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SOS for Tabassum Posted on 11/20/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Dear Friends, Can I ask you to please pass the news on in your prayer groups, your home groups, Bible study groups, your churches- whereever two or three gather will you pray? You remember on the 2nd of July (you can go back to the blog to remind yourself of the story) I blogged about Tabassum? She is the lady who had to leave the country with her 14 children and grandchildren. Things have deteriorated. The UN is not really able to help them, there seems no Embassy that is able to help them but we need you to be praying. They have been told to go back to Pakistan. Please pray because I am not sure if coming back to Pakistan is the solution for them. I am not saying I know the solution, but when I know that coming back to Pakistan is dangerous for them I am torn! On return they will could be kidnapped, we may never hear from them again and we would have no clue whether they are dead or alive. The girls will either be forced to marry Muslim men and will be imprisoned so they can never go anywhere again, the boy will probably be beaten up and may even be killed and some of the women may either be abused or put into prison on false charges. Jesus said we would be persecuted for our faith and for believing in Him. Tabassum says she knew that the day she gave her life to Jesus. But before Uncle Hameed and some of his friends make a decision about what to do and how to help we need clear direction from the Lord. Will you pray for us for this clear direction. Living like refugees is not healthy for such a long time. We need them to be in a position where they can be a functional family, studying, learning and being the support they need to be to one another. This way they will lose touch with community and working with people and the discipline of working with or for someone and being under authority. There is so much at stake. Some of them are educated or have had some education (they come from a background of business) and there is no reason why they should not be using their skills and gifts to grow. This makes people in refugee situations lose direction and vision. They become lazy and lose hope and feel alone. The solution is with Jesus, do they stay or do they return. PLEASE PRAY WITH US.

Continued from before... Posted on 11/16/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Sorry for closing yesterday. It is just that Amma needed me to help her with the soaking of the fruit. We soak it in alcohol but thats a really tricky part to the whole process. Alcohol is illegal in Pakistan UNLESS you are a Christian or a foreigner. So as Christians we ought to have access to alcohol. However Abba has always refused to go to the government to get a permit. It is from his student days when we were not allowed to vote. He would say 'if the government will not give me a permit to vote, I will not let my identity be based on a permit for alcohol'. So we have to ask another Christian friend to get it for us and the only time it is ever in our home is at Christmas time. It is not illegal for Christians to get it from Christians. As it is so taboo it is always hidden away. So when James brings it by in the evenings we try to pay him immediately. However, so the nieghbours do not know, we have him sneak it in in his back pack which is not the problem. The problem was that yesterday we had the plumber in the house and he is a Muslim. He is pretty fanatical and once started a fight because Abby was studying for his Islamic Studies class and had his texts on the floor. It had not even occured to Ab. Poor guy! Anyway he is presumptuous so we did not want any new saga. That was why Amma called me to watch at the door to make sure he was not around while she doused the fruit and gave the bottles back to James! One bottle is wine and that gets hidden for a secret communion service with our secret believer family. Gosh even making a cake is so complicated sometimes. That was why I had to go. Anyway we have the dates and venues for our special birthday parties next month. It has all been done with great care by Uncle Hameed. He has even written two new Christmas carols in Urdu for the new believers- the secret believers. He will not let us hear them but I cannot wait. He sings well and God has given him such a gift to write and worship through his gift. The last time he wrote a song was at a baptism in church. Everyone was so blessed. So now we have the worship and the cakes sorted out can I ask you to pray for all other arrangements to go smoothly. That no one would try to spoil this and no one would find out about the truth of these 'birthday parties'and that no one would try to cause trouble. Our Secret Believer family members have no fellowship at the best of time and hardly any celebrations. So please pray for this. Thank you.

Christmas opportunities Posted on 11/15/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

