ShaoShao scrubs the potatoes clean, peels and shreds them before his wife tosses them in vinegar in the large wok over the fire. Then he runs across the street to buy the next vegetables needed for the following 3 people that walked into his Halal Restaurant. It would be foolish to purchase the vegetables ahead of time just in case they go bad before anyone else orders something requiring them.
This is his every day. Buy. Sell. Serve. Scrub. Rinse. Repeat.
During Ramadan it’s the hardest, the delicious scents from his restaurant kitchen wafting through the air remind him of his empty belly, his fasting that will hopefully show that he’s a good Muslim. He’s far too busy to ever attend prayers at the Mosque; closing down for even one day is financially not possible. So he works hard. He decorates his restaurant with pictures of Mecca. He doesn’t eat pork, doesn’t smoke. He fasts during Ramadan. He wears his white cap like a good Hui Muslim should.
Of course, all of this is empty. His searching, his perseverance, all in vain until he knows of Jesus Christ, the final sacrifice, making a way for him to have a relationship with the God of creation.
Pray
- Pray these workers’ vain busyness will help them realize that there’s no way to work their way toward salvation.
- Pray for Christian customers in these restaurants to sew threads of hope and truth every time they eat there.
**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.