Persian Kingdom (A Summarized Account)
For security the names used in the account below aren’t true. The story in which these people are caught up is nonetheless true, though it is only my account of the way things played out. Meshach and Abednego have firsthand versions of what occurred too.
To bring you up to speed, we believe we were called to Iran, and thus we went. Without an agenda, all we had to go on was what various sources said about the nation; it’s spiritual state and the questionable political relations one reads and hears of. I won’t say that what we heard and read isn’t true, but our experience appears somewhat otherwise.
The events that make up the story are divine and have little and yet somewhat to do with what we had in mind. One could say, as I vividly heard the words of Joseph Ewan repeat in my inner man, “the grace of God is over everything that you are.” This we experienced appointment by divine appointment.
Finally, what added to the unconventionality of this account was a testimony we heard two days ahead of our trip about someone who had been to this nation and says to have shared their faith, aggressively. Initially, for the first four days, we went about sharing cautiously and respectably. At no specific point however, the tables turned and almost everyone we came into contact with heard about Jesus. There is no other way to put it, we went about sharing aggressively too.
Nicodemus
Nicodemus, who relies on science and the good of man or humanism, was the first person we kept contact with. His argument when we shared our faith was plain, that one is blind to believe in something you don’t see. He challenges tradition and used fitting analogy to prove his point: the festival of Eid was postponed by a day in Iran and wasn’t in line with the new moon at the end of Ramadan as it is written to be. This was because the festival just happened to fall on the same day as Emam Khomeini’s passing away several years ago, and therefore the 4th of June (the day we landed) was a day of mourning instead. Nicodemus concluded that all religion is the same, that it is man-inspired and therefore shrouded in irregularity, corruption. He is not traditional in his beliefs. In fact, very few of the people we came in to contact with are.
At a stage he presented a reknown poetry book written by and as, Divan of Hafez, and encouraged me to open up on a random page after I had closed my eyes to think of something. I will not say what my thought was then but the page he read was accurate. Nicodemus, like most Iranians, is spiritual that way. Their innate beliefs are rooted in a false divinity whereby man has the single intercessory role to play. Also known as Zoroastrianism, inherently this belief has to do with worshipping the elements of creation (fire, air, earth, water) rather than the source of life Himself. Our prayer is that he like Nicodemus in John’s gospel (chapter 3) will have a change in heart – the revelation that without faith that Jesus was and is and is to come, it is impossible to please and be known of God.
Joseph and Mary
Next we connected with Joseph and Mary, who didn’t waste any time in making of us their sons. Though not entirely sure what they believe, partly due to language constraints, we encouraged them to hold fast to Jesus. They and friends of theirs gladly received our prayers for healing and that they will endure – in Jesus’ name, though at times referred to our prayers as a means of sharing positive energy.
Then we gave them a Farsi audio bible too, which Mary said she had been wishing for, for some time already. The moment when Mesach handed it to Joseph was priceless, for he made it out to be a phone or a walky-talky and answered the Word of God as it was being read with a questionable, “Salaam?” We couldn’t help but laugh and render him a man who has heard and responded to the audible voice of God.
Another telling moment was when I asked Mary what will happen if some or other authority sees the cross she wears around her neck. She was quiet for a long while as she typed on her phone using google translate. The written text moved me to the extent that I wanted get the message out. I was pushing as one pushes to get firsthand evidence for a stirring story, and so I asked her to forward the translated text to me and she said no. Why? I believe it is because her story, their story, is precious.
Matthew and Rahab
Moving on in a southernly direction, we met Matthew on a bus. He approached us and swiftly organized for us a place to stay upon hearing the summary of what plans we had for this next city. There wasn’t much to work with, but he and we made it work. In Kashan Matthew and his father, who picked us up, were fending off taxi drivers who accused them of stealing customers as we climbed off the bus and into the back of their vehicle.
Wittingly, Matthew had made himself our tour guide, so we told him and his friends who ventured the historic sites with us of why we are here, and asked what their dreams and purpose is in turn. “I want your life”, said Rahab. She dreams of the freedom to travel and see the world, not be confined to the laws and hold of her country’s authorities. It was earnest and presented an apt opportunity to share of the freedom there is in Jesus, which we gratefully did.
We reckoned with one another whether we should also give Matthew an audio. The day before he shared what he felt about Islam and said he would love to have a bible to read – not a watered down version, as he said most versions of the Qur’an are. Unfortunately our bibles were left in South Africa, but what we had we felt to give and handed him an audio bible too. He did well to contain the emotion he said surfaced yesterday while walking with Mesach, and thankfully received the spoken word.
We opted to head for Fin Garden next since it was the easiest place from which to get to the highway and head further south – hitch-hike style. Joseph and Mary, Matthew and others, would that we not use this means of travel since it is neither safe nor conventional. At the garden we wanted to pray for direction and clarity, but never got around to this because we chatted with two young couples who soon after invited us to join for lunch. Afterwards we said our goodbyes, and doggedly headed straight for the highway.
Hezekiah
I would be lying if I told you we spent two minutes on the highway. In fact, the fourth vehicle to come by pulled over. Hezekiah was headed for the city where we were heading and is a not so open gay. Of course, most foreigners traveling in this country are thought of as open-minded, at least when compared to what the Islamic republic oppresses upon the Persian people in terms of what is law. Therefore, sharing his identity belief with us wasn’t a big deal for him. That we would have more to do with him soon realized when he invited us to stay the night via google translate. It was an opportunity we could have let down, but also couldn’t.