The fruit is almost ready for the Christmas cakes. I went with Amma and Dadi to the 'mundi' which is the fruit and vegetable market. Its a world all its own. I do not love the experience. But it is fun and there are lots of little kiddies running around eager to share some of their heart through a smile or just simply by asking a question. You enter a large open plot of land covered - inch by inch with baskets of organic fruit and vegetables straight from the farms and orchards. We made our way to the back of the mundi where it was less messy. There were gunny bags or jute sacks filled with almonds, pistachios, walnuts, raisins, sultanas, crystalised ginger and peel etc... We needed more. I have cleaned what was left from last years fruit but Dadi insists on 30 cakes every year to give to the families we go and visit over Christmas time. It is quite mad. Everyone has the same idea and so by the end of the 28th of December we still have 30 cakes - only they are the ones given to us. It is fun we all taste and test one another's cakes, each one with their own distinctive family recipe passed down the generations. And so many people visit all the way up to the 6th of January that almost 28 of those cakes are wiped out by then! It is a precious time of fellowship and meeting people who we do not normally see from one Christmas to the next. It is our chance to celebrate our identity and our community and above all our Jesus. It is good fun. It also makes way for 'pretend birthday parties' when our new Christian family members (those who convert from Islam) are able to have a celebration for Christmas which legitimises a big feast. Always have to sneak in a little preciousness for them - that is what makes it worth while. As we approached the tent for dry fruit and cake supplies we smile. As usual we were not the only Christians on the job. Another family from another side of town who attends a different church were there before us. Uncle Naeem had bags of small brown paper parcels in his hands and was trying to get Auntie Sakeena to stop buying more fruit. They always make me laugh she always wants to keep her recipe a secret. To me it tastes similar to Dadi's recipe (though Dadi's is better I am sure wink wink). When she saw us coming she muttered something to Uncle Naeem, got up, said a quick hello, promising to catch up with us after Christmas at one of the many fellowship dinners. Then she scurried off to her car saying she was very late. Uncle Naeem looked rather relieved. Amma and Dadi had a quick chuckle. The man at the fruit stall is Arif. He is about 75 years old and knows us all well. A Muslim man who is used to this such converging of the nation's Christians on his stall. He gave us his toothless smile and asked us how we are. As usual 'Maaria has grown up - but I will always call her baby as long as I live'. I need to run Amma is calling me...

Thank you for your encouragement Posted on 11/13/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

I once got a Bible for a Muslim friend of mine. It has been in my bag for years, every so often I asked him if he wanted it and he kept saying no. Its three years since I got it and marked some verses on healing for him. He kept refusing it. Now he has moved away and I am not likely to see him again. Anyway I took my bag out of the cupboard the other day. I need a heavier bag now as I have a thicker shawl and a light sweater that I now need to carry with me to college every day. Anyway I found the Bible sitting in there. I remember the first time I gave it to Atif. He held it, rubbed it over with his fingers, felt the cover, opened it and felt the smooth pages, looked at it long and deep and then after inhaling deeply he handed it back to me. 'I am sorry Maaria, I cannot take this from you. I just cannot.' I tried 3 or 4 times again and he just looked with sad eyes, said no and walked away. Well what is the point of the Bible just lying in my bag. God has never led me to give it to anyone. Anyway I have had an idea. You my precious friends send me great words from scripture. Words of encouragement and love and such meaning and sometimes even prophecy. Thank you for those words. I have got myself a little notebook and a light highlighter. I am turning that into the Bible where the words God uses to connect you and me will be marked. They are such an encouragement to me. So I have started as off last week to mark the scripture you share with me and in my little notebook to write little words of encouragement you share with me. I think God is preparing me every day for the years of ministry ahead. I know God wants to use me to serve my nation and I know that that service costs a lot. It may cost me the freedom with which I write to you now, it may cost me communication in the years ahead, it may cost me my life. The day may come when I do not have access to even one Bible let alone 6 (each one of us have a Bible in the house). For those days I am going to store up biblical treasures in my heart and little messages of love. When I have my quiet times I will look at your notes and just revel in the beauty of Christ's love letters to me through you. Thank you. But I just want to say even though Maaria is very very real, (she makes typos sometimes so she has got to be real ;)) it is not just Maaria I want you to pray for. It is all the people of Pakistan and all those Secret Believers I am a voice for - pray for us all. Not just Maaria- but every one who is like Maaria and Abby, Johnny and Ninu and her mom and dad and her Dadi (grandma) and her pastor and her youth group and sunday school and her fellow students and the Uncle Hameeds. Thank you once agian for your words of encouragement. Those words are from the Bible they are timeless. Thank you for our friendship. Pray also for one another to remain committed to your brothers and sisters in the Secret Believer world.

