NB – names have been changed
It has been an interesting few months for one SGA-supported pastor in Central Asia – we will call him Payam. Last year the authorities, having first interrogated and then threatened him, subsequently imposed a large fine on him and the church he leads.
Payam prayed fervently but, despite a change in the city government, the newly appointed head of the local KGB also felt the need to summon Payam to his office.
Anticipating a repeat of his previous ordeal, Payam was understandably concerned, and all the more so when, after Payam had explained to him all that the church was doing, the KGB officer asked if he personally could make an immediate visit to the House of Prayer. When they arrived there, the KGB officer expressed surprise at the complete absence of the iconography typically found in Russian Orthodox churches.
Payam was able to share with the man how he and his congregation’s faith differs from those attending such churches, and the wonderfully Good News of the Gospel too.
The KGB officer commented that he could see that Christians were good people who posed no danger to the state. He even spoke of his eagerness to learn more about Christianity by one day coming to a meeting at the church himself, to which Payam responded by promising him a very warm welcome.
Payam is grateful for the prayerful support of all who have interceded for him over what has been a very difficult time. Now, grateful for a much changed relationship with state officials, he requests that we join him in praying that this KGB officer would come to faith in Christ. This unexpected encounter proves again that God, for whom nothing is impossible, has ways of working out His purposes to reach the most unlikely in society!