His family received us warmly and before long Mesach was communicating to Hezekiah’s sister, Esther, about Jesus via google translate. She related their conversation to her parents who were looking perplexed nearby. After all, what are the chances of their son bringing home three hitch-hiking foreigners from Kashan to their home for the night, and they’re here because of Jesus?
As can be said about every citizen who took us in, once we were under their wings they took great pride in caring for us. I believe this an inherent belief of theirs’ whereby every other notion is secondary; whether it be a political identity that is being pushed or the evolutionary inclinations that we were confronted in Nicodemus’s company: above all, being Persian is their primary truth.
The next day we made it clear we were heading to another friend as planned, and glorified God for the seeds that were planted in at least Esther’s life; and that we could learn how to demonstrate brotherly love in questionable contexts.
Samson and the prodigal son
Though many cars pulled over, there was only one driver who was willing to take us to Shiraz free of charge. He goes by the name Samson and was heading home from an art exhibition in Tehran. No doubt his strength is his art, of which one of his paintings is a woman reaching as she creeps with a half-red, half-white dress while stones are being dropped around her. Immediately the story of the adulterous woman came to mind, and excitedly, we asked where he drew his inspiration. Well, he didn’t know the story about the adulterous woman, and we willingly brought him up to speed, and pray that he would draw further inspiration from the audio bible we gave him. This we did after we read and discussed John 15 in the car on the way to his house, as though this is everyday Christian practice – let it be so.
That night Samson’s brother, the prodigal son, joined us. He spoke a lot about money, sex and drinking, which came as a surprise considering Samson was a rather reserved and comely character. We referred to Jesus often and the impact He has had on our lives. The look the prodigal had in his eyes was one of emptiness and defeat as we spoke of what living for a purpose is, and we pray he takes action and heads home.
Naomi, Ruth and Anna
Something that we least expected was to stumble upon a Belgian-speaking, Afrikaans-understanding woman in the Vakil bizarre. Naomi, together with her niece, Ruth, who only speaks farsi, invited us for lunch the following day.
After lunch while we were headed back to our base where we left our bags, we wandered into a Mosque, also known as the shrine of Shah Cheragh. Mesach simply wanted to make use of the toilet and before we could leave we were led by Anna into a historical tour and came near to taking part in the spiritual pilgrimage of Imam Mehdi. Then Mesach started to preach the gospel to Anna when the opportunity presented itself, and unable to contain himself Abednego stole the baton to further preach the gospel to Anna. She kept quiet and held her pose to these two brothers proclaiming Christ crucified and risen to her in a reknown Mosque.
Since she has read the Bible before I told her how she reminded me of Anna the prophetess who like Simeon in the same chapter (Luke 2), is faithfully waiting for the King to come. Our prayer is that the only true King will reveal himself to her, for her heart and devotion is sincere.
John and James
Probably the most unexpected appointment was the one with James and John. Again, two brothers who have a business together. Abednego simply walked into their shop to ask for wifi to confirm a later appointment with the Berean and check for bus prices since we were headed out that evening. First they insisted we eat their ice-cream; then their hamburgers, our breakfast; and then they compelled us to allow them take us to see Persepolis. Uncertain at best, we said sure and made use of the opportunity to share of our faith with them. In return they shared their everything with us, and came close to winning us over to stay another night and further feast with them and their family. Trying to say goodbye didn’t work either, so we said see you later instead.
The Samaritan
With one day left to go and an arsenal of divine testimonies to take with us, we were believing for one more. It was a hot day and after much walking in the sun we headed indoors to cool off in a quaint coffee house. The owner offered us water. Then Mesach asked if he could read the familiar story of Jesus and the samaritan woman. The story had an effect on her because she opened up, sharing that she is two months pregnant. She went as far as to invite us for lunch or dinner later that day and we thought it a good end to our story. This never realized because she never came back to us and Mesach left to catch his flight.
Abednego and I spent the rest of the day looking for a rooftop to sleep beneath the full moon, but ended up in a park where we pitched our tent and hung the wet clothes we had just washed at one of the hostels that we mistakenly thought we could stay at for free. This was not the ending we were hoping for, so we made peace with the fact that this might be it and kept believing that we might meet someone at the same time.
The next day was our last day and we decided to see whether the Samaritan was still there. She wasn’t, so we left but came back after a while just to make sure. She was there, though not in a good state. Then she told us what she said is a secret, “I kill my baby.”
We asked her more and what should come as a relief didn’t quite. Her boyfriend says he doesn’t wan’t to marry her, yet. When he heard about her pregnancy he told it was her responsibility to get rid of the child. I believe she delayed for as long as she could before the republic starts asking questions about this pregnant yet unmarried woman. Therefore, she was making plans to kill the baby at the doctor that night.
Abednego then ran to the hostel where our bags were to fetch the last of our audio bibles to give to her as a gift. I felt then in my spirit as I had on basically every opportunity that presented itself throughout this trip, not to say what I thought would be beneficial to the soul – which in her case would be, “don’t kill your baby” – but to simply preach the gospel. Abednego and I were of a kindred spirit since he did the same when she took us for lunch. She welcomed our prayers and pleaded for us to continue to pray. Humbled and burdened, we prayed, cried and sang on the bus for the Samaritan, her boyfriend and their baby.