Friday, July 4

Fatima came over to the house today to celebrate the fourth of July with us.  We ate apple pie, chili, and brownies and played board games…can’t get much more American than that.  She has been reading the Bible that we gave her and had a question today about the passage that talks about not taking revenge on those who have wronged you.  I am praying that she will continue to read and that the Lord will work on her heart.  ok, I figured out how to put up pics.  Here is one of Maria, Fatima, and me.

Maria, me, Fatima

Wednesday, July 2

I saw the King today

Over the last week or so the city has been preparing for the King to come to visit. They are repaving the roads that He will drive on, painting the curbs red and white, and putting up flags and portraits of him all over the city. There are military men and policemen all over the place at every intersection.

So, today we took the day off and went to the beach. On the way back, our friend who lives here looked over and the King was in the car that was passing us! He stayed in front of us for a while. All of the policemen were saluting the car as it passed. He had guards with guns in his car, but it surprised me that he only traveled with one car, not a caravan. But then I realized that we pretty much covered the entire city with body guards. He was literally never out of their sight. Pretty neat.

Pictures

I can’t put all my pictures up here, but if you would like to see some of the girls we have met, they are on my facebook photos.

Tuesday, July 1

Today Maria and I invited Fatima back to the house to cook and eat some American food with us. I love it because I really feel like God is working on her heart and allowing us to be better friends and to build a relationship with her. We were taking a break while the food cooked and were able to give her the Arabic bible that I mentioned earlier. We told her where to start reading and she began to read to us then and translate what she read.

After we ate we went back to her house for tea and then went to the park with her and her niece. She had questions about what she had read earlier. She said that she preferred to read in English so we showed her our bibles and she read a few chapters to us asking questions as she went. At English class that night, we gave her an English bible as a gift. She is very excited about reading about the life of Jesus. We are supposed to get together Thursday or Friday to talk some more about what she has read.

Monday, June 30

Miriam#2

Miriam and Fatima are the most common names here, so I thought I’d differentiate for you guys. After Arabic today, Maria and I went out people hunting. All the usual spots were empty so we were walking down to the beach greeting people as we went. One of the girls we passed was shocked that we knew any Arabic and we talked her a while and then invited her out to tea.

After a few minutes at tea, she asked us if we were planning to convert to Islam. Of course we said no and that we were Christians. That opened the door wide open. We were able to share with her about Jesus and what He did for her on the cross. We shared how we have a relationship with Him and how she could become a believer. She was extremely open to everything that we were saying and asked so many good questions. She didn’t bring up many things about Islam, mainly asking questions about Jesus.

One of the things that she said was that she did believe in Jesus (because Muslims do). They believe He was one of the prophets. We explained that it wasn’t just in believing that He was a prophet but that He was the one and only way to get to heaven.

We told her that she could read all about Jesus in the New Testament and gave her one to read. She began to read it right as we sat there. I have never before witnessed to someone as interested in the truth as she was. It was obvious that she was thinking about things. We left her to read some of the Bible and are going to meet again on Thursday or so to talk about what she read.

Please pray…

that the Lord would open her eyes to the scripture that we were able to give to her. I can’t really explain what it’s like to sit across from someone and watch them ask questions and hear the truth for the first time, knowing that their soul and their eternal life hang on a balance. There is an overwhelming amount out there that still hasn’t had the opportunity to hear the truth. This should weigh on all of our hearts everyday. I hope that it will.

Random Observations of the Day:

1. There are no coincidences. It’s just neat to see how God works. God puts us in the right places at the right times to meet the people He wants us to talk to if we are obedient to Him. Most of our stories of meeting people have several events that happened that led us to be in the right place to meet the people that we did. It is undeniable that He is working when things like this happen.
2. I think every person should take a missions trip. It doesn’t matter whether you plan to be in full time missions or not. It just opens your eyes.
3. Last observation…my posts are ridiculously long…Mom, I’m shocked if even you are still reading. There’s just so much going on though.

Sunday, June 29

Sheep slaughtering…

I saw a sheep slaughtered on the roof below our window today. That was definitely the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. Just this morning we had been listening to it making sheep noises and laughing at how we thought Norah was making the sounds. Next thing you know, they slicing off the little guy’s head and carving him up. Definitely weird.

Saturday, June 28

Visiting Friends

Today we visited a friend of one the ladies here near the food market.  There were six sisters that live together and one of the women was drawing designs for a djellaba and let us each try on one of the djellabas that she had made. 

 

It was funny because to understand what the women were saying someone had to translate from Arabic to Spanish and then from Spanish to English.  It was a four person process before it was all over.  It is frustrating though to not be able to communicate with the people who only speak Arabic.  Most of our friends are conversational in English.

