Saturday, July 2, 2016

Halfway thereee, whoa-oh! Livin on a prayer!

Recently the team has been going more towards the rural areas of the location we are in instead of places where there is a higher chance of meeting English speaking nationals. Coordinating with translators hasn't been a problem, and after taking it to prayer and deciding to go towards these new areas, (they say that hindsight is 20/20) we can see that God's guiding hand definitely led us to do that.

Michael and I met some guys who were personal body guards for a family while they were on duty. The day was slow and they were extremely friendly, and as such after several hours of conversation we were able to form great friendships with them. One of the men invited us back to his home, to meet his wife and break fast with them. Not only did we get to share the gospel, have an amazing meal, connect our local supervisor and two national believers with them, and fit three people on a motorcycle to pick up groceries for the meal, but they were receptive to the news of Christ and are looking to continue the relationships we made and meet with us more and more.

The girls, Abbie and Meridyth, came across a woman who invited them to meet with her teacher. The class was inside a home and was a women's class for Muslims, they were able to share the gospel as well as carry great conversation for several hours, both sides asking questions and happy to talk with one another, and both the teacher as well as the woman who invited them would love to continue to meet with them in the future.

I believe God has not only been evidently at work in these relationships, disarming any possible hostilities towards the gospel, as well as filling all of our hearts with the spirit of sharing, but he has evidently been at work in our own team. I feel as if we have all grown in our understanding of the great commission as well as our understanding of what it means to be part of the body of Christ, as believers, using the gift of fellowship not only to grow together, but to challenge and encourage one another daily.

Please pray for the people that we have met, that God will continue to work in the hearts and minds of those individuals, as well as continue to work and mature us towards becoming mature Christian adults, passionate about the furthering of His kingdom and passionate our daily walk with Jesus Christ. Also pray God will continue to provide able and willing translators despite the upcoming holidays and school breaks so we can continue to bring the Gospel to new areas.

-Jackson