Mahmed spends his days attending school next to the local mosque in his village. He’s taught to recite the prayers. He’s not interested in what he’s memorizing, but at least he gets to see his friends and be away from the chores of his household. He has one more year of Middle School left and after that he’ll stay home and help his father farm their fields and care for their sheep. He doesn’t like school that much but at least it’s kept him out of the fields most days.
He’ll also be expected to start attending Friday prayers at the Mosque with his father. He knows being a good Muslim is important but now that he’s getting older he’ll be expected to fast during Ramadan as well. They don’t eat pork, they pray when expected to, and he knows his parents expect him to obey what the Koran teaches, even though he’s never read it.
Pray
- Pray for teenagers like Mahmed who carry the weight of familial expectations.
- Pray that during their teen years as they’re searching for answers to who they are that they’ll hear the truth of Jesus Christ.
**All names have been changed and the picture is not of the storyteller in order to protect the identities of those who have shared their stories and lives with us over the years.