Serving Jesus in Pakistan

Salvationist Nazia Yousaf shares a fascinating insight into life as a Christian in Pakistan.

I’m Amina Nazia Yousaf, although most people know me as Nazia. I’m 36 years old and trained as a nurse. My parents are Salvation Army officers Lieut-Colonels Rebecca Yousaf and Yousaf Ghulam. They recently left New Zealand for Sri Lanka, after serving in New Zealand for two years.

I grew up in The Salvation Army, which has proved to be a blessing from God for my life. I have many cherished recollections of my Christian upbringing, of the development of my values and of my experiences as a follower of Jesus Christ. When I was only eight, I saw Jesus in a dream. He told me, ‘You are my beloved daughter.’ I have known since that time that Jesus loves me.

I have always found The Salvation Army an inspirational place. When people ask me about my confidence and abilities, I respond that my parents and The Salvation Army are the reason for these.

Growing up with four sisters and one brother, I never had to experience any discriminatory attitudes from my family because I was a girl. My sisters and I were treated equally and given many opportunities by the family and our church. We were allowed to choose our professions and were also given permission to choose our own marriage partners, something culturally unacceptable to most people in Pakistan.

I and my siblings spent many years of our life away from home. This also is not common in Pakistan, where children usually stay with their parents until they get married—and even after marriage. My parents focused on our education and careers, encouraging and supporting us. I’m grateful to God we all received a good education. This was only possible with their support and because of the sacrifices of my sister, Shazia, who left home at 16 to work and support us financially when our parents couldn’t.

I entered a Salvation Army girls’ hostel as our family circumstances didn’t permit any other education. Major Loraine Fudge, our hostel superintendent, always encouraged me. She identified that I had a caring and sensitive nature, which led me to join the nursing profession.

When I left home at 16 to start my nursing training, my father told me I would meet different people in my life’s journey. If I liked a person and thought he would be a good marriage partner, my father wanted to be the first person to know. In our culture, arranged marriages are more favoured, but my father’s words gave me the confidence to be more open to friendships.

Eventually, all of us were left in Karachi when our parents were appointed to Salvation Army roles in Lahore—1200 kms away. Although difficult at the time, I now see this was God’s plan, preparing us and them for their overseas appointments in New Zealand and, last month, to Sri Lanka.

Seeking God’s guidance

I always felt an empty space in my heart while serving as a nurse in Karachi, where I was a Christian among many Muslim staff. Although I had many friends, I was seen as different and did experience religious pressure. In 2009, this discomfort increased and I started reflecting on it. It was not an easy decision, but I chose to leave my permanent nursing position—with all its financial incentives and security—and moved away from Karachi, despite it being considered a city of opportunities. Although financially poorer, this was a spiritually rich time.

I was living with my family again, on the Salvation Army territorial headquarters compound in Lahore. My connection with fellow Christians and Salvationists became stronger with every passing day. I also benefited from exposure to excellent Christian teaching.

During this time, I started work with a prestigious organisation in Lahore. This was going well, but after just a couple of weeks I realised once again that this was not what I was meant to be doing, despite my high salary. This was such a crisis decision for me. I remember one evening, after midnight in July 2010, when I shouted out to God with many tears, ‘God, please help me and let me know what you want me to do. Please talk to me!’ And God did.

I can’t express in words the new feeling of God’s presence in my life. God assured me again that I was his beloved daughter and said he wanted me to serve him. He showed me a vision in which, on one side, was the prosperity of the world—and on the other, a life of sacrificial serving. God asked me to make a choice about which side I would choose.

That morning, during breakfast, I told my family I had decided to leave my job because of this vision. While this could have meant the end of my nursing career, my father supported me and allowed me to choose what was best for my heart, mind and soul.

One day, Colonel Marguerite Ward, head of The Salvation Army’s women’s work in Pakistan, asked me if I would help as a volunteer in the Women’s Ministry Department by writing health fact sheets. She also asked me to provide material for the health component of the Projects and Community Development Department.

I had never anticipated this request and cried with happiness. While I was looking to serve somewhere voluntarily, little did I know that God had already planned for me to serve The Salvation Army. After starting as a volunteer, I was soon hired by the Community Development team, and since 2011, I have been working with the Projects team. I feel as if I have found my destiny in this work!

Our family faced a terrible tragedy in January 2008, when our eldest sister, Shazia, passed away at the age of 30. Six years later, my officer-sister’s husband, Captain Columbus, also passed away, leaving our sister and three young girls. This second tragedy took place while our parents were in New Zealand. We all found it difficult to cope, but with God’s grace were able to bear these losses and stay firm in our faith.

My father always said that ‘preaching the story of Jacob’s wrestling with God is easy, but experiencing it is something different’. I am so grateful to The Salvation Army in New Zealand, our Pakistan leadership, and all the family and friends from around the world for their prayers and support in these times of sorrow.

Serving Pakistan

The Salvation Army serves Pakistani people at the grassroots level. Despite many conflicts, Pakistan is a faith-based nation. Faith is the centre element of our lives, as well as a social symbol. Living out the gospel of Jesus Christ is a very important aspect of life for the Pakistan Salvation Army. It is inspiring to see people in a small village coming daily to church to pray or worship very early in the morning, sometimes between 4–5 am before going to their work. Attending Sunday church services is also important —for the whole family. Our churches, Sunday schools and youth groups are strong, with many committed prayer warriors. Salvationists love to serve their church and community voluntarily. Our soldiers are the strength of The Salvation Army in Pakistan.

The Salvation Army has a strong presence among women, with a passion to see positive change in women’s lives. Our female officers are especially competent, working hard to integrate their own ministry with our Community Development Department. As I go around the Pakistan Territory, I can see that our Salvation Army women are making a difference. Literacy, life skills, small business, mother and child health care, and awareness campaigns are all making a valuable contribution to the community. Seeing these successes gives me a great sense of satisfaction—I am proud to be part of this group that is taking care of God’s people.

Despite pressure from some Christians who feel we should only serve them and their families, our Social Department serves without discrimination in our communities. In our two physical rehabilitation centres, the majority of our clients are Muslims, who often express their appreciation for the work we are doing.

The Salvation Army in Pakistan has responded to five major disasters in the past five years. I was part of the team that conducted a needs assessment in Jhang following the great flood of 2010. After providing emergency relief, funded from overseas territories, we continued working in the flooded areas in Peshawar, Jhang and Sindh doing community development work, which we recently finished. None of the beneficiaries in those areas were Christian. Many times, people asked us why we Christian people were helping them. Our response was simple: Jesus loved them, and so did we.

While preaching is not allowed, our lives serve as a witness of God’s love to the world. We are especially grateful to those overseas territories that provided funding for our emergency relief work, and then helped to rebuild destroyed communities afterwards.

Pakistan’s Christians really depend on Christian organisations for support in development and advocacy. I ask that our brothers and sisters in faith uplift us in prayer.

It is too easy for us to lose patience in Pakistan because of corruption, discrimination and terrorism. Please pray that God will bless us with the ability to cope with our situation and that he will help us to build bridges in our communities.

Pray, too, that God blesses us with good political and religious leadership so that we may enjoy peace—which is this country’s most important need.

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by Amina Nazia Yousaf (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 25 July 2015, pp 5-7.
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