Monday's Experience- Building Relationships

Team 1 arrived home safely & Team 2 finished their first full day of ministry. Team 2 is working much further away from Assela than Team 1. We split the North Americans into 4 teams & drove almost 1 ½ bumpy hours to the new mission sites. One of the coolest parts of the trip was when we arrived this morning at the host church & we were greeted by a choir singing Africa worship songs. There we worshipped together & met our “disciple makers” for this trip who will be the ones who follow-up with the new believers in the villages.
Upon arriving at our mission site, we were greeted with curiosity when we got out of the van but that quickly changed when we got out soccer balls & starting playing with the men & young kids. Our focus this morning was to introduce ourselves & let them get comfortable with us. The people opened up very quickly & started showing us around the village. Several of the gals took the kids & did an impromptu VBS sharing the message of Jonah & the whale while I spent several hours with my new Muslim friend Ali. Ali is a farmer & since my family are farmers, we had a great conversation talking about the crops they grow like corn, wheat, & barley. I tried to engage in a spiritual conversation but Ali had to meet a friend so we will pick up the conversation more tomorrow.
This afternoon we had some AWESOME conversations with our new Muslim friends. I was speaking to the mayor of the village about our faith in Jesus Christ & even though he said he was not ready to believe, his 16 year old son asked some very good but tough questions. Here are some of the questions & responses we have been giving:
· How can God be 3 parts (God, Jesus Christ & Holy Spirit)? Although it is not entirely accurate since God is all 3 at the same time, I responded with the illustration of water since it can be a liquid, solid (ice) & vapor (steam) yet all 3 are still water.
· How can Jesus Christ be God’s Son yet have a mother & father? I responded that Jesus had an earthly mother but that He did not have an earthly father since Mary was a virgin. I explained that the Jesus gave up his place in heaven to come to earth to be an example of how we should live & to be a sacrifice for all our sins.
We spent several hours this afternoon talking with our Muslim friends, sharing our testimonies of life change & answering their questions. One 18 year old boy named Awel was very curious & asked many questions but said he was not ready to believe this message. Upon leaving to go back to the hotel in Assela we gave Awel a ride & our translator Seguitt continued talking with him. After 30 minutes in the van, Awel told Seguitt that he was ready to believe & prayed to receive Christ right in front of our team. I can’t imagine a better beginning to week two as there are many people who are interested in the message that Jesus Christ provides forgiveness of sins.
Team 2 is healthy & excited about what God is doing in us & through us. Please pray for continued good health, open hearts to the message of Christ & unity among the North American & Ethiopian team.