July 1st ? Already?

I can't believe it is already July 1st! This month has flown by. We've settled into somewhat of a routine now. So everything that has been new and exciting has settled down a little more into normal. Yet nothing in really normal. We only have 2 weeks left here in this city, and the last week of the trip we will be traveling around the country. I can't believe it's half over already. After being here for about 3 weeks I do have some observations that are a little more in depth than all the new and exciting things I've been seeing for the first time. I'll focus on one today.

The variety of dress here is amazing. You have the staunch conservatives: the men wear the Islamic dresses and the hat, the women wear djallabas (i guess this might be how to transliterate it - the Arabic script is VERY different from our English alphabet) which are like dresses, head coverings, veils to cover their faces, and sometimes gloves to cover even their hands. The conservative women wear head coverings and the djallabas (with pants of course underneath in order not to show skin), the moderate (mainly single women) wear head coverings, long shirts that cover, long sleeves, and usually pants, and there are liberal women who wear short sleeves and sometimes even knee length skirts, and the ultra-liberal who wear low-cut shirts and and things that we see all the time in the states. The men for the most part just look normal - very European, but normal dress.

People who are friends here will walk hand in hand (YES! guys will hold hands, and girls will hold hands or link arms). You see people who are dressed differently walking together arm in arm. But usually only one, maybe two degrees away from their position (whether conservative or liberal) We know there are many divisions in Christianity, but there seems to somewhat of division in Islam as well. It's not as clear a line as we Christians draw, but there is one. Everyone still believes the same things and everyone we speak to (no matter staunch conservative or ultra liberal) says they are a good Muslim. You can almost draw a parallel because everyone in the States would say they are a good person. In order for a person to be saved, they must first realize they are lost. No one wants to admit they are a sinner. The same goes in Islam. I cannot tell people they are lost - that is the job of the Holy Spirit. We (really I'm speaking to myself first) need to pray that God will work on their hearts. I may speak to someone for 5 minutes, or maybe 5 hours, but God can work on their heart 24/7.

The Seven Zillion Mile Journey

This post was written by yet another intern on the trip. They do such a great job with what they write I wanted to share it with all. What he is writing about actually took place last Wednesday, June 25, 2008.

Written by Paul

Today was a 'free' day for our team, so Bro. Omar (who kindly asked me to stop calling him "Bro. Mustard") took us to one of the Spanish enclaves in North Africa. It was a really neat experience! This morning, we rode in two very cramped taxis for an hour. Then, after going through one of the sloppiest, most confused borders in the world, we entered the Spanish city. (At this border, some girls on our team saw someone bribe a cop... !) Once we entered, we walked for about 45min to McDonald's. After lunch, we spent two hours passing out Gospel materials in the city. The city itself is not very big, so there was no danger of getting lost. The city is actually a peninsula in the Mediterranean Sea, so the view was incredible all day long. After passing out our tracts and Bibles, we went to a hilltop to take some pictures, then headed back to the border, and drove home.

Yes, the title is somewhat of an exaggeration, but in reality, we probably did walk about 7-10 miles today, so everyone is exhausted. One interesting fact - this is the city where Omar is planning on moving to in a year's time. There is religious freedom here, even though it is located in a closed country. It's also a strategic position to reach other closed countries. Please continue praying for the work here in North Africa!

My God Splits Moons - by Mira

My God Splits Moons

This was written by a girl on my team. We spoke to Jane* again and we had a very interesting discussion.

Did you know that Einstein went to the moon and discovered that at some point it had been split in half? Afterwards he exclaimed, “I must find the religion in which the moon was split in half!” He discovered it was Islam, converted instantly, and lived happily ever after!

At least, so one of my friends told me in a very sincere tone. Granted, her English isn’t perfect and we already had her fairly confused. I hope she realizes that Einstein didn’t really go to the moon.

We didn’t try to argue with her. What she really wanted to know is: “Mohammed got God to split the moon. Did your Jesus do anything that left evidence?” A sort of ‘my dad’s taller than your dad’ view of theology. At first we found her question discouraging. After all, Jesus never split the moon. (As if creating it in the first place wasn’t enough.) But the more the other girls and I thought about it, the more we realized that our God doesn’t need to split moons. Our God is a personal God. He’s never flashy unless He needs to be. Splitting the moon serves no purpose. When Jesus was on earth He proved His deity and His mission by helping people, by healing and comforting, not by flexing His godly muscles. Now that He’s gone He proves Himself the same way. Jesus proves Himself by taking drug-dealers and race car drivers and molding them into preachers and servants. He takes recluses and makes them missionaries. He turns wretches into His children.

