May 4, 2006
Iranians all over Europe
After the revolution in Iran in 1979, many Iranians for different
reasons could not stay in Iran. Wherever you go around the world,
you find them, especially in Europe. Before the revolution, a
lot of missionaries from different countries and different churches
were active in Iran. But after the Islamic revolution missionary
work came to an end, and the doors were closed. But the word of
God cannot be stopped. Now, instead of missionaries going to Iran,
Iranians now live among the missionaries.
Europe has become a fertile ground for sowing seeds in God’s
fields. In Europe we have freedom, and so nobody will stop us
from evangelizing. Now is the time for the work that God has prepared
for us. I give thanks to God that even though I left my country,
which I loved dearly and where I loved serving my brothers and
sisters, He gave me the opportunity to to serve them here.
It is now about 17 years since I left home. With God’s
help and the support of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I have
been able to travel to different countries and visit thousands
of Iranians and preach the gospel to them. The result was more
than 400 baptisms.
One of the opportunities to reach out to Iranians is in Hungary.
About two years ago, we heard that many Iranians were going there
to seek for asylum. So we (Aziz Sadaghiani, a PC(USA) colleague,
and I) went there. Together with the Reverend Kathy Angi, another
PC(USA) missionary in Hungry, we visited most of the Iranians
in Hungary, gave them Christian books, and arranged some Bible
studies. As a result, seven people were baptized last year and
three more were baptized recently.
Mr. D and his wife Mrs. M, along with their daughter, Miss A,
were attending our Bible studies and baptism classes for the last
two years. They finally opened their hearts to Jesus. On our last
trip to Budapest, on April 23, they were baptized. They came to
Hungary about three years ago and were accepted as refugees. They
are attending special courses and are working hard to learn the
language. Mr. D says that knowing Jesus has been a blessing for
their family, and now they are very happy.
Recently brother Azia and I spent five days in Hungary visiting
several Iranian families in Budapest and in Debrecen. We have
built a good relations with these families, so when they hear
we are going to visit, they are glad, and sometimes they try to
stop us from going back to Germany so we can spend more time with
them. They open their homes to us warmly, and it’s like
a father visiting his children.
Please continue to pray for Iranians who are scattered in all
over the world, that they would have opportunities to hear the
word of love and salvation and be able to have a good relationship
with our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. And pray that
God would give us enough strength to be able to reach these people,
since we are the only PC(USA) mission workers among Iranians in
Europe.
Rev. Sadegh Sepehri
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
178 |
