Blossoms in the desert

In the year 2000, Jamal*, a young man with a severe drug addiction, tries to break free from the shackles of his addiction. But no matter what he does, the addiction and the compulsions keep catching up with him. He is torn apart inside. During this time, he meets a young girl called Arisha*. Of course, their encounter is overshadowed by the sad reality of his addiction. Shortly after meeting Jamal, Arisha meets a friend who attends a house church. She tells Arisha about her faith in Jesus Christ and invites her to a church service. Arisha agrees. On that day, she had a personal encounter with Jesus and entrusted her life to him. From then on, she begins to pray intensively and persistently for her friend: “Jesus, free him from the bondage of drugs!”

A complete change of direction
Finally, one day Jamal agrees to come along to a house group meeting. There, Jesus intervenes in Jamal's self-destructive life. This encounter changes his life, as Jamal is supernaturally healed of his drug addiction. From then on, Jamal and Arisha attend all the church meetings together and take an active part in church life. After a few months, they follow the call to serve God and work in the church.

Priority: ministry with children
Today, the two have been married for a long time, have three children and lead the church movement in Turkmenistan, the exact size of which is difficult to determine. Here they serve their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with devotion. Jamal writes about the church in his country: “We are active in Turkmenistan in several regions: in the west, in the north and in the south-east of our beautiful country. Ministry with children, teenagers and young people is very important to us and has a high priority for us. We are also involved in the social sector, feeding the hungry and supporting needy families with food. This gives people a very practical sense that God has not forgotten them and that they are important to him. And we can be something like God's calling card for our neighbors who are affected by poverty.”

Transparency and healing
Their work focuses mainly on the city of Turkmenabat, as Jamal and Arisha have a state license for religious activities here. Whenever possible, they seek dialog with the authorities so that they have first-hand knowledge of their church's involvement. There are many people in their community who, like Jamal, used to be addicted to drugs or alcohol. “Some of them have been healed of serious illnesses or freed from demonic burdens,” Jamal reports.
Every year, the leading couple also organizes events for women and youth conferences. Through Bible studies, they familiarize the participants with the Word of God. Around 70 to 120 people currently attend the Sunday meetings, and up to 200 people travel from other towns, districts and villages on public holidays. Well over half of those attending the service are Turkmen, i.e. locals. “God loves Turkmenistan!” says Jamal with joy. “We want to pass on the message of his love to our generations in word and deed.”

Courageously overcoming obstacles
AVC is grateful for the contact with the young Turkmen church. We support them by praying for them, providing them with humanitarian aid and helping them to build up the church, which is not without its obstacles. Unfortunately, it is still sometimes difficult for congregations to obtain official registration. In the past, the preaching of the Gospel was also branded as “Christianization”, especially in the villages. If Muslims become Christians, they face the threat of social exclusion by family and friends. But the Christians do not let this stop them. They courageously continue to “irrigate” their land.