord, always with the strong challenge: "why are you still sitting here comfortably instead being out there making Christ known?" In time, the Lord answered my prayer & the call to serve came very clearly whilst in morning prayer. I wasn't sure that it was His Word or just the surfacing of my earnest desires to serve, so my fleece was put out concerning the sale of my home & furniture. Onto Page 2.
In a short while, I received an unknown call from the UK by someone wanting to buy my house. I found that incredible as I didn't know him, nor had he seen my house. But through his agent in Aust., he purchased it above the market value, having never seen it & my never ever meeting him. And he bought all my furniture as well. This I knew could only be the Lord's doing, & His Word to GO was confirmed to me.
My first stint (Summer Campaign) with the Mission, was in France. Our team was called, L'Equipe Commando (or, Commando Team). We only had a smattering of French between us, so all we had to do, could do, was go from town to town in central France & 'bombard' them with Tracts & invites to a local Evangelical Fellowship. Life was a little difficult for us, as six of us travelled in a van, slept in tents in the fields, & subsisted on meagre rations (though only for a month). But we prayed that many, in a Roman Catholic dominated country, would be challenged afresh with the Gospel of Christ.
From there, the next Summer campaign I was placed into, was in Dewsbury, W. Yorkshire, U.K. Here, we batched in the local Church (Church of the Nazarene) accommodation & went door-to-door in a predominantly Muslim area. Not sure of what impact that had, but we knew that the Lord would take His Own Word & apply to every readied heart. For my next area of service, I had been given the option as to where to go. After prayer & wondering how the Lord was leading me thus far, I opted for Pakistan, having had that little exposure (for the first time) to Muslims & Islam in the U.K.
I was made the team leader of the Karachi Men's Team, probably being the oldest volunteer rather than from any other qualification. We had a dedicated team of three: a young Dutch lad, a really lovely godly young Pakistani brother, & myself. But we had brothers (mainly from the U.S.), who were based & serving in India but sent over to join with our team for short spells. Onto Page 3.
So, in our small flat with two bedrooms & one bathroom, we had to jostle for space amongst the 6 or 7 of us at any one time. Our days were filled with selling Gospel packets, Bibles, etc. to Muslim shop-keepers (at very low prices of course), talking to those able to converse in English, & getting to learn about where the 'common man' was in life, as a Muslim & resident of Pakistan. I also continued my own readings of the Quran so that I could better understand & converse with those who had questions. We rested in the evenings or preparing messages to share with Christian youth groups or taking Bible studies/preaching at various Fellowships. And Fridays of course, was our worship day, which took a little getting used to.
Yes, working as a Missionary in Pakistan (as per the special visa granted to us), was both delightful & challenging. I found the people very warm & welcoming, ready to talk 'religion', unlike the apathy we see in the West. But we were always aware of dangers around us, even as one shopkeeper lifted up his 'kamiz' (the extra-long shirt that reaches the knees) & revealed to me his holstered pistol. He warned me that what I was doing was very dangerous, but of course He didn't know the God Whom I served & Who called me. For me, I don't believe I ever considered the danger, though aware of it, because the fire that the Lord lit in my heart was sufficient to fulfil my responsibility to get God's Word out & leave the other matters to the Lord. Even when we ran out of money (from poor book sales in the market place) & I let my team know this, we went to prayer about the matter. If the Lord provided, we could eat - if not, we would continue to fast & pray. Onto Page 4.
As we finished laying this matter before the Lord, we had a couple of pastors come to the flat seeking to buy a number of books/Bibles - we now received enough so I could buy dinner for the team - how good is the God we love & serve, & how mindful is He of each one of His children no matter where they are & whatever they may be facing. 'His Arm is never shortened'.
Brother, I know this is long - probably more than you expected, but I actually have shared all this very briefly. And yes, there have been, as you've read, about killings of those who speak against their prophet or their Quran - even those family members who have left Islam have had to flee for their lives. We had a group there in the city, who took in those who turned to Jesus & gave them food, shelter, teaching, & other help. And one of them, an American, John Tarzwell, went in ministry to some rural areas, but was never heard of again. We knew what happened to that special brother. But these things should not prevent us from reaching lost, hungry souls with the message of Life & Hope in Jesus, and so we pressed on undaunted.
Just one story only, since you asked (but I've shared this before here, so please excuse the repetition): while my Dutch brother & I were selling or distributing literature in a small enclosed shopping area, I suddenly heard a lot of noise & commotion. I went over to find him surrounded by a mob & one very vocal Muslim maulana (a Muslim priest). I tried to appease him & began to take my brother away, while receiving his threats. We were told to leave the area at once, and so proceeded to do so, but frequently looking back to see if he was still following us. He was always a few steps behind with rage in his eyes & urging us forward. I even asked if we could have a tea stop to distract him, but that was rejected. Soon after, our van was appearing into view; the Maulana didn't know that of course. Onto Page 5.
I just asked the Lord, Who had delivered us many times before, to do a miracle that would prevent him from getting details of the vehicle, thereby putting our whole work & presence in the city in jeopardy. As we crossed the road to our vehicle, I mentioned to my young brother, let's just turn around to see this man once more. What we saw was the same man looking across the road, but his eyes were scanning up & down the road to find us. We were right there looking at him & very close to our vehicle, but it seemed that we had disappeared before his eyes. We got into the van, drove off, leaving this man floundering in wonder & disbelief. I've always wondered whether that man would have received another special revelation from the Lord, bringing him to his knees.
