A passion for the neglected

Education, Arab World

It’s a steep learning curve living and serving overseas. You can’t help but be changed, both emotionally and spiritually. My relationship with God is deeper; I have definitely learnt to lean on Him more. The Bible is brought to life as I can see Bible images throughout the country, from things like flat roofs to community life, and how girls are married off with the husband being chosen by their parents.

A particular family have been observing me since the beginning of my time here. When they see me going into houses to work with disabled children who are otherwise neglected, they ask, “Why are you doing this?” The children’s families and neighbours also can’t understand why I am doing what I am doing. It’s great that it is making them question and think; it is letting my life speak for itself, and letting Jesus shine through.

I work alongside a society for the disabled, working both within a school setting (advising teachers and having fun with the children), as well as visiting children in their homes who otherwise would receive no aid or education. I am serving here because there is a great need; working with children who have disabilities is my passion, and to be able to serve God by using my profession is exactly me, so that’s all good.

If you really feel the desire to serve, then there is no valid excuse not to go.

God gives us desires for a purpose – trust Him and who He has made you to be. All sorts of people of all ages and backgrounds are needed to serve Him throughout the world. Often you just have to take the first step and say, “Yes God,” then things will begin to change. So go ahead and do it!

The importance of support from ‘home’ is far above anything you could ever imagine. Knowing there are people ‘back home’ (even if they’re from 10 different countries) is the ribs of the whole adventure. The backbone is God, and the support from home is the ribs… you can’t live without either.

The country is generally hot with some humidity. The landscape is varied; from sweeping deserts to mountains to the sea. The people are friendly and very hospitable; they like to meet new people. It is very much a segregated society, so my time is spent with women and children.

One of the biggest changes I’ve had to adjust to is being in only female company, the attitudes towards the role of women, and of course, style of dress! Sometimes all these changes have been really hard, and I have to remind myself that I am doing these things in order to show my respect for the local culture, so as to be able to show the love of Christ.

/작성자:

A passion for the neglected

Education, Arab World

It’s a steep learning curve living and serving overseas. You can’t help but be changed, both emotionally and spiritually. My relationship with God is deeper; I have definitely learnt to lean on Him more. The Bible is brought to life as I can see Bible images throughout the country, from things like flat roofs to community life, and how girls are married off with the husband being chosen by their parents.

A particular family have been observing me since the beginning of my time here. When they see me going into houses to work with disabled children who are otherwise neglected, they ask, “Why are you doing this?” The children’s families and neighbours also can’t understand why I am doing what I am doing. It’s great that it is making them question and think; it is letting my life speak for itself, and letting Jesus shine through.

I work alongside a society for the disabled, working both within a school setting (advising teachers and having fun with the children), as well as visiting children in their homes who otherwise would receive no aid or education. I am serving here because there is a great need; working with children who have disabilities is my passion, and to be able to serve God by using my profession is exactly me, so that’s all good.

If you really feel the desire to serve, then there is no valid excuse not to go.

God gives us desires for a purpose – trust Him and who He has made you to be. All sorts of people of all ages and backgrounds are needed to serve Him throughout the world. Often you just have to take the first step and say, “Yes God,” then things will begin to change. So go ahead and do it!

The importance of support from ‘home’ is far above anything you could ever imagine. Knowing there are people ‘back home’ (even if they’re from 10 different countries) is the ribs of the whole adventure. The backbone is God, and the support from home is the ribs… you can’t live without either.

The country is generally hot with some humidity. The landscape is varied; from sweeping deserts to mountains to the sea. The people are friendly and very hospitable; they like to meet new people. It is very much a segregated society, so my time is spent with women and children.

One of the biggest changes I’ve had to adjust to is being in only female company, the attitudes towards the role of women, and of course, style of dress! Sometimes all these changes have been really hard, and I have to remind myself that I am doing these things in order to show my respect for the local culture, so as to be able to show the love of Christ.

/작성자:

A passion for the neglected

Education, Arab World

It’s a steep learning curve living and serving overseas. You can’t help but be changed, both emotionally and spiritually. My relationship with God is deeper; I have definitely learnt to lean on Him more. The Bible is brought to life as I can see Bible images throughout the country, from things like flat roofs to community life, and how girls are married off with the husband being chosen by their parents.

