Evangelism in the Square

The past few days have been very interesting for me. I have been a part of a team that is doing Evangelism in this large public area. I have been able to talk with many people because so many know English. I am amazed at how pervasive Islam is in the people's lives. Many times the people will quote things that they have been told about the Quran that are simply not true. They have said the Muhammad is perfect and sinless, yet that is no where in the Quran. They have also said that they can have their sins forgiven by going on the Hajj. No where does the Quran say your sins can be forgiven for sure. The best hope they have in their own book is to have enough good deeds to outweigh the bad. With all of this said, the Muslims have been very open to discussions for the most part, We hand out free literature from the car and so lots of people have the word of God to read now. The team that goes down to this large area right now consists of two interns and myself all from the states as well as two men that live in the city, one for six years now and the other has been here 26 years.

There is great need for prayer and one young man is really hard on my heart.

-------Ayman is 18 years old and about to enter the University. He is an Atheist from a Muslim family. I was so impressed by him because He has questioned the beliefs of the people around him while so many have blind faith. We discussed all kinds of philosophical arguments about God. He had read Nietzche and even American atheists like Dawkins. We had great discussions and he promised to read the Bible for me. I gave him my email and told him to email if he has questions. Pray the the Holy Spirit shows the Word to him and that the Lord would reveal himself to Ayman.

Honor and Shame

Some of you may have already heard of the term "Honor and Shame" culture. This is in contrast to the western culture which is based on "Guilt and Innocence". We have an understanding of both honor and shame but we do not fully understand the influence these ideals have on the middle eastern thinker. This is sometimes why we have a hard time understanding some of the intricacies of the Bible. It was written in this same shame based culture and spending the past five weeks here has revealed so many new details to stories I have read countless times. We have difficulty understanding people from many eastern lands because of this basic difference in worldview. These ideologies map how we see our worlds and neither is better or worse they are simply neutral beliefs, or more accurately foundations to beliefs. I have seen this so clearly here.

We were speaking with a family of Shia Muslims and one of the young women, who was not very religious, i.e. head uncovered, etc..., was very defensive of her Islamic heritage. We did not begin by saying anything about Islam or her beliefs. We were simply speaking about life and our personal convictions about Jesus. She immediately felt the need to defend Islam and defend her "honor", which is intricately intwined to their religion and culture. We would ask questions and then she would respond in question; much like Jesus would. She was never angry but it was interesting how she defended something she was quite clearly not following. A Muslim women would never be in the presence of a male without a head covering and she would be very slow to speak to a man, much less argue. In the west we would have tried to weigh "right and wrong" beliefs but here that was not at all the primary purpose.

The blessing of the night was that a young believer, family member to the girl arguing, was able to see the character of Jesus directly contrasted with Islam and Muhammad. The father was also very open to discussions. We will continue to pray for them and the opportunity to see them again in the future. I think that a better understanding of honor and shame would go along way in our view of the Middle East.

Sharing in God's Work

Over the past week I have been blessed to meet many different people that are sharing in Gods work through out the near east. I have heard amazing stories and encouraging testimonies of Christ’s work among the hearts of the Muslim’s here. I am also encouraged seeing how the workers are truly united as one body in Christ no matter what company they work for. Everyone works and fellowships together, sharing the burdens and the blessings. There is so much work to be done in this part of the world but God is faithful to answer our prayers and he is working in ways that are far exceeding anyone’s understanding or expectations. Its interesting to see how the holy spirit is working in the people long before any worker meets them. There are countless stories of dreams and visions as well as stories of how Muslims have found the New Testament somewhere and began reading about Jesus. They have so many questions and seem to truly be seeking after the Lord. While these are immensely encouraging there are always reasons to pray.

> Work in the area I am has been very slow and has seen little fruit. The majority of people have little interest in spiritual matters or are too tied politically with Muslim groups to seek Jesus.

> Work among the Kurds has been very fruitful but recently there has been some persecution and spiritual warfare among the leaders in the movement. There needs to be prayer for encouragement during these struggles.

> Prayer has also begun for the start of a new Language Institute in Iraq sometime in the next year. This would be a business and therefore much more difficult to be removed. It would serve as a great means to see workers in newly opened areas of Iraq.

There is Bread and Salt Between Us

This week has been a little bit slow but I have enjoyed finding time to read. We are staying in mostly and not traveling because elections here are soon and we thought it better to be safe. We are not worried anything will happen but you never know and we don’t want to get stuck in trouble. I have been able to meet some amazing people the last few days. We have spoken to a group of workers that have come here to work the fields during the summer and they are living in a camp like area with large burlap tents. The camp looks like something like the Bedouin camps I have seen in pictures. We have had the opportunity to share stories, many from the old testament. Fellowship and family is so important here I am amazed. When we met these men for the first time they had three seats and the older man gave up his seat and forced me to sit there. They also gave us coffee and water even though they clearly had little to give. The men would offer us a smoke or ask if we wanted bread and the women would serve hot tea and coffee the entire time we were talking with the men. The older gentleman seems to truly be seeking and so we are hoping to have him over to our home Sunday to show him the Jesus video in Arabic. Stories and visuals are so important to the Arab people. If we have him here and share food with him then there will be a very string bond formed. In the Arab Culture it is the ultimate token of friendship and sacrifice to eat a meal with one another. They will say “there is bread and salt between us” to show the strong ties between one another. We can even see this in Numbers 18:19 when forming a covenant. How significant it now seems to me that Jesus shared a meal with His disciples as the last thing He did and how much greater was the act of giving bread to Judas when Jesus knew He would be deceived by him. This can be very powerful to the Arab soul.

Adventures of the Soul

So far the trip has been really good. I have been able to see many things that I did not think I would be able to see. While traveling I had some time alone in the city and so I was able to go do some sightseeing. I learned the Arabic needed to tell the taxi how to get back to the flat. I saw a lot Mosques that are absolutely magnificent. I am in awe of how large and beautiful they can be. There are also hundreds of them in the city and during the prayer times the Call echoes off of the building and seems to drawn out the city life. I was able to talk with some younger University students that know a lot of english. We spoke about religion and Islam and I was surprised at how much they revered Islam and yet they did not practice. Islam is so much more than a religion in the near-east. Islam is a culture and a way of life. The hold that religion has on their lives is amazing.

I was encouraged though when I met a young university student that was Kurdish. He is studying English Literature and is dreaming of Journalism. He was so different from the other young men we were talking with. He seemed to take life very seriously and question many aspects of life. I was able to give him my email address and so I hope to stay in touch. Some of the guys I am lived with are hoping to begin reading the Bible with him soon. We spent a lot of time together and watched the Barcelona vs. Manchester Utd. game at the cinema together. Please pray for him and many other University students that the guys are reaching out to.

Safe Return

I am sorry that i was unable to post on my trip. I had internet but was unable to get to this blog site because the government blocks many American sites, including Facebook. I hope to be able to put up some pictures. I really had a great time traveling and have a lot of amazing stories to share. Time is short now but since I am back I will be a little more regular about posting. Thank you for your prayers, Josh.

Travel Needs

Tomorrow I will be traveling with the missionary into another country here and so will need prayer for travel. We are also carrying sensitive material with us and will need prayer for that as well. I am unsure of exactly how long we will be there but somewhere around 8 days. I am doing well and have been able to read a lot. Steve you would be happy to know that I am reading The Brothers Karamazov. I figured that I would have the time. So far a bit challenging although interesting. I am interested to see where Dostoyevsky takes the story. Thank you again for your prayers. I will hopefully update again soon from the new location.

Philippians 4:11