But in time, I sense that the 'city must have gone into an uproar' because of the extent of Christian literature reaching many hands & hearts. We soon had the police knocking at our door, & we were taken to the station in an open caged truck, charged, and taken before the courts, all on the same day. Fortunately, only a substantial monetary fine was given by the court, which of course we couldn't pay, but the Mission intervened. But the police were restless by our presence & wanted us out from the country, so eventually my Dutch brother & I were given our marching orders and expelled from the country. I felt very bad that our full term there (two years) couldn't be met, but the same Lord Who called me, led my team through interesting & challenging situations, was the same Lord Who knew our time to leave had arrived & He had other plans for missionaries there & for the special people of Pakistan (still very much on my heart). Onto Page 6.
That country was now closed to my re-entering, but India was open, so the Lord led me there - and that's another story. Sorry, to give so much detail brother, more than you probably expected, but I hope that it has given a brief overview of the work there, but most importantly that we all should learn, that nothing - NO NOTHING, is impossible with the Lord. When He calls or directs us to do something or be somewhere, He will also assure us of His Presence & provide us the wherewithal to live for Him & be His Mouthpiece to those who desperately need His precious Son. Every blessing brother.
Really really interesting stories brother, that leave a feeling to me that I am a lazy christian.
It is true that my church, which has a large number of branches all over Greece , but not too large in population, and in few countries abroad has the philoshopy of "save your house first". There has been some mission work in Africa more than 15 years ago but that effort was abandoned after a few years as not much successful, not worth the time and money to keep going any more. Mainly now our focus is in our close neighborhood, usually in countries north of Greece, but nothing really much has yet to succeed. but there are other churces like the Evangelicals that do a lot of work in those places. As I said the attention is in "our house". Maybe wrong but this is how it goes here. As you have realized from your missions in Europe, people in this continent tend to be apathetic, they don't want to have much to do with God. And this is also occuring lately even in countries with a strong Roman Catholic and Orthodox culture, still not as much as in the protestant regions of Europe. It is really funy that christianity mainly draws back exactly in those places where it flourished after the dark ages. Strange, isn't it? It is must be the apostacy that Paul talks about in his epistle to Thessalonians. By the way I am a Thessalonian. I was born and grew up in that city but have moved to my wife's mothercity later on.
Here in Greece we know all the stories about the genoside of the Armenians by the Turks at that time. Nowadays there is a large community of Armenians here in Greece since both nations share an Eastern Orthodox christian origin. but there are also many reborn Armenians. I know there are many reborn congregations in Armenia, too. Very peaceful nation I must admit, very peaceful and calm people. I admire the Armenian women. It must had been them that Paul had in mind when he was writing his epistles. Joke, but not far from truth.
The modern Turks are also different from their ancestors. Nowadays thousands of us go there and thousands of them come here just for travelling and holidays, mainly summer holidays. They are described as nice, warm people with a very strong feeling of hospitality but a bit fanatics about their religion and nation. I sometimes pray that God opens their eyes to see the truth. There also many christian congregations there.
Well these are some details from me. Thanks for your posts brother, I enjoyed them, but aso left me sad about me not doing something similar. But everybody has to go according to their gift from God and the measure of faith He has given to anyone. But we need people to go all over the world to spread the gospel. Here we pray to God to rise people like the apostles, strong not only in speech but in power as well. Jesus was telling to the Jews that "I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." ( John 8:18). How? "... for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me." ( John 6:36). if the ancient people who were easy to believe in myths had to see miracles to believe and we see how the gospel was spread to the world in those early ages through miracles and signs, how about modern people who are proud of their knowledge about everything? Not much will be done if God doesn't recomment His people. We desperately need God's actions. And we have messages from God that it will not go much more before He will act as in the ancient church. I want to believe that this is not the desire of our hearts and our imagination but true messages from God. I pray that God lights a fire in every nation on earth.
Lastly brother, you haven't tired me at all, on the contrary I was expecting more. it is like you are eating a nice meal and keep wanting more and more. Maybe some time you will tell us about your missions in India.
Brother Giannis. I could share a couple of other events (stories) during my short years in Pakistan as you enquired, not to project myself at all, but for the Glory & Praise of our Almighty Heavenly Father.
While on my own during my book-selling distribution work, I went from shop to shop to show the retailers the books, Gospel packets, & tracts that I had. After I finished with one shop the next one was a little way away, but when I came to it, it was a bookshop. I wondered whether they would be interested. I showed them the books: about the lives of the 'prophets', Jesus, of David, of Abraham, of Moses, etc., & the shop-keeper was very impressed, as he had never seen any literature giving details of these men of old. As you might know, the Quran refers to those men but never shares much detail about them as we read in the Bible.
The shop-keeper thought he had a windfall in some very special books that no other bookshop had to sell - indeed he could make a lot of money from selling these books. He then asked me to take out all the books from my bag & then asked for the total price I wanted for them all. He paid my price & I left thankful to him & of course, to the Lord, rejoicing on my way, & no heavy load to carry back with me. This has never ever happened to me before or after. One might think that that was all that the Lord had done (i.e. giving us such a great book sale; and I should add, the Mission never gave us any money to live, we had to learn to trust the Lord for it through book sales or any gifts).
