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Upcoming Trip

I will be making a trip to a "closed" country next month to do a one-week Bible school/training. I cannot name this country, suffice it to say that it is very closed and very hostile to the Gospel or any form of religion especially Christianity. While I am there I am to maintain the guise of a tourist, and if the authorities catch wind of my real purpose there, it could be somewhat uncomfortable for me. I am told the worst that could happen is that I will be placed under house arrest until my flight out, then my passport will be stamped denying me any future entry into that country. Don't worry, no going to jail, etc.

I cannot bring anything with me that would somehow identify me as a missionary or as a Christian. I can bring one Bible, but no Christian literature. The teaching materials I will be bringing must be gift wrapped, rather then in a binder or such, or else the authorities would wonder why I was bringing this into their country. When they are wrapped you can claim that it is a gift for someone and they will not open it. Truly, it is a "gift" for many someones. I also cannot wear Christian t-shirts or other such clothes, and when I am in-country, I also cannot use the words "missionary" or "pastor," or refer to someone as "brother." I am to assume that my hotel room will be bugged, and that my phone line will be tapped. I am to beware of most taxi drivers for they are also informants working for the government. They will try and strike up a conversation with you to determine of you are a missionary or not, and even pose as a Christian. Of course, the church in this country is very much underground. The places I will be doing the teachings are secret, and my change from day to day.

In spite of all this oppression, or perhaps because of it, the church is growing in this country. Remember the lessons of history, that even when Christianity was in it's very infancy it was severely oppressed by the then ruling power, the Roman Empire. While some Christians today are beaten or imprisoned, at least these days they are not going into stadiums full of lions and tigers. Even during that incredible Roman oppression, Christianity grew and strengthened. This is the power of the Gospel.

For most of us, having such restrictions on expressing our faith is a completely foreign idea. In the States we are blessed with the protection of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Going to such a country where the police surround churches and shut them down, where even email and Internet traffic is monitored and filtered, will be such a departure from the norm. In this country, Christianity is not just a simple Sunday morning social gathering, following Christ takes courage and has a potentially high cost.

Pray.
Populate Heaven and plunder hell.

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