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Praying for one another Posted on 07/31/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (2)

A few days ago I shared with you a prayer request for Brother Jay. I ask that you continue to pray for him. We do not have more news except that he has been arrested and charged falsely. I do not even know what the accusations are but I am certain of the integrity and courage of this man in taking on some very powerful people while seeking Justice for Pakistan’s Christians and providing safety for them. He knew this day could come. There is seldom anyone involved in such work who does not count the cost and is not aware that they could well be accused of something they have not done and could be killed for what they do. They know that by what they are involved in they put their families at risk. Brother Jay knew he was being watched, he knew that he was a prime target but still he chose to care for those who were suffering for their love for Jesus. So I ask that at this time you continue to pray for him and his family. Give thanks for his ministry, his bravery and his faithfulness and ask the Lord to protect him and bring justice to the man who has sought justice for so many others. While Brother Jay is in prison pray for protection of those he arranges protection. I cannot say more about his work for safety sake but I can ask you to please consider the seriously how much we need prayer for these things. You have no idea what it means to me to have friends and loved ones like you who stand by us in prayer. And that is not a one way street. Just as you go on your knees and pray for us and seek God for us as we seek to live for Christ and His Gospel, so we too pray for you as you seek to live for Jesus in a world where you have freedom to believe, but must be watchful of the stumbling blocks that come with a false sense of freedom. I have written to you about freedom and what it means if it is not freedom in Christ. Cultural and Social freedom is not strong enough to sustain the dignity and honour given to us by God. The only place our honour and our dignity is protected is under the shadow of the cross and by the washing of the blood of the lamb, by sacrifice. In light of that sacrifice may you too stand firm in Christ Jesus that is our prayer for you too.

Speaking up for him who has been a voice for the voiceless Posted on 07/27/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (2)

While part of my country goes through conflict, other parts of Pakistan try to rise out of the aftermath of conflict. We sense the stirrings of conflict in yet other parts, we find ourselves striving to renew a sense of normalcy& clarity to make our days seem less fearful &uncertain. We go about the pickle making& firefly watching, we continue to have our endless cups of tea& sit out in the verandas when the power cuts after a monsoon thunder storm, we continue to make paper fans out of newspaper which does not have an Islamic verse on it in case it ends up in the bin &we end up in trouble for not respecting Koranic words. Even while trying to find normalcy& certainty in these times, we still find the complications of living under Islamic Governance in spite of this being relatively ‘moderate’ Islamic leadership. To some what are simple acts of ‘life’ are like walking a tight rope for Christians in Muslim countries. When we went to Daadi’s cousin last week we were busy catching up on all the old news& while scanning a paper for a Koranic verse to insure it was ok to fold into a paper fan, I came across a piece of news about a Christian Human rights Activist who has for many years stood for the rights of our brothers& sisters in Pakistan. The news is not confirmed news, nor do I know anyone who can tell me for certain but it seems that this brother of ours has been arrested on false accusations. Since I was a little girl, I have known this man’s name as some one who has protected the rights of Christians in Pakistan. Cases of gang rape, false blasphemy cases, false apostasy cases- anything to do with Christians being unfairly treated or their lives being at risk, this brother has been vocal, active& deeply involved in providing care, refuge& seeking international intervention for those who are suffering or being chased for their faith. Today this brother, Brother Jay, is in trouble& has been falsely accused& taken in. We do not know quite what has happened but we do know he is in trouble& now after having stood all his life in the gap for those who suffer for Jesus, he now needs his brothers &sisters to stand in the gap for him. Will you pray for your brother at this time. That the courts will recognise his life long battle for justice & the lie of the charges brought against him & they will stand for justice and release him. Pray for protection over his life and the lives of his co workers who are committed to the minorities cause in Pakistan. Pray that through their work they would demonstrate Christ in the very difficult and dangerous situations they find themselves in every day. Ask God to minister his protection for Brother Jay, give wisdom to those who are giving legal counsel to brother Jay& that through all this many would see the hand of God and the victory of Christ in this situation.