But the Lord revealed to me something even more astounding, that only He could do. When I walked away from the bookshop, I turned around for some reason (just as I turned around at that other time when the Muslim priest was hounding us away). This time when I looked, I saw a large mosque connected to the bookshop. YES - I actually sold Christian books with the Gospel message clearly in them, to a Mosque bookshop. Onto Page 2.
I stood wondering what I had just done, knowing that if I had seen the Mosque prior to my arrival at the shop, I would have just walked by, and thinking that it would be impossible to sell here, even if I could muster up the courage to do so. As the Lord had earlier blinded the eyes of that priest raging against us, now the Lord blinded my own eyes so that His Word could get out. Again, I was left marveling at the Lord's Hand in all this, as well how easily those books would now have gone out to those Muslim devotees attending the mosque for their prayers & then purchasing 'Christian' books afterwards, receiving the Gospel into their hearts. I could never reach so many Muslims, & most would have rejected those books coming from me. This is all the Lord's Doing alone - I could never have done anything like this. We are but instruments in His Hands to reach out in ways that would ordinarily be impossible - for man - not for our God. And yes, as God had done in the past, with Pharaoh, Ahasuerus, Nebuchadnezzar, etc., He still can do today, using non-believers to help disseminate His Word.
At another time, my whole team of four (at that time) were in our van traveling to a pre-determined location to start some book sales, etc. At this time, I had another team member driving the van, and as we went down a narrow road with a short median road divider, a motor cycle rider wanted to overtake us. There wouldn't have been much room to do so, but 'insha'allah' (in God's Name) as he would have thought or shouted, having deemed the risk worth taking. But we had to take a right turn soon, my driver gave his turn indicator plus a hand signal (as one does there), but that wouldn't deter any Pakistani from proceeding with such a manoeuvre. The result? As we turned, with him suddenly beside us, our van struck him & down he went. Onto Page 3.
Ordinarily, the right thing to do would be to immediately stop & render help, even though my wise Dad once told me that if ever such an accident were to happen in that part of the world, it would be best & safest to keep on driving & go to the nearest police station to report it & get help. Why? Because the enraged mob near the accident site, who would think nothing of who was right or wrong in that situation, would simply come over to damage the 'offending' vehicle, pull out the occupants & do whatever they deemed fit because we collided with another person on the road, resulting in injury or death. Even with my Dad's advice spinning in my head, I just felt before the Lord, that I just couldn't drive off, even if had the responsibility of my team mates' lives. So, we pulled over & stopped & I asked my Pakistani brother, who was fluent in Urdu, to quickly go over & see to that fallen man. My team looked on with interest, as I too scanned over the people gathering & see their faces/actions. After a minute or two, what we saw amazed us. My Pakistani brother & the motorcyclist were laughing & hugging each other. Were we having a dream? Were these two related to each other? There should have been a mighty ruckus, flared tempers, & action against us. When things settled down, & the laughing & hugging ceased, my brother returned to us & we enquired about this extraordinary thing that just happened. And here we see the Lord once again intervening as only HE CAN.
The motorcyclist was recounting to our brother that just this past night, he had a most vivid awful dream, almost vison-like, where he woke up sweating & in a panic. He saw himself in a tragic accident the next day but before the dream/vision could end, he awoke not knowing how the accident would take place, when, or the outcome, whether his life was spared or lost. Of course, if I had such a dream, I probably wouldn't even leave my house for fear or else take public transport to work. Onto Page 4.
Yes, this man had a badly damaged motorbike, probably had some bruising & grazes, but he thought nothing of them, but that his life was spared. We rejoiced together with him, our brother shared the Gospel with him probably using this vehicle accident to show how Jesus came to spare his life from not only this accident but from a far worse accident & suffering awaiting him: Hell. Muslims know only too well about Hell, but this shaken bike rider was now able to see & understand how real this Jesus was in this tragedy & how real His Salvation is to all who call upon Him in Truth & Faith. And for us too as a team, we saw once again the Lord's intervention on our behalf, & the public were satisfied that all was well & then dispersed. We continued, without incident, to our area of book sales.
These were just two more incidents that I can so vividly remember (there would have been others also that are now vague), where we see how the Lord works so wonderfully on behalf of those who put Him first, not caring for our own lives, but for those going into a Christ-less eternity. May we all seek Him, His Righteousness & His Kingdom first in everything - He will add to all we need in this life, whether for provisioning, security, direction, strengthening, & giving us a fresh vision of all that He is to us who believe. Sadly, we inhibit Him for our lack of faith & boldness in stepping out with Him. Blessings brother & to all reading here.
Thank you brother Giannis for sharing your knowledge of those regions around you & further thoughts on what I presented. Yes, a Christian can be considered as 'lazy', if he has no interest in the state of another's soul or welfare, or being weak in faith, has no inclination to hear & respond to God's Voice to him. I think that we all, who earnestly desire to live & walk in the Holy Spirit, yearn to be of service or help to another: isn't this that Love that the Spirit fills us with - to see to another's needs & concerns first of all?
And what would be the most important way to do this, but to first have a very real ongoing concern for another's salvation & then see to their spiritual growth. And that is not just a concern for our family & friends, to whom are our first & great responsibility (our Jerusalem), but also to see to the 'Judeans, Samaritans, & the rest of the world', however we are able. When we are truly in tune with the Spirit, He will direct our paths to where & to whom we should go. But will we be obedient or else find some excuse? I think that is where we will suffer from receiving the fullness of God's Help & Blessing, whenever we know the leading of His Spirit towards a lost & helpless soul, but turn aside from His Word to us.