If Islam did that then I wouldn’t have to shut my ears to the catcalls and comments of the men here. I wouldn’t have to count my change every time I bought something. I wouldn’t be afraid to walk by myself through the city at night. I wouldn’t have to the cringe a little every September the 11th. And everyone here is a Muslim so if Islam changes lives like Christianity changes lives, there would be no War and everyone would want to live in the Middle East.

Her prophet Mohammed may have gotten God to split the moon. But my Jesus is the God that changes hearts.

Go with God
–Mira

Meet Crunchy!

I would like to introduce to you Crunchy. We're here in North Africa, visiting friends, who live in an amazing apartment built on the roof of the apartment building. They have an especially amazing apartment because they have their own patio just to themselves. We're sitting out there enjoying a breeze when all of the sudden, Crunchy comes out! Needless to say it was quite funny
when a turtle greets you on a roof. What an interesting pet for a roof in North Africa!

Closed Doors

The place I am at is very steeped in Islam. They have many arguments about why Christianity is wrong. I guess it's not that different from many people in the States honestly. But the second they find that you're a Christian, or you start talking about Christ, a wall goes up. God can break down the walls though! On Tuesday we were out meeting people and we met a teacher who spoke very good English. We talked to her for about 45 minutes. (When I say we I'm talking about my team of girls) We were able to give her our testimonies!! What a great opportunity that God gave to us! One thing we try to emphasize is the fact that I was not born a Christian - I had to make that decision. She asked how I could decide at such a young age. I told her even though I was so young, I knew I had sinned and needed forgiveness. We also told her we serve God because of what He did for us, not in order to go to Heaven. PRAY God will plant a seed in her heart about what we spoke of. God has given us so many opportunities - PRAISE the LORD! Pray that He will continue to lead us across the paths of those who might have an open heart, an open door for the Gospel.

First Tea!

I've heard so much about the tea here. When you go out with friends, many times you will go have tea with them. Well yesterday (Saturday) I was able to go have tea with some friends. On Wednesday, my team of girls was out meeting people and we were actually about to turn around to go another way when we met Jane*. She and her friend were on their way back to the university where they are both business majors. We talked to them for about an hour. Then we asked her if she wanted to meet up and do something and she said sure. (Where else can you meet someone for an hour and then go hang out again and it not be weird - certainly not in America) So we said we'd meet on Saturday at 10am. So she came and she brought 2 other friends. One of whom was a guy - we were a little nervous about that, but it turned out ok. We had a great time walking around town, and they took us to have our first tea. Wow! It's strong stuff - it's very very minty. Not bad though. I tried to talk to the girls about spiritual things, but they would change the subject fairly quickly. We talked to the guy about religion and he would talk about it for a long time.

We learned several things from them. One thing is that they have watched a lot of American television and movies. I think he's watched more movies than I have! The girls know of many different actors and actresses and told us who they like and dislike. We had a great time getting to know them and the city. We're going to do something again this Saturday - maybe see some caves that are nearby. Pray that we'll have the opportunity to talk about more spiritual things and maybe plant a seed of doubt about Islam. I'm so excited to see how very friendly the people are here and willing to spend time with you even though you're a stranger - a foreigner at that.

One thing is were are making time every day to just go out and meet people. Then we go do stuff, and for hours, not just a few minutes. I think I need to make it a bigger priority when I get back to just work at getting to know people and spending time with them. One of the leaders here mentioned that it seems that only in America do we have compartmentalized relationships: work, church, family, friends, etc. Other countries have friends and you do anything and everything together. They really develop relationships. This is one lesson I think we should definitely learn from the rest of the world.


*names have been changed to protect the innocent - well...they really have been changed just to be careful

Language School - Welcome to Arabic!

Language School. I don’t know what I expected. Maybe I expected it to be similar to my high school French classes. Just to give you an indication of what it’s like to take Arabic, here’s a picture of what my teacher wrote on the board.

I look at it, look at him, and just stare. So then he’ll point to it and say it and I just memorize where it’s at on the board so I can say it again. Well…I guess that’s not really what we’re supposed to do, lol.

The thing is, if we want to be able to speak to people and tell them the gospel, we must learn the language. We will not learn it in 6 weeks, but it shows the people here we are interested in them and their culture and opens doors. Pray for me as I try to learn the language to try to be a witness.