They hate you because of me - Mark Ellis reports the following story for ASSIST News Service about Tab Livingston, a college math professor and president of Persecuted Christians International.
I highly recommend you take the time to read it.
MATH PROFESSOR BACKPACKS INTO MUSLIM VILLAGES—ALONE
His last Indonesia trip—two days after tsunami—finds many Muslims who believe the disaster was ‘Allah’s judgment’
By Mark Ellis
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News ServiceLAGUNA NIGUEL, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- On teaching breaks, he trades quadratic equations and theorems for a backpack, striking out to destinations most Westerners avoid—all in hopes of making contact with believers living in dangerous conditions.
“The Lord gave me a burden for persecuted Christians after my first trip to Nigeria,” says Tab Livingston, a math professor at a Southern California college, and president of Persecuted Christians International. While he’s traveled to 45 countries, it was his trip two years ago to Nigeria that awakened him to the plight of Christians in restricted countries.
After landing in Lagos, he struck out on his own, walking and using public transportation until he arrived in Kano, a Muslim stronghold in the north. “Kano is about the worst place I’ve been,” Livingston says. He witnessed rebel soldiers carrying dead bodies along the road; saw people whose limbs were cut off through the brutal enforcement of shari’a law, and even children whose faces and torsos were intentionally burned with acid.
“It was sad to see churches meeting behind 10-foot concrete barriers covered by razor wire,” Livingston notes. “It shatters the stereotype presented in the West that Islam is a religion of peace.”
More recently he traveled to Indonesia, arriving two days after the tsunami disaster. His trip was planned many weeks prior to the tragedy. Flying into Medan, a major city in Northern Sumatra, he headed west toward Parapat. “Tourism has dried up in these areas because tourists are afraid to go there,” Livingston notes. Aceh province, at the northern tip of Sumatra, was one of the hardest hit areas in the tsunami disaster.
“The international media isn’t telling the whole story about what’s going on in Aceh,” Livingston says. “The Muslims there are trying to set up their own independent Islamic state,” he says. Livingston is aware of reports dating back to the 1960s of Muslims killing Christians and Buddhists in Aceh. “It’s been sealed off for the last five or ten years.”
Livingston spoke to a Christian bus driver in Northern Sumatra who lost one of his good friends—another Christian bus driver—to rebel violence. “When they found out he was a Christian they killed him,” Livingston says. On his trip, Livingston heard reports of roadblocks set up in Aceh where travelers are grilled about their faith. Those who don’t profess Islam are killed, Livingston was told.
“Many Muslims consider Banda Aceh as Indonesia’s ‘Mecca,’ because they practice Islam so purely,” he notes. “The province was so shut off from the outside world they don’t really know how many died in the tsunami.” During the trip, he heard reports of 240,000 missing or dead in Aceh alone.
One afternoon Livingston sat in a food stall in Northern Sumatra eating lunch and found himself surrounded by about 20 Muslims. “They asked me, ‘What do you think of the tsunami?’”
“On behalf of the American people, I offer my condolences. I’m very sad for the loss,” Livingston said.
They looked at him very intently, and then said: “We think Allah did it.”
“You believe Allah wiped out Banda Aceh?” Livingston asked.
“Yes, Allah is very angry with us because of the way people there act,” they replied.
“So you believe this tsunami wiped out and killed so many people because of Allah’s judgment?”
“Yes.”
Later, Livingston spoke with a Christian pastor in the area who confirmed this sentiment among Muslims. The Indonesian pastor listened to imams and clerics on television telling the local audience the tsunami was God’s judgment because of the way Christians and Buddhists were treated in Northern Sumatra. “Even the Muslims recognized their religion has become so radical,” Livingston notes. “They admitted they’ve been too harsh.”
“I feel the Muslims were truly shaken by what happened,” Livingston adds. “They were living lives as strictly as they could and they believe Allah wiped them out. They’re searching for answers.”
Livingston’s wife, Gayle, stays home while he travels. They have no children. During his trips, the Holy Spirit directs him away from areas of high risk. “I have complete faith God will guide my steps,” Livingston says. “He changes my plans when I’m in danger and tells me to leave towns,” he says. “As I’m walking down a street if a crowd gets hostile God always leaves an open door—He always gets me out of there safely.”
“He literally tells me, ‘You’re in danger in this town. You need to leave right now.’” Livingston has escaped a few tight situations. “I always feel God’s angels are with me,” he says. “In close calls, God provided locals to help protect me from people who meant me harm.”
Ultimately, there is a deeply held faith in his calling. “I believe God raised me up to start this organization and He will keep me safe. He can’t use me if I’m dead.”
As Livingston travels, his goal is to make contact with Christians who are making a difference despite their hostile surroundings, and find ways to support their activities. “We’re looking for very productive but financially challenged Christian ministries,” he says, referring to his contacts as ‘lighthouses.’
Livingston met one pastor and his wife in Northern Sumatra who will receive help from Persecuted Christians International. They operate three safe houses for Muslims who convert to Christianity. “Some converts can’t go home once they accept Christ,” Livingston notes. “If they go back to their family or village they’ll be killed,” he says. The church has 30 home fellowships that have become effective in sharing the gospel with Muslims on a discreet basis.
They also planted a church in an area of the coast hit by the tsunami. “We gave them some support to buy rice to truck into this community to aid the victims,” Livingston says. “This town is off the radar screen of the Indonesian government,” he notes, and there are no other Christians in the area.
After leaving Indonesia, Livingston traveled south through Jakarta, and around West Java. He met a pastor operating a church of 40-50 people in a community that is 99 percent Muslim. This is another ‘lighthouse’ that Livingston’s organization will support.
“He operates on a very low-key basis because it’s a very volatile and unstable neighborhood,” Livingston reports. “If people accept Christ, their life is over,” he says. “They have to be removed from the community.” The pastor is involved in a Christian network which allows converts to be relocated so they can start a new life.
“We want to help people with a real evangelistic gift, those who are beacons of light in a sea of darkness,” he says. “We need to pray for these people. Indonesia is prime for revival.”
