Seeking and Finding

As I prayed and scouted the region to discover where other new believers are assembling, the Lord showed me Hasam, Emra, and Wolfgang. 

Hasam has between 48 -52 new believers he is trying to disciple in a small evangelical German speaking church on the north side of the city. Hasam is sold out for Jesus and the church is trying to help as best they can. Since the church doesn’t speak Persian, and translators are few and far between, this is a unique challenge. Wolfgang is the pastor of that church. He is a deep thinker, strategist, and a powerful preacher of God’s Word. 

Emra is the daughter of an Iranian Couple. Her parents escaped from Iran when she was about 16. Her German is very good and her passion for worship is incredible. She helps her parents disciple and pastor some 80 believers, some relatively new in the faith. She told me last Sunday, “Yes many came to us needing help with their asylum problems. We tried to pour into them as much of God’s truth as we could. After they came to faith none seem to leave the church after they received asylum.  Emra’s focus is worship and the worship band grooves in full power praise to Jesus. At the end of the worship service last Sunday many of the members were waving colorful flags with the cross, singing Hallelujah in all fervor. You had to be there. What an encore!

Praying to better understand the situation of the Immigrant churches.

One thing is very clear: there is a need for discipleship.

From Orphan to Father and Son Relationship

The judge said provocatively, 

“Why should I believe you are a true Christian? I think you just became a Christian in order to stay here.”

(name has been changed)

Hamid was given a well placed Word which lodged into the forehead of the Giant: 

“When you become a Christian your relationship becomes a Father to son relationship.” 

The judge said nothing for around 30 seconds. Then he said,

 “I need to let that soak in.” 

The judge thought for a while longer and then proceeded with more questions.

At the end of the proceeding the judge said that he felt his relationship with God is like a Father to son relationship. 

Hamid was impressed by this very subject in a discipleship class and that was one of the stones Jesus gave Hamid to help him overcome his Giant. Of course he said many other things to testify his true conversion, but the fact that he entered a relationship with his heavenly Father was the most impactful.

Hamid’s lawyer really did not have to say much, the case was won. Hamid was promised asylum and now he has the hard work of mastering the language, getting the best education he can (he can hardly read or write) and get a job as soon as possible. 

Yes Hamid loves Jesus and he is trying hard to bring his cousins and friends to Jesus, but he also has to become a supporting part of our society. I feel most strongly he will help carry the burden because he knows Jesus, and Jesus is helping him, and motivating him by grace.

Thanks for praying!

Refugee Discipleship Prayer

Need more prayer:

Ali  - We continue to pray that he will become more teachable and take the necessary steps needed to become stable in all areas of his life. He did recently receive a student visa, praise the Lord. He is performing at a European international music contest this month. If he wins it could open doors for him to stay here. Going back could be his death.

Rasak (son of a martyr) He continues strong. He received asylum and there are many added things for him to do. I’m concerned that he is no longer teaching his discipleship class. His great abilities in translating, technical support for the church,  helping others, and completing his education has become his schedule. I believe his teaching in discipleship would be a better choice. It’s hard for him to say no to those who need help. I can relate.

Nanna ( I named her Anna in the last urgent call to prayer email).  She is off the radar and we continue to pray for her safety. Praise God she was not deported. That country would have arrested her at the airport and then quite possibly martyred her.

Sara is appealing after receiving a negative on her asylum interview. She then has one more chance. If she is sent back to her country she will also quite possibly be martyred. She has been witnessing back home via internet to her mother and some close friends. Praying they will not get caught.

Peahen was promised a positive for her asylum case, but this was also promised to two others in our Biblical Leadership Training class. They recently received a negative. Pray she will truly receive asylum. She is at the point of no return.

Pray for all the other brothers and sister that have received a negative and are at the point of no return. A m@s lam converted to Christ has very little chance of survival if sent back home.  

Thank you for your prayers!

God's Intervention in the Life of a Refugee

A Refugee’s story: (names changed to protect the innocent)

I have not been sleeping well for a very very long time. I focused my time before the asylum interview on growing in Jesus and studying the Bible. Before I went into the asylum interview I prayed.  Others were praying for me too. 

As I recall, it felt like the room for the interview was somehow brighter than my first interview, …almost 2 years ago. I felt the Spirit of God on me, and even as I walked, it seemed like I was walking a little lighter.

Although my asylum case is primarily for political reasons, the interviewer told me he needed to be convinced that I am a Christian.

He asked me, "how do I know that this marked up, underlined, well used Bible is yours?" I showed him the name of my son written on the outside binding. 

He asked me to find the 10 commandments in the Bible and I did, although I am not very good at finding specific addresses in the Bible. 

I am reading and studying to understand, and not just to memorize things to answer for the interviewers test.  I told him all I knew about the 10 commandments by heart. 

He then asked me to find Psalm 23. Although I had made my own tabs of specific places in my Bible, I had not marked the Psalms. Since I was not sure where that was in the Bible I prayed for help silently and opened the Bible right to the passage. 

I started crying. The interviewer wondered why. I explained. 

Then he asked me to teach him from the Bible. He said, “ if you were to teach someone from the Bible where would you start?” I said, when teaching someone it depends on where the person is at. He said, “ok, then teach me. Where will you start?” I started in Genesis. I had gone through the classes on the first five books of the Bible and had done the character studies through those books also. Now the Lord was using that, and I began to teach. 

The Lord made me bold that day. I told the government official that God was using his questions and this opportunity to teach him about God. 

After around an hour and a half he seemed convinced. He told me, “the first time you came for an asylum interview you were like a little bud of a flower, but now you have bloomed.” He saw spiritual growth?

He then asked me what occupation I would pursue in this country. I told him I want to become a pastor. He said, “there's no money in that.” I said, true, but God teaches us that money is not the most important thing. 

He asked me, “why have you not learned very much German while you were waiting for this interview.”
I said, I was concentrating on God’s word. That’s my focus.  

The translator told me that he thought I would get asylum. He also told me how difficult it was to translate me because I was using such difficult words. He probably meant the Bible words and thoughts I was teaching. 

The official then went and talked to one of the women from the church who had accompanied me. She told him of my strong desire to grow in the faith. 

The interviewer-official showed true interest in all that I was saying and this encouraged me as I spoke. 

The Lord gave me the words and made me strong and courageous. 

My observations:

Peahen baked a cake and brought it to our Bible study. We celebrated and were all encouraged to hear how the Lord had worked in her asylum interview. She said, 

“ I sleep very well now and the weight of the heavy backpack has been taken from my shoulders.”  

I asked her if she thought the interviewer was a Christian that has the Spirit of God living inside him (born again).       She said thinking back,....... " I think so." 

For me this is the first time I have ever heard of such an interview, where the focus of all the questions were on the message of the Bible. Usually the questions to prove if an asylum seeker truly is a Christian are based on how much they know about various Catholic traditions and the differences between Protestants and Catholics. They ask questions about developments within Christianity, and on facts that would be hard for anyone to answer without googling to get the details. This time it was on the meaning and interpretation of scripture. 

I find it funny that when the interviewer ask Peahen what she prays from the Bible, and to show him where it is in the Bible, she said, 

 “I pray from the heart not from the book.” 

Then he asked her, so what did you pray last? Peahen answered, 

“ I prayed that you will like me and give me a positive.”

Praise the Lord. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!