Pickle and clips and old bangles, these are a few of my favourite things Posted on 07/26/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (0)

Another week gone by and we continue to struggle with the internet and the load shedding (power cuts). The intensity of the heat has broken and has been replaced by a sticky humid envelope around us from the monsoon. This is the beginning of the end of the mango season. There have been brilliant bright yellow mangoes full of sweet syrup that have satisfied the year long craving for just that. Now they will start to lose their juicy smoothness. Daadi and I were able to make the 15 large jars of mango pickle that we make every year. The jars are the size of an average 1 gallon bottle of water, but they weigh more than that. Two of those jars are divided into smaller bottles and shared out with neighbours and friends and family. The smell of raw mangoes and pickle oil is pungent and dense. It can either put one off pickle for life or make you love it and get your gastric juices going. For many of Pakistan and India’s poor, a flat bread (roti) and pickle and sometimes yogurt is the average meal, with any extra vegetable or meat being a treat. Daadi’s mango pickle (Aam ka Achaar) is a favourite with friends and family. She has taught us to make it, entrusting us with an old family recipe which she is very possessive about. Yesterday Abraham and I took daadi to see her cousin and leave some pickle at their home. It is almost a family tradition now to go to their homes at this time of the year armed with bottles of pickle. Auntie Meenu who is daadi’s cousin is 90. Still she walks straight and for her tiny frame does an amazing job of appearing to be larger than life. Her eyes are full of life and she darts about the house across the courtyard watching the grand children and making sure that every one is doing their home work and their chores. She always wears sarees and rolls her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. For a 90 year old she has amazing hair. As a little girl I would play with her pins and clips. She would roll my hair up and put clips and pins in and then I would open up her boxes of sarees and play dressing up. She has an old box which she says she will give me when I get married. It has my great grandma’s khol in it, two jhumkas (dangli round earings) and a gold bangle with the Lord’s Prayer inscribed into the inside in gurmukhi which is the written Punjabi script that my great grandparents would have read. The Lord’s prayer on the bracelet is a reminder that for generations my family have been looking to the Lord Jesus as their God, having turned away from Sikhism, some from Hinduism and yet others from Islam. For generations men and women have carried the faith of Christ on to the next generation and have taught their children and grand children about Jesus and have prayed for them to continue to walk with Him. God never forgets the faithfulness of his people and his eyes have seen and his ears have heard the prayers of our grand parents and their desire to see us walk with Jesus and so I know that all things that happen to us as Christians will be in keeping with his purpose for us. There are so many Christians who have had praying parents and grand parents who have been faithful to that end. Will you pray that today’s generations will continue to hold on to their faith and their responsibility to pass on the faith to the next generation? Pakistan needs her Christians to be faithful and firm.

IDPs and their needs Posted on 07/24/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (5)

Rehabilitation. That is the new word being used in Pakistan. IDPs are the internally displaced people of Swat who were affected by the war. The conflict meant that there were those who as I mentioned before were sent out of the region while the Pakistani Army took on the local Taliban. Apparently the Taliban have been disempowered in that region - or so they tell us. Now the Sawti people are being sent back. My first thoughts are about their safety, about their memories, their hearts and their feelings. Will they be able to settle in again? Do they still have homes to go back to? Can Christians who were working with them in their temporary camps continue to do so in Swat? Will this be the beginning of a Church in the region? Will the Taliban truly leave what used to be the most beautiful part of our country alone? Will they leave those people alone and let them heal? Who will the Government send in to help them? Will the organizations chosen for the rehab tasks and the counseling be filled with Islamic elements which will once again become breeding grounds for destruction? At the moment there is a lot of talk that the process needs to be transparent so that the money for the rebuilding of the area is not wasted or embezzled. But the greater transparency will be needed in the motives and agendas of those who go in. DO they go to rehabilitate or re islamicise the region? Pray for our brothers and sisters who are called to go in at this time too. That they would be a light in these incredibly difficult circumstances and would share the healing of Christ with these hurting children. Every one is talking the talk - the language sounds great and caring but the element of compassion that comes from the heart of Christ, a compassion that comes from a forgiving heart, a broken heart, a healing power, that is missing. Will you pray that we will be able to introduce His heart into those lives. So that one day we too may say 'Those who Walked in Darkness have seen a great Light'.

