A Beautiful Country with Beautiful People

 Once upon a time, 16 years ago, my husband and I traveled to Afghanistan to visit our friends who worked over there – despite the pleadings and warnings of our parents and friends. Many of you may be thinking, “Why in the world would you go over there?!”  It’s hard to describe the feeling of “just have to go” in any other words than those, so that is the only explanation I can offer.  Any time I had any fear about going, it would easily be pushed away by an overwhelming peace that could only come from God.

After flying for almost 20 hours – not to mention the layovers in between, we finally landed in Kabul.  The airport was a bit intimidating, I won’t lie.  Seeing destroyed aircraft and other vehicles around you as you land isn’t exactly the most comforting thing, nor were the men with machine guns greeting you as you exit the plane.  But the most overwhelming moment for me was as I stepped through the door of that plane.  I was suddenly overcome by a feeling of hopelessness. It was not for me or the friends who journeyed with me, but it was as if the country as a whole had no hope.

It is so difficult for me to not type out the many details that I could, trying to keep this shorter than the book I’m tempted to write.  With everything going on in Afghanistan today, I just felt very strongly that I needed to share a few things from being there.  If nothing else, to at least remind others of the people who are living there. 

I’ve seen the news videos of those trying to flee for their lives – or passing their children in hopes that their young ones will at least have a chance to live.  You might think they’re over-reacting to our troops being pulled out.  After all, we’ve been there for 20 years… why in the world would their military (that we’ve helped to train) surrender so quickly? FEAR.  It’s all I keep coming back to, hopeless fear.

As we drove from the airport to our first destination, my heart twisted, witnessing the poverty and destitution around us.  I worried that the U.S.’s presence had caused it.  I was given a short history lesson that proved otherwise. Apparently, Afghanistan was modern with other countries until the late 1970’s, early 1980’s.  But after Russia invaded it, the country was set back about 50 years.  And then when the Taliban took over, it set the country back another hundred years.  The economy was devastated.  Those who rose up against the new order suffered the consequences – their hands were cut off and sometimes hung along the streets as an example to those who might resist.  Any resistance was quickly snuffed out, leaving the Taliban to rule.

The roads resembled destruction and chaos.  (When I say ‘chaos’, I’m referring more to what had happened before we arrived and how they drove – they don’t believe in lines – than the chaos in the streets you might be envisioning.)  Through the parts of the country we visited, we constantly saw old Soviet tanks lining the side of the dirt and rocky roads, war-torn structures that used to be buildings, and the people who kept telling us over and over of how glad they were that the U.S. had come.

 

So many of these people, who had so very little, constantly invited us to share a meal with them.  I never expected much, but we were fed by them as if at a banquet or feast.  I even experienced the most humbling foot-washing I’ve ever had right before one of those meals. (But that’s a whole other story.)  I also remember one shocking question that arose as we ate: the women asked us how long it took to drive there from the United States.  Read that again.  You read it right.  That is how educated – or uneducated – they were.  They had no concept of oceans.  During the Taliban’s rule, they were basically only instructed on what they were allowed to be trained on… to keep everyone in check, I assume.

 

We visited a school in a small village.  They had 1^st through 4^th grades for the boys, hoping to add 5^th grade the following year.  The girls had a separate area for school and their teachers were probably young teens.  The schools had no books however, due to the expense, so knowledge was still very limited. 

As I’ve experienced in another country, these people appreciated what they had.  Nothing went to waste.  Bread was sacred and never thrown out as trash.  If anything, it was fed to the neighborhood cow.  Electricity wasn’t a constant.  Some places were lucky enough to have backup generators for when the power was out.  Water from a faucet was really only for the wealthy.  Many of the people relied on the kindness of others or a public well to acquire the water they needed each day. I don’t know about you, but I do not have to walk to the nearest stream when I need some water… and I take it for granted all the time, I’m sorry to say.

The perspective I have is probably far different from what a lot of our military had.  We were never near any fighting.  We got to see the beautiful parts of the country with mountains and rolling hills, not much of the rocky desert terrain.  

We ran into a few U.S. soldiers while we were there.  They seemed leery of our presence, trying to make sure we were safe. But I rarely, if ever felt in danger, especially since people continuously thanked us for coming.  For years I wondered if they were just being nice.  But since then, a friend of mine from high school was honored posthumously by having a terminal of the Kabul airport named after him.  He gave his life trying to save wounded soldiers – U.S. and Afghan alike – while serving in Afghanistan.  I worry that honor will be torn down, now that the Taliban has taken over again.

