From Malachi: Update from Liverpool 3

The summer holiday in England began two weeks ago and will continue for the next four. During this period schedules change, and many people take vacations. My meetings with interns and pastors from other churches have ceased as well as staff meetings. I have more free time and I develop a schedule on a day-to-day basis. The pastor of Hope Church has left me with a list of ways that I can serve which include outreach, discipleship and facility improvement. One task I have headed up thus far is cleaning the chairs and carpet in the church. I also have been tasked with discarding equipment that was left behind (chairs, drums, two pool tables, etc.). A young man in the church has indicated that he will move in the next two years and does not feel drawn to invest. The church activities are an opportunity for him to learn to serve in the time and place which God has providentially ordained. A quote from a recent book I read was helpful: “Yesterday and tomorrow are not the moment the Lord calls us to serve in” (Serve by Steve Robinson).

A leader of the church is organizing an Alpha course during the summer. This course started in the UK many years ago and is an introductory series of videos for non-Christians. The small video segments which are followed up by discussion. This is a tremendous milestone following years of the church witnessing to the community. They host the event directly before the food pantry and that motivates a few more people to attend. God has blessed the meetings thus far. I am thankful that Michelle has been coming to these and that she interacts with the claims of Scripture without assuming she is a Christian. When Matthew 11:28-29 was discussed, she commented that she wanted the relief from guilt and anxiety which that verse promised. There are also professing Christians who regularly attend the church who come and have been strengthened by the content of the videos. Maybe the hardest audience to interpret are some African women who come from very charismatic circles of Christianity and attend other churches. It is hard to discern how much the prosperity gospel may have influenced their thinking. One lady was sharing last week at the home group about her upbringing. Her father knew much about the Bible, and she was thankful how he disciplined her and challenged her to examine her life. But as we sat and discussed her upbringing, she recalled how he would direct her to the Revelation given to John reminding her that if she did not do good, she would experience the wrath described there. Or he would have her list out what good things and what bad things she had done and would ask her whether she thought she would go to heaven. Throughout the discussion it seemed that she grew up with a mindset that heaven is reserved for those whose good works outweigh their bad works. Thankfully in the home group we were able to work together in explaining how that mindset did not involve trusting in Christ and did not involve obedience from a thankful spirit. Hopefully she understood what we were urging her to believe.

During the last two weeks I have been able to connect via sports with immigrants in the park. The Wednesday cricket group was super welcoming to me joining and they were forgiving of my mistakes. During the time when our team bats there is much time to sit and talk. Hopefully, I can talk with some of them and maybe share the gospel or schedule an opportunity to meet for a meal. I am also thankful for this opportunity because it is a skill which may be useful later to connect with immigrants in a different context.

I also was able to join the Sri Lankans for volleyball again last week. While playing with them unexpectedly an Afghani fellow showed up and asked to play as well. He had very limited English but his friend who watched spoke better English. They struggled to understand the Sri Lankans who also have limited English, but they were able to understand me. I spoke with the fellow who was watching, and we exchanged contacts. He and his friend are seeking asylum and have only been in England for a short time. This was a tremendous answer to prayer and was least expected while I was looking for ways to interact with Sri Lankans. I will come back to talking about these Afghani fellows but first I would like to mention an Iranian couple which attends Hope Church.

This Iranian husband and wife are both professing Christians and are very joyous and hospitable although there is a definite language barrier. We are blessed with translation technology we can carry around in our pockets. Their testimony is encouraging. The wife had a cousin in Iran who spoke with her about Jesus and started studying the Bible with her. I was not told how this cousin became a Christian, but it is encouraging to hear that there are Christian Iranians who are witnessing to one another. The wife came to faith in Christ and was persecuted. From what I gathered the husband did not become a Christian while in Iran but nevertheless fled with his wife to protect her. Since coming to England, they connected with churches, and he has since believed.

We talked about governmental oppression in Iran and their report is like what I heard during Secret Church a few years ago. This couple was born into the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they were weary of it. The majority of Iranians despise the government and the Muslim Shiite rule. Their parents could recall former years when Iran was much freer and was rapidly progressing. The establishment of the Islamic Republic under Shiite Muslim principles was a devastating blow. Iranians largely would not have considered themselves Muslim and would not have identified themselves with the Arab religion. They would have considered themselves Persian. Before the Islamic Republic was established the culture was very liberal and reflected something like America or Great Britian. That society may have been somewhat irreligious. Today, many are Muslim because the government has forcibly established that as the religion. But culturally their practices are different. I got the impression that if the government were overthrown very few Iranians would continue to practice Islam. It seems like they would quickly transition to a godless and irreligious society if given the chance. That is quite an interesting concept. That a society known for being dominated by strict Muslim practices is truthfully disinterested in Islam. The couple in my church prays that the government in Iran would be replaced. This could grant more openness to Christian missions, but it could also reveal that Iranians are more spiritually disinterested than many think. This is insightful coming from an American context where Iran is associated with violent Islamic activity. But this represents only a small percentage of Iranians. This couple told me that the majority of Iranians are very lovely and hospitable people. They do not like their government any more than the Western world does.

