Dinaras* Mom became a Christian when Dinara was four years old, and she's been in the church ever since. Dinara, now 25 years old, is a trained interpreter and works as a translator for the church. Dinara tells here about his experiencer with growing up as a Christian in a Central Asian country, and she highlights two stories in particular.
"It was difficult. When I was little, from 1st to 4th to 5th grade, I didn't feel anything. I told the other kids and also the teachers that I was a Christian. But the problems started to come when I became a teenager. Because I'm from Central Asia, I was expected to have a different religion, but everyone knew I was a Christian. I was bullied, they were hard on me and made fun of me."
Confrontation with the police as a teenager
Since Dinara was 14-15 years old, five Christian women from a neighboring country stayed at their home for a few days. The women were there to be taught and trained in the faith. However, the visit developed quite dramatically, recalls Dinara. She says:
"These five women were not so wise. They started preaching at the bazaar and they evangelized openly, so they were reported to the police."
The police wanted to arrest the women and approached them at Dinaras Address. Dinara was home alone with the women who were hidden in the house.
"I was the one who opened the door to the authorities. There were a lot of police officers and they were very rough in their behavior."
"I was talking to them at the door. I said I couldn't open the door because I was a minor and my mom wasn't home."
"The police waited withoutat the door. They stood there for quite a while. Eventually my mother came home and they entered the apartment. The apartment was searched and the women were found. They were deported and my mother was fined a lot," says Dinara.
Matured with age
"At university it was easier for me. I was more mature and much more grounded in my Christian life, so I could handle it more easily. However, there were some times when it was a bit difficult."
She talks about an experience where she went on a mission trip with its pastor, was visiting a house church in a small village.
"While we were there, some women came who had just come to faith in Jesus. While we are talking, 5-6 brothers come to one of the women. They get furious and there's shouting and arguing. She is thrown against the wall, it's quite violent. The situation was getting out of control, so we called the police and the mayor, who came quickly."
"The mayor and the police say that we have to leave the city as soon as possible, otherwise the locals will go crazy."
Dinara and the priest leaves the village, and Dinara remembers that the experience was very violent for her afterwards. The brothers took the woman home, and that's when the violence stopped. Dinara However, I don't know what has happened to the woman since then.
Dinara Reflect on the situation:
"The terrible thing was that we could not defend the womann. It's a strange thing, because when you're in the countryside, there are different cultural laws."
We end the conversation with a chat about what has made Dinara have been able tot withstand the pressure both during her childhood and youth, but also today. Dinara says she has learned to trust God in everything.
"God is not a religion. My faith is very personal to me. I see that God is in my life. I have experienced so many things with God. I can't renounce a God like that.," she concludes.
* Name has been changed for security reasons.