A monsoon of salvation to rain on Pakistan Posted on 07/14/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (4)

Today has been one of those hot humid days. I love it when the first rains break and hit the hot earth. The very smell of wet terracotta brings back memories of running in the rain and playing with the neighbours kids. Now ofcourse it would be almost scandalous to do that for a young lady. So now I sit in the covered porche and watch the rain beat down on the earth while the boys run out into the garden, cycling and playing around in their shorts! I sat with daadi, amma and abba with our chai and pakoras (tea and snacks) watching the rain and just giving thanks for a break in the heat. Though those are precious moments, celebrated each year with tea and pakoras, we soon forget them when the humidity begins to encase us after the rain dies down and the mosquitos fill the air. Everyone is trying to be careful of any kind of bites, contaminated water and heat poisoning that affect most of us at this time of the year. Daadi has been faithfully putting a mosquito nest over us. :) I smile when she does that it is an old net from when baba was little. It brings bad memories to her of her childhood when Pakistan was so different. When her sister was head nurse in the military hospital and was able to get to the top despite being a Christians. Now of course times have changed. Her sister used to go for medical trips to a place near the city of Kasoor. I do not know ifyou have heard of Kasoor but there has been news that brothers and sisters there have been attacked some time ago. We cannot varify the news but we do know that the attacks and the harm to Christians has been confirmed. From what I hear the village was set on fire and about 50 homes were burned. I do not know the details, it is hard to know exactly what happened when the news tells you one story, the hospitals another and even then the victims refuse to say anything. I do not know if there is a death toll as such. But i know that in this region many of your brothers and sisters need your prayer. The attack started after some false accusations were levied against Christian young men for having blasphemed the Prophet Mohammad. For sometimes God has been laying Kasoor on the hearts of Christians in Pakistan. The condition of our brothers and sisters here in Kasoor is deplorable. They are so marginalised and discrimnated against that they have lost all sense of worth and value, sellking even their daughters for bread the next day. Will you pray that God will heal those who were wounded, and help us to understand how to help the village believers? We so need to see God at work. May HIs wisdom strength and freedom reign down, not on us or our rights but on our nation and people that they may behold Christ, accept Him and live in His ways. Pray for a monsoon of Salvation. But prayer truly means submitting and surrendering to God and His heart in obedience, hope and faith. Thank you brothers and sisters for your prayers. We all know that we have made it this far because of your prayers which are our nourishment in these days. Please know that we also pray for you and think of you- is Christ not our model - is this not his model 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'

A blog I wrote you while the internet would not work Posted on 07/09/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (8)

My friends, for some reason our communication has become difficult. I know for a fact that several brothers and sisters who are involved in serving the King have been warned that their activities and their work as Christians in Pakistan is being monitored. They do not know who it is who is making these investigations or sending these warning or threatening notes. The tone of the letters is not easy to decipher. Is it sympathisers and seekers in the government and within agencies who are trying to help us by warning us that we are being watched and need to be careful, or are these actual extremists who are opposing the Gospel and the Great Commission. We ask that you pray for us at this time. Will you pray for Saiqa. She was a lovely young lady who used to come with Sharifaan when we were little and used to help her with little bits and pieces. It was more a way of keeping her safe and away from an abusive uncle. God over ruled in that situation. We were both 13 and became such close friends. Every since then she has always had the loudest laughter and it was like a streem of water it really made all of us laugh and smile. She healed well by the grace of God. I want to ask you to pray for her. Some time ago she was married to a distant counsin from the village. He was more the son of a clansman then a cousin. Every since she got married, Saiqa has lost her laughter. No one hears the sound of that streem any more. The only stream is the stream of tears that runs down her face and keeps her dupatta (scarf) soaked. I hear she is being beaten and abused badly. She had asked that she be married to a believing Christian but her father did not see why she needed to make a difference between Christians. The clansman is ethnically Christain so why should she complain? Now the poor girl is reeping the consequences of that. She had bruises on her arms and eyes had the same sad look when I first met her. But then she had her laughter. Now she is in too much pain to laugh. Will you please pray for her and many other Chritsians in Pakistan who have been married to men who are only ethnically Christians, because the family did not demand a dowry. There are many like Saiqa, who have lost their laughter and the stream has gone from sweet to salt. Will you pray that the sweetness of her streems be restored with the living water of Christ Jesus.

Michael Jackson is dead! Posted on 07/08/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (3)

