Islam in Central Asia Torn Between the Past and the Future.

Gullia is Muslim and proud of it. Her people in Uzbekistan are all Muslim and it is unthinkable that she could be anything else. She is a pretty 19-year-old student who is into the latest fashions and music just like students all over the world. Gullia has an important exam next week so today she went to a shrine outside the city. She visited the grave of a holy man who is said to have performed many miracles. Gullia tied a small piece of cloth to the iron grill surrounding the shrine before stretching out her palms and praying for the saint to help her. She ran her hands down her face to transfer the blessing and murmured a quick “If God wills.” Orthodox Muslims would condemn this kind of superstition which dates back to the animistic beliefs of pre-Islamic Central Asia. These practices continue today with the frequent use of amulets, charms, curses and fortune telling. Gullia has never read the Qur’an and the only thing she knows about Islam is what her mother has passed on to her. Still, Gullia is proud of her glorious Islamic heritage.

Once she went on a school trip to Samarkand and was amazed by the dazzling tile work of the awe inspiring mosques built by Timurlane. Arab armies brought Islam to Central Asia in the 7th century. By the 14th century Samarkand and the region beyond the Oxus river was an intellectual center of the whole Muslim world. It boasted the most advanced astronomical observatory in the world at that time, while its poets and calligraphers were emulated all over the Middle East. Gullia didn’t hear much about Islam as she grew up since the 70 years of Russian communist rule repressed religious knowledge and belief. Muslim teachers were exiled to Siberia and it seemed that only elderly villagers continued to believe. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 more and more Central Asians have become interested in Islam as they seek to recover their historical identity. Gullia’s brother is fed up with the poverty and corruption he sees around him. He has read some Islamic books smuggled in from Afghanistan - but in secret for fear of being arrested and tortured by the police. Gullia herself shudders at the thought of being made to cover up like women in fundamentalist Iran. Some days Gullia wonders if there is another way to get closer to the God who seems so far away….

Drug and Alcohol Centers Offer Hope Along the Silk Road.

Lives ruined by alcohol and drugs are being transformed in a rehabilitation centre in a Central Asian country. The man behind it all is Rafael, who learned about the dangers of addiction the hard way. Once a prosperous family man, he lost everything as a result of alcoholism. In desperation while on a trip, Rafael cried out to God to restore his life. A short time later he converted to the Christian faith. Rafael began to reach out to those in prison. He made friends with a prisoner called Folka who also became a follower of Jesus Christ. Folka was dying from tuberculosis so the prison authorities released him to the care of Rafael, who promised to look after him for his last few days on earth. However, Folka didn’t die! God completely healed him from TB as well as from alcohol and drug abuse!

About the same time, Ina came to Rafael asking for help. Her life was a mess – she was a drug addict as were her two teenage children. Her husband was in jail. Rafael arranged for her and her sons to go through a rehabilitation program. Meanwhile, her husband Alex came out of prison and became a Christian. Rafael started to take other addicts into his home but soon became concerned at how many started drinking alcohol after they left. One night he had a dream in which he saw a vine. The branches were taken off the vine and then put back on. Rafael realized that the addicts needed a place where they could receive long term support. He and his wife put their home up for sale to purchase the grounds of a disused church where they set up ‘The Secret Place’ rehabilitation center. Pavel and his wife even sold their wedding rings to buy food for the addicts who came to stay. Now three years and incredible answers to prayer later, ‘The Secret Place’ offers men and women the opportunity to deal with their addictions and hear more about the Christian faith. Ira and Alec, along with Pavel and Wofka, run training programs every morning and oversee practical activities in the afternoons. Their vision is to see residents transformed by Jesus and go on to reach out to the surrounding communities. One of the residents is a young woman called Elsa. She grew up in a government orphanage but had to leave when she turned 18 years old. She was kidnapped and became someone’s slave. Elsa became pregnant and was sent to the hospital to get an abortion. The doctor took pity on her and arranged for her to be sent to the center. Now Elsa is literally hiding in the Secret Place with her daughter. 

