A few people within each group had started the pilgrimage of faith that we profess. Much of our hope is that their faith would multiply. What if those shoes were on our feet and we would be ostracized for such a change?
That change was wholly dependent on the Father. The intense spiritual warfare here can only be waged…spiritually. Our clever strategies are virtually worthless when you dialogue with people here. The Spirit must be working to soften hardened hearts or you will find yourself doing theological doughnuts.
We wrapped up this time listening to “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective Experiment and the words breathed fresh fire into our souls as we prepared to serve.
The rest of the day included a historical experience to teach us about the culture. On the way, we stopped at a scenic overlook and a man tried to kiss my hand out of respect.
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| Scenic Overlook |
Our time at the historical location went well and our friend dialogued with three men who were from a notorious region. I also crossed paths with a family who sat next to me on the flight into this country.
The rest of the day was a bit of a roller coaster as we tried to confirm an invitation to break the fast during Ramadan with a group of men. The women already had their opportunity confirmed, but ours did not seem to be coming to fruition. Then we received a call late in the afternoon and we were on! Our hosts were amazing as we spent the first part talking and watching Ramadan special dramas (aka soap operas). The door was closed to the rest of the house and we never met the wife of our host, but she would knock every once in a while and our host would bring in a treat until dinner was served. When dinner was served we moved into another room and sat around a blanket filled with food. There were no empty plates so everyone ate “together” dipping out each bite with portions of Arabian bread. It sounds scary to Americans, but the meal was so good and a lot of fun. A part of me wondered if that is closer to what Jesus experienced with his disciples and could these men become disciples??? After our meal, we retired to the tv room again but the conversation quickly picked up pace as most of the men smoked and talked religion and politics. “M” sat next to me and asked about my occupation. So I explained how I am a teacher who uses biblical principles to teach life skills. Upon hearing this, he said, “I have been reading about John in the Bible. What can you tell me about him?” From there we had an amazing dialogue and many doors were opened for future conversations. The host continued to offer us sweet breads, fruit, and other cultural expressions until after 10pm when we kindly needed to bid these men good evening.
Needless to say significant progress was made tonight simply because we showed these people who are different from us respect. I wish more of you could have this experience and see the miraculous things that I experienced this evening. Keep praying as we still have several days remaining.
