Carelinks | Georgia

Bro Steve Gretton went to Georgia to baptize an Iranian couple and he reports: “Georgia is a small country sandwiched between Russia and Turkey. To the west is the Black Sea and to the east is the Caspian Sea. There are the spectacular Caucasus mountains to the north, significant to Bible readers as the location of Mount Ararat - the resting place of Noah’s ark (pictured right). It is a country which is very welcoming to visitors and tolerant of different religions. Georgians are basically Christian (Orthodox), but in the capital Tbilisi, one street houses a church, a mosque and a synagogue peacefully! It is only one hour flight from Tehran. Visitors from Iran can come here easily and there is no requirement for a visa. This is how I met a couple in their early 30’s who have been seeking baptism for some time.

B is an expert welder and his wife M works at a pharmaceutical factory as she studies for a higher degree. M is a friend of Sis M and her husband, Bro M, who are asylum seekers in Germany and it is they who have been teaching them and encouraging them to come for baptism, making the suggestion that we meet in Tbilisi. M told me that she had read parts from the Bible as a teenager, although it did not make a deep impression on her at the time. However the desire to know more had led her and her husband to find the Lord. Using a relatively secure internet App, they have been talking with Bro M and they decided to take the risk of coming to a safe place to be baptised. Meetings with people like this always take my breath away by their sheer enthusiasm for our God and for His promises, and their determination to defy the rules of man to follow their Lord. Within minutes of meeting they were telling me about the wonders of the love of God, about the joy of having sins forgiven, and about the opportunity to have a new life – eternal life. They know that Jesus is in heaven, but that his return is imminent and that they will meet him. He will rule in the kingdoms of men and bring love and peace to this world. All this came from them before we had had a cup of coffee! During the previous week I had been sending them a few pages from Luke’s gospel by email – encoded for a degree of security, and they have been reading it with great enthusiasm in their own language. This is always a risky thing to do because all internet activity can be intercepted in Iran and the punishment is severe. This couple are certain they are not on the government’s list of suspects and so are very determined to continue learning from us. However, rather than risk taking a Bible with them into Iran, we spent time downloading the App YouVersion onto their phones and then the Farsi translation of the Bible so they can take the Bible with them electronically without it being noticed. To download this in Iran would be asking for trouble. In the hours we talked together we covered many subjects. I was able to quickly determine their understanding about the humanity of Jesus. I warned them that others had other ideas about the nature of Jesus, but they found the concept of the Trinity quite astonishing and irrational! I found that all that I was teaching them was fully in line with the ideas that they had already developed by themselves. The Lord is at work with the people from Iran and it is such a joy to find that the gospel we teach finds such willing hearts to accept the saving truth. I think we sometimes forget the hand of God in such lives and think it depends on us. But we are small cogs in a much larger machine. Jesus said, “And they shall all be taught of God. Everyone who has heard and learned of the Father comes to me.” (John 6:45). The internet connection at the hotel was quite good so we were able to make a video link with Sue back in the UK who was therefore present at the baptism and the Breaking of Bread the next day. She managed to take photos with her camera of the computer screen. She captured two very moving moments - as Bro B rose from the waters he knelt in prayer, as his first response, even before meeting my eyes or taking the towel I offered him.

We must pray for this couple who are very determined to share the news of their re-birth with their friends in Iran who would also like to be baptised. It is clear that there are many of this generation who are resentful of the state religion being imposed on them. They are prepared to take huge risks to share the gospel of Jesus. I am reminded of Daniel and his friends who were captive in a close-by country. They were equally determined to remain faithful to their God despite the obvious risk to their lives. I feel humbled by their act of faith and it has been a privilege to be part of their transition from darkness to light, from death to life”.