 

They gave us tea when we got there.  And then before we left, they fed us homemade bread and…leben. J  Actually, I think that it’s kinda growing on me.

 

Things I’m learning…

This trip has been great in showing me ways that I can prepare for the future for life in another country.  A few things I’m learning…

1. Personal devotions and prayer life are probably the most important and essential in work away from home.  I have heard this a million times back at home, but now I actually realize how important they are.  When you go to another country, you see what your devotions and prayers really are.  I am thankful for the way that God is showing me these things and causing me to grow in that area.
2. Not caring vs. Caring.  There are things that I need to care about and things that I need to let go and not care about.  Things to not care about: my things, my plans for my time, third-world-country things that come up, and the list could go on forever.  Things to care about: the city full of Islamic people that have probably never heard the truth about Jesus and what he did for them.

Friday, June 27

Fatima

Maria, Fatima, and I went to a city about an hour away to the beach today.  We only had a few hours and it was just neat how God worked things out so that we were in the right places at the right times.  The train didn’t leave until two, so we took a bus and were able to talk to Fatima and the woman in front of her for an hour or so about Islam and Christianity.  We ate some lunch when we got there and swam for a while and then headed back. 

 

Overall, it was a very productive trip.  We are giving Fatima a New Testament which she agreed to read and were able to continue to grow our friendship with her.

 

Discouragement

Even though this was a productive day overall, it just seemed like every time I turned around, there were distractions and discouragements coming up.  Honestly, even though God is obviously working on Fatima, somehow I came back this afternoon discouraged. 

 

It was wonderful though to see that even though we have discouragements and problems thrown at us, God still works.  We don’t have to dwell on discouragement.  We can turn to His word, and find encouragement and not let problems and situations have place in our minds.  We can dwell on Him and not our discouragement.  We have such an amazing God.  Today was definitely a time of learning and seeing how God works.

Wednesday, June 25

Today we crossed the border to a Spanish enclave where the family we are staying with will be working.  It was strange at first to be able to openly pass out tracts and bibles on the streets after a few weeks of not being able to distribute literature so openly.  Miranda and I were a team and we tried to get lost in the city but ended up just walking in circles.  That’s pretty sad that my directional abilities are so bad that I can’t even get lost. J  We were able to start a few conversations with Muslims in the city who travel there to work or for shopping.  It was also good to be able to communicate a little better because most people spoke Spanish. 

Please pray for the works in this city.  It is very diverse and has many religions already represented in the city.  The people surrounding the city are allowed to enter every day to work, so the city is a strategic place to put the gospel in the hands of these people to take back across the border with them. 

Monday, June 23

Arabic

Well, the honeymoon stage of learning Arabic has definitely ended.  I enjoy learning it, but it is one of the hardest things I have ever tried to learn.  There are sounds that just don’t exist in the English language.  It makes it even more exciting when I do get something right though or when I can communicate with an Arabic speaker.

 

Muslim Friends

Maria and I went to Fatima’s house today after Arabic class.  She let us make the tea this time, and we were able to meet her parents.  We are going on Friday to a city nearby to an all girls beach to swim.  We will have about six hours with her.  Please pray that the Lord would help remove the hindrances that are keeping her from seeing the truth and that our relationship with her would continue to grow.

 

Random Observations of the Day:

1. A trip to the supermarket is not just a trip to the supermarket…between taxi laws, a baby and stroller, and several other third-world factors, it is a major event.  Thank you to all of you missionary wives who do this on a regular basis!
2. Friendships don’t seem to be based on level of “modesty” among women.  The majority of women wear head coverings, but there are many degrees of modesty.  They don’t seem to affect relationships amongst women though.  You will see women in a traditional Muslim dress and head covering walking down the road with a woman who is not wearing a head covering and is wearing Western clothes.

Sunday, June 22

Visiting Churches

This morning, four of us went to a church in a town about an hour and a half away.  Even though I didn’t understand anything besides a few words here and there, it was good to see the church and its service.  There were about 20 or so in attendance and it was encouraging to see other ministries in the country.

 

For Kathryn…We had these cool hamburger things from a little shop on the way back.  They were in a hotdog shaped bun and the French fries were in the hamburger along with the mashed potatoes, rice, and other toppings.  Add macaroni and cheese and that’d be your favorite. J

 

Testimonies

We had a time of testimonies and sharing devotions between the students this evening and the Lord really spoke to my heart about my personal devotions, prayers, and thoughts.  I am so thankful to be here serving with such a great group of leaders and students as well.

 

Riot

Well, not really a riot, but it sure sounded like it.  It sounded like an entire stadium singing together at the top of their lungs.  We found out that there was a huge soccer game and everyone was out in cafes watching the game on TV.  We haven’t shut the window since we got here because of the heat, so it was louder.

 

I finally started to miss playing piano today…