Taking Up Space

September 26:  Today is day 3 of 3 of the Conference and I’ve just listened to Sheldon Searle speak on “Following Him” and Mark Smith teach “Jesus, the Master Teacher.” I’m awed by the quality of teaching and teachers we have at Community Bible Church. However, as I listen to the speakers, I am wondering about the accuracy of the teaching. Is it precise? Does the teaching convey the concepts as God would have us understand them? The lessons are not being taught in the original language it was initially taught, and now it is being translated into yet another language through our translator, Mortuza. Is there some loss in translation? Then I thought about the material…the program…the Gospel. God’s word is extremely powerful if it can be taught by a child, the illiterate, a new Christian, a mature Christian, a non-Christian, even the rocks and trees! Effective delivery of the message has more to do with the power of the message and of the Holy Spirit, than with those doing the teaching.

During our afternoon break, our group went to the Bangladesh National Monument, a beautiful memorial park, north of Dhaka, dedicated to the 3 million soldiers who lost their lives during the 1971 War of Independence. While at the monument, ———, a long time member of the WOL Staff, gave a moving prayer, thanking God for the soldiers who gave their lives for the independence of Bangladesh and for Jesus Christ, who gave his life so that all men might have freedom from sin and its consequences.

Tuesday evening, I had the privilege of giving a talk on the fourth challenge of discipleship, “Take Up Your Cross.” When I woke up that morning, I had not slept well, and I was feeling a bit off. I had no appetite at all, and the thought of another breakfast of curried dal—sort of a thick curry flavored lentil soup—just didn’t seem like a good idea, so I decided to rest through breakfast. Well that hour came and went, and I felt no better. I ended up resting all day and trying to rehydrate myself. By the time it was my turn to speak, I felt a little better.

As it turns out, in the meeting immediately before my talk, various area leaders had given brief reports on their work. Invariably, as they talked about how many converts or baptisms they had seen, someone in the group would ask them about what sort of opposition they had experienced. Each one reported having been physically attacked and beaten on various occasions as a consequence of sharing the good news of the love of Christ.

And here I was to give a talk on the subject “Take Up Your Cross,” about how adopting God’s plan for our lives leads to suffering for the sake of others. Suddenly, my little jet-lag dehydration sickness and the hard bed I had to sleep on didn’t seem like such a big deal. Obviously, these men have much more experience with crosses than I do. I can only hope that sharing these scriptures can encourage them to remain faithful to their calling.

Hebrews 10:32-35 says, “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”

These workers are frequently “being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations.” We must do our part, “becoming sharers with those who are so treated.” Pray for these and other persecuted Christians around the world.

Here’s an observation from Mark Smith…

“Unless you walk through the corridors of chaos of the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, unless you see the filthy streets, walk by the beggars that will follow you and rub your arm for several minutes on end, begging for a 2 taka note that’s worth about 3 pennies, unless you see the traffic—the beyond-description traffic—a melding of unending jaywalks, buses, CNGs (little three-wheeled taxis), rickshaws, cars, motorcycles, scooters, fumes, honking, honking, honking—oh, the drone of the maddening traffic, then you cannot know, you cannot feel, you cannot render proper respect for the work being done or the work that remains to reach the people of Bangladesh with the gospel.”

Thanks, Mark. Your comment reminds me of those times in the gospels like Matthew 9:36-38, “Seeing the people, Jesus felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.’” When you see the crush of traffic here in Bangladesh, the millions of people rushing about, nearly all of whom have no knowledge of Jesus, you find yourself moved with compassion. The outward poverty of the people is a true reflection of their spiritual poverty. In our culture, our outward wealth and success often enables us to ignore our spiritual condition, and Mark is right that the only way to fully appreciate the great need and the great opportunity for the gospel is to get a different view, to take a look at the world as it really is, not just as it is in America. And there’s no substitute for seeing it first hand. There’s a big difference between visiting the Grand Canyon and seeing a picture of it.

And now a word from one of the ladies on our team, Stephanie Searle, who is also my sister-in-law:

I’m sitting here writing this during the opening worship of the Workers Retreat at a conference center about 45 minutes outside of Dhaka. Twenty Christian Bengali men have gathered and are singing worship songs with great gusto. The four women are sitting in the back, with heads covered, observing the conference. At 2:00, a driver is coming to take the women by van and ferry to Kushtia, while the men will stay here to teach and worship with the workers for the next three days.

Last night during the introductory time, ——– expressed thankfulness for this time of refreshment for these conference attendees. He said that normally they give and give and give of themselves and now this was their time to be rejuvenated and take in the teaching of God’s Word. These men are farmers, plumbers, businessmen, and students who have come to Christ and now also serve as field workers, librarians and Jesus film team members for the cause of Christ.

Our team has spent the last two days adjusting to the time zone, the heat, and the culture. We did a little shopping and touring to try to stay awake and readjust our body clocks. We’ve been going to bed early, in part because we’re so tired and in part because there are so many things that wake you during the night. Mark Smith says muslims would be much happier if they would let them get a good night’s sleep instead of waking them all during the night with calls to prayer and the broadcast of sermons and chants over loudspeakers.

The staff at the guest house in Dhaka and here at the conference center have been taking good care of us. Here at the conference, we’re eating very typical Bengali foods. Supper last night was a bowl of rice onto which they place a serving of curried vegetables. They then pour a serving of dal over your rice. Dal is a curried lentil soup served with every meal. A serving of spicy, stewed chicken is the main course, also eaten with the rice. Everyone on the team except me is joining the local custom of eating everything with your hands (Don gave us eating lessons at the guest house in Dhaka). Meals are always followed by hot Bengali tea, brewed with milk and sugar.

Breakfast this morning was a serving of dal to be eaten with Ruti, a tortilla like bread, a hard-boiled egg, and tea. Twice a day, we have tea time, at which they serve hot, sweet tea and a light snack like lightly sweetened toast.

Although I have traveled to several foreign countries, Bangladesh is the most foreign to our way of life. Dhaka is simply overwhelming—the sights, the sounds, the smells, the crowds, the crazy traffic. It’s impossible to describe what it is like to ride down the left side of the road in a van while sharing the road with large buses, cars, vans, bicycle-powered rickshaws, baby taxis, motor scooters, and hundreds of pedestrians wandering in and out of traffic at random. If there are traffic laws—or lanes or signals—they mean nothing. The streets are a free-for-all, a sea of honking traffic and pedestrians. As we were driving from the airport to the guest house, Mark uttered the understatement of the week concerning the traffic: “There’s really no rhyme or reason to this, is there?” As for me, I just close my eyes, especially when Don makes a right turn across traffic.

Saturday, Don took us on a walking tour of a market area near the guest house. As we strolled along, we became a walking freak show. People just wandered up to us and stared, following us down the street. Merchants were selling meats, live chickens, fish, fruits and vegetables, sweets, medicines, and even Barbie toys! Barefoot children ran and played in the streets. Beggars boldly petitioned us for money. Everyone stared. White people have no trouble drawing a crowd in Dhaka.

Last night, as I prepared to sleep under my mosquito net, I read Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Please pray with our team that our presence here will bring glory and honor to God.

Not a lot of time to write, but here are a few more photos from our first full day in Bangladesh. Just a variety of scenes from the streets of Dhaka.