Sunday, March 13, 2011

"H" is now our BROTHER!

"H" is a 24-year-old Afghan born and raised by Afghan refugees in Iran who has been living with us for the last 6 weeks.  In the first few weeks he would frequently say things like, “Scott, talk about Jesus” or “Talk about sin” or “Talk about grace”, etc. If I tried to talk about anything else, he would say, “Why did you change the subject?! Talk about Jesus!”

Two Fridays ago, while waiting together for a bus, I said, "H, talk to me...about Jesus."  He paused with a very serious look on his face and said, "Honestly...honestly...nothing else...I see Jesus in you."

Well, I have to say I was momentarily stunned and had to choke back my emotions.  Of course, I immediately told him that if he saw ANYTHING good in me it was because of Jesus because I know (especially in these days) how dark and sinful my heart really is.

This past Friday, while riding the us together, he turned to me and said, "...Scott, will you baptize me...?"  When I asked him why he wanted to be baptized, he replied, "Because I believe in Jesus."  I asked, "The REAL Jesus or the Jesus of Islam?  The Jesus of the Bible or the Jesus of the Koran?"  He answered, "The real Jesus! The Jesus of the Bible!" 

As we talked more that night and the next day it became clear that his journey toward Jesus had, in the last week or so, drawn him to the place where he was ready to risk being disowned by his family and rejected or hurt by others to leave the religion he was strongly indoctrinated in all his life to follow Jesus as his God and Savior.  Apparently he called out to Jesus to help him overcome some strong temptations that he had never before been able to withstand, and Jesus helped him.  To him these were like "signs" that Jesus is more powerful and he wants to trust in Him.

Please continue to pray for "H", for his growth in Christ, for his safety, and for continued guidance from God about where he is supposed to go and what he is supposed to do.