Muslim woman encounters Jesus’ love

I do not abandon those who have been abandoned

Go to the lost and unseen 

Trust Me, feed my sheep 

Sit with the lost and abandoned 

Pray brave prayers, do brave things 

 

The words above He spoke before this month. Lived out today by His Grace and Power alone. 

There was a woman named D.

Three times of a man in Islam saying the word divorce, and it will be a divorce.

He said it 3 times over the past year or so.

It left her single.

She cried to us, I’m an idiot.

I have to be strong for my daughter.

But I don’t want to be a woman at 30 two times divorced.

The night before several of our minds were on our waitress friend from the restaurant – D.

In the morning we happened to walk by her, and she told us to come visit her.

Then, Cole sensed that it might be time for her to open up, and therefore the boys should stay back.

So us three girls went. All entirely different. All a part of the same loving Body.

 

She had three hearts and eyes with undivided attention and love on her. 

We told her it’s not an accident we are here now. 

 

After building relationship with her over the weeks, she opened up quickly today that she had been crying all day. 

 

We listened. She had a genuine heart after God. Even if it wasn’t after our God; God saw her genuine seeking and her genuine need. She was ready. 

Got to share with her the story of John 4. First, she said oh we believe in Jesus; he’s just a prophet.

We got to share how Jesus went out of His way to dignify a woman who had been divorced 5 times. How He gave her water to drink. He told her she could worship Him in Spirit and in truth. That this woman who had so much shame would go on to tell a whole village about Jesus. 

 

Her eyes were fixed into the story. The hunger was clear. Her heart was being touched at the deepest part.

And we got to give her a Bible tonight. We wrote her name and verses on it. 

 

She says “God loves me so much!!” That’s what she felt in that moment. 

This day there was streets, crowds of souls. The large majority rarely if not ever heard about Jesus’ love for them. They were beings made in the image. Their long faces, wide eyes, ancient clothing and tradition. Russians tongues. Wrinkled ladies hijabs. Old men wearing tall hats with circular blue designs. Middle-aged men wore square beards around their broad faces. Women and girls walked with style and detail. I’d never seen a culture like this one. Fascinating the beauty the Lord has filled the Earth with.  

She said that we made her day; we made her week; we made her month. She said get everyone to pray for me. She said this a gift, this is a treasure to me. “This is more than my Quran or my other books, because this is a special gift for me.”

 

We told her it’s where we get our strength. That this Word is living and active. That Jesus made our hearts new and gave us love. That she could pray to Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit – that water that will make her never thirst. 

 

She said she’d share with her daughter this Bible. She took a picture of us with the Bible and the note inside. She went on to tell her friend later that night. A modern day woman at the well who Jesus sat with today. Loved with an extravagant love that came from the Jesus that crosses all cultural norms 2000 years ago and still today.

Now she’d go tell everyone. 

Then we show up to a packed house for English club. Got to do portraits of the locals, after thinking about the conversation earlier with my fellow creative and feeler teammate. That creativity and craftsmanship weren’t to be hoarded but to be used to release others into freedom.

The one who has been trying to hear the Lord’s voice, heard it more tonight. N, daughter of God on-fire for the Lord. She felt like she was supposed to stay. So she did. She began to cry as she told us her shame for thoughts she had been having. We surrounded her in prayer. The one who lost her mom and fled her dad due to her faith; she said she felt loved and protected tonight.

 

Because she was.

Then we worshipped and ate the flesh and the broken Body of Jesus Christ to remember why we’re at this table, in this country in the first place. As God brought miracles (we’ve seen two miraculous healings this month) and redemption through us, we’d remember that it was all because of what He paid on that Old Rugged Cross.

Then we’d lay down before each other our joys and our pains, the painful cost and the abundant reward of the Narrow Way. Brothers and sisters in Christ seeing   h o w   H e    l o v e s

 

Pray for our last week and a half here. For believers getting ready to tell their family about their faith. For the opportunity we have tonight of sharing the Gospel with students. For all the relationships we’ve been utterly amazed by. For all of us as our hearts break leaving these beautiful people and this beautiful month.