Hey all,
Im so sorry that I didnt get to update you for the last few months. Outreach went so fast that it doesnt seem like it was that long. As many of you know i'm back in Maui, I arrived on Friday evening maui time - but it was saturday morning Bangladesh time. It took a total of 68 hours to get home from Dhaka, so i'm still greatly suffering from jet lag, and my body no longer likes western food, so physically my body is kinda on a rollercoaster.
After much time in Dhaka university, spending a week with Bihari children and working in the villages - i really haven't had much time to think about what we were doing. At the time I felt like I was just doing what i needed to. Make friends, tell them about Jesus - okay i think i can do that. It wasnt until I read the book "Jesus and Muhammad" that I truly understand the oppression and hardship that is keeping Bangladesh in bondage. The book compares the lives and messages of Muhammad and Jesus. My eyes were opened wide when I read about prayers and the fear of Allah that they had in their lives - there is no hope there. I have so many stories to share about my time in Bangladesh, and so many different experiences that are just completely random and weird but I want to share one that has really touched my life.
Me and two other girls from my team, Sarah and Hannah, were in the University making friends for a couple weeks together. We met a group of art students that we saw everyday and spent time with them just getting to know them and talk with them about who they are. This went on for about 1 1/2 weeks. I was getting very discouraged at this point because we were talking to a group of about 10 students and we really hadnt had a good open door to really share about our faith and share our testimonies. We were invited to a get together at a girl's house, Shampa, to hang out with everyone on the weekend. So... the day came to go, but there was nothing in me at all that wanted to go. I was just so discouraged and down hearted about the whole situation. All the other people on our team working in the university was always telling stories about how they shared their testimony and the 3 of us girls hadnt had one chance to. After much coaxing and pushing my leader got me to agree to go with Sarah and Hannah to this girls house. At this point i said "God, i'm done. I can't do this on my own strength, i need you to get through this day."
God totally came through that day! When we got to her house, she was the only one there. After an hour or so of just hanging out, we heard the Muslim call to prayer. It was our opportunity to ask her about her faith! It was incredible to hear her thoughts about Christianity and what her view was. Sarah and I went back and forth explaining the trinity, and how the analogy of God the Father and Jesus the Son works. We explained so much about the character of God and his forgiving heart. How he forgives sins, and how he himself was a sacrifice to us. That none of our sin can outweigh his sacrifice. The thing that touched her the most, where i could see her eyes sparkle with curiousity and excitement about our God was when I told her about my prayer life. I told here that I often argue with God about the little things in life, and how He likes to play games with me and tells me jokes. And that no matter how many times I argue with Him, and no matter how right I may think I am, I know that God is always right and He does not change. He is always the same, and He talks to me! I can pray throughout the day, and my prayer is not scripted - it's a conversation!
Yes, she's still a Muslim, but through our conversation, Sarah and I were able to show her the truth of Christianity and clear up a lot of lies that she heard about our faith. We were able to give her hope and take her a step forward to knowing the Saviour for herself.
I can't wait to tell you more stories of God's unending faithfulness that truly never ceases to surprise!
