Saturday, October 1, 2022

Awwal Marra

My wife & I were on a date night, strolling a park, when I saw a Sudanese man dressed in Islamic garb. What?! We knew there were Sudanese Christians in our city but Sudanese Muslims?! I greeted him and he took me to a pavilion with 25 men dressed just like him! They are all refugees from a region called Darfur, where genocide was taking place in the early 2000s. They were gathered for the Islamic holiday Eid Al Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. I was introduced to the community leader (shaykh) and sent home with enough food to feed our family 2-3 meals. 

This past Sunday, on my second visit to the leader's home, I was able to explain the gospel and answer the common objectives Muslims have. When I asked him if this was the first time in 8 years of living in our state that he has had a faith conversation with a Christian, he said in Arabic "awwal marra", which means "first time". Would you pray for Abdulaahi, his family, and the community he leads? Would you also pray that God would give you opportunities to engage in gospel conversation with immigrants or students from unreached people groups?

Here is a wonderful way to get your family or small group thinking about missions to the unreached.