Not short enough to be a Nudge to Action, so I’ll call it a Story to Action. A story which I find hard to describe in words as the action was not one to be described by lots of verbs, but reactions of the heart.
Setting: The streets of an old city in the deep south of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean, not far from a market where visitors from around the world flock daily.
Setting: The streets of an old city in the deep south of the United States along the Atlantic Ocean, not far from a market where visitors from around the world flock daily.
Time of day: Mid-day on a Friday.
Background sounds: Tourists and vendors talking, sea gulls squawking and muffled sounds of crashing waves.
The action that can be described: Missionaries on Stateside Assignment play tourists and check out an American curio shop. Approaching a shop, they hear a new sound, a sound that is very familiar which they often hear in their home in Kenya, the Islamic Call to Prayer. Looking around, they spot the source of the music, a restaurant serving foods from India.
Their reaction: Surprise as they had been viewing 300 year old churches representing the beginning of Christianity in the New World, to hear this familiar sound in this place was unexpected.
Their questions: How many others, many who call themselves Christian, are hearing the music and words and know what they are hearing? How many know enough to use this sound as a call to prayer for people in our world without the peace and joy offered through our Saviour.
Immediate answer to their queries: Walking on to a neighboring shop with plans to buy a curio, they are asked, “Where are you from?” Upon hearing “Nairobi, Kenya,” the shopkeeper talks of the need for Americans to know more about the languages, peoples, and ways of other countries. The missionaries comment on the Call to Prayer they heard only moments before from the nearby restaurant and their enjoyment of the unique music now playing, which they admit to making them a bit homesick.
The shopkeeper’s response: “What music? What is a Call to Prayer?”
The heart reaction of the missionaries: How many times each day do we cross paths with people from other cultures, other nations, other languages, other religions? How can we share with Believers in Southern Baptist churches that they do not need a plane ticket to be on mission with their Father? How do we help American Christians see those from other nations whom they meet daily in stores and restaurants, in doctor’s offices, and on and on, people who have not lived in the United States for generations who are waiting for someone to befriend them, someone to share their lives with them, and often someone who can help them know more of the God worshipped by Christians.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
As I reread the words I’ve written, I know that I was correct to say words cannot describe our experience last week, but my prayer this week is that my story does challenge you to truly see and listen for that person with a slight accent, that person who doesn’t look as though they are ‘from-around-here’ and take a few moments to talk with him or her, to begin a relationship with someone who may be in need of a friend, a person in need of becoming a friend with our Saviour!
And yes, these people from other languages and countries are around you. In our first two weeks of Stateside Assignment, we met and talked with 12 people in hotels, gas stations, the Home Depot and restaurants who also call another part of the world home. When we recounted these meetings with others, their response was surprise as they had never noticed how the world is at their doorstep!
I’m writing today from Fairfax, South Carolina, where we have taken part in an On Missions Celebration in local churches. We are a bit tired and ready to return to Raleigh tomorrow, but we have truly enjoyed sharing how God is at work and having the opportunity to thank Southern Baptists for their continued prayer, financial and personnel support. Please do continue praying that during our Stateside Assignment we will entice others to be On-Mission with our Father wherever He leads. BERT
--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Sorry, only one photo this week as the available internet service is very, very weak, but to know the story of this photo you’ll have to take time to view tomorrow’s Nudges to Action for Sub-Saharan African Peoples at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sub-Saharan-African-Peoples/100173880060607. Yes, it is on FB, but non-FB members can view the photos by simply scrolling down the page.
For more on the Islamic Call to Prayer, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhan .
To hear a bit of a call to prayer, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF2bf8hC_sU.
No comments:
Post a Comment