Sharing Jesus

"Evangelism looks a lot different here. It’s not as hard as I thought to have opportunities to share the gospel. Almost everyone here has some sort of belief in the spirit world, and they’re interested to know what I think. Most people tell me that they’re Muslims, but it seems to me that they’re only Muslims because their family has always been Muslim. Once you’re friends with someone, they generally don’t mind hearing about Jesus." - Craig, 31

Sharing Jesus at the football

It's been football season here and a great opportunity to make friends with guys and share my faith. For the past month we've had our very own 'World Cup', staged right outside my house. I'd had hopes there'd be a place for me on one of the teams but, despite a hat-trick in a friendly, I was very firmly and literally forced from the pitch when I tried to play in a competitive match. Seems their quota on foreigners per team is quite strict! Still, there's been plenty to do in the crowds and I had one particularly good opportunity to share with a bunch of guys (including a rather distracted goalkeeper) behind the goal at one match. However, not 5 minutes later, I was very viciously attacked (verbally) by a man who, despite not hearing a word I'd said, began to immediately accuse me of paying people to convert and grilling me on aspects of Islam. It was

disturbing and a very clear attempt by Satan to intimidate and squash my enthusiasm. Sadly, it worked. Still, one guy had shown more interest than most in what I was saying and I've been able to strike up a friendship with him subsequently, though it's proving hard to maintain.

Sharing prayer with our neighbours

In Pakistan, the team met a lady, whose husband had left her to marry someone else. Her children were not treating her well and life seemed difficult.

We live in 'God's House'

It’s unusual for apartment buildings in Turkey to have names but ours does: ‘This is God’s House’ is engraved in Arabic on the stonework above the door. We live on the 4th floor, which is quite a challenge with 2 small kids, but our family decided that every time we climbed up the stairs we would pray for our neighbours. This has literally ‘opened doors’ for us and I’ve been able to share the gospel and pray for some of our neighbours and their relatives.

Sharing the gospel using illusion ....and a unicycle!

TACO, our Creative Arts ministry has just finished a superb tour in Turkey with a world champion unicyclist, an illusionist and a dancer. They were an unstoppable combination. Crowds were wowed by the shows, performed in conjunction with local churches in Izmit, near Istanbul, and in several cities in the south-east.

Sharing Jesus with a friend

Debbie and Gulya spend a lot of time together. Their friendship is on a deep level now as Gulya feels open to share about her personal struggles, especially in regards to her marriage. A few weeks ago, they met and Gulya was very upset about something.

Short termers share Jesus

"We had to wait at a railway station for two hours at midnight. On the way to the station, we were thinking how boring it would be to just sit there for ages. However, we sat in a circle and started singing worships songs. Hearing this other waiting travellers gathered around and we gave tracts to them. This was my first experience to witness for Christ openly; it became a source of inspiration for the whole week."

The Visitor

I’m in the living room, chatting with a friend when the door bell rings. “Oh it must be the neighbor, she often comes at odd times,” I say to my friend as I hurry into the corridor. I open the door expecting to see the face of my young neighbor from the 4th floor. Instead I am greeted by the face of an older woman wrinkled and worn, both arms weighed down with obviously heavy bags. I greet her and ask her what she wants.

A 'chance' to share the gospel?

Each week our team visits the university here in Istanbul, giving out tracts and sharing the gospel with people. Last week, travelling home, a young lady sat next to me on the bus and we started talking. She's studying maths at the university and told me she had been talking to some German people prior to boarding the bus.

Losing a business but finding Jesus

The present economic crisis caused a fellow business woman to go bankrupt. She had to sell everything to pay her debts. Knowing how difficult it is for women in this country, especially in business, I said I would help her in any way I could.