On the topic of Muslim rule and Muslim religion I am very thankful for answered prayer in that I was able to meet and connect with three asylum seekers from Afghanistan. They are very friendly and hospitable though their English is also poor. On Monday I was blessed with the opportunity to take them for dinner to a local Turkish barbecue restaurant. Through your support I was able to buy them their dinner and they were very grateful. They have little money while they are waiting for an immigration decision. I had been praying for opportunities like this. From what I can gather they seem to have very few friends who speak English and I do not think any of them have ever had a Christian friend. At dinner on Monday they asked what work I did that brought me to the UK. I told them that I was not working but that I was volunteering at a church nearby. I did not realize at the time that they had not understood me. After our dinner they invited me to come over some day to their place for dinner. I went last evening, and it was a tremendous experience.

They live in subsidized housing which is poor and they usually eat their meals on a mat on the floor in one of the bedrooms. I was over at their place for many hours talking to one of the men while the others cooked dinner. During the time I was anxious as I thought about where there might be an open door and how he would perceive spiritual questions especially given his little English. I also was a bit fearful to use the translator app to ask spiritual questions. Thankfully God opened a door while talking with him because I realized that he did not know what the word “church” meant. I explained that it was like a Christian “mosque”. He proceeded to ask questions about Christian worship and holy days. He was surprised to hear that we sing in our gatherings. “Muslims don’t do music”. He asked me when I pray because prayer is such a fixed part of Muslim life. I explained that it varies regarding how long and when I pray. I tried to explain that I don’t pray memorized prayers. His prayers are memorized. During the conversation his two greatest surprises were to hear that I often pray when I am walking and that I can pray for other people. I am very thankful for every comment I could make about prayer. I tried to give him an example of the sorts of words and requests that I would make in prayer and talked about how God is my Father and that he provides me with what I need, and I can pray for those things. It seemed very apparent that he knows nothing about Christianity from a Christian. Also, he asked where our “Mecca” is. I tried to explain to him that Christianity is much different. I tried to avoid talking about denominations or Protestant/Catholic because his theological differences go to the very foundation of God’s being and are doctrines which all professing Christians confess (obvious outliers being Latter Day Saints and Jehovah Witnesses). I explained that there were different groups inside of Christianity just as there are different groups inside of Islam. He understood this. They are thankful for my friendship and were glad to practice their English some. I am glad they were not afraid of making mistakes.

Once again, they described the average citizens of their country as being very different than the ruling Taliban. They see the Taliban us uneducated, ruthless, and greedy. They also consider Pakistan to be the mother of all terrorists. Apparently, the Taliban derives its tactics from there. The political situation in Afghanistan is quite complicated because of the past involvement of America and Russia. In his minds both countries are corrupt and should never have been in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the void when American soldiers left was immediately filled by the Taliban and the situation in Afghanistan is much worse now. But, like the Iranian couple, they say that Afghani’s are very lovely and hospitable people and many of them despise the Taliban.

Another answer to prayer this last week was that I ran into Eddy again while walking through the park. The day I met him was June 24^th, and when we first talked he was really vulnerable up about his former life of sin and addiction. He has been sober for years but is still not satisfied or at peace and is tempted to throw off all restraint again. I gave him my contact, but he never reached out. I had been praying for the opportunity to see him again and I was delighted to run into him again at the local park this week. Once again, he was super open to talking and we walked and talked for maybe thirty minutes and went back and forth about how we view the world. It is quite interesting because he works in rehab for alcohol and is searching for meaning in helping other addicts. But he struggles to help others when in truth he does not have anything to promise them because his present life is hardly any better than his former life. Sometimes he prays and he asked whether it is wrong to pray to “Universe” instead of God. There is some reluctance to say God because he is timid towards Christianity, maybe because Christians are viewed as nutters. I was able to point out that “Universe” is unrelatable and unknowable. He can pray to “Universe”, but he does not know “Universe” and is not related to “Universe”. Whereas a Christian can pray to God as Father who has revealed himself. Likewise, we can know Jesus who came and dwelt among us in human flesh. If there was ever a knowable being, it was Jesus. The Apostle John saw him, heard him, and touched him. Since our conversation I have once again not heard from Eddy, but I pray that I see him again in the park.

Given that my time here in Liverpool is running out with only about three weeks left of availability I am praying for discernment as to how to connect these people (Eddy, Afghanis, and others) with the church while still seeking to share the gospel with them. I am thankful that Michelle feels at peace coming to church and has met many people already. I think it will be sad to leave these opportunities among others that I have had in Liverpool but maybe this is a good reminder that the Great Commission is a team activity. My prayer is that when I leave these people are connected with Christians from the church who can plow, plant, or possibly water the soil that God has directed me towards. I will pray that they can see fruit from my time here.

As I have written this report, I have tried to emphasize that there are many ways in which God has answered prayer. But truthfully, I am prone to rationalize these opportunities versus attributing them to God’s action. This is an area of faith where I desire to grow. Therefore, one of my prayers going forward is to pray with greater faith and attentiveness for opportunities and in turn to give God thanks when he answers these prayers. You can pray for me in these ways:

• That I would be more persuaded that God has worked when I see prayers answered.
• That I would connect my non-Christian friends with members of Hope Church.
• That I would be focused while organizing activities for the church and outreach.