Pavel had always felt inferior to Russians and tried desperately to match their heavy drinking habits. Eventually he lost his job as a gynecologist. His wife became a believer in Jesus and tried to persuade him to go to the centre but he refused. Later on Pavel became a beliver himself but was only able to stop drinking for several weeks. His church sent him to the Secret Place where he says he’s now living a new life! 

Rafael and his team have plans to build a second accommodation block for women. The main obstacle is finance and often Rafael is wondering where the next meal will come from. Please pray that God would be faithful to fulfilling the dream he gave Rafael so that many more broken lives can be made whole.

The Culture Shaping Power of Stories in the Koran, Torah, and the Bible.

Well told or written stories have the power to change people, communities, nations and the world. Stories have the power to bless or curse. There are stories that give an understanding of reality, and those that don't. Throughout history, we see that story telling has influenced cultures like the internet is doing today. The Greeks, Persians, Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, Chinese, Indians, Jews, and many other large people groups have all evolved into what they are today partly due to the stories that were handed down from generation to generation. The ancient countries of the Middle East, North Africa and along the Silk Road have been heavily influenced by stories that are thousands of years old. The Koran (Qur'an), Torah, and Bible have some of the oldest stories that include Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael and the tribes that followed.

The one who can tell the best story in the best way can often have the biggest influence. Not only the story itself, but how it is told and how others hear it. When the printing press came into being, millions more people were impacted through this mass media. Today it's the internet which we see can tell the stories of live revolutions such as those which occurred in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011.

In the beginning of the world, 75% of the way God communicated to man was through stories. The Biblical story is that God created a world and then invited mankind to live in that world. The Bible is a story of reconciliation and redemption.

Today there is an even bigger emphasis on storytelling. People love stories. People flock to movies all over the world. From Hollywood to Bollywood, the movie industry is big business because people love to be entertained by stories. Millions of people sit in front of their TV watching daytime and evening soap operas. Many of these people are addicted. People can get absorbed into a story so deeply that they accept it as truth even if it is fiction!

For a good book on this topic, read "The Power of the Story" by Leighton Ford

Churches and Christianity Continue to Grow in Kabyle Region of Algeria.

A growing church in the Kabyle region of Algeria was to begin meeting in their new building on Saturday, December 26. This is their usual meeting day, but they were planning to have a special celebration of the birth of Jesus. When the believers started to arrive at their new premises, they found around 50 Muslim protesters barring the doors. The church leaders contacted the authorities who responded by sending police who monitored the situation but didn’t intervene. The protesters continued their threats, saying that if the Christians continued to meet in this building, they would slaughter the pastor and his family. 

This church has seen incredible growth in the last few years, with many miraculous signs and wonders taking place while they meet. Many hopeless families and young people have found hope in Jesus through this ministry. The church leaders are not afraid or discouraged. They returned to their premises the next day and discovered 20 protesters still gathered there. They were able to share the Christian faith with them and give out New Testaments.

This incident was reported in one of the national newspapers, El Watan. According to the paper, the protesters were local residents who were upset at finding that a church building with many visitors from outside the area would be opening up next to their houses. The article highlighted some of the misconceptions that Muslims have of the church growth in Algeria, stating that they were afraid that their youth would be lured into the church with promises of money, visas, foreign wives or cell phones. The newspaper tried to play down the involvement of the Muslim fundamentalist groups, but it is highly likely that these groups will capitalize on local unrest and use this as an opportunity to further their agenda.

Dramatic Changes Along the Silk Road.

Two men from a Central Asian country recently flew to Afghanistan. They were on a spiritual mission. Upon arrival, they drove to a city in the north. After resting and changing into local dress, they picked up their backpacks of Christian literature. They had plans to visit five towns during their two week stay. 