A particular family have been observing me since the beginning of my time here. When they see me going into houses to work with disabled children who are otherwise neglected, they ask, “Why are you doing this?” The children’s families and neighbours also can’t understand why I am doing what I am doing. It’s great that it is making them question and think; it is letting my life speak for itself, and letting Jesus shine through.

I work alongside a society for the disabled, working both within a school setting (advising teachers and having fun with the children), as well as visiting children in their homes who otherwise would receive no aid or education. I am serving here because there is a great need; working with children who have disabilities is my passion, and to be able to serve God by using my profession is exactly me, so that’s all good.

If you really feel the desire to serve, then there is no valid excuse not to go.

God gives us desires for a purpose – trust Him and who He has made you to be. All sorts of people of all ages and backgrounds are needed to serve Him throughout the world. Often you just have to take the first step and say, “Yes God,” then things will begin to change. So go ahead and do it!

The importance of support from ‘home’ is far above anything you could ever imagine. Knowing there are people ‘back home’ (even if they’re from 10 different countries) is the ribs of the whole adventure. The backbone is God, and the support from home is the ribs… you can’t live without either.

The country is generally hot with some humidity. The landscape is varied; from sweeping deserts to mountains to the sea. The people are friendly and very hospitable; they like to meet new people. It is very much a segregated society, so my time is spent with women and children.

One of the biggest changes I’ve had to adjust to is being in only female company, the attitudes towards the role of women, and of course, style of dress! Sometimes all these changes have been really hard, and I have to remind myself that I am doing these things in order to show my respect for the local culture, so as to be able to show the love of Christ.

/작성자:

A passion for the neglected

Education, Arab World

It’s a steep learning curve living and serving overseas. You can’t help but be changed, both emotionally and spiritually. My relationship with God is deeper; I have definitely learnt to lean on Him more. The Bible is brought to life as I can see Bible images throughout the country, from things like flat roofs to community life, and how girls are married off with the husband being chosen by their parents.

A particular family have been observing me since the beginning of my time here. When they see me going into houses to work with disabled children who are otherwise neglected, they ask, “Why are you doing this?” The children’s families and neighbours also can’t understand why I am doing what I am doing. It’s great that it is making them question and think; it is letting my life speak for itself, and letting Jesus shine through.

I work alongside a society for the disabled, working both within a school setting (advising teachers and having fun with the children), as well as visiting children in their homes who otherwise would receive no aid or education. I am serving here because there is a great need; working with children who have disabilities is my passion, and to be able to serve God by using my profession is exactly me, so that’s all good.

If you really feel the desire to serve, then there is no valid excuse not to go.

God gives us desires for a purpose – trust Him and who He has made you to be. All sorts of people of all ages and backgrounds are needed to serve Him throughout the world. Often you just have to take the first step and say, “Yes God,” then things will begin to change. So go ahead and do it!

The importance of support from ‘home’ is far above anything you could ever imagine. Knowing there are people ‘back home’ (even if they’re from 10 different countries) is the ribs of the whole adventure. The backbone is God, and the support from home is the ribs… you can’t live without either.

The country is generally hot with some humidity. The landscape is varied; from sweeping deserts to mountains to the sea. The people are friendly and very hospitable; they like to meet new people. It is very much a segregated society, so my time is spent with women and children.

One of the biggest changes I’ve had to adjust to is being in only female company, the attitudes towards the role of women, and of course, style of dress! Sometimes all these changes have been really hard, and I have to remind myself that I am doing these things in order to show my respect for the local culture, so as to be able to show the love of Christ.

/작성자:

Arabian Miracles

Medical / Health, Arab World

The child and mother death rates in our serving country are horrific – 1 in 10 children dies before the age of 5, and 1 in 8 women can expect to die of a complication during pregnancy or delivery. What’s worse is that they say that God has ‘written’ this for them and they see no possibility for change.

The clinic and health teaching are a response to the physical needs of the people but our goal is also to address their spiritual needs. I have often prayed with patients and try to bring a conversation about the Father into as many consultations as possible. Recently, though, I’ve been challenged to expect more.

