As it turns out, Abu Muhammed really did want us to come to his son’s wedding! We had tried calling several times in the week leading up to the wedding, with no response. As a result, we had assumed that they were embarrassed to tell us that it would actually be inappropriate for us to come. But when we finally got to Abu Muhammed’s house again, a week or two after the wedding, it became apparent that we had guessed wrong.
For the first ten or fifteen minutes of our visit, we talked about the wedding. We apologized and explained what had happened and all of us agreed that we were very unhappy with how things had turned out. The mother told us that they had arranged a table for us and everything. They do have quite a number of sons, however, so we may have another chance soon!
Bishara shared the story of Jesus’ crucifixion this time. An older relative of the family was there, so Bishara made sure to include the entire message of the gospel in the story.
We taught them two new songs this week. One of them proclaims “Your are Holy, God, my God and my King, You are great, God, You are Able, God, and you are Loving, God.” The second new song we taught them is addressed to Jesus, and says “I love you Jesus, I will follow you always, I will follow you without falling back, I will praise your holy name, there is no one else for me but you.”
As we sat outside on the balcony, Abu Muhammed shared about some of the family’s problems. One of their daughters is seeing a boy, and possibly planning to marry him. The issue is that the boy doesn’t come to visit their family, but she goes to visit his family. This is not a respectful arrangement, and it is very frustrating for the whole family.
Another one of their daughters is possibly going to be engaged to a 17 year boy who grew up without a father in the home. He is not exactly the greatest “catch,” due to his youth and unproven personality. These are the kinds of questions Abu Muhammed must wrestle with on a continual basis. We pray Jesus will give him the wisdom to make decisions and lead his family through such complex and sensitive issues.
Bishara asked if Abu Muhammed knew of anyone who did yard maintenance work. One of Abu Muhammed’s older sons works in that arena, so they have agreed to hire a couple of extra guys and come weed and landscape part of Bishara’s yard. They talk of bringing a Mandolina orange tree, a peach tree, and an eskadenia (loquat) tree to plant there.
Abu Muhammed said that when Bishara goes to pick the fruit, it will bring Bishara good memories of them. Bishara said, “What is this talk of memories? I don’t want memories. I want you to be there with me; we will pick the fruit of our labors together!”