We all get opportunities to share the Gospel, but when we respond to the Spirit's prompting & directing, He will also embolden us, giving us His Words to share, not fearing what man might think of us or do. My own demeanor generally is to be reserved or even withdraw, but if put into a situation where I am able to converse with another, I always ask for the Lord's Help to speak or even to cause the other person to give me a lead-in question or statement that can be built on with the Gospel. In most of Asia, this isn't difficult as religion is 'built in' their belief system & outlook, but not so in the West. Onto Page 2.
I think you have misunderstood me. when I said the philosophy of my church is to "save your house first". I meant "house" as "country". So our focus is mainly for what can be done inside my country and nation and secondarily for other nations, as far as our hand can reach. I find it somehow strange to give your energy and time for others when your own people are in a desperate need. Our own comes first. Isn't this sensible and right? Of course there is a need for all the world, but not everybody can do that. Even in the early church, there were a few that worked as missioners outside Israel, mainly Paul with Timothy, Luke, Silas and the rest forming a small team. But the rest of the apostles stayed home and worked there. And also there is need to look carefuly what is done inside the church because times are tough and the world has started invading the church bringing inside the spirit and mind.of the world. And the young generations are very volnurable. They are affected. So everybody has to stay in their position. Not everybody is a head in the Body of Christ, not everybody is a hand, not everybody is a leg, but everybody has to take their own position in the church and work according to their gift or physical talent. So lets start spreading the good news of gospel to our neighbor first and then go a little bit further away. Thanks for the inspirational stories you have shared. I would like to read more in the future. Blessings.
Thanks brother for your clarification. And I fully agree with you that we have a mission field right where we live, but if the Lord should direct us further afield then our total obedience is required.
Why I wrote the way I did, was when you made it a personal shortcoming, when you said, 'that what I wrote made you feel like a lazy Christian and you also felt sad about not doing something similar'. So, I wrote with that thought in mind, not just for you, for many others, including myself, when we don't take up opportunities or the Spirit's leading to share something of eternal things with others. True, going to another country may not always be our 'calling', but I believe that for every believer, redeemed from their sins & from the certain destiny of hell, our hearts must "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in (us) with meekness and fear". And those last words, 'meekness and fear' are so meaningful: our manner of sharing cannot be overbearing or brash, but in gentleness listening to the other person's real needs & where they're at; and "in fear", not just in the seriousness of the message but for Whom we are speaking on behalf & knowing the horrible end of those who reject the Gospel.
So brother, my words were given quite generally, for we all have a sense that we could & should be doing more, whether at home or abroad, to make Christ known. Apologies, if I conveyed to you the wrong meaning. GBU.
Yes , briefly , I have seen an example of this in my own congregation . It's mostly ( about 90 percent ) made up of older people . Our elders are slightly younger . We got a large influx of Iranian refugees interested in learning the Truth , most of them under the age of 50 , and our elders became quite obsessed with them , to the detriment of the rest of the congregation .
We ordinary members waited for what we suspected was coming , and it did . After many months most of the Iranians drifted away , just a few if the younger ones stayed and our elders still spend a disproportionate amount of time with and on them . But the rest of us are strong in the Lord do we try not to get resentful about it . The Iranians that stayed seem nice enough and time will tell if their hearts are true . For a year or so our elders were very very focussed on them and I could see that some of our older members felt very neglected .
As one preacher often said, "if we are concerned & praying for lost souls, then God makes that prayer truly effective when we don't just sit & do nothing, but take up any opportunity He gives us to tell another that there is One Whose Name is Jesus, Who can lift that burden of sin & give a new blessed life in and through Him".
And you're right about the general apathy in Europe, indeed everywhere we go in most countries - people are simply not interested even to hear about these weightier & eternal matters anymore, but content to pursue their immediate dreams & lusts caring not for the destiny of their soul. My Mother-in-law (before she became one to me) was traveling, on a visit to London, on one of their double-decker buses, and sat next to a young girl for a part of that journey. She asked the girl about Jesus, & the girl, in all honesty & surprise, said that she never heard of this Jesus - didn't even know of such a name or such a Man. My m-i-l was totally amazed & floundered in disbelief that such people could exist, even in such a country as England where Christ was once so well proclaimed & largely embraced, even nominally.
May we earnestly pray for lost, hell-bound souls, and when we go out into their world, seek the Spirit's guidance to help someone find the correct way to a life of real joy, hope & peace with God our Redeemer. Every blessing & thanks brother for your sharing with us.
Thank you so much for this fabulous testimony of your mission work.
The need is very great for people in darkness to hear/read the gospel and be called into the light of Christ by grace through faith. May the Lord Jesus send out people according to His hoy calling.
Very true GiGi. The need to make Christ known is even greater today than ever before, & we shouldn't draw back even though hearts seem even harder & more distant to hear about their sin that separates them from a loving God & of their only hope that lies in Jesus. May the Lord Who gives us many opportunities to share Christ, also by His Spirit, direct us to those who are languishing in sin & despair, bringing them this glorious, liberating, healing heavenly hope. Thank you for reading that post to Giannis - all that took place between 1988-90. Blessings.
Thanks brother Giannis for your earlier question, hence this new thread.
So true, those we believe are too primitive or uneducated to know better, are quite often those who have learned to sort out their difficulties, whether in day-to-day matters or even dealing with sickness (by using the vegetation around them). It's just that we have refined ancient methods because of developments in technology & trial & error attempts to get over hurdles in life.
