Sharing the gospel in Turkey
By Roger Carswell
Phil and Diane Benstead live and work with People International in Izmit in Turkey. At 3 am on August 17th, 1999 a 45-second earthquake struck the town leaving some 40,000 people dead. Diane and their three children were 65 kilometers away at a team retreat. Phil had had to remain home in their flat to man a bookstall at the town fair. There were two guests staying with him. Quickly, he tried to run, but couldn't because the building was shaking. He stood in the doorway, which he thought to be comparatively safe, as the earthquake seemed to continue.
Phil feared for his life as he felt the plaster fall. He wondered what God was doing. When the shaking ceased the three made their way down the stairs where there was a thick cloud of dust. Outside were collapsed buildings; people were crying as they left their properties and congregated in a safe area. Phil started to help pull out people who were trapped; though they had to wait for specialised equipment to help many others. He joined with rescuers who were doing the best they could.
He had no idea where the epicentre of the earthquake had been, and didn't know how Diane and the children were. There was no communication, so it was hours before he found that they were all well.
Phil and Diane had been involved in sharing Christ with Muslims in the U.K. They were well aware of the difficulties of the work, but sensed a clear call from God to work in Turkey. At first they lived in Istanbul and spent time on language learning. They used every opportunity to practice speaking to locals. They found that advertising a Bible Correspondence Course in the press provided many useful links with people wanting to read the Bible.
When they moved to Izmit they began outreach at the Izmit Fair, a place where people go to relax on summer evenings. It has a boating lake, restaurants, a fun fair and stalls. They had a Christian bookstall and talked to the people who showed interest. This was so unusual that they hit the front page of the local newspaper. The local mayor was sympathetic to what they were trying to do. The police, though, made things awkward and intimidated them saying the Bible was a banned book. There were joys and disappointments in the work. One man who had rejected Islam and had been studying the Bible and even sharing its teachings with Muslem friends, died. Whether he was saved or not, Phil and Diane don't know. Another man trusted Christ whilst dying of cancer. Before he went to be with the Lord he pointed to his heart and said "Jesus".
"I remember", says Phil, "The first week or so after the earthquake every time we entered Izmit we did so with tears because it was such a devastating time for us and lots of things we had been working up to for a long time are just not there any more. The effect on our work was quite drastic because the whole situation changed. Without us even wanting to, we found we were aid workers." They became involved in the distribution project, taking clothes from their church, which was receiving aid from evangelical churches in Europe and the USA. They helped set up a makeshift town with tents and containers. The people needed feeding, clothing, and reassurance.
The earthquake changed so much of their work in Ismit. They didn't know where many of their friends and acquaintances were. Some had been killed, others had just moved back to their own villages, or living in tents where it was difficult to locate them.