Soccer, Kebabs, and Injil, 08: Stories of Believers

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Soccer, Kebabs, and Injil, 08: Stories of Believers

Posted by Justin Long ⋅ July 3, 2008 ⋅

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This series has been generously contributed from a booklet by Stephen Jordan (pseudonym) entitled “Soccer, Kebabs, and the Injil.” Jordan spent a year in ministry among Muslims in a Central Asian country, and jotted down his experiences and interactions in these brief chapters. The lessons learned demonstrate that, given an open heart, a humble spirit, and adequate preparation, short-term missions among Muslims can still have a fruitful impact on listeners and evangelist alike. We are happy to make this little volume available to you in the hopes that it will 1) show what daily life is like for many Muslims, 2) encourage prayer for unreached people groups, and 3) perhaps even motivate many to go and be a part of what God is doing in what are usually referred to as “creative-access” situations. If you would like a copy of the printed version of the booklet, or you would like to be placed on the mailing list of ReachAcross (formerly Red Sea Team International), please contact info.us…@reachacross.net.

Why had I come to this country? For the excitement and adventure, surely. In order to experience a new culture and learn a new language as well. Not to be caught up in the comfortable Western routine 24/7 job, perhaps. But at the core of the matter, the most profound desire of my heart was to work out my faith. To live out my purpose on this earth. As a broken and fallen vessel, I hoped God would use me and show His love through me to the people of this country. The meat and potatoes of my time in the country were spent with individuals hungry for hope, longing to come into a right relationship with God. They longed for Jesus.

I had no great expectations, really. Knowing that, so far in my life, I had not been bestowed with a great gift of evangelism – at least not how I understood it – and that work among Muslims takes years and decades before bearing fruit, I thought that perhaps a few very close friendships with many “salty” conversations would be all I could hope for. I hoped to help build the groundwork by showing the love of Jesus in deeds, so that others coming after me could take part in the actual harvest. Furthermore, I knew that one or two young men had professed faith in Jesus, and needed someone to help support them. As the only guy on my team, I figured this would be a big part of my job.

But God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or hope for. Upon my arrival, I discovered that He had set in motion a steady trickle of young men who were accepting Jesus into their lives. One young man, a brave and impetuous one, had come to faith, and was bringing all his friends to hear the message. In my first month in the country, we must have had at least 10 guys come to us ready to accept Jesus. I became acquainted with over three dozen local believers, most of them newly so, before I left. A truly amazing occurrence this was in this conservative, traditional, and so far quite un-reached Muslim country. God was at work, and this had absolutely very little, if not anything at all, to do with my presence there.

Each of these young men had their own tale to tell. Each of them was at a unique point in their life, and had arrived there differently. Paul, the brave one, with a colorful and violent past, experienced a quick dramatic life change from womanizer to committed follower of Christ. His friend Frank took his time. I think his main motive for accepting Jesus, other than pushy Paul, was his unwillingness to continue practicing the stringent Muslim ritual requirements. The lazy fellow figured that the message of forgiveness gave him just the excuse he needed! He remained scared to death, however, to tell anyone about his new allegiance. Over a period of twelve months, God continued to work in his life. Towards the end of my time, he took a trove full of Christian materials into his home village a day’s drive away. A bold move, considering the fact that villages tend to be much more strictly governed by religious authorities, and his entire family and social structure resided there. He ran into trouble later on, but I do not exactly know now how he is doing.

Early on Frank brought his friend Ben to us, who in turn brought his friend Walter. Walter was an intelligent and well-read young man in his mid-twenties who had lived the majority of his life outside his native country before returning a few years before. Ben had professed faith in Christ, and when I asked Walter about his faith, it seemed to me that he had done the same. He always had a rather melancholic look and air about him, evident to my other teammates as well. We interacted regularly throughout my time in the country, but often he would not show up for months and then come to seek me out several times a week at other times.

With time, I realized that he was a very different fellow than most of the other guys. He asked different questions. Whereas others were hungry to know how their new faith could be practically applied in every day life, and asked basic questions, Walter seemed to always arrive with questions about obscure theological concepts or wanted to talk about esoteric philosophic themes. One of his favorite topics to discuss was his interesting notion of evolution. I don’t think I ever fully wrapped my head around exactly what he meant by it, as he didn’t seem to refer to Darwin’s biological theory. Part of the problem could have been his imperfect knowledge of English and my inadequate command of the local language. While he liked to study the Bible with me, he seemed somewhat uninterested in studying at home. Partly this was due to his rather inordinate fear of discovery. He usually was not willing to meet with other believers, much less discuss his opinions.

During one talk, I was enlightened as to where I exactly was at with him. We were talking about the authenticity of the Bible, the value of the Qur’anic message, and the exclusive nature of Jesus’ claims, when he continued to claim truth in all religions. While I was and still am willing to agree that all faiths have redeemable qualities, his position seemed to me overly universalist. I had assumed him to be a follower of Jesus, although, obviously at a different point in life than others. He was, however, in his own words, just as committed to the Qur’an and its teachings as to the Bible. This new revelation shocked me a little bit, and I must say that I lost my cool with him, something that has perhaps happened too many times in my life. Arguments I have been involved in have often gotten quite heated.

Afterwards, I realized, one among many insights, I had a true free-thinker on my hands. I also realized that losing my cool was a big mistake, particularly in a culture that values politeness and saving face above anything else, including speaking one’s opinions. Walter had been coming to meet with me because he was searching for the truth and wanted to interact and converse with an open-minded fellow that was moderately well-educated about the workings and intricacies of this world. As a member of a highly influential family among his ethnic group, he was most probably obligated to strictly adhere to the Islamic faith. He undoubtedly had his fill of speaking to Mullahs who generally aren’t too interested in taking a broad view of this world. They would not be very happy about the questions Walter was asking, or the inquisitive nature of his mind.