I was walking down one of the streets in the shanty town during the weekend with two colleagues, Darren and Steve, specifically looking for people who needed prayer for healing. I’d been doing the same on and off with another friend for the previous four months but with no “success”. All of sudden Darren told us clearly, “The next man we’ll come to has pain in his neck and God is going to heal him”.

Darren and Steve are specialists. They’d come here specifically to pray for the sick and they have faith built on many experiences of answered prayer. In particular, they thrive on ‘words of knowledge’ – knowing what the Father is about to do – and Darren knew that the next man we met was about to get well. So we stopped outside the next shop. The 45 year old man standing there had indeed had neck pain for several years, unhelped by medicines. Darren told him about the word of knowledge he had just received and asked if we could pray for him in Jesus’ name. Our new friend willingly agreed.

We prayed together for about a minute and then stopped to ask how he was feeling. With an almost expressionless face he said, “Yeah, the pain in my neck’s completely gone, but my back still hurts.” So we prayed for his lower back too and in another minute that too was fine. We were delighted, but the local guy didn’t seem particularly surprised! (I’ve seen him several times since and he’s still well.)

By that stage we had unwittingly gathered a crowd of about fifteen spectators, most of whom were children. Darren got another word of knowledge that there were children there who had pain in their thumbs. I turned to ask the boy next to me how his hand was. He’d bashed his thumb three days ago and it was still sore. I prayed for him with no change, but when Darren prayed… guess what! In fact four children in the crowd were immediately released from various pains in their hands – and the look of surprise on their faces convinced us that they weren’t just playing along. Something really surprising had happened.

Needless to say, by now we were the centre of attention! A man was literally tugging on my arm to get us to come and pray for his wife who had a severe kidney infection and was in real pain. We went with him to his house. As we prayed for her Steve knew that the main problem wasn’t physical but that she needed a spiritual encounter with God. So we prayed for a vision. She then described how she saw “a heavenly being” pass in front of her closed eyes and she felt a release in her self. When we arrived she had been hunched over and totally depressed but we left her smiling and relaxed. Her physical pain also lifted gradually and she was healed without antibiotics overnight.

At least two other women were also healed that day. One was so pleased that she later organised a meeting for fifteen friends and invited me and another couple to go back and pray for them. When we returned, we had to correct some misconceptions. She had told her friends that we were going to read the Qur’an over them – a traditional healing method here. We gently explained that, just as Jesus healed people when he walked on earth, he heals people today when we pray to him. We sat with these women and prayed for each one in turn. Several reported that their pain was gone, while others simply felt the presence of a heavenly power.

For me, the most significant part of this second meeting was that these Muslim ladies were gathering earnestly to seek God in a faith that they’d never looked into before. It felt like the beginnings of a church. I believe that some have started to recognise the fruitlessness of their past and may soon seek God in a new and living relationship through the only mediator, Jesus.

However, miracles on their own do not bring people into this relationship. There is still much hard work to do in explaining the good news of complete healing – of salvation. This work (which in the west we might assume is easier than working miracles) is actually harder here. People are very willing to have their illnesses and minor problems healed (who wouldn’t be?) but the idea of repenting and turning to a new faith is not so popular. Furthermore, in a society where decision-making is corporate, and where a monolithic religion stands guard over the mind and will of individuals, change is slow.

This was made apparent by the response to the gospel itself. After the second meeting I left two copies of the New Testament with the woman who had organised the meeting. The community leaders quickly found out and were very angry – warning me that giving out the Book could result in a fast ticket back to the UK. Their threats are real. I continue to wait and watch for the opportune time to pray again for healing and to explain the Good News.

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) May the God who so clearly has authority over sickness also demonstrate his authority over this oppressive, false religion and liberate the captives into the Kingdom of the Son. Please pray with us.

/작성자:

Arabian Miracles

Medical / Health, Arab World

The child and mother death rates in our serving country are horrific – 1 in 10 children dies before the age of 5, and 1 in 8 women can expect to die of a complication during pregnancy or delivery. What’s worse is that they say that God has ‘written’ this for them and they see no possibility for change.

