I have already written about my first worship service here. The second was like unto it but the song leaders were a different set. They had young boys to play the drums and violin. The leader himself – I think his name was David Michael – was playing the guitar. Here, they sort of run through all the songs which are a mix of choruses and hymns in one go; they are printed in a song sheet and are also projected.
The preacher made a passionate plea to the congregation to read the book of Hosea, giving a vivid description of God’s love that never lets you go; that seeks you out from a life of wretched sinfulness. He (the preacher) did a sort of broad brush stroke comparison with Amos but came back to market Hosea brilliantly. I bought!
The next week (my fourth Friday here and third among the Christians), they decided to have a small group meeting and I went. I must say that I felt a little bit lost among a sea of white. The preacher this time was some one who had spent years in Afghanistan as a missionary and is now teaching “the global cause of Christ” in Oxford. He is an American fluent in Pashtu, like several other missionaries in the gathering. His message too was fiercely challenging and was peppered with items of his witness here among the Afghans. He made one telling point: that God has brought each one all the way to Afghanistan in order to work on them because He loves them. Then the big group broke into small groups for prayer.
The “voice” lady recognized me at the tea after the main session and invited me over to the evening worship. Her name is Irene – more like Aunty Irene – and apparently she manages the SNI ( Shelter Now International) guest house. I didn’t stay on for the subsequent session; Qaseem was waiting and I wasn’t entirely comfortable all alone. After a heavy Indian lunch, sponsored by Hassan the Pakistani, Qaseem and I set off to see the king’s tomb (king Zahir’s father, Nadir?). When we returned I was sort of too tired to go for the worship; also I didn’t have the heart to ask Qaseem to stay on and drive me. He lives about 20 KM outside the city.
For the next Friday (20th May) as well, they had decided on the small group and I decided against going, preferring instead to try out the evening praise and worship. That way Qaseem gets to spend all day at his village in Wardak, about 90 minutes away. Well, I went in the evening. I was early and the crowd was sparse; there was an American band – a worship group – practising. The place got eventually packed with people sitting everywhere, in between rows of chairs and so on. I was sitting next to a Phillipino and a Norwegian; an American one seat away cautioned me that it gets pretty ecstatic. And so it was; there was nothing staid and all exuberance. I had to leave by 8.15 as my transport was waiting. Irene told me that it goes on beyond nine, some times till ten in the night. I gathered that there were people there who suffered for the sake of Christ, imprisoned during the Taliban regime (no names can be mentioned on safety grounds).
One of the questions that was (and still is) bothering me was that with so much of spiritual ammunition in the land, why in the world did Bush start a war that cannot be justified, still less managed and one that has spawned a new wave of terrorism endangering American (and other) lives. Why didn’t these evangelicals who largely voted him in for the second term, stop him? They are facing some tremendous odds with all their good work and dedication coming up against some pretty nasty stuff from the American military, robbing in my view, much of their effectiveness. But there it is, God has allowed it but I can’t help wondering if the evangelicals spoke up.
Oh, I should report that I got information that the full service scheduled for the next Friday (27th May) got cancelled because of a security warning issued by the American embassy. But later I found out that they had the assembly with some 250 people attending, after some initial prevarication. I am still to find out about 3rd. Word mostly gets around in the mission circles and since I am outside of it, I need to telephone somebody in the know to find out – if, where, when and what.
As far as my deal with the Lord goes in the spiritual realm, I am free to return to India after I share the gospel with at least one person during my stay here. Well, that happened some three weeks ago, in the ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. There was this person interested in what Christianity stood for, and I was trying to convey the message as best as I could in Urdu and I wasn’t doing a good job. Fortunately (should that be the word?) the person’s understanding of English turned out to be good and I switched, ending up writing down the essence of the gospel and John 3:16. It was all quite in the open, with two of his colleagues listening. I thought it was extraordinary in a place like Afghanistan. I promised to pass on some useful material in Pashtu for that person and I am still trying to arrange it. Obviously a high priority prayer point.
Amidst a lot of crap in the television from Hot Bird satellite– some times riveting, there are I discovered three or four gospel channels, including in Arabic and Tamil. One Tamil channel was talking about services in Paris ! Occasionally I get to listen to some good music from the Three Angels Broadcasting Network, in addition to messages.
That’s it for now. Do pray for Afghanistan and its very vibrant Christian community. The country is difficult, to say the least; what is needed is a mighty outpouring of the spirit of God.
2 June 2005 Judah
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