Being a Christian is a lot like being a Virginia Tech fan. I always feel like I am rooting for the right team, but over the years there have been a lot of unanswered prayers. The difference is that in life, the defeats are real, the injuries are sometimes lasting and the disappointments are far more consequential than any given game or season. In both cases, a victory is all the more sweet because you know what it is to experience loss.
Tonight I saw a victory. In life, that is. Nadeem Khokhar first introduced himself to me by saying that he had just fled from Pakistan. He was a Christian. A co-worker had decided to become a Christian after some conversations that he initiated with Nadeem. When the man converted, Muslim extremists came and told them both that they needed to convert back to Islam or suffer harm. The man fled to Canada and Nadeem to the United States leaving behind his wife and children. When I met him at our church’s front door, it was week one of his life in America. That was four years ago. Since then Nadeem’s life has been one long stream of taking his place in line after line. He has waited for asylum hearings that were scheduled and postponed. He has waited for advice from attorneys, places to stay, hearings to be held, news from his family, phone calls, Skype calls, and interviews.
I have seen him patiently and prayerfully wait for God to do something so that his wife and three children could join him rather than move from relative to relative in a home country that was no longer as safe or tolerant of Christians as it once had been.
By the grace of God, during that time, he did not wait alone. He joined the church and the people of Floris UMC took him in. He attended Bible studies. A men’s group became a band of brothers. One of them flew to a hearing in Chicago with him. People helped with transportation and expenses, invited him to their homes and helped pass the time as he waited. At one point everybody got involved. I’m not sure where we would have been if Congressman Frank Wolf and his staff had not helped guide Nadeem when the immigration process seemed almost inexplicable. The church was the church in 100 different ways.
Say what you want about the church, I know there are a lot of disappointing chapters locally and historically. Go ahead and remind me of the role of the church in the Crusades, as though my ancestors were all French knights. We are sinners in need of redemption. But let me say that when the church is the church, there is nothing like it. I have seen thoughtfulness beyond measure. Sacrifice and diligence. The church, when we all get focused on where the Spirit is leading us, is simply a beautiful thing.
Tonight about 50 of us gathered by baggage claim 11 at Dulles Airport. Fifty of us milling around, not knowing what to do with ourselves, with silly grins on our faces, anxious and excited because the waiting was over. Many of the people who had waited with Nadeem for four years were there. We waited together for that last hour when his wife, two daughters and son walked through the doors. Seeing Nadeem embrace each one, this cherished family he had not seen for four years, was one of the most touching things I have observed in a very long time. And we sang Happy Birthday. Because coincidentally, it was his birthday. It was the best birthday ever.
A friend approached me and said, Tom, this is what the church is all about. This is what it is supposed to be. I agreed. A reunited family finding new freedoms in a new land surrounded by the beloved community of the church. What a wonderful thing to share the moment when the prayers of a faithful man and his friends are all finally answered.
Patty
Hard not to cry while reading this. Thanks so much for sharing, Tom! (I am reading this in the dark at the Child Rescue Centre. Bugs are being attracted to my computer, but I am paying them no mind.) What a long time coming for Nadeem and his family. We remember him and his situation. How could we not? This story is the kind of good news of which we need to hear more. This is also a wonderful testimony of church community at its finest – a four-year commitment to Nadeem and his family. WOW! What would Jesus do? The same thing that these brothers and sisters in Christ did for this family. I love happy endings!
Marian Ludlow
Nadeem Khokha’s story brings additional awareness to the plight of so many. To the general population they are rolled up into ‘those people’, but to others who are not afraid and who have a heart for others, they are individuals who each have their own story. May we all respond to those in our daily path.
Matt
Uncle Tom,
I really love this post, it was really great to read this. I love what you said about how the history of the church can be used against Christians and is certainly not something to be proud of, but it is a result of man’s sinful nature not the nature of the church itself. This is a really beautiful story and really amazing journey your church took with Nadeem, it is a beautiful example of the church as God envisioned it.
Linda Kusse-Wolfe
Hi Tom,
I’m an elder in Great Plains Annual Conf and before this worked for the UMC in Roanoke and Danville districts in 2nd staff positions as a Friend (Quaker). My husband, David, and in lived in Qom, Iran in 07-08 as part of a Muslim – Christian exchanged brokered by the Mennonites.
That part was ok, but was changed our faith lives forever was the vitality and authenticity of believers, Armenians and those with a Muslim background. Harassment and persecution are insidious and there is no governmental structure to appeal to even when death threats are being made. What a fine thing your church did to support and walk with this brother from Pakistan. The church he comes from know an intensity, hospitality and faithfulness that N American churches at best mirrors dimly. We keep strong connections with pastors and believers in Iran and Palestine… they continue to teach us that the Holy Spirit is always way out front. Thanks again for your words and your warmth!
Grace and peace,
Linda Kusse-Wolfe