I remember growing up to his music which would blare out of the rooms of my older cousins. Just the other day when we were in the old storage room, looking for music and old videos and dusty treasures, I had found an old box of mine which was full of cassettes - those old fashioned tapes with his music on them. I remember humming 'My Girl' and smiling at the fact that my 15 year old cousin was able to pick up where I left off. I was only little in the 80s and still remember him being a big deal even in Pakistan. It was a very different Pakistan then. There was a cassette store where I would go with my cousin who is now in the U.S. We went on average of once a fortnight and that's where all her pocket money went. I remember her perming her hair and taking it back on the sides leaving a Madonnaesk curl on her forehead, she even made a little dot with Kajol (khol) just over her lip and wore red lipstick all of which I was forbidden to do. I would however sneak into her room while she was at college and try it all. When my cousins went to the U.S. at the beginning of the CD age they left me all their cassettes. I still remember the pictures of a very talented young singer on her walls. A young man with a voice that God had given him to change the world; but the world and the mobs screaming his name changed him instead. Even though for years I would go cold at the sight of the man who changed so drastically and lost so much weight and personality, I was deeply saddened at the news of his death. News that had broken an episode of a popular Pakistani series called 'Aurat Kahani' (meaning story of a woman). This week it was the story of a young Pakistani woman who grew up in England but came back to Pakistan to find true Islam and in the bargain was lead astray and became a Christian! (I will blog about that later) None the less, the news of Michael Jackson had broken. The nation went into mourning almost instantly. Everywhere we went and everyone we spoke to was so sad and it was strange the one thing that was a common factor in our lives, whether we were Christians, Muslims, Extremists, rich or poor was that we suddenly started to discuss pop culture, Michael and Madonna - everyone knew their names. Some years ago Pakistani Urdu press had taken his affiliation with the nation of Islam and turned it into big news in Pakistan that he had converted to Islam and moved to Bahrain. I remember then being so sad. I did not know all the news then just what I heard and I remember praying for him that he would come to know Jesus one day. Again his possible affiliation is being used to justify the love of Pakistanis for Michael Jackson. It may be a result of remembering the times of break dancing and singing along to his songs or a way to express grief with the rest of the world without feeling guilty, as Muslims believe music is defiled. Is that the reason? Because it proves to me that under the shroud of black cloth, whether they believe Jackson converted, prior to the growth of a beard when they permed their hair like his, I believe they all enjoyed music and dancing, and I believe that somewhere their spirits still long to dance. Satan takes these beautiful things and destroys them. He brought so much pain to Michael Jackson’s life by skewing a beautiful gift, to these extremists who Jesus loves so much, he brings the false teaching that singing and dancing defile. May we as humanity learn to sing and dance for real before our Lord and Maker. I just hope his kids learn to sing and dance for Jesus. Amen.

The Brand of God Posted on 07/06/2009 12:00 AM   |  EMail to Friend   |  View Comments (1)

In the midst of this heat and dust and uncertainty we have experienced so much, the victory of the cricket world cup, the welcoming home of our heroes, men who brought back a sense of accomplishment and confidence with them when they returned from the cricket match at Lords. But even though it gave us a few hours of joy and excitement and gave us a chance to pretend that like the old days we could celebrate in the streets, we could dance and sing and do all things fun, it soon faded back into the reminder that there is a war that has displaced millions of the people from Swat. The Swati children who sat in their camps and cheered at the players victory as they watched it on the huge screens an NGO had put up for them to watch on - they were soon reminded of how long it had been since they were able to play without fear of a bomb and perhaps those days are on their way out but until they are certain, until they see the results of the war as victory against the Taliban they will never be able to bat and bowl for a cricket match with confidence, they will never be able to play without remembering the stories of the football pitch in Afghanistan that had been used for public beheadings - the stories they were told to frighten them of the Taliban, to frighten them of a brand of Islam and therefore a brand of God that we will never understand as believers. In a world of marketing and where buying and selling covers almost all areas of our lives, we have even branded God. Though I believe there is only one God and that is the God of the Bible, have we not all put a stamp on God to say that mine, the image I am portraying is the best, the most reliant the most durable, has the longest warranty period, has the most power? Are we not all guilty of setting up a large screen image of the God we want to portray to the world? The Taliban did not have the same screen as the NGO's did but the image they portrayed could not be disconnected as fast as the NGO's technology. The image they projected darkened the thoughts of little boys and girls, young men and women and old people - an image and a fear that it will take a long, long time to change. But what will we substitute it with, God made in Maaria's image or God who breathed life into clay and God who is able to die on a cross, then have victory death, over the spirit and teaching of extremist Muslims? Many of us are in some way or other being given the opportunity by the Lord to go to these who have lost their homes and everything because of the destruction the devil has brought on making by his own creation of something which is not good and holy and powerful - which is simply not GOD. May we take the God of the Bible, the God who created us, not a God who we create, a God who brought Salvation to the world, who can create out of nothing and restore the destruction that my nation has seen. May these hurting souls know Jesus be glorified even in the midst of this despair.