And yes, I'm happy to answer your query: I'm not of Pakistani origin, but of Indian origin: a hybrid actually, where my Father was Indian & my Mother was Armenian. As you would know that country: where the mountains of Ararat are located in that area comprising eastern Turkey & western Armenia. During the Armenian genocide (1915-1916) by the Ottoman Empire, a million or so Armenian Christians were either slaughtered or deprived of food, etc., though some escaped into nearby countries (my grandparents were amongst those who fled & went first into Iran & then into India to settle there).
Now to my short-term ministry: I went out with a specific calling by the Lord to serve overseas, even given the name of the Mission group, which I hadn't heard of before. Prior to that call, there was a group of us who went out each week to evangelize on the city streets, by preaching, tract distribution, & discussions with any who would listen (of course not many did). As my Church Fellowship (in Australia) was very missionary oriented, I remember many of the sermons were focussed on serving the Lord, always with the strong challenge: "why are you still sitting here comfortably instead being out there making Christ known?" In time, the Lord answered my prayer & the call to serve came very clearly whilst in morning prayer. I wasn't sure that it was His Word or just the surfacing of my earnest desires to serve, so my fleece was put out concerning the sale of my home & furniture. Onto Page 2.
In a short while, I received an unknown call from the UK by someone wanting to buy my house. I found that incredible as I didn't know him, nor had he seen my house. But through his agent in Aust., he purchased it above the market value, having never seen it & my never ever meeting him. And he bought all my furniture as well. This I knew could only be the Lord's doing, & His Word to GO was confirmed to me.
My first stint (Summer Campaign) with the Mission, was in France. Our team was called, L'Equipe Commando (or, Commando Team). We only had a smattering of French between us, so all we had to do, could do, was go from town to town in central France & 'bombard' them with Tracts & invites to a local Evangelical Fellowship. Life was a little difficult for us, as six of us travelled in a van, slept in tents in the fields, & subsisted on meagre rations (though only for a month). But we prayed that many, in a Roman Catholic dominated country, would be challenged afresh with the Gospel of Christ.
From there, the next Summer campaign I was placed into, was in Dewsbury, W. Yorkshire, U.K. Here, we batched in the local Church (Church of the Nazarene) accommodation & went door-to-door in a predominantly Muslim area. Not sure of what impact that had, but we knew that the Lord would take His Own Word & apply to every readied heart. For my next area of service, I had been given the option as to where to go. After prayer & wondering how the Lord was leading me thus far, I opted for Pakistan, having had that little exposure (for the first time) to Muslims & Islam in the U.K.
I was made the team leader of the Karachi Men's Team, probably being the oldest volunteer rather than from any other qualification. We had a dedicated team of three: a young Dutch lad, a really lovely godly young Pakistani brother, & myself. But we had brothers (mainly from the U.S.), who were based & serving in India but sent over to join with our team for short spells. Onto Page 3.
So, in our small flat with two bedrooms & one bathroom, we had to jostle for space amongst the 6 or 7 of us at any one time. Our days were filled with selling Gospel packets, Bibles, etc. to Muslim shop-keepers (at very low prices of course), talking to those able to converse in English, & getting to learn about where the 'common man' was in life, as a Muslim & resident of Pakistan. I also continued my own readings of the Quran so that I could better understand & converse with those who had questions. We rested in the evenings or preparing messages to share with Christian youth groups or taking Bible studies/preaching at various Fellowships. And Fridays of course, was our worship day, which took a little getting used to.
Yes, working as a Missionary in Pakistan (as per the special visa granted to us), was both delightful & challenging. I found the people very warm & welcoming, ready to talk 'religion', unlike the apathy we see in the West. But we were always aware of dangers around us, even as one shopkeeper lifted up his 'kamiz' (the extra-long shirt that reaches the knees) & revealed to me his holstered pistol. He warned me that what I was doing was very dangerous, but of course He didn't know the God Whom I served & Who called me. For me, I don't believe I ever considered the danger, though aware of it, because the fire that the Lord lit in my heart was sufficient to fulfil my responsibility to get God's Word out & leave the other matters to the Lord. Even when we ran out of money (from poor book sales in the market place) & I let my team know this, we went to prayer about the matter. If the Lord provided, we could eat - if not, we would continue to fast & pray. Onto Page 4.
As we finished laying this matter before the Lord, we had a couple of pastors come to the flat seeking to buy a number of books/Bibles - we now received enough so I could buy dinner for the team - how good is the God we love & serve, & how mindful is He of each one of His children no matter where they are & whatever they may be facing. 'His Arm is never shortened'.
Brother, I know this is long - probably more than you expected, but I actually have shared all this very briefly. And yes, there have been, as you've read, about killings of those who speak against their prophet or their Quran - even those family members who have left Islam have had to flee for their lives. We had a group there in the city, who took in those who turned to Jesus & gave them food, shelter, teaching, & other help. And one of them, an American, John Tarzwell, went in ministry to some rural areas, but was never heard of again. We knew what happened to that special brother. But these things should not prevent us from reaching lost, hungry souls with the message of Life & Hope in Jesus, and so we pressed on undaunted.
