Never Enough

Our time in this city has almost come to an end. We have one full week left here before we travel through the rest of the country. One thought has greatly consumed me: I haven't done enough. I haven't talked to enough people, I haven't given out the Gospel enough, I haven't met the people I have talked to enough, etc. There is so much work to be done. I understand that the city will not be evangelized in 6 weeks. How much will be done in 6 years? 60 years? One thing is evident: more laborers are needed. All you have to do is look up to see 1.5 million people who are lost and going to Hell if they don't hear and accept the Gospel. Staring into the face of this is burdening, overwhelming, and moving. If we don't go with the truth, how will they hear?

Frogger

A major aspect of life here is just getting around. Most people walk a lot. Crossing the street has never been quite so fun. As long as no one is coming you walk out into the road and cross lane by lane as it clears. One day I had an epiphany as we were crossing the street. It's just like the old video game Frogger!! So if you've ever had to urge to play Frogger in real life, just come visit.

Condemned Already

Today we stood on a hill overlooking the city - only 1/3 of the city actually. Just to give a conservative estimate, about 96% of the people have NEVER heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. If that many have never heard, how many are Christians? Very few.

God has been working on my heart with this very thought. A couple of my fellow interns have already written about this on their blogs - amazing stuff. A few days ago God brought to my mind the verse John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already..." I went to Peru 5 years ago and the preacher preached on this passage. He told us to imagine a red A on everyone's forehead for "Already." All I have to do is look around. Everyone has an A stamped on their forehead for "condemned already." What the Lord has really laid on my heart is the ladies. I don't need to imagine: the sign that they are condemned already is the head covering. Each time I see a lady, her head covering reminds me that she is condemned already.

Between the Dead and the Living Dead

This post was written by my fellow intern. She did such an incredible job writing this.

Today we stood between the dead and the living dead. Behind us centuries of decaying bones, before us millions of decaying lives. From a graveyard we overlooked a city full of people dead in sin, dead in idolatry, dead in a lie.

Eph 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."

The only difference between the living of this city and the dead is that the people here have a chance. They only lack messangers.

Rom. 10: 14b, c "And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?"

This city of more than of a million is lost and next to no one stands between them and a graveyard of eternal damnation. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Christians are spending their lives on legitimate ministries, but ignoring a needier field.

Ezek. 22:30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none."

Is there a man who will stand between this one city, or any city like it, and the grave?

Go with God
--Mira

American Holiday - Foreign Country

I've never been out of the country for an American holiday. So today is a first. Of course no one is off of work or anything: we still have to go our Arabic classes and what not. So my American team here decides to at least celebrate a little. We have an all-American lunch of cheeseburgers, (grilled out, of course) fries, and apple pie. The only thing is there are no pickles. It's the little things that you miss when you don't have them. Other than that, it was really really good. Then we have a good round of some games like catch-phrase and imaginiff.

We did have a couple of believers from here with us, and also a visitor who does not know Christ. So three native people were able to get a small lesson on American culture by spending some time with us today.

So in our own way we still celebrated America's Independence Day. After having spent a few weeks here, it makes me more thankful for all the freedoms we have and honestly take for granted. The Gospel is freely given anywhere in the States. That is not the case here. Sometimes I ask God why am I so privileged to have been born in America. It sometimes doesn't seem fair. It's those times I just have to stop and thank God. Also, as an American, I am one of the most able people to go to the world with the Gospel. With great privilege comes great responsibility.

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!