Back to refugee corridor we went, with high hopes of finding our friend Behnam from the week before (the one we previously blogged about). We went straight up the dark concrete stairs of the dilapidated building, took a quick left into his “room”, and were so excited to see him and his two buddies sitting on a pallet of blankets on floor in the corner. They had spent the past 10 days walking through the jungles of Croatia only to be found by the police and sent back to Bosnia the night before, tired and discouraged.
They wanted to talk but we knew from past conversations that their room wasn’t the place to do it. With possible members of the Taliban and multiple stabbings at the camp we had to consider safety. Ryan, Erin, and I asked the men if they would like to head to town for lunch, they did and we set off by foot.
There in a café sat an unlikely group of friends; 3 burly, rugged, Iranian men all in their 30s and 3 young Americans. We talked about their families, their time as refugees and religion. Behnam explained that they didn’t want to be a part of a “forced” religion, and one that in his words was the reason for all of the violence and hatred in the Middle East.
He told more stories about the Christians he had come across in his life and how they all had a special “magic” about them in the way they selfless loved others. He wanted the same “magic”, he wanted to be a part of loving others, and having purpose in Christ. Through these Christians helping him he came to believe in Jesus, but wanted to know how to start a relationship with Him. He wanted to know if there was a way to “make if official”.
Erin lead them in a beautiful prayer to acknowledge their new belief in Jesus, dedicating their lives to Him, asking Him into their hearts. They repeated after her in unison in Persian.
As we opened our eyes I looked across the table to see all three adult men with tears streaming down their faces.
“I feel a changing, I feel God speaking with me” Behnam translated as his friend Mehdi spoke.
They explained that they had heard about baptism and wanted to be baptized. My first thought was “Crap, there’s no churches here, how are we going to find someone to do this, and keep it a secret from their peers so they stay safe” but that’s thinking inside the box and if there’s anything you learn in 6 months overseas it’s to think outside of the box. These guys wanted to be baptized and we were going to find a way to make it happen.
Off to the super market we went; a line of 6 people, with one common belief and one goal in mind. We walked out with water bottles in hand as our new friends lead us out to a quiet in front of a scenic backdrop of mountains.
Ryan explained to them the tradition of baptism; that it’s simply an outward symbol of an inward change and a time to celebrate. With that he poured water over their heads, each one claimed Jesus as their savior. They hugged each other, patting each other on the back, laughing and cheering.
As we walked back we passed a mosque; Mehdi looked back over his shoulder at it, waved his hand and said “Bye Bye Islam”
What a day. I’ll never forget seeing such tough adult men so touched by God. What a privilege to be a part of it.
-Megan
(Take a minute to pray right now that these three make it to Germany.)
