God's Bartender

Jobir Ishakov

Jobir [joh-BEER] grew up in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan [ooz-BEH-kih-stan]. By culture, Jobir and his family are Muslims. But as a product of the Soviet education system, he considered himself an atheist.

One day while watching television, he saw a movie about Jesus Christ. He knew little about Jesus, but he found the story of Christ strangely moving. This encounter with Christ sent Jobir looking for more information about this noble Jesus.

Surprising Revelation

Jobir worked in a restaurant bar in an expensive hotel. One day before the bar opened, the hotel's pianist stopped to chat. Edward was an older man, gentle, polite, and humble. The two men's conversation drifted to religion. Soon it was time to start work, so Edward asked Jobir to continue the conversation another time.

The next day Edward brought Jobir a New Testament. Jobir was excited to have the Bible in his hands and started reading it immediately. After that Edward often took his breaks in the bar, drinking tea and talking with Jobir about God. Jobir looked forward to these times.

The two men became close friends. The hotel bar closed very late, and often neither Jobir nor Edward had money for a taxi, so Edward would wait for Jobir, and the two would walk home together. They talked a lot about God during these late-night walks. Jobir grew to admire Edward's simple lifestyle and his appreciation of other people.

"I was once a Christian," Edward said one night. "I was in prison several years ago," he said. Edward explained that the KGB had planted drugs on him and then arrested him because they had seen him talking in Finnish with some Europeans. In prison Edward met a Christian who was there because he refused to give up his faith. The Christian was treated terribly. He was kept in solitary confinement in a dungeon with no window, no light, and just a bucket for three months. Prisoners seldom left the dungeon without having contracted tuberculosis, but this man remained healthy. And even more amazing, he remained happy; he seldom complained, even under the worst conditions.

Edward asked him how he could survive in the dungeon with his health and sanity intact. The man answered, "I was not alone. The Holy Spirit was with me every day."

Edward asked how he could become a Christian, and the man began teaching Edward truths from the Bible. When Edward was released, he found a group of Christians and was baptized. Then, with a sigh, Edward said that in time he lost his first love and stopped attending church.

Chance Encounter?

One day some contractors came to the hotel to give an estimate on repairing the floor in the bar area. The contractor recognized Edward and hugged him. Then Edward turned and introduced him to Jobir. Before the repair work was finished, the contractor had invited both men to visit his church on Sabbath.

Jobir was eager to visit the Christian church, but Edward was not sure he wanted to go. Finally Jobir talked Edward into meeting him at the church. But when Jobir arrived, Edward was not there. Jobir did not know anything about Christian church services, so he decided to return home.

"Why did you not come to the church this morning?" Jobir asked Edward that afternoon at work. Edward made an excuse and tried to change the subject, but Jobir pressured him to go with him to the church the following Sabbath. But on Sabbath when Jobir arrived, again Edward was not there. This time Jobir decided to go in alone.

Once inside the church Jobir saw the man who had repaired the floor in the bar. The man greeted him with a hug and introduced him to the Sabbath School. At once Jobir felt at home.

Found Out

Jobir usually arrived home from work about 2:00 a.m., so he often slept until nearly noon. But when he got up and left early on Saturday morning, his wife, Gulya [GOOL-yah], asked, "Where are you going?"

"I am going to visit a church," he answered, unsure of how she would respond. She was shocked at his answer, but she could not complain. She was seeing changes in Jobir's behavior; he was becoming a better person. If church did this for him, she would not stop him from going.

One Saturday Jobir's family stopped by to visit and found Jobir was not home. "Where is your daddy?" Jobir's brother asked the couple's little son.

"Oh, he's at church!" the boy answered matter-of-factly.

"What does Daddy do at church?" his surprised uncle asked.

"Oh, he sings and prays and listens," the boy responded, happy to be receiving the attention of his uncle. Soon the secret was out. When Jobir returned home, he was bombarded with questions about his sudden interest in religion. Jobir tried to explain, but everyone had their opinion. To his Muslim family the word "church" meant icons, prayers, superstitions, and priests.

Finally Jobir's sister said, "Look, he's a better husband, a better brother, and a better son. He has stopped smoking, and has changed his life. How can you complain if he is interested in religion?"

His family finally agreed to let him go to church in peace. But they added, "Don't take your wife and son!"

One day Jobir invited the church members to come to the restaurant and bar where he worked for a social that he had planned. The people came before the restaurant normally opened and enjoyed cookies and tea and warm fellowship. Jobir had invited some friends who were not from the church. One of them, Naim, enjoyed the people from the church very much. When Jobir invited him to visit the church, Naim accepted. Eventually Naim was baptized. He said that he probably never would have attended a Christian church if Jobir had not invited him to the party.

In spite of his family's warning, Jobir invited his wife, Gulya, to come to church with him. She went and took their son, Ishmael. But Ishmael found it frustrating to sit quietly for so long. Jobir had promised to take him to the park after church, and the boy began reminding his father of his promise. "Papa, let's go to the park--now!" After that Jobir and Gulya tried to bring things to entertain Ishmael.

Even before Jobir was baptized, he started a Bible study group in his home. He invited his friend Naim and other Muslim men. Eventually the group grew to include women also. Gulya was eventually baptized. When Jobir was offered a chance to study at Zaoksky Theological Seminary. He turned the Bible group over to Naim, who now leads it.

Jobir pays for his family's living expenses by selling literature. He often takes 3-year-old Ishmael with him. Together the pair have sold more literature than anyone else at the school. "God used my friend Edward and his testimony to lead me to His church," Jobir says. "Now I pray that Edward will find his way back to this truth." Jobir plans to return to his homeland to minister when he completes his studies. His first contact, he hopes, will be his friend Edward.

___

Jobir Ishakov continues to study theology at Zaoksky Theological Seminary in Russia.

This story originally appeared in the adult edition of Mission, 3rd quarter 2001, edited by Charlotte Ishkanian. Used by permission.