It was a cold snowy morning in Central Asia; we had gathered students that had been coming to our English classes from several universities around the city. The students had the day off for celebrating the Muslim holiday Eid-al-Adha, which is their most honored holiday because it is the day they sacrifice sheep for the forgiveness of their sins they have committed over the past year.
As I walked into our English center I was amazed by all the students that had come that morning to meet with us! They had two days off for the holiday. The previous morning we had a "game-day" in order to lighten the mood for what we had planned for this particular morning, when we would be talking to the students about the five languages of love.
When men walk into a room it is cultural to shake all the other men's hands. As I glanced around the room I recognized all the other guys, except one. His arms were crossed and he was slouched in his chair with a light blue toboggan on; he seemed as though he had been drug their unwillingly. I usually approach new people first to make them feel as comfortable as possible; so he was the first person I greeted that morning.
As I made my way around the room shaking the others hands I ended up at a different table from the new student who had caught my attention. When we transitioned into the main topic we realized the groups were too big. After splitting up the groups, I ended up, unintentionally, at the table with the student who I had met earlier. As we walked through the five different points each person in the group had a chance to share something in the last week where they had shown love or been shown love. When the time came around to this young man he sad up in his chair and said "You probably won't believe me, but I killed fifty sheep on Sunday for Allah and we gave more than half of the meet away to the poor"
As he sat there in his self righteousness, I began to ask question as if I had no idea about this holiday. After he finished, I felt the Lord pressing so hard that I couldn't keep my mouth closed when it was my turn to share. Respect is a big deal here; so my first words were, "I respect what you did and giving to the poor is a great thing." Then I shared how I experienced the forgiveness of my sins on a daily basis because of the ultimate sacrifice for me when Christ hung on the cross and I no longer have to kill sheep to earn my way and favor with God.
Although there was some tension in the air, I was prompted by the Spirit to respond to what this student had said about his faith and forgiveness of sin. Four students were able to hear about ultimate forgiveness and having a personal relationship with the living God. Opportunities like these are bringing us closer to all the nations hearing truth.
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