Opportunity to Break the Fast

We are overwhelmed each day as we remember the number of people back home that are constantly lifting us and our work up to the Father, and for that, we thank you. As expected, there have been good days and there have been hard days, but our Father is continuously faithful and the joy we feel is renewed each day. Life here in the city has been familiar in many ways. For most of the people here, life consists of sleeping, working, and eating (except during the month of Ramadan of course). This leaves only a fraction of their week to devote to religious matters, such as going to the local mosque to pray.  "Christianity" is present, but "followers of J" are not. The Christians keep to themselves and tend to not accurately display the Father's love to people of other religions, leaving them with a misunderstanding of who He is, and who His Son is. For this reason, it has been hard to break down the strongholds that the enemy has in the city and to overcome the cultural barriers that have been established over the years. However, our Father has granted us favor in the eyes of the people here, allowing us to form relationships with girls here and share Truth with them. 

Our goal while here this summer has been to connect with local girls in the malls and markets, establish relationships with them, and share as much Truth with them as we can. One cousin girl in particular that the Father has laid on our hearts is "N" - a 21 year old that works in a small outdoor camping store. We immediately recognized her as a POP as we met and shared Truth with her. As we deepened our relationship with her, we were able to provide her with materials in her heart language that would help her understand more about the message that we believe. Since Ramadan (a 30 day period of fasting from sunrise to sunset for all cousins) has begun, we have had more opportunities to initiate conversation with locals and even have been invited to "bukah puasah", or break fast, with our friends. 

Just last week, N invited us into her home to meet her family and to break fast with her! As we went, we prayed that the Father would open up doors for spiritual conversation in the home and that we would accurately display His love through our actions and words. Praise Him for His faithfulness! Within the first couple of hours of us staying in the home, we were able to speak with N and her sister about the differences between their religion and ours. We were able to help cook homemade donuts, break fast with the whole family, and even got to entertain the household with a few of our favorite worship songs. The following morning as we left, tears filled the family's eyes and we were given an invitation to return next week. 

Please please pray for more opportunities like this one as we wrap up our time here in the city. 
Pray for the girls and families that we meet - that they would see the Light in us and desire more than what their culture and religion offers them. 
Pray for the rest of our time here - that we would make the most of the next 12 days and look to the Spirit to guide us. 
Please pray for our Ms that are here long term - that they would be able to cultivate the seeds that have been planted and have the opportunity to see fruit.