But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
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| Traffic in the city- part of daily life |
Much of the time, I feel that I have no idea what I am doing here. I am torn back and forth between excitement and sadness that our trip is almost half over. We have struggled through many things, most of which have been minute-by-minute living to get through. Obedience is key, and when we are obedient, God shows up.
Both of us have overcome sickness in the past week, we have spent more time walking than I want to think about, and I am simply overwhelmed by the amount of people we have met and come into contact with. Yet, I remember that when I am weak, maybe a bit discouraged, He is made perfect. Because of this, I am all that more willing to admit my weaknesses.
As we were out shopping earlier today, one of the vendors asked if we were participating in Ramadan. This brought up an awesome opportunity for a conversation, and we asked why he was participating. He told us that he knew that if he did enough good things to please God, then he would be allowed into heaven. We asked if he was sure that he was going to heaven when he died, and he said that he hoped that he had done enough good things. We told him that we knew for sure that we were going to heaven, and it was not because of any of the good things we had done. We could do nothing to please God. Please pray for this man as we plan to go back to talk with him again about the differences between his religion and our faith.
Several prayer requests:
–Pray for the discouragement on some days when we don’t feel productive in our work
–Pray for the 12+ teams we have encountered here (from several different organizations) to be faithful and strong in their work as well
–Pray for the millions of lost souls in this city to be open and have an opportunity to encounter the truth of the gospel
–During the month of Ramadan, people tend to be more vulnerable and even more open to talk about their faith. Even those who are not fasting understand it is happening which can lead to great conversations. Pray that we will be faithful in sharing when there are open opportunities.
–Pray for the discouragement on some days when we don’t feel productive in our work
–Pray for the 12+ teams we have encountered here (from several different organizations) to be faithful and strong in their work as well
–Pray for the millions of lost souls in this city to be open and have an opportunity to encounter the truth of the gospel
–During the month of Ramadan, people tend to be more vulnerable and even more open to talk about their faith. Even those who are not fasting understand it is happening which can lead to great conversations. Pray that we will be faithful in sharing when there are open opportunities.