Working with Asians in London

Gloria, from Jhelum in Pakistan, experienced inner city life in the UK by spending six weeks on placement with the London City Mission.

"Part of the course was in urban mission and I wanted to practice my skills and see how I can communicate the Gospel message," she says.  "I had never been to London before and found it a very diverse culture.  Several areas felt like being back in Pakistan."

Gloria worked with the LCM team at Ridley Christian Centre, Forest Gate.  The centre was built in 1893 and has many areas of ministry, such as door-to-door, children's work, youth work, Open Air evangelism, mums and tots, and visiting old peoples homes.

In such a multicultural society, language can be a barrier to outreach.  "Sometimes when we knocked on doors the people who answered would say 'sorry, no English'," explains Gloria. "I just had to say three words - 'Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu'.  This was unexpected because people were not expecting that we could speak their own language."

One Hindu lady had contact with the centre for 6 years.  Gloria visited her with a volunteer worker over a couple of weeks and was able to talk with her in depth about the Christian faith.

She says: "we had no idea if she was a Christian or not and we thought maybe she didn't understand some biblical truths.  I was able to share that our God is a caring God as this aspect is different from the Hindu religion.  Her husband had left her several years ago and we could tell her that 'God is her husband'."

"The worker told me to ask her if she had ever accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour.  I helped her to understand this concept and prayed with her to receive Him as her Lord.  Now she says she can sleep peacefully because she prays in the way she has been taught, just 'opening up her heart to the Lord'.

"In Asia it is not difficult to talk about God, but I feel the placement gave me practical experience and enhanced faith and confidence to talk about Jesus and the Gospel message.  Mostly before, I talked about Jesus to my friends, but not strangers.  In London, I spoke to Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jews."