I had enjoyed my conversations with Walter to this point, and I imagine he had as well. However, when I so vocally expressed my displeasure with his current beliefs, I basically played the same role as the narrow-minded Mullahs, who would get agitated with people not towing the party line. I was in danger of discarding the main reason Walter was coming to talk with me. And in truth, he did not come to visit me for some time, although that could have very well been due to personal reasons. He remained paranoid of discovery till the time I left. Thankfully, he came to visit me several more times, and we exchanged books to read.

I still receive e-mails from Walter infrequently, and he is still searching, and still afraid. He is on a journey, although I’m not sure where he’s at. He does not live in a society that would look kindly on his intellectual wanderings. And to tell the truth, many missionaries would not have the patience to interact with him. Or they would not think it worth their while to spend time with someone who might not show much “evangelistic” potential.
However, from Walter’s and other people’s stories, I have realized that walking towards God is a journey, often a long-drawn out process. This is not only true of this Muslim country, but perhaps more and more so of our post-modern Western societies. I believe God has called us to accompany people on their journeys, as we seek to continue on our own.

I have mentioned Samuel previously, the one who brought bushy-bearded David to talk to me. Samuel had come spent time at our office several times during my year, mostly for the English classes we offered for two weeks every month or so. Marcus happened to be in the same English class as Samuel, and whether they became friends while in class or were so well before, I don’t know. During these English classes, their interest in Jesus was piqued, particularly after viewing the Jesus film during a voluntary session at the end of the two weeks. A few days later, they both decided to follow Jesus together. For us this was a remarkable event, as they had each other to rely on in their new-found journey, and not just us foreigners. Muslim background believers are usually quite distrustful of other local professing believers, but Samuel and Marcus already had a small little fellowship together.

They started coming to the office regularly to meet with me. We would read passages of scripture together, where I preferred to start them out in the beginning, namely the creation of the earth and man in Genesis. They would ask all sorts of questions as well, usually very non-theological and practical, and often quite distracting to my own purposes! They were young guys in their late teens, and were, in a way, clinging to me for nurture. What an unaccustomed position this was for me, the youngest child and only boy out of four children. In typical local fashion, they came regularly, but certainly not always at the most convenient of times, and quite often unscheduled. Unlike in the West, people, not time, are given the highest priority in this culture.

As both continued to come to me together, I began to notice several behavioral patterns in both, and particularly in Marcus. While I had given both a copy of the New Testament in their own language, they almost never read the suggested portion of scripture I had assigned them the previous time. They said they could not keep the Injil, as it is called, in their homes for lack of privacy. This was typical behavior, as believers are at great risk of being found out by their families, particularly if they are still under the authority of their fathers. However, Marcus also began to ask me if he could borrow certain electronic items I had. He showed particular interest in my digital camera. Upon his request, I let him borrow the battery charger for my camera.

One day, Marcus came to the office alone to see me. He was obviously in distress. He gazed at me intensely before popping the question. Would I be able to give him a computer from our office? This was shocking, and disillusioning. Had Marcus befriended us and feigned interest in the faith only for material gain? I clearly told him that I could do no such thing. With a resigned and defeated look on his face, he told me that his father had suspected him of becoming a Christian. Why was he spending so much time with the foreigners? Apparently, Marcus denied this, and told his father that he was actually buying a computer from us. That’s why he had asked for the computer, as a cover-up to pacify his father. He obviously didn’t have money to buy one. Showing disappointment that I was not aiding him in this instance, he told me he would no longer be able to see me. He would no longer be able to be a Christian. He would support the cause privately, but never again would he profess to follow Jesus.

While saddened at this development, I wondered at the strange tale he told me. Some of my team-members actually showed relief that Marcus was no longer coming. They had been suspicious of him from the beginning. One way or the other, it seemed like we would not get the opportunity to see the bottom of the story. Marcus was gone. However, after a month of self-imposed exile, he showed up again for one of our English classes. And he started meeting with me again, usually together with Samuel, who had continued coming even after Marcus no longer did. He had brought David with him during this time.

I did not ask Marcus why he had decided to return, or at least I don’t remember so, but his strange behavior turned even stranger. We would find him wandering around the office on his own, a no-no in local etiquette and a trespass of our own rules. Coincidentally, my digital camera got lost around the same time, never to be recovered. Marcus had never returned the battery charger I had lent him earlier. When I confronted him about his wanderings without mentioning possible theft, he accused me of spying on him, recording our conversations to use them as blackmail, and other strange conspiracies. After calming down his fears and assuring him of my good intentions towards him, He returned a tape-recorder I had been using for language practice and hadn’t noticed was gone.

Was inordinate fear of discovery the source of his strange behavior? It certainly seemed plausible in the climate of the local culture. And why would he return my tape-recorder if he was a thief? Perhaps someone else had stolen my camera. Shortly afterwards, however, other expensive pocket-sized electronic items, this time not my own, got lost. While I wanted to show as much grace as possible to a brother, other team-members were bent on exposing Marcus and banning him from our premises. We compromised and decided to confront him on the issue. Interestingly enough, instead of giving us a straight answer, he instead turned the tables on us, expressing outrage that we would throw around accusations like this. He never admitted to any kind of theft. Our patience, however, had worn too thin. Too much damage had already been caused by the lost items – we had even suspected some of our own staff, and caused relational damage because of that.

Eventually, we told Marcus to stay away from the office for a while, at least several months. In another strange twist, he had started spreading rumors about another believer and friend of ours who we did not know was connected to Marcus. Apparently they attended the same school. I never saw Marcus again, nor have I stayed in contact with him. I did receive e-mails from good-hearted Samuel who was having troubles of his own. But I do not know how he is doing these days.