The clinic and health teaching are a response to the physical needs of the people but our goal is also to address their spiritual needs. I have often prayed with patients and try to bring a conversation about the Father into as many consultations as possible. Recently, though, I’ve been challenged to expect more.

I was walking down one of the streets in the shanty town during the weekend with two colleagues, Darren and Steve, specifically looking for people who needed prayer for healing. I’d been doing the same on and off with another friend for the previous four months but with no “success”. All of sudden Darren told us clearly, “The next man we’ll come to has pain in his neck and God is going to heal him”.

Darren and Steve are specialists. They’d come here specifically to pray for the sick and they have faith built on many experiences of answered prayer. In particular, they thrive on ‘words of knowledge’ – knowing what the Father is about to do – and Darren knew that the next man we met was about to get well. So we stopped outside the next shop. The 45 year old man standing there had indeed had neck pain for several years, unhelped by medicines. Darren told him about the word of knowledge he had just received and asked if we could pray for him in Jesus’ name. Our new friend willingly agreed.

We prayed together for about a minute and then stopped to ask how he was feeling. With an almost expressionless face he said, “Yeah, the pain in my neck’s completely gone, but my back still hurts.” So we prayed for his lower back too and in another minute that too was fine. We were delighted, but the local guy didn’t seem particularly surprised! (I’ve seen him several times since and he’s still well.)

By that stage we had unwittingly gathered a crowd of about fifteen spectators, most of whom were children. Darren got another word of knowledge that there were children there who had pain in their thumbs. I turned to ask the boy next to me how his hand was. He’d bashed his thumb three days ago and it was still sore. I prayed for him with no change, but when Darren prayed… guess what! In fact four children in the crowd were immediately released from various pains in their hands – and the look of surprise on their faces convinced us that they weren’t just playing along. Something really surprising had happened.

Needless to say, by now we were the centre of attention! A man was literally tugging on my arm to get us to come and pray for his wife who had a severe kidney infection and was in real pain. We went with him to his house. As we prayed for her Steve knew that the main problem wasn’t physical but that she needed a spiritual encounter with God. So we prayed for a vision. She then described how she saw “a heavenly being” pass in front of her closed eyes and she felt a release in her self. When we arrived she had been hunched over and totally depressed but we left her smiling and relaxed. Her physical pain also lifted gradually and she was healed without antibiotics overnight.

At least two other women were also healed that day. One was so pleased that she later organised a meeting for fifteen friends and invited me and another couple to go back and pray for them. When we returned, we had to correct some misconceptions. She had told her friends that we were going to read the Qur’an over them – a traditional healing method here. We gently explained that, just as Jesus healed people when he walked on earth, he heals people today when we pray to him. We sat with these women and prayed for each one in turn. Several reported that their pain was gone, while others simply felt the presence of a heavenly power.

For me, the most significant part of this second meeting was that these Muslim ladies were gathering earnestly to seek God in a faith that they’d never looked into before. It felt like the beginnings of a church. I believe that some have started to recognise the fruitlessness of their past and may soon seek God in a new and living relationship through the only mediator, Jesus.

However, miracles on their own do not bring people into this relationship. There is still much hard work to do in explaining the good news of complete healing – of salvation. This work (which in the west we might assume is easier than working miracles) is actually harder here. People are very willing to have their illnesses and minor problems healed (who wouldn’t be?) but the idea of repenting and turning to a new faith is not so popular. Furthermore, in a society where decision-making is corporate, and where a monolithic religion stands guard over the mind and will of individuals, change is slow.

This was made apparent by the response to the gospel itself. After the second meeting I left two copies of the New Testament with the woman who had organised the meeting. The community leaders quickly found out and were very angry – warning me that giving out the Book could result in a fast ticket back to the UK. Their threats are real. I continue to wait and watch for the opportune time to pray again for healing and to explain the Good News.

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) May the God who so clearly has authority over sickness also demonstrate his authority over this oppressive, false religion and liberate the captives into the Kingdom of the Son. Please pray with us.

/작성자:

Arabian Miracles

Medical / Health, Arab World

The child and mother death rates in our serving country are horrific – 1 in 10 children dies before the age of 5, and 1 in 8 women can expect to die of a complication during pregnancy or delivery. What’s worse is that they say that God has ‘written’ this for them and they see no possibility for change.

