Pioneer Christian Monthly - September, 1982

A Missionary Letter From Arabia
Richard Westra

Dear Members in Christ:

It has been a year now since we arrived in Oman. What was then a major turning point in our lives, leaving the country and culture of our birth, and settling in an entirely new and different culture, is now seen as a stepping stone on the path to spiritual discipline and growth. It is such a different life from what we were used to and one in which we begin to see and understand some of the complicated scenarios of international life. As we begin the summer we see the church emptying itself of those people whom we got to know over the year and the arrival of new members. Many of the people are going home for summer leave, others are going home to stay. What we now have is a congregation of new people filling the pews. As they file past me after the service, I can hardly believe that I know only one-third to one-half of them. The rest have arrived in the past month or two. I am told that in September the face of the congregation will look entirely different. As you can imagine, only a fraction of these people ever get to know us on a personal basis.

This morning I had one of the Christians drop in my office to tell me that he was leaving Oman because his wife was dying of cancer. He and his wife are in their late twenties. He has been here for four years and helps to support a family of ten back in Pakistan. When he came in to the office I couldn't place where I had seen him, although I recognized his face and name. It is a terrible feeling not to be able to remember details of a person's life, especially when they come to receive some pastoral care. It is even more frustrating when one can do nothing more than listen to his story and pray for the family. Tomorrow he returns home. Thank God that we have a heavenly Father who knows our troubles and who has promised to take care of all our needs. He doesn't have to ask us about our life, He only requires us to place our lives in His hands.

In the past couple of months a lot of my time has been spent on the case of a young man who was imprisoned on suspicion of stealing. Actually, there were two people charged, both of them Indians who belong to the Christian community. A month ago one of them died in prison and that sent a shock through our fellowship. The other, Sebastian, remains in prison and is doing quite well. As a matter of fact he has found opportunity to witness the love and grace of Christ to others. There are many irregularities in the case, the least of which is that he has been charged by another member of the congregation. Sebastian claims innocence; his upright and honest life is substantiated by many in the congregation. We still do not know the outcome of the case but we pray that it will work out to the honour and glory of God's holy name. We especially pray for the unity of the church.

My colleague, the Rev. John Hall, has decided that he will return to England after being here for two years. This is a dual-ministry with myself from the RCA and John from the Anglican Church. We have worked very well together and we have both benefitted from each other's gifts. In the beginning I found it tough going at times, but by the grace of God and a few changes on my part (mostly internal), the work here has progressed quite well. John's replacement has been accepted and he will begin work here in September. Please pray for the transition.

One of the responsibilities assigned to John and myself is to help look after the spiritual needs of Christians throughout the Sultanate. We are fortunate to have the help of other pastors as well, but because of differences in religious tradition and languages it is not always easy. Add to this the distance factor and you can imagine the complications. For example, the city of Salalah has a large Christian community made up for the most part of Asians. There is a small English congregation which is pastored by a worker priest from Pakistan, Rev. Samuel Masih. He is an ecumenical pastor much like ourselves here in Ruwi, although he has the distinction of being able to speak Urdu and Arabic as well as English. John and I visit Saialah once a month to help out the Rev. Masih and to give what leadership we can to the ecumenical community. Recently a number of changes have had to be made because of administrative laxity and a trend toward denominationalism. The church is not so united as one would hope, and this is understandable when you think of Orthodox having to work with the Pentecostal and Anglicans with Presbyterian. Be that as it may, please pray for the work there that a leader may arise who can help bring the Christian community closer together, and that Christians might be busy doing the work God called them to do.

Today is the last day of school for the children and they will be saying good-bye to their friends. Most of them leave for home during the summer months, and a goodly number of them will be leaving for good. It isn't easy for the children (or their mother) during the summer because they have so few friends. But where they miss out in this aspect of life, we must try to draw them even more consciously into the family circle. Next week I am taking the family with me to Masirah Island where I hold a monthly meeting with the Christian community. It is primarily a military base, but it will have some new things for them to do such as hunting for shells, watching the huge turtles come out of the sea at night to lay their eggs, and possibly a ride on an Omani fishing boat. Being a chaplain to the armed serviced, we are able to use the air force flights that make daily trips to the Island.

For the month of August we will be visiting India, staying at the mission house in Kodaikanal. Many missionaries have sent their children there to boarding school and of course many have stayed there for their summer vacation. But since many of our members come from India, we will be most interested in seeing this land. Much of our time will be spent in relaxation and family activities.

We are most grateful to you all for your support in prayer and continued joint effort to make the name of Christ known throughout the world. Many lives are being changed because of the presence of a church among expatriates. We express to you our thanks for making it possible for us to be here in Oman as servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. Should you be inclined to write and tell us something of your work, we would be most happy to hear from you.

Sincerely in Christ

Richard, Maja, Stephanie, Susan and Andrea Westra

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