Thursday, February 28, 2008 

Fun With Football

One day as I was wandering around near my neighborhood I saw a big advertisement for a free sports school. They offered football, table tennis, normal tennis, dancing, aerobics, basketball, and a bunch of other courses as well. Being a fan of both sports and free stuff, I decided to go apply.

I found the building the sign described and went in and talked with the head guy. After talking with him a few minutes, it went down like this:

Free Sports School Head Honcho Guy to me- "Well, you're too old and you don't live in the right part of town to join this school. But, since you're a foreigner I'll let you in."

Yes!! It's about time my foreignness got me something more than strange looks and dumb George Bush comments.

When I told the Head Guy I wanted to join the football course, he warned me that there wasn't a football course with people my age in it, but he assured me "they're really close to your age."

So, I showed up Saturday at 8 in the morning (I go the extra mile for sports and free stuff) ready to train and play. Turns out the course is composed of a group of 15-year-olds and me, the weird 24-year-old foreign guy.


It could've been worse, I guess.

To be honest, I really enjoyed the hour we spent together. We did a bunch of drills and then played a match. My lack of football skills makes me and the other guys equal on the field. They can dribble, pass, shoot, and play defense, while I can bully them around with my size advantage.

The course met Saturday and Sunday, and I enjoyed both days. I'll probably go back this weekend, too. Should I stick with this course? What do you guys think?

1:18 PM | |

Monday, February 18, 2008 

Another Encouraging Call to Prayer

I met with Ozzie today, and I was pretty anxious about it. (Yes, I know, Ozzie is a ridiculous name, but at least it stays with you). He had been asking about baptism, but I wasn't sure if he knew what he was doing. I didn't know if he truly understood the gospel, and I wasn't sure that he accepted who Jesus is according to the Bible.

Ozzie is a 20-year-old single guy who lives in my city. He's hoping to start university this fall, and is gearing up to take the entrance test. (The school system here is a little weird, I'll have to explain it one day). A common friend of ours introduced us, and from the moment I met him I was excited. He was reading the Word on his own and was genuinely excited to learn more.

We've been meeting together for a couple of months, and it's pretty clear God is working in Ozzie. We've read through Matthew together, and we've talked about some of the spiritual disciplines. He reads the Word and prays on his own every day, and he is sharing truth with everybody he comes across. Praise God!!!

But, we had not really talked about who Jesus is. That, after all, is the stumbling block for like 90% of the people here. Plus, as a wise American friend told me, his actions don't mean squat if he does not believe and understand the gospel. So I decided to go straight at it today.

Ozzie and I met, and I asked him, "Who is Jesus?"

Ozzie replied, "Jesus is the shepherd who shows us the way."

That's a good answer, but not exactly what I was looking for. So, we went to the Word. I made a point never to say the words "Jesus is God." Instead, we read Daniel 7, Isaiah 6, Isaiah 9:6, and the 4 or 5 places in John where it's pretty obvious who Jesus is. After reading Thomas' confession in John 20, I asked him again. Then he looked at me and said, "Jesus is God."

I had a hallelujah moment in my mind, and then we discussed the trinity, how God is 3 and 1. We looked at Matthew 4 where Jesus was baptized and then Acts. And as far as I can tell, Ozzie understood and believed. Praise God!!! The triune nature of God is a big, big stumbling block around these parts.

After that I asked him to explain the gospel. He explained it pretty well, then asked me again why he couldn't be baptized. I couldn't think of a single good reason. Praise God!!!

Please join with me in prayer for Ozzie.

1:59 PM | |

Saturday, February 16, 2008 

An Encouraging Call to Prayer

I love my neighbor Eric. He's a 23-year-old guy studying economics at university. He's pretty straight-laced, always sporting a button-up shirt (even on Saturdays) and a clean-shaven face. We hang out a lot, mostly in coffee houses. He told me a story one day last year that was pretty amazing.

When Eric was 9 years old he saw one guy give another guy a New Testament. The guy that received the NT threw it in the trash can. Eric went over to the trash can and dug the NT out, and has kept it to this day.

That's not to say that Eric is a believer. He reads the Bible on his own, we read it together pretty often, but he is still a Muslim in his own words. He doesn't accept the Bible's claim that Jesus is God. He has hit the stumbling block hard.

For a couple of months we studied a lot together, and he asked a lot of good and hard questions. We quit, though, when he had a couple of weeks of final exams. After those couple of weeks, Eric didn't seem as interested as before. We still hung out, we still talked, but he just didn't seem interested in the Bible or religion or anything of the sort. I was a little discouraged, but I kept praying for him.

We met again a few days ago, and he told me he's been reading. We talked about what it means to believe, and what God does when someone believes. Eric asked me a lot about sin, and why I don't do it like everybody else. I told him God changed me when I believed, and He helps me. Then the conversation went kind of like this:

Eric - "Why doesn't God change me? I read, I pray sometimes."

Me - "Do you believe?"

Eric - "I believe the Bible is holy."

Me - "I have to ask you: Who's Jesus?"

Eric - (Sighs) "All my life I've been taught Jesus was just a prophet. All my life I've been taught the Bible has been changed and distorted. Then you come along and tell me differently. If you were in my place, wouldn't it be hard?"

Me - "Yeah, it'd be hard."

Eric - "I want God to change me like He changed you. You don't have sex, you don't do the junk others do. But it's hard to believe."


Wow. If he meant what he said, God is working in him. He feels a need to change, and he sees that God is the one that works that change. Praise God!! He is working over here, and he is working in Eric's life! I've been praying for Eric with new joy and new passion. Please join with me in prayer for him.

1:36 PM | |

Sunday, February 03, 2008 

Fun With Food

My friend Lance came over the other day and we decided to make some dinner together. I started making scrambled eggs (mainly because that's all I know how to make), but Lance stopped me and told me he had a better idea. He mixed the eggs together in a bowl, then dipped pieces of bread in the egg mixture and cooked the bread on the stove. Then we ate the egg-bread thing with thousand island salad dressing. I was pretty impressed, thinking I had learned some local recipe. I was telling an American friend about it the next day, and he told me it was french toast. Go figure.

8:29 AM | |

Saturday, February 02, 2008 

Praise God!!

Sorry for the lack of posts, things have been picking up over here. 3 cool things have happened here in the past few weeks.

First, praise God that 2 different people made professions of faith the past few weeks!!! One is a 20-year-old guy who is starting university this year, the other is a 50-something-year-old retired man.

Now making a profession of faith is not a sure-fire guarantee that God has called them and saved them. Their lives will show that over time as they persevere or not. But, praise God that He is active and working in this country. He is calling people out of darkness.

Second, as an overseas guy with my company I've been taking language tests to see where I'm at and to encourage me to keep studying and working at it. A few days ago I got the result from my last language test, and I found that I've tested out! Praise God for the gift of language that He gives!

Third, my roommate (i.e. the guy living in my apartment for a couple of weeks as he passes through) had some friends come from the States last week. He put a good word in for me, and they brought 6 pounds of Cheez-Its and 12 pounds of creamy peanut butter! Praise God for Cheez-Its and peanut butter!

9:44 AM | |