A good friend of mine from South America is currently working in the Muslim world.
We both strongly desire to see more Latin Americans give their lives to the cause of Muslim Evangelism.
He has started a new blog in Spanish to share his experiences and challenge the Spanish speaking world to take an active part in what he is doing. Together we will turn the world upside down for Jesus Christ.
I’m reading The Apostle to Islam, the biography of Samuel M. Zwemer, and I wanted to share a challenging quote I got out of it.
”The Church must awake to her duty toward Islam. Who will waker her and keep her awake unless it be those who have heard the challenge of Islam, and who, going out against her, have found her armor decayed, her weapons antiquated and her children, though proud and reticent, still unhappy?”
You have heard the challenge and the Muslims still desperately need someone to love them and give his life for them. Will you be one who will dare to make a difference?
After we visited the ministries in Malaga, we set out for the continent of Africa. We all had to catch a train in an area called Arroyo de la Miel. If you have not tried to move a group of six students and eighteen 50 pounds bags onto a train in a city of 1.5 million, you’re missing out on a blessing.
It didn’t end with the train though. We had to stuff everybody inside for thirty minutes and then stumble out of the third car with with more lugage than we could handle, and then run as fast as we could to the city bus station. I felt like we were on the Amazing Race.
The bus driver was not very thrilled to see all of the bags and boxes we had when we arrived, but he let us on anyway and in minutes we were on our way. For the next hour and a half we traveled down Spain’s beautiful Costa del Sol (Sun Coast). I couldn’t help but think about how blessed I was to be doing something that millions dream of and it all was serving a purpose bigger than myself.
That evening we arrived in the port city of Algeciras and purchased our ferry tickets as fast as we could, but this time we didn’t make it. Fortunately we were able to catch the next trip out, and we were able to eat a little lunch, which we had somehow forgotten to do in middle of everything.
Boarding the ferry was even more difficult than the jet, the train, or the bus all together. After dropping our stuff several times, going down the wrong corridor, and getting sea sick on dry land we made it on the slow boat (which now we realize is more expensive than the fast ferry, but there’s nothing we can do about that now).
Sailing by the rock of Gibraltar was pretty amazing as was looking in the West and seeing the Atlantic Ocean and then looking to the other side of the ferry at the Mediterranean.
We arrived in Ceuta together and got settled in for the night. It felt like it took forever, but we finally made it to Africa, and we are all learned a little bit about patience and trusting in the Lord to provide for us on the trip.
The first stop on the Vision Tour was in Malaga, Spain.
We met with a Moroccan Christian who has a radio ministry which reaches into the Arabic speaking nations of North Africa.
He gave his testimony and told us that he grew up in Morocco as a Muslim and as a young boy he heard about a single missionary woman who lived in the area. According to local rumors, she would lure young people into her house, give them tea which would cause them to fall asleep, put them in a box, and sell them as slaves. Curious to find out about this feared woman, he and a friend went over to her house and visited with her making sure not to drink anything she offered them.
They left and said they would never go back, but after some time this young man began to read the Bible and learned that what the old woman had told him was true. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and began to witness to those arround him. He had an opertunity to work with a new radio station located in Spain, and he shortly thereafter moved up to begin his media outreach.
Now, he gets hundreds of responses every month from people in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya who wanted a copy of the Word of God. He has been corresponding with these seekers and several of them have already been saved and are now starting churches in their own countries.
We have so many tools at our disposal like television, radio, and internet that we can utilize in reaching millions of unreached people like our friend in Malaga.
Please pray that God will give us more Christians dedicated to using their skills in media to shake North Africa and the entire Muslim world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of traveling with my good friend Austin Gardner to the city of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave located on the northern shores of Morocco.
We spent over an hour with an entertaining, out spoken, Spanish taxi driver who gave us a ton of helpful information about the area. He reminded us several times, ” I have lived here for 23 years. I know everything there is to know about this place!”
Our first stop was on the side of a mountain that overlooked Ceuta. From there we were able to see on one side the neighboring city in Morocco, and on the other side we could see across the Mediterranean Sea to mainland Spain. Our driver pointed out where the majority of the 80,000 citizens of Ceuta lived, both the rich and the not so rich.
We asked him to take us down in the middle of it all and show us the good and the bad. It only took about 20 minutes to get from one side of the city to the other.
