A short-term team from a church in the USA came to work with us this past week. On Monday morning, we gathered in the church to explain some of the history and unique needs of the village, then we went out in two groups to pray.
Emily and I led a group down through a side of town that is typically very quiet. Each neighborhood has its own unique characteristics, and in the past we have noticed that we seldom meet or talk with anyone on this particular side of the village.
Located on the very lower edge of the town is a massive, brand-new, golden-colored mosque, surrounded by houses that are either newly finished or still being built. As we were walking by the mosque on our way back to the church, a man standing outside a nearby house waved to us and asked “Do you want some coffee?”
Not sure by his body language if he really wanted us to come, I told him “We don’t want to put you out…” He insisted that the coffee was already prepared, so we made our way up to the lower level of the building.
He brought water and juice and a snack for us, and we sat and talked a bit. We talked about his work and about his son, a fifteen year old high school student who wants to be a journalist and travel the world.
I asked if they had a copy of the New Testament, and he replied that they have the Quran. Even though I understood that this was probably a polite way of telling me that he didn’t want a New Testament, I told him we wanted to give him a gift: and we offered him one of the New Testaments we had brought. He took it without any further opposition and handed it to his son, who began looking through it.
We then offered to pray for them, and one of the team members prayed for God’s blessing on the family.
Just because a certain area is often quiet, doesn’t mean you should never go there! Please pray that this little beginning will lead to more interactions with this family and the other residents of this neighborhood, and that God Himself will begin doing a work in their hearts.