AJ should be arriving back in Sydney in late January. Anyone interested in meeting him at the airport? If so, then please let me know on [w] 9333-1875 [h] 947-1025 or as [email protected]
Over to AJ...
Jason J
INTRO
Dear friends, the time of my return draws nigh. With barely three months left to go I am already preparing for the major change of returning to Australian culture. In the meantime, life continues as usual and the Lord continues to bring many new faces into my world. I hope you can feel that you have got to know some of these people through these pages.DREAMS FROM GOD
Perhaps you have heard of dreams by Muslims in the Middle East. Dreams by people on a pilgrimage to Mecca who along the way see visions of Christ, or of Muslims confronted with the gospel by a Christian and afterwards meeting Jesus in a dream. Perhaps you have wondered if these tales are true or merely myth. As a matter of fact, these dreams do occur, with uncanny regularity. Are they more common in the Middle East? Or do people just place a higher value on dreams than in the West? I'm not sure. However today was another day during which someone related to me a dream of theirs."Gurhan" is a friend I met indirectly through Tommy. Gurhan came to my house once and together we watched the Jesus film, which he enjoyed very much. It is a slow process sharing with an individual, waiting for God to cause the seeds we plant to sprout and seeking further opportunities to share. I have been meeting Gurhan on and off for over three months now. Today he turned up before a Soccer match to tell me of a dream he had and couldn't understand. Would I be able to help him?
In his dream, Gurhan was standing alongside a priest wearing a robe, and Jesus (although Gurhan says he looked different to the Jesus in the film). Next to both of them was a pool of water into which the priest was throwing something that changed the water's colour. A train of people were stepping into the pool and re-emerging on the other side and then entering into heaven.
Strange? Well, my only guess is that it refers to the symbolism of baptism, being born again in order to obtain eternal life. Two things confused Gurhan; the method of baptism seemed strange and Jesus looked different than he did in the movie. Please pray that I will be able to meet with him again and talk about it some more. Pray also that God will continue to use dreams to make an impact on the lives of Muslims.
SPIRITUAL ATTACKS
University is back into swing again, but the year was off to a bumpy start. We had some real openness on Campus during the summer, but with the advent of winter people seemed less willing to talk with us where there had been no problem previously. The openness we experienced in the summer seemed to have disappeared.In response we have been putting a lot more emphasis into prayer to overcome these setbacks, in a hope we can continue striving ahead. Rather than be knocked back time and time again by spiritual attacks, we have decided it is time to stay on the offensive.
Also the local church has come under several attacks, robberies and several very serious cases requiring Church discipline. Never have I been in a church meeting before where it has been necessary to expel a member who has chosen to wilfully continue in sin (1 Cor 5:12-13).
Our local church is being forced to find a new venue after the rent was doubled last month. I don't know a lot about spiritual warfare, but I guess a country like this with a long history of spiritual oppression could have very strong forces opposing Christian work. I guess now is as good a time as any to challenge those powers more seriously.
To loose our church building and a venue for our meetings would be a great loss. Could you join us in prayer for a new venue? Perhaps God has a better site in mind.
SOCCER
Our team has become addicted to playing soccer weekly. It gives us all a good workout and proves a great non threatening activity to which we can invite our friends to. Since many people here live, breath and dream about soccer, inviting them to a game is not hard at all. We usually have about 10 people turn up to play each week. I never knew work could be so fun! Now if only I could improve on my ball control a bit..
MORE ON MINORITY GROUPS
Remember my article on Alevis before? Another minority group you may have heard about in the Middle East are the Kurds. Without a homeland, the Kurdish people can be found in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Minorities are not given rights in these countries as they are in Australia. This results in persecution, and a backlash of terrorism by them. To be a Kurd is seen as undesirable and is usually not publicly admitted.Coming from more rural parts of the country, they should be more entrenched as traditional Muslims. This is true for some Kurds, but many of them have rejected Islam as they don't feel tied to the local culture that holds to Islam. Kurds along with Alevis, have also proven to be generally more open to the gospel message.
I have managed to meet several Kurdish people on campus and discovered the Kurdish "network" is very strong, all of them knowing one another, tending to choose Kurds as friends over non-Kurds. Three have come to Christian meetings we have had and met my local Kurdish and non Kurdish Christian friends. Please pray for the in-roads I am making with them. "Alihan", one of the local staff, comes both from an Alevi background and a Kurdish background. He has enjoyed meeting my new friends. Pray also for the impact he can have on them as they naturally relate better to someone from their own minority group.
NEW STINT
What is the job of a missionary? Is it not to put oneself out of a job!? By training and discipling new believers, the hope is to raise up a local church capable of fulfilling the Great Commission at home unaided. Isn't it exciting then to read about local believers joining in fulfilling the Great Commission full time? In the last newsletter I mentioned how one student, "Zafer" has joined the Stint program. This month has also seen a girl "Ayse" sign on. Both of them have a great heart for the Lord.These events are monumental for the country, giving vision to the Christians and adding a new flavour to the atmosphere in my city which to date has been predominately a concentration of foreigner workers. For each new Stint we are hoping to provide a budget of about US$300 a month.
If any of you are interested in getting in contact with the new Stint perhaps with an aim to support them (as very little support is expected to come from the small local national church), feel free to email me on [email protected]
AUSTRALIA
With things in country currently looking hopeful, my presence has been requested for the beginning of the 1999 University year. The Staff situation in Australia has been lean for a while, something that cannot go unattended. If Australian campuses are not producing mature Christians, Australia will have trouble finding mature Christians to send overseas. It's a matter of balance. The current Australian policy is to keep new training staff for three years after which they may be placed internationally. So it's a matter of changing focus for the next few years.I will be arriving back in Australia late January. I am looking forward to getting together with all of you again. Probably the hardest thing about being overseas is being away from friends and family.
PRAISE / PRAYER POINTS
[Cut out along the dotted lines to insert this summary in the back of your day planner or bible]Praise:
* The opportunities among Kurdish people and the success in the past.* The sharing opportunities Tommy has had in his new town.
* The local workers God is raising up through the Stint program.
Prayer:
* The use of dreams to impact muslim lives in the Middle East. * Pray I can meet with Gurhan again.* The Church as we search for a new venue with an affordable rent.
* The relationships and impact "Alihan" can have on my Kurdish friends.
* Raising the finances require for local Stint.
* Tommy as he seeks God's will in his life.
* Me finishing up my year overseas.