Cultural Experience

        I have never been overseas- not after coming to the US anyway. Nik Ripken shared a lot of perspective on what is happening globally within the persecuted church. It is often difficult to grasp the things which fall outside of our routine and unfortunately, we tend to let them go unnoticed. The time spent there was definitely eye-opening and challenging to my current worldview- that part of us which we apply every day and often disregard. I have learned that those experiences which challenge my perspective are the ones that have shaped my life and molded me more into the image of Christ.

As for me, persecution isn’t something I can claim to have experienced at all. Living in the United States has much to do with it since here, our freedom far exceeds that of our brothers and sisters in other places around the world. I have realized that the simple fact of living here guarantees the ability to express your beliefs in various ways, whereas in Somalia (for example), the latter guarantees persecution. Surprisingly so, the churches found in these places tend to freely speak up regardless of the costs, whereas the churches here have opted for silence. About this, Nik said that the issue is not about freedom, but rather obedience. His words went somewhat like this: “This country has told us that we have to be in a certain place, certain building or certain situation to share your faith—in America, faith is a private matter.” This is something that I have experienced firsthand. Our culture has made it clear time and time again that there are two things which we should not argue— politics and religion. Sadly, that is what we have subsided