Stories from our field
Nuredin from Uzbekistan finds Jesus online
Nuredin*(23) from Uzbekistan couldn’t find work in his own country, so he went to Moscow, about 1800 miles away. Even though he did find work there, his life was far from easy. But then he came across an online course.
Nuredin lives with 20 people in one apartment. Each resident pays 100 Euros ($119) rent per month. On top of that, they pay an amount to buy off inspection by the police – of course it is against the law to have so many people in one apartment! Nuredin does construction work, which means that sometimes he has work and sometimes he doesn’t. When a project is finished, he is chased away and left to see if he can find work elsewhere. It is a difficult, spartan life.
Three times ‘Yes!’
Nuredin comes from a muslim family, like 95% of the population of Uzbekistan. He has a smartphone and at a certain moment, came across our online BiblBasics course in the Uzbek language. He completed all fifteen of the lessons, guided by his mentor. At the end of the course, he was asked three questions: Do you believe Jesus is your Savior? Would you like to be baptized? Do you want to start going to church and do you need help finding one? Nuredin answered with a strong ‘yes!’ to all three.
Baptism
After many phone calls, his mentor, a Dutchman who had worked in Uzbekistan as a missionary, was able to find another adult Christian from Uzbekistan living in Moscow. This person visits him every week, teaches him, and prepares him to be baptized.
It is so special that, so far from home, the lonely Nuredin has found a committed fellow Christian from his home country who surrounds him with love and care. Nuredin would really like to be baptized, but is concerned about how his Muslim family will respond…
*Not his real name
Photo by Shokhjakhon Kamolov on Unsplash
