New Missio Dei explores Afghanistan through the eyes of mission workers

New Missio Dei explores Afghanistan through the eyes of mission workers


New Missio Dei explores Afghanistan through the eyes of mission workers
Cover of Missio Dei #21.
Mennonite Mission Network staff


Wednesday, March 27, 2013


Sheryl and Steve Martin watched Afghanistan move from a strong country with a thriving economy, to a restrictive, militia-controlled police state, to a post 9/11 war-torn disaster. They captured their experiences during this turbulent time in their journal, excerpts of which appear in the new offering from the Missio Dei series, For God so loved Afghanistan.


The Martins, who now live in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, moved to Afghanistan in 1991 as workers for a predecessor agency of Mennonite Mission Network. Sheryl served as a nurse and a midwife, and Steve was the finance director for the consortium of faith-based agencies for whom the Martins worked. The Martins raised three children during their tenure with Mennonite Mission Network, even as the country became more dangerous for foreigners.


Sheryl and Steve quickly developed an affinity for the country’s towering peaks and hospitable people. In one of their first journal entries, they describe being invited to a neighbor’s house for tea one afternoon. They eagerly accepted the invitation, and as the afternoon moved toward dinner, the hosts invited the Martins to stay, apologizing for serving only soup. Failing to sense any social cues as to when it was polite to leave, the Martins stayed until it was clear they had worn out their welcome.


In the following journal entry, two days later, Sheryl, describes learning the “three times” rule—an invited guest is supposed to politely refuse an invitation two times before accepting. “Our neighbors were not offended, however, by our misunderstanding of the cultural cues,” Sheryl wrote.


The Martins recorded the many emotions they experienced while watching the country lurch from one dysfunctional regime to another. They despaired over feeling powerless to make life easier for their Afghan friends and neighbors. They felt torn between their “passport” country and their “host” country after the Twin Towers were demolished in the attacks of 9/11. They were saddened at comparing the life of their own daughter, born into a stable American family, with that of a neighbor named Sima, whose parents were killed by rocket fire when Sima was only 40 days old.


But through it all, they were sustained by glimpses of hope. Sheryl shares instances when she witnessed friendship and cooperation between members of warring factions in an entry titled “Personal Encounters.”
A poor Hazara worker and a highly respected Pashtun teacher walk home together to protect each other.
Two female co-workers walk arm-in-arm, vowing friendship even as males in their differing ethnic groups plot against each other.
A young Uzbek man falls in love with a young Pashtun woman, and they plead for three years with their families for acceptance. Their persistence and love for each other wins and they are finally happily married.
Two wealthy, elite young men find a friend in an older, working-class man, and the three, from different ethnic groups, drink tea and chat together for hours.


In the most dramatic moment, Steve describes his conflicting feelings in deciding whether to evacuate his family when the city where they were living erupted in violence. As they were praying for clarity, a friend named Ali came to their door.


“Ali had come to bring us counsel,” Steve wrote. “’I have never given you direct advice,’ he said. ‘But this time I feel compelled to do so. My family and I are packing up and leaving while we can get out of the city … I may never see you again, but please take your family and leave … it is not safe for you to stay.’ That is the last I ever saw of Ali as he departed from our home, leaving us all with heavy hearts at this sudden turn of events.”


Sheryl and Steve then had to find a safe way out of the city.


In the foreword, John F. Lapp, Mission Network’s director for Asia and the Middle East, expresses his gratitude for the work the Martins did.


“We at Mennonite Mission Network still remember them for their extraordinary ability to roll with the changes, for their choice to start a family in a dangerous and unstable place, and for their sensitive handling of uncertain and arbitrary government relationships,” he wrote. “Above all, the Martins tried to be where God was at work in Afghanistan, seeking to do their part in bringing healing and hope in this challenging context.”


A PDF of this issue, and all offerings from the Missio Dei series, are available for download at the Mennonite Mission Network site. Print copies can be ordered from Menno Media.


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For immediate release.


Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.