Cumin Edition #3

English Classes
 

English classes began yesterday!  PTL!  In the morning I taught ten 12 to 14-year-olds, and in the afternoon I co-led a class of adults.  The children were shy at first, but have already warmed up and started having fun in the classroom.  Most of the time I have no translator, but since I have the oldest kids and they understand more English, this is usually no problem.  It is against the law to share the Good News with children, but the Father reminded me that before and after class is valuable time to ask the Father for them. 

As for the adult class, only two men showed up on the first day.  Three women were enrolled that did not come.  Please ask the Father that they would come to class tomorrow.  It is important to have women in my class because this is one of the few places that I can meet English-speaking women.  And English-speaking women are the only people with whom I can develop relationships and share the Good News.

Vision for the Summer

The day that I arrived in the Middle East my Book-reading plan had the story of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and Sennacherib, King of Assyria, listed for me to read.  Little did I know that I was going to be living in the land where Sennacherib once reigned, and a few days later I would be hiking to Sennacherib’s ancient ruins.  The ruins are on the mountainside that I can see from almost anywhere in the city.  Since the story of Hezekiah and Sennacherib is told three separate times in the Bible and I am reading through the Bible chronologically, I read this story several times in my first week here.  As I meditated on this account, the Father opened my eyes to the parallels it has to today and to my summer here.

Just as Sennacherib had a powerful dominion in this place, so also the Enemy has a stronghold here.  His is not a physical kingdom but a sp!r!tual one.  When Sennacherib came against Judah, Hezekiah knew that the Assyrians were stronger than his people but not stronger than His God.  So He didn’t muster up the army or come up with clever battle tactics.  Instead, Hezekiah ran to the temple, tore his clothes, and cried out to God for deliverance so that the nations would know that He is God.  God impressed on me that I too should fall on my knees and desperately plead for deliverance for these people and for His name to be great in this land.  I must recognize that, without Him, the Enemy will defeat any of my efforts.  In Hezekiah’s time, God brought deliverance by sending His angel to kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in the night.  It was clearly a divine act.  If this sp!r!tual battle is to be won now, it must a miracle of the Father.  Please join me in being Hezekiahs pleading for the Middle East this summer.

Answers to Your Requests

As my co-workers and I were walking up the stairs coming home from an evening of enrollment and placement tests at the English center, we asked the long-term worker to introduce us to her neighbors.  So we stopped one floor short of reaching our apartment and knocked on Naomi and Levi’s door.  They welcomed us in and spoke in nearly-fluent English!  This alone was an answer to your requests!  But not only that, they made plans to show us all over the city and region (something we’d been trying to plan ourselves) and invited us to dinner that night.  So at 9:30 pm we got in their car to go to an amazing restaurant.  It was built across a mountain stream and a portion of the stream was diverted to a shallow, paved channel in which dining tables and chairs sat so customers could take off their shoes and dip their feet in the water as they ate.  The outdoor seating allowed us to enjoy the beautiful night with a cool breeze and a mountain-side waterfall view.  Not to mention the food was wonderful!

 

But the night got even better.  After we finished eating at around 11 pm, Levi asked if we wanted to go straight home or drive up the mountain to see the city lights at night.  That was a no-brainer for me!  Up the mountain we drove.  As we drove, I asked about what their families believed.  Their answer was surprisingly pluralistic and inclusive.  Then they turned the question on me: what does my family believe?  I got to share my story and what I was told about the Good News!  The sp!r!tual conversations continued for close to an hour as we drove to the top and stood gazing over the city below.  PTL.  He is doing exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask and think (Eph. 3:20)!

Requests

Please ask that Naomi and Levi would respond to the Good News.

Please ask that I would be faithful to lift up the children in my class.

Please ask for more women, English-speakers for us to befriend and share with.

Please ask that I would have a humble, grateful attitude.  I have been struggling with grumbling when obstacles come, instead of being patient and pyerful.