photo: ©IamNotUnique

Buqis*, a 21-year-old girl, slips off her glittering shoes at the door, and pads over to sit on a coloured mat on the carpet. I offer my guest black tea in a small bowl and sit down beside her. Inside her tight head-covering, Buqis’ face is tense. 

“My father has found a husband for me”, she blurts out. 

Growing up as a Missionary Kid in a country where this was common, I understand the emotions behind her words.

“How do you feel about this?” I ask.

Buqis lets out a sigh. “I am not happy…”

Our conversations progress slowly. Our meetings over the past few months have been a hard language exchange – Buqis desperate to learn English before getting married…while I slowly chip away at her language. Our conversation is disjointed, interrupted by the need to consult a dictionary or one of my children needing my attention.

“Yes, I understand. You feel very anxious. Has your father allowed you to meet the man he wants you to marry?”

“Yes, he is an older groom, once married with a son, but now divorced. My father says he is a kind and religious man, but I didn’t like him very much.”

Buqis looks miserable. I know how much she wanted love in a marriage and dreaded the lifestyle allotted to her – producing babies, working in the home under her mother-in-law’s direction and abandoning her dreams of study. 

“Can I pray for you, Buqis?” I ask. I know there is nothing else I can do and yet prayer is exactly what Buqis needs more than anything.

Previously Buqis had been very resistant to God. It has taken months to help Buqis understand the difference between the immoral ‘Christianity’ on Western TV and Gospel-shaped lives my family lived.

“Yes, please pray for me,” a troubled Buqis responded.

I lift up my hands and raise my eyes to heaven. In a mixture of English and Buqis’ heart-language I ask our Father of kindness and love to give Buqis wisdom and comfort. 

Three months later, I find myself sitting behind the bridal screen with Buqis on her wedding day. Covered in her glittering red bridal clothes, my young friend cries openly. Another six weeks pass and Buqis shares with me bitterly that she is pregnant.

Again, I feel the struggle with how to share hope with this young, miserable woman. Will Buqis’ heart ever soften to the love of the one true God? How can I be an example of a loving wife and mother with so many barriers of language, culture and Buqis’ own hard heart? 

PRAY
Will you pray for young women like Buqis in this hard-to-reach Minority group community? Pray for Renée’s family and the multinational SIM team as they long to share the love of Jesus with a blinded people. Pray for wisdom as they work with security, visa and language challenges.

GO
There is an urgent need for more workers like Renee to serve in Central Asia. For more information, leave an enquiry to start a conversation with a SIM rep today!