If you live in America and want to be more actively, physically involved in work overseas, you might wonder how much you can really do when you’re continents away from the Hui.
My family’s life here is a living, breathing, walking, talking testimony to what you can REALLY do and how it REALLY makes a difference in how we serve in our community.
However, sometimes we also work. This time, I mean an actual job—something we are committed (or contracted) to, something that earns money, something that can actually pull us away from that other work I mentioned first.
I firmly believe that the Lord gives us specific skill sets that he intends to use for His ultimate purpose. He provides ways for us to improve and grow those skills. I can’t imagine that the Lord would plan our lives so specifically and then not put us in a position to use the gifts He has given!
“I was born this way”
The other day, I was having a conversation with a sweet Hui friend and was reminded of Lady Gaga (bear with me). It may seem like a weird connection, mostly because it is, but it just helped me to understand something, hopefully it will help you understand a little more too.
Often when we are struggling with a trial we feel the need to suppress our emotions or to “tough it out.” Granted, there is something to be said about putting things in perspective. Certain things really are not worth crying about if you can help it. However, on the other hand, the world really is broken. There is sin and suffering in the world that ought not to be. Even though the sadness a child feels after dropping an ice cream cone is not as devastating as she might think at the time, the fact remains that it is still a little bit sad, and it’s OK to say that.
After sharing with several Hui friends and acquaintances here in our city, I’ve encountered an interesting, and admittedly very frustrating, phenomenon. It seems that no matter how much I try to emphasize and articulate the clear differences between salvation by faith alone in Christ and what I have just been told about Islam and good works, the response is almost always the same, “Yes, we believe the same thing.” I cringe each time I hear this…
It is common for people to feel overwhelmed. We can feel overwhelmed with huge life issues such as the death of a loved one or we can be overwhelmed with smaller issues like that quiz that you forgot that you had tomorrow morning.
Doing work among Muslims can be overwhelming sometimes. The Hui. 15 million people. Most of them have never heard the Gospel. Their huge micromanaging government, their several-thousand-year-old culture, their friends and their family all discourage them from believing in Christ.