G.M. Naaman
All Rights Reserved Copyright © The Good Way 1994
Because of my poor health, my daughter assisted me on the day following to go over to the church, where the funeral service was led by the Reverend Johnson from Hyderabad. I was not expected to take part but managed to get to my feet and say, I have forgiven those people who have killed my son. I am even prepared to kiss their hands if they come to me.
I sent telegrams the next day, requesting prayer, and was able to write to friends in England, I have taken this injury in a thankful way. I have sacrificed the precious son I had in Pakistan.
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Today, as I sit here
a ghastly scene has flashed back to my mind from the time of the Second World War. I had been posted to Burma and saw Rangoon bombed several times. First, the Japanese raided and bombed and then the Allied Forces tried to drive them back.
This was repeated and I think Rangoon was bombed four times until practically nothing was left. After the Japanese attacks, we were ordered to go around the city to see if there were any signs of life. I remember the day when I entered a heavily bombed area.
I climbed up to a room after crossing broken staircases and went into a place where blood was coming from under the door. It was a shocking sight, a newlywed couple in their bed, both killed. I saw so many plundered nests in those days.
I remember
some in the red-light areas of the city, just after the war. I had been transferred to be in charge of the Staff Police and had to patrol the areas where there were young prostitutes from various parts of India, Chittagong, and all over Bengal.
I questioned what it was that made them adopt such a lifestyle instead of the secure family home to which my orthodox Muslim background had accustomed me. The girls overcame their fear of me sufficiently to tell me that it was hunger and the desperate need for money to feed their families which drove them to prostitution.
In those days
a large part of the Indian population went hungry, with no relief in sight from the government. I felt it was my moral duty to get food given out from the surplus rations in our unit stores in Bengal. I ended up being taken to task for being unfaithful to the British government and charges were brought against me.
Early in 1947
I was discharged from the Royal Air Force and I returned to Jammu in Kashmir to more destruction. It was a time of political turmoil with the Partition of India and Pakistan and sensitivities were heightened in Kashmir, which had a Muslim majority but was controlled by a Hindu ruler and his army powers.
I wondered what I should do next. My desire was to please God. I was led by my Muslim religious leaders to join the freedom fighter forces to get Kashmir liberated from the Hindus and ceded to Pakistan. I was very much convinced that I should help my Muslim brothers in this Jihad (‘holy war’), but I became responsible for a great deal of destruction.
Their tactics were to set fire to Hindu villages in the southern part of Kashmir late at night. I became a kind of specialist in this fearful and macabre game of destroying nests.
Dear Reader, if you have read this book you will be able to answer the following questions.
- Which event tore the nest of the Naaman family? How did it happen?
- How did the friends of the Naaman family respond?
- Describe two of the incidents which led Brother Naaman to believe in Christ and to change his life.
- How did brother Naaman’s family respond to his conversion to Christianity?
- Describe Brother Naaman’s pastoral work assignment during his training. How did he go about building a relationship with the Gugeras?
- What was Brother Naaman’s strategy in dealing with the challenges he faced at St Saviour’s Church in Sukkur?
- What two aspects of service are included in the ministry of the “full gospel”? How did Brother Naaman practice both of them?
- Describe one of the incidents that Brother Naaman was involved in because of his deep sense of justice.
- What do the incidents of “nest-saving” show us about Brother Naaman’s reputation among the Muslims?
- What did the local Pakistani congregations do which kept them from growing spiritually as they might have otherwise?
- What lesson does the story of the elephant which the rajah gave to the poor man teach us?
- How would you react if you were given an “elephant” like Brother Naaman’s?
- What testimony does Brother Naaman give despite the difficult circumstances his family had to go through sometimes?
- How did Daisy use the birth of their first son, Samuel, as an opportunity to witness their faith in Jesus?
- What was the “message” Brother Naaman’s brother got about Christianity from Brother Naaman’s life?
- How did Obed’s faith in Jesus affect his life?
- How did Obed use his social behavior and his profession as an opportunity to witness his faith?
- How did brother Naaman react to the death threat against his family?
- What is Brother Naaman’s attitude toward the suffering he has had to endure because of his son’s death?
- What is Brother Naaman’s opinion of the non-confrontational attitude of many western Christians toward Islam?
You can copy and paste the questions into the comment box and can write the answer below each question.
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