The Call for Muslim Evangelism

I just read this blog on learning a language from my friend working in China. The frustration of learning another language couldn’t be put any better. I loved this post and thought that you might as well.

“How about the language? There’s some parts of language learning that I think are like learning to play an instrument. Granted, even when I could only speak English, I spoke more languages than I played instruments, so I’m hardly an expert. But I remember when I was in high school, I had a friend that played the bass guitar. And when I would go to his house, he would play me song after song from his favorites and rant and rave, ‘Dude, isn’t that bass player amazing? That bass part is awesome, isn’t it?’ Though I nodded vigorously and chorused my praises, I never had the heart to tell him that I couldn’t even hear the bass playing! I couldn’t pick apart the sounds of the bass from the other guitars (or pretty much any other instrument with strings). So as a result, I couldn’t appreciate the difference between good and great.  

The main differences between the good and great are subtle, but they include things like speed, comfort, accuracy, and creativity. And that’s a pretty good picture of some of the stages of language learning. Think of some of the people you know that speak English as a second language. What separates them from a native speaker? Probably a couple sounds, a few sentence patterns, a bunch of phrases, and tons of vocabulary. They know how to say ‘look,’ but do they know how to use ‘observe,’ ’scrutinize,’ ‘glance,’ ’scan,’ and ‘gaze’?…” 

Click here to read the post in its entirety.

I took a short break today to play soccer with some of the guys here at the Bible college.

It’s never been my favorite sport, but I’m learning to like it.

If you really get into the game, you’ll realize quickly that it takes a lot of skill and ability to play. It can get pretty complicated at times especially when you’re calling fouls. And this would be where I get a little irritated with it all.

The drama is ridonculous! 

You don’t even have to get close to the guy carrying the ball to see him fly across the field and spend the next ten seconds wallowing on the ground as though his femur just shattered into a thousand pieces ending his soccer career.

Finally, the referee notices the poor widdle baby who just got his widdle ol’ socco ball stowen and he calls the foul. Then miraculously, the fallen warrior leaps to his feet defying death itself and takes the free kick. Where DO you get that magical spray to cure all injuries anyway?

The United States does pretty well at soccer, but I think we are better known for our movie industry around the world, as sad as that may be.

My theory is that we would be unstoppable in the run for the FIFA cup if we just had Denzel Washington or Mel Gibson play for our team. 

I watched all the videos on the fundamentals of soccer and they all seem to forget the indispensable skill of acting. That will take you further in the sport than ball control ever could. If I would have known that, I would have focused more on drama in high school than playing sports.

Hind sight’s 20/20. 

Operación China:

If you speak Spanish, you’ll want to check out this new blog.

A friend of mine here in Peru just started it not too long ago.

Be praying for the work in China. 

We started the English classes at Faith again last night.

About sixty people registered when they came in, but a lot of other students chose to keep a low profile and slipped by the welcome desk.

There were a lot of new faces in the crowd, which was exciting, but leaves me with a small problem.

We now have at least three different levels of students needing to be taught, and our teaching staff (if you can even call it that) has dwindled down to little old me and all of the non-English speaking Peruvians who help every week.

 The class has been great in helping me connect with people and getting them involved in our Bible study and even church services, and I anticipate more results this year. We just need more English speaking individuals who can teach.

There’s a lot of potential this year for souls to be saved through this ministry. Please be praying for the Lord to work out all of the little details and to send more laborers.

I got these quotes out of a book I bought from a Muslim bookstore a few years ago, entitled, “A dictionary of Arabic and Islamic Proverbs.” I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

On Ambition:

“To get what you want you must be prepared to kiss a dog on its mouth.” -Tunisian-

“If you fall in love, fall in love with a prince; if you steal, steal silk; and if you knock at a door, knock at the door of a great man, so that when they revile you it will be for something big.” -Lebanese-

“Every illiterate dreams of being prime minister.” -Turkish- 

On Anxiety:

“In this world only three things dispel anxiety: women, horses, and book.” -Arabic-

“If you have anxieties, go to sleep.” -Moorish-

How about that for quotes of the day? 

Fatima’s family is in from the metropolis of Moquegua, Peru  this week (for those of you who’ve been there, you obviously know that’s a joke - and a bad one at that).

She was concerned about how they would react to her being baptized last Sunday. Though they are devoted Catholics, they were actually interested in learning more about our church.

So Fer and Fatima actually brought them to tonights service. We talked about it a little bit afterwards and they seem to be a little more open to their daughter being a Baptist than they were before.

Please be praying for their family. They are very friendly people and have already invited Gretchen and me to visit them in Moquegua the next chance we get. You never know when we’ll be passing through the litte desert village and will need a place to stay overnight. This could be a great open door for the Lord to work in their lives. 

I’m proud of my Fatima’s boldness in sharing Christ with her family. She wasn’t sure how they would take it all, but the Lord has already blessed her decision to follow Him at any cost and made her a light to her own parents.

Here’s our the newest family picture.

Today was an exciting day for me. I got to baptize two of my good friends at Faith during the morning service. 

Fernando and Fatima have been coming to our Friday night Bible studies and ocasionally other days throughout the week for discipleship now for about six months. They’ve not been saved very long and had a lot of questions about baptism before they took the plunge. 

The biggest struggle that Fatima had with taking this vital step in her new Christian faith was the reaction that her family had to it when she told them that she was going to do it. To be baptized is to send a clear message that she has decided to follow Jesus Christ as her Savior and that she rejects everything else, even her baptism as a baby. 

Whether you are in the Catholic countries of South America or the Muslim nations of North Africa, being baptized usually means that you will be completely cut off by just about everyone who you are close to especially your own family. It’s a bold move to make, but it is the very first step in living an obedient Christian life. 

I’m excited about what God is doing in Fernano and Fatima’s lives and anxious to help them grow in their spiritual lives.