Noodles at Night
Meeting Joshua
It was in early September, just as the summer heat began to die down and the cool fall air was rejuvenating life in our city. We were on our way to a nearby university to play frisbee in hope of meeting some students, and we decided to stop for dinner at a restaurant owned by a man from our people group. Students were still returning for the new school year and the streets were not quite as feverishly busy as they would be in the coming days. My wife and our sons had only just arrived when I had gotten out of my taxi along with my mentor to walk the rest of the way to the store front. When we got there the familiar faces of the owners we had greeted many times were gone. Now there was a new family with young welcoming parents and a son just about the age as our boys. Hui are hospitable but not typically very open to outsiders, yet this new couple welcomed us to their restaurant like we were long lost friends.
The owner’s wife and my own quickly began talking and did not seem to stop to take a breath, and our older son started playing with the owner’s son. The became friends barely stopping to eat. After finishing my own meal, I stepped outside to check on the children and came back in to see my mentor and the restaurant owner, Joshua, talking away about the struggles of coming from a poor part of the country and trying to live in our city and find a school for his son. After we had talked for sometime we realized that it was nearly time to meet with a teacher friend of mine to play frisbee at the nearby college. As we tried to leave, Joshua kept pursuing talking with us and asked if we would come back the next day in the evening to talk more. We gladly accepted his invitation and agreed to come back the next day. His wife was equally enthusiastic as she asked my wife to come back anytime.
The Next Night
The next day when we arrived back, this time at night, the restaurant was still busy, and Joshua was on the phone taking care of business. My mentor and I stood outside unsure of what we should do, but Joshua soon recognized us and came out to offer us a chair to sit on while we waited for him to finish up. We were uncertain what to expect of that evening, not knowing if this would be a short visit or if we would be talking through the majority of the night. Joshua soon came out and set up a table and chairs on the sidewalk, and insisted on giving us food despite the fact that we had already eaten. I was impressed by his cross-cultural awareness as he asked if we had a similar custom of giving visitors food and drink when they come to visit. Thinking of how my own mother greets guests, I told him that my hometown had a very similar practice.
We were soon talking about our experiences as fathers, and our experiences with our own fathers. He had had a troubled relationship with his own father, and endured many hardships from this relationship and the difficult conditions of his childhood. I shared with him about my father’s testimony, his struggles during childhood and how coming to Christ in late high school radically transformed his life. We discussed the prophets and our varying versions of the story of Adam and creation. My mentor told him about the Bible’s version of the story and some of what Christ did and taught. Joshua politely told us that he was scared to read the Bible because he did not want to be led astray. My mentor was able to show Joshua using an app that the Quran says Muslims should ask those who have the Scriptures before when they have questions. This put Joshua at greater ease concerning discussing what the Bible says.
We were then able to more fully discuss the Muslim and Christian understandings of Christ, and we were able to talk to him about how it was not a likeness of Jesus on the cross, but Jesus himself…because Jesus’ death had a purpose. That as even the prophets who were good men, they themselves were not perfect, and thus had to sacrifice a perfect lamb to atone for their sins and receive the punishment they deserve. Yet even this solution was flawed as men carried on this practice but did not have repentance in their hearts. So God sent Jesus who was perfect and had perfect power to be the final perfect sacrifice, so that if we believe in Christ we can be forgiven and have a relationship with God repaired. Joshua seemed to understand what we said and even seemed to think it reasonable. He was sad that my mentor was leaving to go back home soon, but invited me to come back and talk with him.
Please Pray
Please pray for Joshua that he and his family will come to recognize that Jesus is the one and only answer for all people, and they too need to accept Him. Pray that Joshua and his family will be a house of peace that will open up their community for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for provision for education opportunities for his son, and for good housing options in our city.
Written by William Raines