Liverpool #2 - Amazing day of worship and fellowship
Amazing day of worship and fellowship
By Katherine Michael
South Highland Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL
Salaam! And greetings from your team in Liverpool. Sunday was an amazing day of worship and fellowship with our Iranian brothers and sisters!
Our team of twelve met with our hosts and leaders to begin the day with prayer and preparation for the worship service to follow, but nothing could have prepared us for the amazing experience we were to have in worship with nearly 100 Iranians praising God and lifting voices, hands, faces, and spirits to the Lord!!
We were warmly welcomed as we entered the church for a time of fellowship before the service began with praise and singing. Following this, we formed small groups to read the Word and discuss its meaning among ourselves before one of us presented our thoughts to the congregation. Later we broke up again into small groups to pray for Ukraine. Imagine the entire fellowship in prayer for the people who, like them, have been forced to flee their homes and leave behind all they know and love.
It is a certainty in our Iranian friends’ lives that they will not be able to return to home and family. Mahzik told me of his journey after coming to faith in Iran. Shortly after he became a Christian in his late teens, Iranian authorities began questioning his mother and family about him, and asking to see him “just to talk with him.” Mahzik left immediately for the border with nothing but the clothes on his back. Iranians typically do not take passports or papers with them as they know they may be returned to Iran if their citizenship is documented. He fled to Turkey, and from there to Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, and finally Germany where he waited for 6 years to be granted permanent status. When this was denied, he fled and has landed in Liverpool where he is again waiting as an asylum seeker for permanent status. While he is waiting, which can take years due to COVID restrictions, he is prevented from working and must live on the equivalent of $40.00 a week plus housing in a refugee hostel. Iranians are extremely family and group-oriented, and being without family is excruciatingly painful for them. When I recognized his sacrifice to be a Christian, Mahzik replied, “I love Jesus. He has changed my life, and I will not deny Him. I know He loves me and is in charge of my life.” I wept.
As we concluded our three and a half hours of worship, 11 people came forward for baptism - 10 men and one woman - in an improvised wading pool hastily and ingeniously put together and filled with water at the back of the sanctuary. The keeper of the church baptismal pool had become sick with COVID and was unable to prepare it. As we prayed with them as they came out of the water, we felt God’s miraculous blessing in the lives of these new and dear Christians.
And the day was not over! Following the service, we and 45 of our new friends met at a restaurant for Italian food and fellowship. Some fellowship dinner that was!! All talking and laughing and loving being with each other, and enjoying the meal.
Praise God for his amazing grace and the opportunity to be blessed and inspired by these awesome brothers and sisters in Christ!