Just one story only, since you asked (but I've shared this before here, so please excuse the repetition): while my Dutch brother & I were selling or distributing literature in a small enclosed shopping area, I suddenly heard a lot of noise & commotion. I went over to find him surrounded by a mob & one very vocal Muslim maulana (a Muslim priest). I tried to appease him & began to take my brother away, while receiving his threats. We were told to leave the area at once, and so proceeded to do so, but frequently looking back to see if he was still following us. He was always a few steps behind with rage in his eyes & urging us forward. I even asked if we could have a tea stop to distract him, but that was rejected. Soon after, our van was appearing into view; the Maulana didn't know that of course. Onto Page 5.
I just asked the Lord, Who had delivered us many times before, to do a miracle that would prevent him from getting details of the vehicle, thereby putting our whole work & presence in the city in jeopardy. As we crossed the road to our vehicle, I mentioned to my young brother, let's just turn around to see this man once more. What we saw was the same man looking across the road, but his eyes were scanning up & down the road to find us. We were right there looking at him & very close to our vehicle, but it seemed that we had disappeared before his eyes. We got into the van, drove off, leaving this man floundering in wonder & disbelief. I've always wondered whether that man would have received another special revelation from the Lord, bringing him to his knees.
But in time, I sense that the 'city must have gone into an uproar' because of the extent of Christian literature reaching many hands & hearts. We soon had the police knocking at our door, & we were taken to the station in an open caged truck, charged, and taken before the courts, all on the same day. Fortunately, only a substantial monetary fine was given by the court, which of course we couldn't pay, but the Mission intervened. But the police were restless by our presence & wanted us out from the country, so eventually my Dutch brother & I were given our marching orders and expelled from the country. I felt very bad that our full term there (two years) couldn't be met, but the same Lord Who called me, led my team through interesting & challenging situations, was the same Lord Who knew our time to leave had arrived & He had other plans for missionaries there & for the special people of Pakistan (still very much on my heart). Onto Page 6.
That country was now closed to my re-entering, but India was open, so the Lord led me there - and that's another story. Sorry, to give so much detail brother, more than you probably expected, but I hope that it has given a brief overview of the work there, but most importantly that we all should learn, that nothing - NO NOTHING, is impossible with the Lord. When He calls or directs us to do something or be somewhere, He will also assure us of His Presence & provide us the wherewithal to live for Him & be His Mouthpiece to those who desperately need His precious Son. Every blessing brother.
Really really interesting stories brother, that leave a feeling to me that I am a lazy christian.
It is true that my church, which has a large number of branches all over Greece , but not too large in population, and in few countries abroad has the philoshopy of "save your house first". There has been some mission work in Africa more than 15 years ago but that effort was abandoned after a few years as not much successful, not worth the time and money to keep going any more. Mainly now our focus is in our close neighborhood, usually in countries north of Greece, but nothing really much has yet to succeed. but there are other churces like the Evangelicals that do a lot of work in those places. As I said the attention is in "our house". Maybe wrong but this is how it goes here. As you have realized from your missions in Europe, people in this continent tend to be apathetic, they don't want to have much to do with God. And this is also occuring lately even in countries with a strong Roman Catholic and Orthodox culture, still not as much as in the protestant regions of Europe. It is really funy that christianity mainly draws back exactly in those places where it flourished after the dark ages. Strange, isn't it? It is must be the apostacy that Paul talks about in his epistle to Thessalonians. By the way I am a Thessalonian. I was born and grew up in that city but have moved to my wife's mothercity later on.
Here in Greece we know all the stories about the genoside of the Armenians by the Turks at that time. Nowadays there is a large community of Armenians here in Greece since both nations share an Eastern Orthodox christian origin. but there are also many reborn Armenians. I know there are many reborn congregations in Armenia, too. Very peaceful nation I must admit, very peaceful and calm people. I admire the Armenian women. It must had been them that Paul had in mind when he was writing his epistles. Joke, but not far from truth.
See pt 2
The modern Turks are also different from their ancestors. Nowadays thousands of us go there and thousands of them come here just for travelling and holidays, mainly summer holidays. They are described as nice, warm people with a very strong feeling of hospitality but a bit fanatics about their religion and nation. I sometimes pray that God opens their eyes to see the truth. There also many christian congregations there.
Well these are some details from me. Thanks for your posts brother, I enjoyed them, but aso left me sad about me not doing something similar. But everybody has to go according to their gift from God and the measure of faith He has given to anyone. But we need people to go all over the world to spread the gospel. Here we pray to God to rise people like the apostles, strong not only in speech but in power as well. Jesus was telling to the Jews that "I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me." ( John 8:18). How? "... for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me." ( John 6:36). if the ancient people who were easy to believe in myths had to see miracles to believe and we see how the gospel was spread to the world in those early ages through miracles and signs, how about modern people who are proud of their knowledge about everything? Not much will be done if God doesn't recomment His people. We desperately need God's actions. And we have messages from God that it will not go much more before He will act as in the ancient church. I want to believe that this is not the desire of our hearts and our imagination but true messages from God. I pray that God lights a fire in every nation on earth.
Lastly brother, you haven't tired me at all, on the contrary I was expecting more. it is like you are eating a nice meal and keep wanting more and more. Maybe some time you will tell us about your missions in India.
Blessings.
Brother Giannis. I could share a couple of other events (stories) during my short years in Pakistan as you enquired, not to project myself at all, but for the Glory & Praise of our Almighty Heavenly Father.
