Several years ago Christian aid worker Gary Warrior was sitting on the floor in a Central Asian village with a congregation of about 20 people, getting ready to share about “the cost of discipleship.”
Someone made the suggestion to go around the room and share their testimonies. One woman simply said, “Oh I’m just very blessed and I’m so thankful to be here.”
Her friend elbowed her: “Explain to him your testimony, tell him what’s happening in your life with God.” But the woman again said she was “blessed” and just thankful to sing songs and read the Bible together.
Her friend retorted, “You tell him the truth. You tell him that every night after you go to these meetings your husband beats you and last week he beat you with a hammer.”
Tears jumped to Gary’s eyes as he thought, “How can I tell these people to go out there and suffer for Christ’s sake?”
“God just grabbed me by the collar and He said, ‘You’re not asking them, I am.’”
Gary and his family — wife, Ann, and four children — first arrived in the Central Asian country in 1997. The former Soviet republic was suffering, broken and poor after the end of a five-year Civil War.
Though the Soviets tried to stamp out religion, the country did not lose its strong Muslim identity. But many of these Central Asians feel hopeless and overlooked by the world.
“For us to be able to show up here now, in this point in history, and begin to tell them that God loves them — this is water on dry ground,” Gary said.
Despite people’s thirst for truth and love, Christians are persecuted. Not necessarily from the communist government — Gary estimates about 30 government-registered churches and 1,000 believers in the country — but from society. Leaving Islam brings great shame on a person’s family.
“Persecution comes every time the gospel is proclaimed here, but if we’re able to do it in the context of families and in communities, we can minimize the effects of that persecution so that people can stand together for the cause of Christ and not be chased out,” Gary said.
Gary wasn’t planning on focusing on human needs work. But after seeing that even numerous aid agencies couldn’t respond to the great number of disasters and people suffering in Central Asia, he started a disaster response team of Christian workers and national believers in 1998.
During their first disaster response he discovered being there for people on the day of disaster “gave us real access to share the gospel.” The next year in that village, Gary’s team planted their first church and baptized 13 people.
To help share the gospel in a widespread way, Gary’s team dubs gospel movies into local languages and gives them to people they encounter. Through Lottie Moon Christmas Offering funds, Gary’s team has dubbed 12 films — including “The Gospel of John,” “Esther” and “Courageous” — and created worship songs in the local language.
“This is the gospel presented in the local language in a way that I can’t speak it,” Gary said. “It’s visually powerful. … I’m seeing people who are coming to faith in Christ. Not every day, but it’s happening.”
(BP)
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