Our Chance Posted on 11/11/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Yipppeeeeeeeeee its getting closer every day. On Sunday Ninu started working with the Sunday School kids on their Christmas Carol and their little Tableau they will put on. We will start cutting out stars and Christmas decorations for the Church soonish. Its a great way to have a get together, get all the mums and girls together and just talk and fellowship and share all the highlights of the year and what God has done in our midst through the year. Sometimes I wish I could tell them all about you and how they can rest assured that through those difficult moments you have been praying for them. Thank you for your prayers. I cannot however tell them. My contact with the website you are on right now is something top secret. No one must ever know or I will not be able to send you these blogs. God has opened this doorway and I must not abuse it or put it at risk in anyway. So I hope you understand why I cannot tell you alot of things. I try to open a window and let us connect with one another. If I opened a window right now then this is what you would see. I am writing my blog in a notebook, I will burn it later when I have typed it up. I cannot just crumple it up and throw it out as sometimes our papers and documents are foraged out of the bins and looked at. Not a pleasent thought but it is true. You would see me in my home. Our home is the old family home which my grandfather built when papa was only a little boy. You would see me sitting in my corner of the veranda with the chicken wire door open off the back of the kitchen and there in the kitchen there is a granite counter which Amma has been trying to get changed to a nice marble one. The granite counter tops are from before Amma and Abba got married! Dadi is a little bit attached to these things and Amma feels it is important for her to feel it is still her home and she is in touch with things. So much in the world around us changing so Amma tried to keep things as familiar as possible for her. She and Daadi are sitting at it weighing out raisins, currants, almonds, Sultanas and all sorts of fruit for the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding. I am sitting in my chair with a huge tray of blanched almonds in front of me and am slipping off the loose skins from them. Christmas is almost here. Time to celebrate the Saviours birth. Finally, not Eid, not Ramadhan, but Christmas, our celebration, our Jesus, our Joy- our Salvation.

Change? Can we pray it into happening? Posted on 11/08/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

It is getting cooler. The weather is as daadi calls it ‘glorious’. The sun is getting milkier but is gently warming on the skin and it is possible to sit in a room without the fan going. This morning I woke up earlier than usual before Church to just pray and clear my head before we went to Church. There is a lot of stuff going on. I took my cup of tea and went at about 7:30 into the garden. There is this little spot by the chicken wire door in the back of the kitchen where you can look onto the garden without anyone else seeing you and you can sit and see the birdies and just have a quiet time with the Lord. The neighbours had their TV on and my quiet time with the Lord went down the drain. They were listening to President Obama’s speech. There is quite an obsession with the idea that the US has her first African American President. As I said to you, it really does seem as though the Western World is in a goldfish bowl at the moment. Everyone is watching and talking about it. Soon my quiet time was forgotten and some snippets of his speech drifted over the Bogan Villea that hides the partition between the two houses. The President Elect was talking about the campaign and how young people, middle aged people and old people all got together and despite the heat, or lack of funds or job constraints poured themselves faithfully into campaigning for Obama. That, he said, was fundamental to his success- or so it sounded. My thoughts turned to campaigning for the rights of our brothers and sisters. My thought through all of this is a little private prayer which like Mary I have kept deep within me all these days and I ponder on it from time to time. My prayer is to do with American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama spoke of what lies ahead and about soldiers in these war zones. Those soldiers, you may know of some of them, but perhaps not far from where they wake up every morning – perhaps there is the tent of your sister Hannah, or the tent of some of the believers Uncle Hameed prays with. People like Uncle Hameed have a price on their heads, Afghanistan refuses to let any Christians live as Christians there. Does Change in America bring any hope to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Does it bring hope to Hannah for the future of her little baby? If people could spend their all campaigning for a man to be their President, how much more the power and the change that could come from our prayers before God, campaigning through prayer and telling the story of believers like Uncle Hameed. Pour your tears into your prayers, feel the pain of us your struggling family members and tell the story. Can that bring change?

Quick reminder Posted on 11/06/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

I feel led to ask you to remember to pray for your brothers and sisters who are suffering in India- especially those whose lives have been affected by the tragedies of Orissa. Will you please pray for them. There will be a lot of trauma today and the days ahead. Will you uphold them and pray that God will raise up those with the Love of Jesus to go to them and help them through this time. Also please pray for your brothers and sisters in Pakistan who have suffered from the earthquake in the South of Pakistan in Baluchistan. There are very very few Christians in the area but in the surrounding regions there are many little pockets of believers who are now rushing into to aid and support those who are suffering. They are taking in blankets and food and opening their homes to those who may need a bed and place to rest and heal. Will you pray for them to be Lights in the darkness. Please do not forget these brethren. They need your prayers now more than ever.