While on my own during my book-selling distribution work, I went from shop to shop to show the retailers the books, Gospel packets, & tracts that I had. After I finished with one shop the next one was a little way away, but when I came to it, it was a bookshop. I wondered whether they would be interested. I showed them the books: about the lives of the 'prophets', Jesus, of David, of Abraham, of Moses, etc., & the shop-keeper was very impressed, as he had never seen any literature giving details of these men of old. As you might know, the Quran refers to those men but never shares much detail about them as we read in the Bible.
The shop-keeper thought he had a windfall in some very special books that no other bookshop had to sell - indeed he could make a lot of money from selling these books. He then asked me to take out all the books from my bag & then asked for the total price I wanted for them all. He paid my price & I left thankful to him & of course, to the Lord, rejoicing on my way, & no heavy load to carry back with me. This has never ever happened to me before or after. One might think that that was all that the Lord had done (i.e. giving us such a great book sale; and I should add, the Mission never gave us any money to live, we had to learn to trust the Lord for it through book sales or any gifts).
But the Lord revealed to me something even more astounding, that only He could do. When I walked away from the bookshop, I turned around for some reason (just as I turned around at that other time when the Muslim priest was hounding us away). This time when I looked, I saw a large mosque connected to the bookshop. YES - I actually sold Christian books with the Gospel message clearly in them, to a Mosque bookshop. Onto Page 2.
I stood wondering what I had just done, knowing that if I had seen the Mosque prior to my arrival at the shop, I would have just walked by, and thinking that it would be impossible to sell here, even if I could muster up the courage to do so. As the Lord had earlier blinded the eyes of that priest raging against us, now the Lord blinded my own eyes so that His Word could get out. Again, I was left marveling at the Lord's Hand in all this, as well how easily those books would now have gone out to those Muslim devotees attending the mosque for their prayers & then purchasing 'Christian' books afterwards, receiving the Gospel into their hearts. I could never reach so many Muslims, & most would have rejected those books coming from me. This is all the Lord's Doing alone - I could never have done anything like this. We are but instruments in His Hands to reach out in ways that would ordinarily be impossible - for man - not for our God. And yes, as God had done in the past, with Pharaoh, Ahasuerus, Nebuchadnezzar, etc., He still can do today, using non-believers to help disseminate His Word.
At another time, my whole team of four (at that time) were in our van traveling to a pre-determined location to start some book sales, etc. At this time, I had another team member driving the van, and as we went down a narrow road with a short median road divider, a motor cycle rider wanted to overtake us. There wouldn't have been much room to do so, but 'insha'allah' (in God's Name) as he would have thought or shouted, having deemed the risk worth taking. But we had to take a right turn soon, my driver gave his turn indicator plus a hand signal (as one does there), but that wouldn't deter any Pakistani from proceeding with such a manoeuvre. The result? As we turned, with him suddenly beside us, our van struck him & down he went. Onto Page 3.
Ordinarily, the right thing to do would be to immediately stop & render help, even though my wise Dad once told me that if ever such an accident were to happen in that part of the world, it would be best & safest to keep on driving & go to the nearest police station to report it & get help. Why? Because the enraged mob near the accident site, who would think nothing of who was right or wrong in that situation, would simply come over to damage the 'offending' vehicle, pull out the occupants & do whatever they deemed fit because we collided with another person on the road, resulting in injury or death. Even with my Dad's advice spinning in my head, I just felt before the Lord, that I just couldn't drive off, even if had the responsibility of my team mates' lives. So, we pulled over & stopped & I asked my Pakistani brother, who was fluent in Urdu, to quickly go over & see to that fallen man. My team looked on with interest, as I too scanned over the people gathering & see their faces/actions. After a minute or two, what we saw amazed us. My Pakistani brother & the motorcyclist were laughing & hugging each other. Were we having a dream? Were these two related to each other? There should have been a mighty ruckus, flared tempers, & action against us. When things settled down, & the laughing & hugging ceased, my brother returned to us & we enquired about this extraordinary thing that just happened. And here we see the Lord once again intervening as only HE CAN.
The motorcyclist was recounting to our brother that just this past night, he had a most vivid awful dream, almost vison-like, where he woke up sweating & in a panic. He saw himself in a tragic accident the next day but before the dream/vision could end, he awoke not knowing how the accident would take place, when, or the outcome, whether his life was spared or lost. Of course, if I had such a dream, I probably wouldn't even leave my house for fear or else take public transport to work. Onto Page 4.
Yes, this man had a badly damaged motorbike, probably had some bruising & grazes, but he thought nothing of them, but that his life was spared. We rejoiced together with him, our brother shared the Gospel with him probably using this vehicle accident to show how Jesus came to spare his life from not only this accident but from a far worse accident & suffering awaiting him: Hell. Muslims know only too well about Hell, but this shaken bike rider was now able to see & understand how real this Jesus was in this tragedy & how real His Salvation is to all who call upon Him in Truth & Faith. And for us too as a team, we saw once again the Lord's intervention on our behalf, & the public were satisfied that all was well & then dispersed. We continued, without incident, to our area of book sales.
These were just two more incidents that I can so vividly remember (there would have been others also that are now vague), where we see how the Lord works so wonderfully on behalf of those who put Him first, not caring for our own lives, but for those going into a Christ-less eternity. May we all seek Him, His Righteousness & His Kingdom first in everything - He will add to all we need in this life, whether for provisioning, security, direction, strengthening, & giving us a fresh vision of all that He is to us who believe. Sadly, we inhibit Him for our lack of faith & boldness in stepping out with Him. Blessings brother & to all reading here.
There very encouraging.
