For all pastors, Lent is a busy season, not only because of extra Lenten services but also as we prepare for Easter. For me as a missionary pastor, it is no different, although one additional—and very joyful—Lenten task of mine this year is to prepare over a dozen Persians for Holy Baptism. In fact, we have so many people signing up for baptismal classes that groups are overlapping. We have a cohort left over from the winter which will be baptized on Easter and then we have an additional group that has just started that will be baptized on Pentecost. Why are so many people coming to us requesting Holy Baptism? Europe is severely curtailing the flow of immigrants, including those from Muslim countries which make up the bulk of refugees. The European Union is also accelerating the extradition of illegal immigrants. As I note in this newsletter, this is a delicate situation, since some stocks of “wheat” are being uprooted along with the undesirable “weeds.” On the other hand, these tough measures are motivating many people from Iran and Afghanistan to become baptized to improve their chances of being granted asylum. Are all of them truly interested in Christianity, or are they just using Baptism to avoid being extradited? Since we cannot look into people’s hearts, it is impossible to say. So, we pastors simply joyfully baptize and teach, as Jesus commands us to do in His Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). He will sort out the situation as He sees fit. Praise God for this busy Lenten season. And Lula and I thank you so much for your prayers and generous gifts which allow us to do the Lord’s work here in Germany and across Eurasia—also in this Lenten season!
Pastor Christian and Lula Tiews
The Tiews in Germany 