For security reasons, names in this story have been changed and the location deliberately left out.Some of the story is a direct quote from the Team Expansion worker.
It wasn’t a safe time to travel.
Even in the best situations, security could be tricky in that area of the world. As a foreigner among a hostile nation, Joe didn’t want to be predictable, or to set himself up as any more of a target. Daily variations in route, arrival and departure times, and routine were part of the norm.
But this was certainly not the best situation.
Just a few days before, a white Christian woman had been shot and killed just a block from where Joe worked. While acts of violence were not unheard of or unexpected in this volatile land, the reality of such aggression never ceased to shock and shake the ex-pat community. Tensions were high and spirits were low, and Joe had basically been in lockdown at his house with his team for days.
After being tucked away for safety for several days, he’d reached the point where he needed to go into town to do business, regardless of the security risk. Riding in the taxi, Joe considered his situation.
He’d come to this land enslaved in darkness to be a single flame of hope and light. His heart ached for the people around him, people whose lives he’d experienced. He’d spent evenings talking with them over tea, he’d had dinner with them in their homes, he’d shared in the joys, struggles, victories, and everyday occurrences with these people. They were not a distant and mysterious population to him, they were his co-workers, his friends, his brothers.
This most recent act of violence was a fresh reminder of what he was up against. He was here to bring the hope and salvation of Christ to a people trapped in cycles of anger and revenge. He passionately wanted to give them the news that can set them free, but he faced the very real knowledge that the people he asked to follow Christ would ultimately find themselves making the biggest decision and perhaps the most painful decision of their lives. He’d ask a man to follow Jesus knowing that perhaps weeks from now, that man may be dead because of it.
And more than the threat of physical persecution, Joe knew that those who decide to follow Christ would have to sacrifice their entire identity and standing in the community. You ask a man to follow Christ and it was quite possible that persecution from his family would be huge – more than even that of the government. It’s one thing if the government pursues you. It’s one thing if some ideological group pursues you. It’s another thing when the person you sleep next to at night hates you.
And Joe knew that the glory of freedom in Christ was worth all of the persecution and pain, but it was still a struggle. As he bounced around in the taxi over the uneven road, his thoughts were interrupted with the voice of the driver.
“You look familiar, but I don’t know your name. I don’t know if I know who you are, but you look familiar.” Joe smiled at the driver, reminding him that there were a lot of people in the city. But the driver persisted. Eventually, the driver learned where Joe worked.
“Ah, yes, I know that place. That’s where I’ve seen you, and I know who you are.” He paused for a moment and he said, “You know, I come there to read the Bible.”
They began talking about the driver’s faith and he said “I know you are a good man – I know that’s why you’re there: to allow people the chance to know who Jesus is.”
And as they approached Joe’s side of the town, the driver said, “I have hope for my country because I believe that Jesus will change the lives of people. I’m just learning about Jesus, but I love Him and I have hope in him.”
And in the midst of a dark and chaotic time, Joe saw hope and the strength to carry on.