Obviously, security is an issue for all internationals in Afghanistan and there are a number of measures taken to do all that can be done to make sure that people are safe. Office routes and times are varied, VHF radios become attachments and the phonetic alphabet, including call signs, becomes common language.
Around the city small groups of people meet covertly: a Mobile Church, a Mobile Bar and who knows what else. The location rotates and can change at the last moment. The details are known only by the members, and confirmation that the group will meet is kept fluid. But this morning, the first day of the weekend – all the call signs aligned and a few of us travelled out to a large house, surrounded by a 15’, razor wire topped, concrete wall in the city to meet for worship and fellowship.
Behind the wall was a very old, large, typically Herat, house. In the Persian/Tajik style it had high ceilings, large corridors and thick mud brick walls that hold the heat, or the cold. A beautifully lush green grass square drew the focus of the back yard. The compound walls were lined by blossoming almond trees heavy with scent and bees, the sky was amazingly blue and clear and the sun hot. Spring in Herat is beautiful!
I sat with a group of 12 people; two Mennonites from Memphis, a couple of Southern Baptists, a Methodist from the UK, a Presbyterian from Glasgow, a couple of AOG from California, and a Salvo from Melbourne. Together, surrounded by the beauty of God’s work, we sat on cushions on the floor, in a closed room, so that the sound would not carry. We sang “How great is our God” and other songs of worship before being led in a study of Psalm 19 by a young Dr, a woman, a Mennonite (who would not be allowed to lead Bible study at home).
An amazingly unique opportunity: the anti-cultural dynamics; the diversity of nationality, denomination, agency; the secure environment and the presence of taboo gender roles (not just in an Afghan, but a U.S. Mennonite context) all made me think that this was just a small part of what God wants the church to look like.
A group of misfits, meeting together to be encouraged and equipped to go out into a hostile environment to serve, accept and love all people, even some who are openly hostile, and by their actions attempt to partner in the work of building strong, safe and supportive relationships. Sound familiar, interesting, scary, mad or attractive?
