Free as a bird
The story of a man determined to spread the Good News

TURKEY — Like his wife Dijle, (see previous article) Yuksel Kurada, 32, is convinced that for the few Turkish evangelical Christians, the most important work is “to convince our fellow countrymen.”

Yuksel Kurada, a Turkish evangelical Christian who wants to be engaged in full-time Christian work. Photo: UBS/Dag Smemo (TUR05DJ-47.JPG)

They have even taken care in naming their daughter, Sarah Kayra. “Most people hear her name and ask, ‘Where does that name come from? It is not Turkish, is it?’

“That gives us an excellent opportunity to explain what the name means and what it means to us. Sarah, which means ‘princess’, was the wife of Abraham and most people in Turkey know Abraham from the Koran. Kayra, her second name, means ‘grace’ so it is a name that tells of God’s salvation and redemption for all mankind.”

But in Turkey, obtaining permission for the non-Turkish name presented some difficulty.

“I had to go to the registration office four times before I managed – with a little cunning! – to be allowed to use the name,” he says. “It was important for us to give our child a Christian name, but in Turkey it is not always easy.”

Identity card

He was also keen to get the stated religion on his identity card changed.

“Previously it said I was a Muslim, but now it says that I am a Christian. It is not easy to change one’s religion on an identity card. I had to go very high up in the system in Istanbul because the authorities dislike the idea of people changing their religion from Muslim to Christian. According to the law one has the right to change one’s religion on one’s identity card, but it is not easy in practice.”

As well as attending Emmanuel Church, the fellowship which worships in the building housing the offices of the Bible Society in Turkey, he also maintains the Society’s web site. Earlier in his life he worked in Sudan and while there he distributed Bibles and New Testaments that he obtained from the Bible Society there.

“One day I handed out as many as 80 New Testaments. It was dangerous but I was young and eager, wanting others to share the Word. My method was to go to the market, quickly hand out eight or ten books, and then quickly run to another place before anyone could find me. People were extremely eager to get Bibles. I carried on like this for a long time with a rucksack full of Scriptures. One day some men came and stole them all!”

Like Dijle, he grew up in a Muslim family but his interest in Islam never developed. He suffered from severe depression and, during his period of military service, he became an atheist.

Radical

Later someone gave him a New Testament. It was months before he opened it, but when he did he read the Sermon on the Mount and was gripped by the radical nature of Jesus’s teachings. John 8 engaged him, too.

“In the story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus says, ‘If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her’ [John 8:7 NIV]. He is not judgemental, but forgiving, and I thought, “This is different from the Koran…!” There it states that we shall stone people who have broken the law.”

Later the person who had given him the New Testament took him to a Turkish-speaking church.

“A man preached on John 8:32: ‘The truth will set you free.’ Someone also read John 14:6: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me’ [John 14:6 NIV]. I thought about these texts all the following week. The next Sunday I went back to the church to hear more, and two months later I became a Christian.” That was 10 years ago; he was 22.

He also tells the story of a strange Samuel-like experience he had. “One night as I slept I felt a hand stroking me. I woke up but there was no-one there.” The next morning he felt completely changed.

Released

“I was like a bird that had been released from a cage. It was a glorious feeling of freedom. I felt as though God’s hand had stroked me and set me free into a new life.” (WR 399/15 - 01/02.06) [4 photos]