Jordan – the price of following Christ!
The temperature ranged from 46 to 50 Fahrenheit, constant rains and moisture piercing to the bones leading to exhaustion. The biggest problem for us was where to stay warm. We are used to living in a different climate! Our music missionary group met local Arabs who were very friendly. Services were held day and night – many people listened to musical performances and sermons about Jesus Christ and His salvation.
In Jordan, there are many refugees from neighboring countries – Syrians and Iraqis. And many of them are very interested in listening to the word of God. One day, late in the evening, when we were already preparing for bed, an Arab family came to us. I thought that they came to ask for financial assistance, but it turned out that the purpose of the visit was different. A father with his wife and the eldest daughter, who was barely 15 years old, came with their younger brothers to pray together. The family lived in a suburb of Amman.
The girl had a dream where she was told to find a church of Christians. At first, she ignored this dream, but it repeated. Only when she dreamed about it for the third time, the girl asked her father to go where the Christians are.
These first steps to Christ became the beginning of their future wanderings. After conversations and stories about the Lord, the first girl came to Christ, then the father repented, and the mother accepted the Lord as well. When the relatives of the father found out about this, they burned down their house, and then there were attempts on their lives. For more than two years, they have been wandering around Jordan, hiding from their relatives.
They can’t live in one place for more than 6 months, constantly moving and for this reason children cannot attend school. This became the price of following Christ. After praying with them and sharing our humble reserves, we blessed them, so that the Lord would continue to lead them in the name of His glory.
We are grateful to God that with each new visit to this country we see more and more new people who have come to the Lord. Sometimes we spent the night in the same rooms where the services were held. Once it was so cold that our girls could not handle it and said that they could not stay here until the morning. We decided to send them to a hotel. It was late at night. and it seemed that the problem was solved, but after an hour the girls called – they locked themselves in their hotel room because some Arab men were breaking in the door to enter the room. The girls barricaded the door, called the administrator, no one responded to the calls, they were praying and waiting for our arrival.
We immediately left for the place and one of the sons guarded them until the morning.
Despite fears and worries, we are witnesses – how much the word of God changes the consciousness of people strongly and effectively, leading them to salvation. Being in the circle of Arab brothers in Amman, performing a joint service with our musical group, it was very pleasant to hear from them that over the past two years many of them came to the Lord, including a former sheik with his wife, an imam who served in one of the mosques in the city.
Leaving Jordan, where our services were associated with experiences and trials, our hearts were filled with joy and reverence. And most of all, we rejoice that together with the brothers and sisters who supported us in prayers, we are participants in the building of the church of the Lord.
And now the journey to the next country in Middle East Lebanon awaits us – where new trials and blessings are awaiting us in the ministry among the Syrians and Iraqi refugees.
We continue to need your prayers and support for the upcoming evangelism ministries in the Middle East.
Ministry in the Middle East – Sergey Kirnev