Safar has just graduated from 9th grade at school and, like all young people, he dreams of building a life for himself – to do vocational training or study, to get married and start a family. Most of all, he wants to serve the Lord Jesus. But all of this is hard if you live in Tajikistan, in the very South next to Afghanistan, under the growing influence of Islam and increasing persecution of believers in Christ.
Safar comes from a very poor family. His father died and his mother is raising three children without any regular income. They live in the basement of a crumbling house, just surviving thanks to the support of the believers of the local church.
When Safar was little, he was taken to the Hope Centre at the local church. These church-based centres are a great opportunity to help children from families at risk. They are also a wonderful means of sharing the Gospel with these children and their families.
In partnership with SGA/UK, Bible Mission teams up with local churches to provide the resources to build Hope Centres – safe places for children at risk to go where they will have daily nourishing meals, clean clothes and even a place to stay and continue to receive care. Safar has grown up at the Hope Centre. He has received regular care by the local believers, and he has come to love the Lord Jesus Christ.
Over the years we were allowed to help thousands of children in Tajikistan and other countries of Central Asia. Many of them are young, active believers today. They are the future of the churches in Central Asia, where the percentage of evangelical believers is less than 1%, in some countries even 0.01%.
God has expanded our vision for the Hope Centres to provide future prospects for young believers. Many of these young people want to study at colleges and universities in the capital city of Dushanbe, but they are facing the simple question of where to live. As young Christians they cannot even stay with relatives in Dushanbe, as they refuse accepting them in their homes and families, or they make it a condition for the young Christians to deny their faith and convert to Islam.
God gave the local church in Tajikistan the vision to establish a Christian dormitory, a shelter for young Christians, at the Hope Centre in Rizzovkhoz near Dushanbe.
We thank the Lord for allowing us to partner with SGA/UK in the reconstruction of the upper floor and roof of the building. Thank you for your prayers and support as we together serve to equip the local churches in Central Asia with Hope Centres, so that they can serve children in need, plant the seed of the Gospel in their hearts, and provide future prospects for the next generation of believers – young, active Christians like Safar.
Thank you for giving them a chance to grow in faith and in education, to be salt and light in the dark, Islamic society around them by sharing living hope in the living God.Â