Sharing Jesus With Immigrants

How did I...

• End up at a Syrian wedding on the fourth of July with a room full of fully covered women watching me and wondering why I was there?
• Come to share a plate of food with my Afghan friend and her family who have adopted me as an aunt, sister and friend?
• Get to be 30, taking a driving test in a country that drives on the left side of the road?

Immigrant ministry involves sharing access, even to our Good Book.

I sat on the couch in my new Iranian friend’s living room, and as I looked at the cloth flowers carefully displayed in jars lining the bottom of the window, her daughter asked, “Why do you believe Jesus heals people?” After I offered the best words I could find on the subject from my own experience, she leaned in across the room and whispered, “Did you bring it?”

“Did I bring what?” I quickly responded.

“The book?”

“You mean The Bible?” I asked.

She responded with a confident “Yes!”

No, in fact, I hadn’t brought the Bible. And I didn’t even know she wanted to read the Bible. I had walked into her house thinking I would drink tea and chat about life, the craft cafe that I wanted to invite her to and how I met her mom. How did I get here?

Christ has dramatically changed who I am—so why would I not share that with others?

I keep asking myself the same question. But the truth is I already know the answer.

It’s the same reason I moved overseas for immigrant ministry in the first place. The fact is that Christ has dramatically changed who I am—so why would I not share that with others? All the little decisions I make every day add up to being obedient, allowing me to share love and truth with others.

This week, I gave my new Iranian friend and her daughter Bibles in their own language. I pray that I will someday be able to go back and talk more with them. Between now and then, I am starting to rephrase my internal questions from “How did I get here?” to “How can I show love and truth right here right now?”