You've shared them in part, but not in much detail. Thanks again!
It's a reminder that if God's will is in it he will see it through.
Blessings to you Brother for all that you do and being an example for the Glory of God.
Thank you brother Giannis for sharing your knowledge of those regions around you & further thoughts on what I presented. Yes, a Christian can be considered as 'lazy', if he has no interest in the state of another's soul or welfare, or being weak in faith, has no inclination to hear & respond to God's Voice to him. I think that we all, who earnestly desire to live & walk in the Holy Spirit, yearn to be of service or help to another: isn't this that Love that the Spirit fills us with - to see to another's needs & concerns first of all?
And what would be the most important way to do this, but to first have a very real ongoing concern for another's salvation & then see to their spiritual growth. And that is not just a concern for our family & friends, to whom are our first & great responsibility (our Jerusalem), but also to see to the 'Judeans, Samaritans, & the rest of the world', however we are able. When we are truly in tune with the Spirit, He will direct our paths to where & to whom we should go. But will we be obedient or else find some excuse? I think that is where we will suffer from receiving the fullness of God's Help & Blessing, whenever we know the leading of His Spirit towards a lost & helpless soul, but turn aside from His Word to us.
We all get opportunities to share the Gospel, but when we respond to the Spirit's prompting & directing, He will also embolden us, giving us His Words to share, not fearing what man might think of us or do. My own demeanor generally is to be reserved or even withdraw, but if put into a situation where I am able to converse with another, I always ask for the Lord's Help to speak or even to cause the other person to give me a lead-in question or statement that can be built on with the Gospel. In most of Asia, this isn't difficult as religion is 'built in' their belief system & outlook, but not so in the West. Onto Page 2.
I think you have misunderstood me. when I said the philosophy of my church is to "save your house first". I meant "house" as "country". So our focus is mainly for what can be done inside my country and nation and secondarily for other nations, as far as our hand can reach. I find it somehow strange to give your energy and time for others when your own people are in a desperate need. Our own comes first. Isn't this sensible and right? Of course there is a need for all the world, but not everybody can do that. Even in the early church, there were a few that worked as missioners outside Israel, mainly Paul with Timothy, Luke, Silas and the rest forming a small team. But the rest of the apostles stayed home and worked there. And also there is need to look carefuly what is done inside the church because times are tough and the world has started invading the church bringing inside the spirit and mind.of the world. And the young generations are very volnurable. They are affected. So everybody has to stay in their position. Not everybody is a head in the Body of Christ, not everybody is a hand, not everybody is a leg, but everybody has to take their own position in the church and work according to their gift or physical talent. So lets start spreading the good news of gospel to our neighbor first and then go a little bit further away. Thanks for the inspirational stories you have shared. I would like to read more in the future. Blessings.
Why I wrote the way I did, was when you made it a personal shortcoming, when you said, 'that what I wrote made you feel like a lazy Christian and you also felt sad about not doing something similar'. So, I wrote with that thought in mind, not just for you, for many others, including myself, when we don't take up opportunities or the Spirit's leading to share something of eternal things with others. True, going to another country may not always be our 'calling', but I believe that for every believer, redeemed from their sins & from the certain destiny of hell, our hearts must "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in (us) with meekness and fear". And those last words, 'meekness and fear' are so meaningful: our manner of sharing cannot be overbearing or brash, but in gentleness listening to the other person's real needs & where they're at; and "in fear", not just in the seriousness of the message but for Whom we are speaking on behalf & knowing the horrible end of those who reject the Gospel.
So brother, my words were given quite generally, for we all have a sense that we could & should be doing more, whether at home or abroad, to make Christ known. Apologies, if I conveyed to you the wrong meaning. GBU.
We ordinary members waited for what we suspected was coming , and it did . After many months most of the Iranians drifted away , just a few if the younger ones stayed and our elders still spend a disproportionate amount of time with and on them . But the rest of us are strong in the Lord do we try not to get resentful about it . The Iranians that stayed seem nice enough and time will tell if their hearts are true . For a year or so our elders were very very focussed on them and I could see that some of our older members felt very neglected .
As one preacher often said, "if we are concerned & praying for lost souls, then God makes that prayer truly effective when we don't just sit & do nothing, but take up any opportunity He gives us to tell another that there is One Whose Name is Jesus, Who can lift that burden of sin & give a new blessed life in and through Him".
And you're right about the general apathy in Europe, indeed everywhere we go in most countries - people are simply not interested even to hear about these weightier & eternal matters anymore, but content to pursue their immediate dreams & lusts caring not for the destiny of their soul. My Mother-in-law (before she became one to me) was traveling, on a visit to London, on one of their double-decker buses, and sat next to a young girl for a part of that journey. She asked the girl about Jesus, & the girl, in all honesty & surprise, said that she never heard of this Jesus - didn't even know of such a name or such a Man. My m-i-l was totally amazed & floundered in disbelief that such people could exist, even in such a country as England where Christ was once so well proclaimed & largely embraced, even nominally.
May we earnestly pray for lost, hell-bound souls, and when we go out into their world, seek the Spirit's guidance to help someone find the correct way to a life of real joy, hope & peace with God our Redeemer. Every blessing & thanks brother for your sharing with us.
Thank you so much for this fabulous testimony of your mission work.
The need is very great for people in darkness to hear/read the gospel and be called into the light of Christ by grace through faith. May the Lord Jesus send out people according to His hoy calling.
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