I keep thinking of those who’ve converted to Christianity in that country.  They are all in.  If you become a Christian over there you’re either all in or you’re not in at all.  Your life is at risk simply for believing in Jesus or anything other than Islam.  Today, these people believe that they only have a couple of weeks left to live.  The Taliban are hunting down any Christians to kill them… yet these believers meet it with joy.  They look forward to meeting God face to face in the coming days.  They know what true fear and suffering for their beliefs is, but they keep going. 

In America, we’re too lukewarm… too content.  If someone gets their feelings hurt, we have to apologize and learn how to tolerate things better.  If we have different beliefs from someone else, then obviously, we must hate them. (That was sarcasm by the way.)  We can’t show love to others because we’re too busy pointing at what everyone is doing wrong instead of finding common ground to work things out in some way.  We give up on God because He isn’t doing what we want or what we think we’re entitled to.  We’re so entitled that people twist the Word of God to fit their agenda, to fit what they think is right.  We pick out the parts that make us feel good and align with what we think is right, ignoring the ones that might make us or other people uncomfortable.  And then there are those who point out all the wrong and forget to love others like Jesus loved them.

People are all over the world.  Each person, whether they look, act, or think differently from me still deserves to be treated as a person… the human being God created them to be and not someone less than because they aren’t like me.  I’ve heard the phrase, “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” countless times.  But I think many people, myself included, tend to hate other peoples’ sins instead of turning to look inward to hate the sin within themselves.  It’s so easy to see what other people do wrong.  But what about my own heart?  What does God need to do within me?

This is already going a completely different direction from what I originally intended.  I originally set out to tell you about Afghanistan… just Afghanistan.  But as I type, I’m reminded to share something about love.  We are told to love one another… to be willing to lay one’s life down for one another.  So many people believe this could only mean physically losing your life.  It does mean that… but I also think it means laying down your selfish desires on behalf of someone else.  Dying to YOURSELF.  It can’t be all about you.  It has to be all about someone else, above all, God.  Nothing I’ve actually witnessed portrays this quite so well as marriage or parenthood.

Jesus performed all kinds of miracles during his brief ministry.  But the best miracle of all was when he laid down the desire of his heart – because, honestly, who would’ve wanted to go through the torture and pain he did on the road to the cross – because of a greater love.  He wanted to see us reconciled to God.  He loved us so much that he did lay down his life, physically, for us.  The Bible even tells us it was with joy… because he knew what must be done to bring God’s children back to Him.

How many times, in marriage or friendships or even with my children, am I not willing to lay down my own selfish desires?  How many times do I choose what’s best for me over what’s best for others?  I do believe you should take a little time for yourself.  Everyone needs to rest and get rejuvenated.  But in the grand scheme of things, what are you devoted to? What would you lay your life and selfish desires down for? 

Do not mistake this for, “Do what everyone else wants/needs you to do.”  That is NOT what I’m getting at – at all!  I’m talking about setting aside your comforts, your time, your very will for what is best for others and for what God would have you do. 

Most of the people in Afghanistan just want to live their life in peace.  That idea was just torn away from them.  Have you seen the desperation to get out?  Did you see the fear that led them to clamor even onto the outside of a plane… because they saw it as their only chance?  We have our issues in the U.S., make no mistake.  But we live in a relatively peaceful place.  Our contentment depends more on the things we have and get to do, not worrying about whether we’ll die today.  Our fears are growing, I know.  But very few, if any, know of that kind of desperation.

Pray for the people in Afghanistan.  Pray for the believers.  Pray that God will move on their behalf and draw even more people to Him through this.  I’ve seen so many posts about praying for that country.  And even though I’ve actually been there, I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t prayed for them much over the years.  What if I had?  What if Christians around the world had prayed for the people there instead of just our soldiers?  I don’t know if things would’ve turned out differently.  But I can pray for them now.  I can pray for protection and peace.  I can pray for God to pour out His love and joy upon this people so filled with fear.  I can pray that He reveals to them that He does not give us a spirit of fear – but of power, of love, and of sound mind.  I can pray that He will move on their behalf and raise people up who are not afraid to fight back, giving them strength and courage and peace along the way.  I can pray for hope.

Below is something that moved me more than I can even describe... notice the countless mounds.  These are graves.  Many are not marked in any way, they just had to be buried.  There were mass burial sites, where so many lost their lives in one war or another.  We saw these on more than one occasion.

As you go about your day, remember these people.  Please pray for them.  Their lives have meaning and a purpose, just as ours do.