Opportunities and Obedience Posted on 11/05/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Sorry for the long gap. It must be like a morning after a parade in the US. My prayer is that God will take hold of the American nations, one of the most powerful nations in the world, may the Christians of that nation & the West, be salt & light, no matter who their president & may that salt & light flavour the world& make this world a better place & may that flavour& that light reach those who are walking in the dark. I just pray that when leaders of our Muslim nations are in contact with leaders from the West God will raise up men & women of His own to minister His love & take that love beyond your borders, beyond your Sunday morning Church services & into the world way beyond your shores-my world. At this time, we are watching & observing your world from our shores very closely-what an opportunity to be light! While the rest of the world celebrates or mourns the turn of events& the changing tide I have my own celebration to share with you. What an awesome opportunity God gave me. That little spot of hope kept me busy in my corner on the sofa & thought it more important to stay there than leave a powerful conversation with Muslim friends to blog. Saadia came with her brother Irfan to invite me to a huge Halloween Party they were holding in their huge palatial home. For years there have been certain little things God has told us to use as opportunities & this is one of them. It always amazes me how a people who think Christians are all wrong can actually celebrate darkness. Anyway I had a great opportunity to say no & give reasons. It was amazing – they sat & listened so intently when I said that Halloween was a day when certain pagan traditions from almost 2000 years ago were celebrated. A day when in the druidic traditions people believed that the borders between this world & the world of the dead melted allowing evil spirits to return to cause havoc in the world& at midnight they would worship Samhain, god of the dead. ‘Irfan bhai what seems like a harmless fancy dress party is actually held by some to hold real spiritual meaning’. Saadia I love you very much& I would love to come to your house but I cannot be part of a Halloween party. By that I would be condoning the work& celebration of death& when Jesus died for the world our access with light& life became possible, then why do I want to dwell on a time portal to access evil&death. Saadia& Irfan, did not just understand about my conviction it opened up a whole conversation on the life of Christ& meaning of His death on the Cross& how spirituality ties in with the salvation story. I am just so thrilled that this was at the beginning of November& now when I talk about Christmas celebrations I know they will have some back ground. This is not the first time I have turned down a Halloween party but it is the first time I have been able to share the gospel. It has always been an opportunity to share that Christianity& believing Jesus is about light& life not death. Daada (my grandfather who died when I was only little) had told me it was in an attempt to focus on Christ& those who lived for Jesus that Pope Gregory III initiated All Souls on the first Sunday on November to stop the pagan tradition. Last night I fell asleep with a smile- two Muslims heard the gospel – it was so important and such a blessing, I even forgot about CNN’s coverage of the upcoming election. Will you pray for those who heard, because many Christians in the Muslim world had similar opportunities. Pray for the Saadia and the Irfans of the world- who have heard that Jesus is the Light o

We pray for you Posted on 11/05/2008 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

There was this big discussion in college today. It is autumn but our autum is so different- the colours do not change drasticially. Only the sun stops beating down making the heat rise through our shoes. It gets cooler, we can lower the fans, switch of air conditioning (college only has fans) and see the leaves go from green to dead on the ground. But we can sit at the chai corner. Ghani was there and that is where it always happens. I was trying to explain to Ghani that statements like our Prime Minister's statement are dangerous. ‘No matter who the President of America will be, if he doesn’t respect the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan...anti-America sentiments and anti-West sentiment will be there.’ 'But it is true my dear Maaria- he is right'. My heart aches at such comments because in the mind of most Muslims, even Ghani who knows me so well- there is the idea, that West and Christian is synonymous. This is almost like a blessing from the Prime Minister, ‘if Americans and the Western world continue to hurt us we can be anti Christian’. Those were not his words but I as a Pakistani Christian groan. The idea of you now being in a goldfish bowl, being watched by the leaders of the Muslim World, being watched by the people of the Muslim World, those in your territory and those in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE etc... 'Ghani as long as you know that Christian and Western is not the same thing. Do not look at all my spiritual family as your enemies ok?'. My question to you is not to make you feel targeted my brothers and sisters. It is a little nudge to say ‘be aware that your lifestyles your attitudes everything is under the magnifying glass’. When they look to see if your attitude toward them is going to be like millions of little bombs going off every day, let them stumble across the love of Jesus in your life. Let them in those moments stumble across the living God of life and the God of forgiveness and everlasting life and dignity in living. Because right now the world is looking out. We pray for peace but if the bombs and the destruction continues let those who watch and even glare be transformed when they look at every day lives of ordinary Christian folk – people who speak the truth, people who live to serve God and people who live as a family, holy lives which reflect Jesus. So while I sit in college praying for you know that your lives & relationships with Muslims are an opportunity to show them that your Western identity & your religious identity are not synonymous & your worth is in Jesus & your life & joy comes from there. You are not alone, your sister in Pakistan is praying for you and if other Pakistani or Asian brothers and sisters are reading this blog, will you commit with me to pray for relationships the world over for Christians and Muslims that we will only ever show Jesus?