“Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” (1 Pe 2:2). For the past ten days, fellow LCMS missionary and Riga Luther Academy theological instructor Rev. Jerrald Lawson and I, accompanied by our wives, have been traveling through Turkey and Kazakhstan—both Muslim countries. In Turkey we pastors were able to provide spiritual comfort and fellowship to a deaconess student studying online at Riga Luther Academy. As a group, we had the privilege of visiting with the director of Lutheran Hour Ministries, Ioanna Oskay (hristiyanliknedir.com) and her husband Simon (both of whom granted permission for this post). LHM’s broadcasting introduces listeners to the true faith over the Internet. Amazingly, LHM Istanbul’s Advent devotions reach some 500,000 people! With only 0.04% of the Turkish population being Christian, the Oskays are grateful for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Istanbul, pastored by Rev. Cengiz Bahadir (on whom I reported last year). He provides them and his flock with Word and Sacrament. Ioanna is currently translating the fine commentary on the Gospel of Matthew in Concordia Publishing House’s “The Lutheran Study Bible” into Turkish. At the same time, they are also praying for simple Lutheran resources, such as a children’s Bible, to be printed in Turkish. We agreed that people not familiar with Christianity and even new believers are for a time spiritual “milk drinkers,” not yet ready for the heavier spiritual “food” that mature followers of Jesus need and desire. Simon offered a lovely turn of phrase that describes their mission: “We want to teach the spiritual babies to latch on to the Gospel.” Indeed, thanks to the powerful work of LHM in Istanbul and Rev. Bagadir, untold numbers of people in Turkey are receiving pure spiritual milk over the Internet and also in person, which—God willing—may someday grow them into salvation.
The Tiews in Germany 