The clinic and health teaching are a response to the physical needs of the people but our goal is also to address their spiritual needs. I have often prayed with patients and try to bring a conversation about the Father into as many consultations as possible. Recently, though, I’ve been challenged to expect more.

I was walking down one of the streets in the shanty town during the weekend with two colleagues, Darren and Steve, specifically looking for people who needed prayer for healing. I’d been doing the same on and off with another friend for the previous four months but with no “success”. All of sudden Darren told us clearly, “The next man we’ll come to has pain in his neck and God is going to heal him”.

Darren and Steve are specialists. They’d come here specifically to pray for the sick and they have faith built on many experiences of answered prayer. In particular, they thrive on ‘words of knowledge’ – knowing what the Father is about to do – and Darren knew that the next man we met was about to get well. So we stopped outside the next shop. The 45 year old man standing there had indeed had neck pain for several years, unhelped by medicines. Darren told him about the word of knowledge he had just received and asked if we could pray for him in Jesus’ name. Our new friend willingly agreed.

We prayed together for about a minute and then stopped to ask how he was feeling. With an almost expressionless face he said, “Yeah, the pain in my neck’s completely gone, but my back still hurts.” So we prayed for his lower back too and in another minute that too was fine. We were delighted, but the local guy didn’t seem particularly surprised! (I’ve seen him several times since and he’s still well.)

By that stage we had unwittingly gathered a crowd of about fifteen spectators, most of whom were children. Darren got another word of knowledge that there were children there who had pain in their thumbs. I turned to ask the boy next to me how his hand was. He’d bashed his thumb three days ago and it was still sore. I prayed for him with no change, but when Darren prayed… guess what! In fact four children in the crowd were immediately released from various pains in their hands – and the look of surprise on their faces convinced us that they weren’t just playing along. Something really surprising had happened.

Needless to say, by now we were the centre of attention! A man was literally tugging on my arm to get us to come and pray for his wife who had a severe kidney infection and was in real pain. We went with him to his house. As we prayed for her Steve knew that the main problem wasn’t physical but that she needed a spiritual encounter with God. So we prayed for a vision. She then described how she saw “a heavenly being” pass in front of her closed eyes and she felt a release in her self. When we arrived she had been hunched over and totally depressed but we left her smiling and relaxed. Her physical pain also lifted gradually and she was healed without antibiotics overnight.

At least two other women were also healed that day. One was so pleased that she later organised a meeting for fifteen friends and invited me and another couple to go back and pray for them. When we returned, we had to correct some misconceptions. She had told her friends that we were going to read the Qur’an over them – a traditional healing method here. We gently explained that, just as Jesus healed people when he walked on earth, he heals people today when we pray to him. We sat with these women and prayed for each one in turn. Several reported that their pain was gone, while others simply felt the presence of a heavenly power.

For me, the most significant part of this second meeting was that these Muslim ladies were gathering earnestly to seek God in a faith that they’d never looked into before. It felt like the beginnings of a church. I believe that some have started to recognise the fruitlessness of their past and may soon seek God in a new and living relationship through the only mediator, Jesus.

However, miracles on their own do not bring people into this relationship. There is still much hard work to do in explaining the good news of complete healing – of salvation. This work (which in the west we might assume is easier than working miracles) is actually harder here. People are very willing to have their illnesses and minor problems healed (who wouldn’t be?) but the idea of repenting and turning to a new faith is not so popular. Furthermore, in a society where decision-making is corporate, and where a monolithic religion stands guard over the mind and will of individuals, change is slow.

This was made apparent by the response to the gospel itself. After the second meeting I left two copies of the New Testament with the woman who had organised the meeting. The community leaders quickly found out and were very angry – warning me that giving out the Book could result in a fast ticket back to the UK. Their threats are real. I continue to wait and watch for the opportune time to pray again for healing and to explain the Good News.

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) May the God who so clearly has authority over sickness also demonstrate his authority over this oppressive, false religion and liberate the captives into the Kingdom of the Son. Please pray with us.

