April 21, 2003
Students give witness in detention
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___STEPHENVILLE--Two international students from the Baptist Student Ministry at Tarleton State University couldn't understand why they were detained in South Texas, but they accepted their overnight incarceration as a "divine appointment."
___Bob Gwassa from Tanzania and Geiby George, a citizen of India who grew up in Kuwait, traveled to South Padre Island to participate in the spring break Beach Reach ministry, offering free rides and words of Christian witness to beer-drinking partiers.
___On their way back to Stephenville, they were detained at an immigration checkpoint 20 miles north of the Texas/Mexico border because they lacked proof of citizenship.
___"Since we weren't leaving the United States, we didn't know we needed our passports," Gwassa recalled. But with the heightened level of homeland security, particularly in light of the developing war in Iraq, officials were insistent that foreign-born travelers verify their citizenship.
___Gwassa and George called friends in Stephenville to ask them to locate their passports and present them to authorities. Then officers escorted the two college students to a cell where they spent the next 27 hours.
___"We were confused at first," Gwassa acknowledged. "But then we said: 'Let's put this in God's hands. Let's trust in God.'"
___In the cell, they met a Muslim student from Morocco and Amal, a native of India who was studying at the University of Nebraska. "Amal was completely depressed about what had happened to him," George said.
___The students compared their reasons for being detained in far South Texas. Amal discovered that while he had been drawn to South Padre Island by the revelry, his cellmates had been called there to minister.
___"He said, 'I was there for all the wrong reasons, but you were giving free rides and free pancakes to people, doing a good job. Why didn't God protect you? Why are you in here?'" Gwassa recalled. "I told him, 'I think he had a divine appointment for us to meet you.'"
___George recounted the Old Testament story of Joseph, who was unjustly imprisoned but rose to a position of prominence in Egypt in spite of those who conspired against him.
___"Joseph didn't understand it all, but he remained patient and faithful," George told Amal. "Even when we don't understand it, God has a plan and a purpose for our lives."
___Gwassa and George prayed, asking God's blessings of strength and courage not only for their cellmates, but also for the officers outside the cell. The Muslim student from Morocco joined in the prayer circle. Amal, the Indian student, broke down and cried.
___"By the time we finished praying, he was in tears. The Holy Spirit spoke to him," George said.
___Amal, who was brought up Hindu, had attended various churches but had not made a personal commitment to Christ. George and Gwassa explained the importance of a personal faith commitment to Christ and a growing relationship with him, and Amal made that commitment.
___As the two Tarleton students continued to wait for their proof of citizenship to arrive, they shared their sandwiches with their cellmates and unzipped their sleeping bags, sharing the bed covers.
___The next morning, a Chinese husband, wife and child entered the cell. The man spotted a Bible next to the Tarleton students, who still were sleeping. Turning to the Moroccan student, he asked if the young men were Christians.
___The Muslim replied: "Yes, they are strong Christians. They share what little they have with us. They pray, and God gives them comfort. I prayed with them, and I could feel there is something different about them."
___The Chinese man woke Gwassa and George. He told them he was Christian, but he needed the kind of strong faith and encouragement they possessed.
___By the time the two students from Stephenville were released, they had led a former Hindu to faith in Christ, "planted seeds" in the life of a Muslim and encouraged a Chinese Christian who needed to strengthen his faith. They exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers with Amal, promising to stay in touch with him and send him materials to help him grow in Christian discipleship.
___"God brought both of us from India to the United States. We didn't meet at South Padre, but God had another plan for us--bringing us together in that cell," George said. "God knew what was going on, and he was in full control. We couldn't understand why we were detained and why there were delays in getting out, but God had prepared a divine appointment for us."
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