These were places where no foreigner has ever preached the message of Jesus Christ. The men befriended a taxi driver who took them to his house, showed them around town, introduced them to his friends and invited them to stay the night. Many relatives and friends came to dinner. The men shared openly and a young boy who had been beaten and left disabled by religious Muslim leaders listened with tears. The men then prayed earnestly for the group of guests, especially for the boy. No one had heard prayer like that before. 

The same taxi driver continued with them from town to town. Everywhere people seemed poor and desperate. Islam had not provided them with what they had hoped for materially. Many pushed passport size photos into their hands begging them to give these to anyone who might be able to come and help them. The men considered ways in which they might help the people better themselves. Could they start some income generating business there?

In one town they made contact with a shoemaker who had converted from Islam to Christianity. His parents had been killed because of their Christian faith. They learned from him that there are at least one hundred families who follow Jesus though their understanding of the faith is weak. If teachers came they would be eager to learn. Soon the two men were full of ideas. "Choose 10 leaders from among yourselves. Gather them in a safe place and we can send someone to teach them. They in turn can teach the others. Perhaps two or three could even come and stay with us a for a time of leadership training."

Back home, at the end of this life changing trip, they shared their experiences and spread out the photographs on the table. They remembered their pleading, "Come and help us. Give us hope." Two small churches in Central Asia, who are very poor themselves, decided to "adopt" the new Christian believers in northern Afghanistan and help them grow in their faith. Such are some of the dramatic changes along the Silk Road.

One way that Christianity is being spread in Afghanistan is through radio. Pamir Productions has contact with many Afghan Christians. More stories like this can also be found at: More than Dreams.

The Carpet Workshop

When Jay arrived in a beautiful Silk Road city, he found it was a region of chronic unemployment. He wanted to do something that would empower the poor to be able to help themselves. It took a lot of hard work and long hours, but Jay was determined to start to help the region once again produce high quality carpets as it had done centuries past. He was committed to seeing that the first workshop would be a model of ethical business in a country where corruption was the norm. There was no special treatment for friends and he focused on empowering the widows, orphans, and the disabled. Soon he was employing 50 people, raising their self-esteem through regular and fair salaries. The workshop was set up as a co-operative with an elected committee of weavers and dyers making decisions. Jay watched the business grow as the assortment of employees were woven into something akin to a tight knit family. 

Baptism in a Turkish Hotel Pool Surprises All

Seven years ago, a Turkish man named Yousef was tormented by demons. After recently accepting Jesus into his life, he was delivered from his tormentors and he wanted to be baptized. The Lord truly had touched his heart in a great way. One day while driving with a Turkish pastor, they stopped to eat at a hotel restaurant. The pastor saw a pool behind the hotel and it came to his mind that he could baptize Yousef there. But then he realized that it wouldn't be possible because lot of people were in and around the pool. In many Turkish churches, the common thing that can be heard is, "Don't let anybody see it happen." or "Don't let any people outside the church see the baptism." The pastor prayed while thinking these things and as they approached the pool he said to Yousef, "I suppose we couldn't do it here?" Yousef said, "Just a minute." and hurried to the reception of the hotel and asked, "Is it alright if I get baptized in your swimming pool? It will only take 5 minutes?" You can imagine how surprised the person at the reception desk must have been!

The next surprise came as Yousef emerged from the hotel with tens of people and the pastor thought they were coming to start a fight. They approached the pastor and said, "Mr. Priest, is it OK if we watch the baptism too?" Yousef had explained to them all what was happening and had invited them to come and watch.

The Lord had done this and Yousef was baptized in the pool with 20-30 Muslim spectators watching! The clapping after he came out of the water was more than the pastor had ever heard at anybody's baptism in his church and almost all of it being from unbelievers! Before they parted they were able to talk to the group of people at the baptism and distribute all the New Testaments that they had.

The Lord once again reminded Yousef and the pastor that He prepares everything and He will lift up his holy name. People need to simply give themselves to God and watch as He is the one who does everything.