As we drove through downtown, I could hear the call to prayer ringing out from one of the five Mosques in the city. Between his estimation and that of a few other sources I’ve asked, there are somewhere between 20,000 to 30,000 Moroccans living inside the city permanently and several thousand others travel in and out daily for work.
He bragged about the international acceptance of his country as we passed by a four-headed statue that is meant to symbolize four cultures (Moroccan, Indian, Jewish, and Spanish) blending together in one location. Besides the Mosques and Catholic churches, Ceuta has its own Synagogue and Hindu temple.
With all of the nationalities coming together in this free city, only two Evangelical churches exist. They have complete religious freedom, but less gospel witness than the restricted Muslim nation just on the other side of their border. We need now more than ever young people who will stand up and say, “I will be a light in darkness, regardless of the cost.”
The work may not be safe, but it is like the statement Seth Godin makes in his book The Purple Cow, “Safe is Risky.”
Will we risk the souls of millions of in places like Ceuta and Morocco for the sake of our personal safety and comfort?
Lord, may we weigh the cost and risk everything for the glory of your name.
A little over a year ago, I traveled across Morocco for the first time with two other missionary friends of mine, and the Lord gave us such a burden for the 35 million people living inside a country were it is illegal to tell people about Jesus Christ. We realized that in order to make a dent in the country we would need hundreds of Christians dedicated to working in this feared and forgotten mission field. After the trip, all of us sat down together and discussed some ways that we could get young people involved in Muslim missions.
Short term mission trips played a major role in each of our lives before it became our full time occupation, and we wanted to give college students the same opportunity to experience missions up close and personal.
We put together a plan to have these students live with us for two months as we trek accross exotic lands, giving the Word of God to people who have never once heard, and discover that the Lord wants to use them to make a difference in the Muslim world.
The journey begins in Atlanta, and takes us flying across the the Atlantic Ocean, driving down the coast of southern Spain, sailing across the straight of Gibraltar, hiking over the Atlas Mountains, and riding camels through the Sahara desert. All along the way young people have the chance to minister to the people and share the hope that they have in Jesus Christ with the Muslim friends they have made here.
If you are interested in joining us next summer, or would like to know more details about the tour check out our website at www.projectna.com.
Every Vision Tour group has its own distinct personality. Those traveling with us to North Africa this year have come from all over the United States, and each have contributed to the success of the trip. For the majority of them, this is the first time that they have ever traveled internationally. What a way to get started!
David Velke is a 19 year old missionary pilot who has been studying at the Our Generation Training Center located in Alpharetta, Georgia. He has a heart for the world and is asking the Lord to show him the next step in his quest to glorify the name of Jesus Christ in unreached parts of the world.
Micah Rastelli, originally from San Marino, currently lives in Pittsburgh. For years he struggled between wanting to become a missionary or a Marine. During the Our Generation Leadership Conference in Atlanta three weeks ago, Micah surrendered his life to take the message of Jesus’ love and hope to Muslim people.
Ron Maggard has been a missionary all over the world for over 30 years. His experience working in closed countries has added a lot to what we have been attempting here in North Africa. He has been outrunning most of the college students we have brought on our trip.
Ransom Maggard is the 16 year old son of Ron who has also traveled the world with his father. I don’t know of any other young person his age who has so much talent and ability. He has already led mission prayer meetings and conferences all over New England. God has touched his heart about this part of the world, and we are looking forward to working closely with him in the near future.
The young ladies traveling with us have been doing a wonderful job as we have traveled.
Paula Joy Burch is from Wisconsin and currently is studying at Northland. Coming from a family of nine, she has been able to hold her own all along the way. She has a great burden and desire to learn the language and culture, and already she has been able to make friends with the Moroccan women.
Stephanie Craven is from Charleston, South Carolina and is studying at Trinity in Jacksonville. She flew for the first time on this trip and has been introduced to all sorts of new food and customs. Her outgoing personality has helped to keep the group alive and in good spirits.
Heather Trojhan is also from South Carolina and is finishing her studies in Pensecola. She has taken big steps on this trip to become more outgoing and interacting with the Moroccan people.
God is doing great things with the young people here and we are excited about what he is going to do for the rest of the time we have together.
Right now, I am in the middle of a month long trip through Morocco and southern Spain.
For the next couple of days I want to catch you up on all of the crazy things I’ve been able to see and do since the tour began a couple of weeks ago, as well as challenge you to dream with me about what God might do through you to make a difference in a land full of people starving for the Word of God.
If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at tyler@projectna.com or visit our website at www.projectna.com.