/작성자:

Arabian Miracles

Medical / Health, Arab World

The child and mother death rates in our serving country are horrific – 1 in 10 children dies before the age of 5, and 1 in 8 women can expect to die of a complication during pregnancy or delivery. What’s worse is that they say that God has ‘written’ this for them and they see no possibility for change.

The clinic and health teaching are a response to the physical needs of the people but our goal is also to address their spiritual needs. I have often prayed with patients and try to bring a conversation about the Father into as many consultations as possible. Recently, though, I’ve been challenged to expect more.

I was walking down one of the streets in the shanty town during the weekend with two colleagues, Darren and Steve, specifically looking for people who needed prayer for healing. I’d been doing the same on and off with another friend for the previous four months but with no “success”. All of sudden Darren told us clearly, “The next man we’ll come to has pain in his neck and God is going to heal him”.

Darren and Steve are specialists. They’d come here specifically to pray for the sick and they have faith built on many experiences of answered prayer. In particular, they thrive on ‘words of knowledge’ – knowing what the Father is about to do – and Darren knew that the next man we met was about to get well. So we stopped outside the next shop. The 45 year old man standing there had indeed had neck pain for several years, unhelped by medicines. Darren told him about the word of knowledge he had just received and asked if we could pray for him in Jesus’ name. Our new friend willingly agreed.

We prayed together for about a minute and then stopped to ask how he was feeling. With an almost expressionless face he said, “Yeah, the pain in my neck’s completely gone, but my back still hurts.” So we prayed for his lower back too and in another minute that too was fine. We were delighted, but the local guy didn’t seem particularly surprised! (I’ve seen him several times since and he’s still well.)

By that stage we had unwittingly gathered a crowd of about fifteen spectators, most of whom were children. Darren got another word of knowledge that there were children there who had pain in their thumbs. I turned to ask the boy next to me how his hand was. He’d bashed his thumb three days ago and it was still sore. I prayed for him with no change, but when Darren prayed… guess what! In fact four children in the crowd were immediately released from various pains in their hands – and the look of surprise on their faces convinced us that they weren’t just playing along. Something really surprising had happened.

Needless to say, by now we were the centre of attention! A man was literally tugging on my arm to get us to come and pray for his wife who had a severe kidney infection and was in real pain. We went with him to his house. As we prayed for her Steve knew that the main problem wasn’t physical but that she needed a spiritual encounter with God. So we prayed for a vision. She then described how she saw “a heavenly being” pass in front of her closed eyes and she felt a release in her self. When we arrived she had been hunched over and totally depressed but we left her smiling and relaxed. Her physical pain also lifted gradually and she was healed without antibiotics overnight.

At least two other women were also healed that day. One was so pleased that she later organised a meeting for fifteen friends and invited me and another couple to go back and pray for them. When we returned, we had to correct some misconceptions. She had told her friends that we were going to read the Qur’an over them – a traditional healing method here. We gently explained that, just as Jesus healed people when he walked on earth, he heals people today when we pray to him. We sat with these women and prayed for each one in turn. Several reported that their pain was gone, while others simply felt the presence of a heavenly power.

For me, the most significant part of this second meeting was that these Muslim ladies were gathering earnestly to seek God in a faith that they’d never looked into before. It felt like the beginnings of a church. I believe that some have started to recognise the fruitlessness of their past and may soon seek God in a new and living relationship through the only mediator, Jesus.

However, miracles on their own do not bring people into this relationship. There is still much hard work to do in explaining the good news of complete healing – of salvation. This work (which in the west we might assume is easier than working miracles) is actually harder here. People are very willing to have their illnesses and minor problems healed (who wouldn’t be?) but the idea of repenting and turning to a new faith is not so popular. Furthermore, in a society where decision-making is corporate, and where a monolithic religion stands guard over the mind and will of individuals, change is slow.

This was made apparent by the response to the gospel itself. After the second meeting I left two copies of the New Testament with the woman who had organised the meeting. The community leaders quickly found out and were very angry – warning me that giving out the Book could result in a fast ticket back to the UK. Their threats are real. I continue to wait and watch for the opportune time to pray again for healing and to explain the Good News.

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) May the God who so clearly has authority over sickness also demonstrate his authority over this oppressive, false religion and liberate the captives into the Kingdom of the Son. Please pray with us.

