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Carelinks | Turkey
T
here have been around 50 baptisms
performed this year of asylum seekers in
southern Turkey.
Brother Andy Taylor reports on his trip as
follows: “If anyone would like to help the
work in Denizli, Turkey they are guaranteed
an interesting and most rewarding time.
Following a Bible talk, a question and answer
session and a meal together, some 28 Iranians
put on the saving name of
our Lord Jesus Christ in
baptism. The total number
of brothers and sisters who
then broke bread together
was not far short of 50.
This represents the latest
exciting development in the
conversion of mainly ex-
Muslim refugees. As well as
being a great blessing, this
also sets strong challenges
for us. The growing number
of converts need help with
their spiritual development.
Maybe the biggest challenge
is to help our dear brothers
and sisters find somewhere
to meet together. Following
Sunday’s baptisms, we met
together Wednesday at Bro
Afshin and sister Mitra’s
small flat to break bread together again.
Large numbers meant that two rooms were
filled with Bro Reza effectively sitting in the
common doorway to deliver the translation of
my address. The brothers and sisters of
Denizli have such interesting stories to tell
and we could not fail to learn much from
them; some have suffered serious persecution
and have given up a lot to be able to live lives
of relative freedom in Christ in Turkey.
Denizli itself surpassed all my expectations.
It is a growing city of around 600,000 inhabi-
tants almost surrounded by high mountains
which are snow-covered in
winter. Anyone considering
visiting to help would
be guaranteed a warm
welcome, not least by the
wonderful Iranian cuisine.
My suitcase was much
lighter for the return flight
from Bodrum to Gatwick.
The absence of 49 Farsi Bible
Basics accounts for the
weight reduction. They were
very much a highlight for all
the baptismal candidates,
who were very grateful to
receive them. There are
more residents of the city
seeking baptism so they will
probably need still further
copies soon. The city of
Denizli is near the biblical
sites of Laodicea and
Colosse, as well as the
amazing UN sites of Pamukkale and
Hieropolis. Bro Elmad and Bro Afshin (aka
Daniel) enjoyed showing me around”.
Bro Andy addressing the group in a hotel conference room
Sorry - faces obscured
for security