The Arabian Peninsula Partnership
The Gospel for every person and a church for every people in the Arabian Peninsula amongst indigenous peoples
December 1
Opportunities to share
Praise
Thank the Lord for those who come to minister to their friends who are working in this country. This week there are several groups who have come. Ask that as they travel around, seeing new sights, that they will develop a deep love for the people here and be able to communicate all that they have seen and learned to loved ones at home, when they return. Ask that more prayer support will come from their visit.
Prayer
Pray for the team in our country as another worker has been handed a letter ordering him to leave the country. This family has only been here 3 months; they have appealed but no definite answer has been given.
A number of Bangladeshi workers in our country have come to faith in just the last two weeks. At the same time, a Bangladeshi brother, young in faith, has returned here from Bangladesh, with new ministry connections in his native country. Pray that God will bring a mature, trained Bangladeshi to our country to pastor these new believers.
A widow was asking about the meaning of my childrens' names: Daniel and Esther. I told her the stories and she was listening eagerly. Pray that there will be more opportunities to talk also about Jesus. Pray for wisdom if I should give her a Bible.
Nearly all Christians in our land are from other countries. In particular, there are active churches that are seeing more and more Asians being saved. Pray the Christians here would be witnesses to Jesus' love and life in all they do.
As we approach the Christmas season, pray for the joy of the Lord to be obvious and contagious. Pray for conversations between believers and others about the true significance of Christmas. Pray that the materialism that is an export of the Western World would not crowd out the spread of the true Christmas story and God's gift to mankind.
Testimony
Recently I went on a short trip to my home country. God had really been working in some of my family members back home, and I felt so excited to hear the testimonies first hand. As I was flying by myself, I asked the Lord to arrange a seat for me next to someone who needed to hear the Gospel. As we boarded the plane, the seat next to me stayed empty for quite a while, and I was disappointed.
Then a big man walked in, dressed in thoob and prayer cap, with a big long beard, and squeezed into the empty seat next to me. Aware of Arab customs, I wondered how, as a young woman, I could talk to this kind of man.... that would be totally inappropriate! Soon after departure, food was served and in giving thanks for the food, I asked God to open a way for conversation. As I began my meal, the plastic cover on the food was stuck on. No matter how I tried, it just would not open.
Such a thing had never happened to me before! Then, there was a friendly voice next to me: "Can I help you?" And that's how the conversation started.
I was so certain that this was God's guidance, and it made me really bold. So, after a little small talk, we started to share about our faiths. When we came to the issue of Judgment day, I could tell that he had a lot of fear for that day. "You know, I don't have to be afraid of that day" I said, "Do you want to know why?" And he did! I shared the Gospel extensively, we had lots of time seated next to each other... He seemed to absorb everything I said. When we came to the end of our journey, the dear man said: "you know, this is a trip I will never forget." I asked him for his name, so I could remember him in prayer. He looked in his bag, found a small item, wrote his name on it, and gave it to me so I could remember him. "Lord, complete what You started in this man's heart! For the glory of Your Name! Amen."