/작성자:

Hospitality and Heartache

Other, Arab World

As we whizzed in and out of cars that seemed to be hurtling down upon us from every imaginable angle, it quickly became clear this was every man for himself and I was astonished at how it was possible that the cars didn’t all crash into one another at every turn. And as I noticed the great number of machine guns sticking out of the sides of the cars that were passing us, combined with the soldiers in uniform walking down the street hand-in-hand, I was beginning to wonder what I had let myself in for.

I don’t think I ever got used to the strangeness of this new culture: the early morning call to prayer from the local mosque, or the women dressed from head to toe in black robes, or going to a wedding where there were no female guests, only men dancing in a huge circle leaping up and down and twirling daggers in the air; or being invited for tea to the equivalent of the Bank of England at midnight by a stranger I had got chatting to an hour earlier in the middle of the street. But by far more striking than the unfamiliarity of the culture was the hospitality and generosity of the people. I thought I would have very little contact with the locals but thanks be to God the exact opposite was the case. It was practically impossible to walk from end of the street to the other without someone coming up to greet you with a huge smile and often within minutes you’d be exchanging numbers and arranging to meet up for dinner. I have never felt so welcome or safe anywhere. People ask me if I ever felt unsafe, but in fact the only time I ever felt in danger was when trying to pay for the bill after eating out!

My fondest memories, however, were of the children, who seemed to be everywhere you went. Whether it was walking through one village and finding all the children at the local waterfall doing the washing, or walking through another village and joining in with a football game, everywhere the children were full of joy and life and just wanted to play all day, despite having practically nothing of their own, often not even any shoes. It was always a mistake to get out your camera as you would be caught for hours being forced to take photo after photo as the children lined up to have their portrait taken.

Despite the many times of joy and fun, there were also times where it felt my heart was breaking. The poverty was not as obvious as I had expected but you didn’t have to go very far from the main streets selling computers and cameras to find little shanty villages where whole families were living in tiny sheds made of corrugated iron. One in two children suffer from malnutrition, one in six women die from complications related to childbirth, and literacy is 30% among the men, 10% among the women. Drug addiction is widespread.

Even more heartbreaking though was the spiritual plight of this people I had fallen in love with. Out of the millions of people in this country there are few who have heard of who Jesus really is and barely a handful who worship him as Lord and God.

As our team was worshipping one day in a hotel where we were staying for the weekend, with the adults singing out of tune and the children playing their instruments out of time, I noticed two of the hotel workers peeking their heads around the door to see what was going on and I was struck by the grace of our God who welcomes anyone into his presence despite our failings and weaknesses because of the cleansing blood of his Son. How different to their idea of God who demands outward perfection in the ritual observances of washing and prayer and yet who seems to care so little for the inner parts. So often I was reduced to tears thinking about the millions of people in this country who have lead such hard lives and are facing an eternity of darkness without ever even having heard the gospel.

And yet God is so clearly at work in this land. I was amazed by the opportunities I was given to share my faith. In a country where nearly every conversation begins “Where are you from? Are you married? Why not? Are you a Muslim? Why not?” it was far easier to talk about Jesus than in England. And I was amazed at how open people were to taking scripture. I remember asking one guy, who became one of my best friends while I was out there, if he would like a copy of Luke’s gospel and was a bit dispirited when he declined. However, he then said that what he really wanted for many years now was a whole Bible and I was overjoyed to be able to pass one onto him. The next time I saw him he was memorising the Sermon on the Mount! Another friend, whose name literally meant ‘Servant of the King’, when presented with a gospel shouted out “I love you I love you I love you I love you” and then declared we were best friends for life. The greatest privilege, however, was being able to pass on a Bible to someone who had been born again by listening to Christian radio but knew no other Christians and had no Bible of his own.

The whole trip was an amazing experience, not only in the joy of meeting people from that country but also in getting to know the people I was on the trip with and other Christians who are working out there, all of whom immediately felt like family for me. I have thought about my trip every day since returning to England and can’t wait to return one day for longer. I saw so much of God’s heart for people while I was out there and the experience has changed my life. I just pray now that more and more people from that country will be set free by the God who came to die for them.

/작성자:

Hospitality and Heartache

Other, Arab World

As we whizzed in and out of cars that seemed to be hurtling down upon us from every imaginable angle, it quickly became clear this was every man for himself and I was astonished at how it was possible that the cars didn’t all crash into one another at every turn. And as I noticed the great number of machine guns sticking out of the sides of the cars that were passing us, combined with the soldiers in uniform walking down the street hand-in-hand, I was beginning to wonder what I had let myself in for.

I don’t think I ever got used to the strangeness of this new culture: the early morning call to prayer from the local mosque, or the women dressed from head to toe in black robes, or going to a wedding where there were no female guests, only men dancing in a huge circle leaping up and down and twirling daggers in the air; or being invited for tea to the equivalent of the Bank of England at midnight by a stranger I had got chatting to an hour earlier in the middle of the street. But by far more striking than the unfamiliarity of the culture was the hospitality and generosity of the people. I thought I would have very little contact with the locals but thanks be to God the exact opposite was the case. It was practically impossible to walk from end of the street to the other without someone coming up to greet you with a huge smile and often within minutes you’d be exchanging numbers and arranging to meet up for dinner. I have never felt so welcome or safe anywhere. People ask me if I ever felt unsafe, but in fact the only time I ever felt in danger was when trying to pay for the bill after eating out!

My fondest memories, however, were of the children, who seemed to be everywhere you went. Whether it was walking through one village and finding all the children at the local waterfall doing the washing, or walking through another village and joining in with a football game, everywhere the children were full of joy and life and just wanted to play all day, despite having practically nothing of their own, often not even any shoes. It was always a mistake to get out your camera as you would be caught for hours being forced to take photo after photo as the children lined up to have their portrait taken.

Despite the many times of joy and fun, there were also times where it felt my heart was breaking. The poverty was not as obvious as I had expected but you didn’t have to go very far from the main streets selling computers and cameras to find little shanty villages where whole families were living in tiny sheds made of corrugated iron. One in two children suffer from malnutrition, one in six women die from complications related to childbirth, and literacy is 30% among the men, 10% among the women. Drug addiction is widespread.

Even more heartbreaking though was the spiritual plight of this people I had fallen in love with. Out of the millions of people in this country there are few who have heard of who Jesus really is and barely a handful who worship him as Lord and God.

As our team was worshipping one day in a hotel where we were staying for the weekend, with the adults singing out of tune and the children playing their instruments out of time, I noticed two of the hotel workers peeking their heads around the door to see what was going on and I was struck by the grace of our God who welcomes anyone into his presence despite our failings and weaknesses because of the cleansing blood of his Son. How different to their idea of God who demands outward perfection in the ritual observances of washing and prayer and yet who seems to care so little for the inner parts. So often I was reduced to tears thinking about the millions of people in this country who have lead such hard lives and are facing an eternity of darkness without ever even having heard the gospel.

And yet God is so clearly at work in this land. I was amazed by the opportunities I was given to share my faith. In a country where nearly every conversation begins “Where are you from? Are you married? Why not? Are you a Muslim? Why not?” it was far easier to talk about Jesus than in England. And I was amazed at how open people were to taking scripture. I remember asking one guy, who became one of my best friends while I was out there, if he would like a copy of Luke’s gospel and was a bit dispirited when he declined. However, he then said that what he really wanted for many years now was a whole Bible and I was overjoyed to be able to pass one onto him. The next time I saw him he was memorising the Sermon on the Mount! Another friend, whose name literally meant ‘Servant of the King’, when presented with a gospel shouted out “I love you I love you I love you I love you” and then declared we were best friends for life. The greatest privilege, however, was being able to pass on a Bible to someone who had been born again by listening to Christian radio but knew no other Christians and had no Bible of his own.

The whole trip was an amazing experience, not only in the joy of meeting people from that country but also in getting to know the people I was on the trip with and other Christians who are working out there, all of whom immediately felt like family for me. I have thought about my trip every day since returning to England and can’t wait to return one day for longer. I saw so much of God’s heart for people while I was out there and the experience has changed my life. I just pray now that more and more people from that country will be set free by the God who came to die for them.

/작성자: