Finally!
So, I've been sitting here for like 40 minutes, trying to get to this page so I could write! Holly went first today - and then the power went out - and I have soooo much I want to type - BUT we have to leave in like 20 minutes to go have lunch with Benedict. I'm really frustrated! This is the last day I will have to write a large blog (most likely) and argh!!!
So, I've noticed that I've been leaving out the spiritual component of what we've been doing. That's mostly because it's so hard to write about spiritual things when you are ready to throw the keyboard out the window, when 2 people are trying to talk to you as you are typing (we type at the YWCA behind the desk - the receptionists are always talking to me as I try to write!), AND when you are very limited in your time. It's just easier to type about what we did that day. But, I want to share with you what God has been doing. I just have to do it fast. :)
One of the things we have learned about Muslim culture is that their perception of who 'Allah' is is good in many ways. They have a deep reverence for him - and would dare not even think of alloting to him characteristics that would lessen his awesomeness. (We tend to be lacking a bit in the 'reverence' dept.) However, they have no closeness to him - no sense that he cares for them. They have no understanding of Christ - and what He did for them. They are a moral people - BUT - some are quite prone to lawlessness and corruption - for in their faith, two nights (all night long) of prayer a year wipes the slate clean for them. Therefore, many live thier life as they wish, only visiting a mosque twice a year. Sounds very familiar to our CEO Christians - those who visit church on Christmas and Easter Only.
In our devotional time with the staff at World Concern, Holly and I have inadvertandly covered the same topics over and over. She and I are taking turns leading the morning devotions - and we haven't really PLANNED on things coming out the way they have - so we know God has been at work through us. :) The topics we keep driving home are about Grace - God's gift so that we can KNOW Him. The fact that Christ is God. They only see him as a prophet. Side story: one night earlier in the week, one of the receptionists at the YWCA was reading some material that I thought was questionable. I advised him to be careful what he reads (he is a Christian) for sometimes lies can be cleverly disguised to look like the truth. He made the comment that Jesus was not the same as God. I ruffled. I finished my blog - told him I'd be back in a minute - then went upstairs to get my Bible and prepare to debate this with him. I asked Holly to pray for this - then I prepared my heart for what I thought was going to be a battle. Bangladeshis can be quite stubborn. :) I went back dowstairs, and we opened our Bibles together. I read from
Colossins 1:15-22
He is the image of the invisible God. The firstborn of all Creation. For by Him all things were created; things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers, or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
I John 5:20b
... and we are in Him who is true - even in His son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
I ask Milton - "who created the world?" He replies: 'God.' I say: "Colossians says that Christ created the earth. Colossians says that Jesus is God." He then says to me - so does I John 5:20 (he hadn't mentioned it until this point - I was talking first - go figure!) He says to me, 'see - Jesus is God.' I was confused for a second then realized: I had misunderstood his English - and we were trying to convince each other of the same thing. :) I loved that!!!
I read this same passage for devotions the next day. Trying to help the non-Christians in the room to see that Jesus was so much more than a prophet!!! Then the illustration of Grace - God's free gift to us that we have to take, just like taking a gift. I borrowed Matt's illustration of holding out some money (THAT got their attention!) and offered it to anyone who wanted it. When I asked who wanted it, 15 hands went up. But no one got out of their seat to come and get it! I repeated my question of 'who wants it?' several times, until finally someone understood that to get it - they had to get up and take it! What a good visual for them - a lot of people here come from Christian families - but the term 'Christian' can just mean that your great, great, great grandfather converted from being a muslim to being a Christian. It may not mean that you yourself have made the decision to follow Christ. Most have attended church at some point - and most know the story of Christ very well. But knowing someone has some money that they want to give you and actually getting off your tail and taking it are two different things. :) They say that they understand English just fine - and Holly and I try to speak very slowly and clearly and avoid slang - but sometimes all we get are blank expressions in return. We always have someone read the Bible passage in Bangla, so we know that they at least understand that.
We have also been trying to drive home the fact that God cares deeply and personally for EVERY person. I've read to them the Psalm (can't remember it at the moment) about being 'knit together in my mother's womb.' We have told how that once we have 'received Christ' we have the right to be called Children of God (somewhere in John.) That the passage in Colossians tells us that when covered with Christ's blood, God sees us as holy and blameless! How my faith has been lifted as I gain a fresh new understanding of all that has been done for me!!!
Two of the women we have wanted to interact with - two that we metioned after we first got here(Jihn Tu and Teetu) we have NOT had much chance to talk to. They usually don't come to devotions - and have not been very friendly. (I have currently taken over Jihn Tu's desk and booted her out of her office, so can't say I blame her for not being all smiles and giggles towards me!) However, the day we went to the national monument they both were at devotions! They both accompanied us to the national monument - and after breaking the ice with my question of whether or not they wanted to try palpating a cow - we were friends!!! Jihn Tu was one of the ones who helped Holly and I put on our Sharees. Just a small connection - one small step - but it is more than we expected. :) Thanks for your prayers.
Another side story: (I have time to write now - it's 8 hours later and I'm back at the YWCA - bad keyboard, but I'll persevere!) The day we went to the national monument, we visited a little 'fast food restaurant' across the street. They ordered us fried chicken sandwiches and Holly and I were thrilled! They looked just like Chick-Fil-A sandwiches! We bit in with gusto only to realize there were bones!!! This minor detail took some work... take the chicken off the bun, pull some meat off, put it back on the bun, then bite. :) The Bangladeshis, however, ate the sandwich - BONES AND ALL!!!! I don't quite understand that....
So, lunch with Benedict was good - we visited with several people there for many people live in the same house. One is a medical doctor - she just finished her internship and is looking for employment. One is a pastor - of the growing Bangladesh Christian Church - and both of them speak English very well. The doctor is trying to get a visa to the US - he parents already live there. Most of the educated people we have met are either in process or hope to be in process to apply for a visa to the US. It's remarkable - one girl told me of her brother who has his masters in computer science - and he drives a taxi in NYC - and is thrilled!!! He got his visa to the US via a lottery. The money he makes in NYC is enough to support him - and I'm pretty sure he sends some home. This is a very common story. Anyway - after lunch we were served a fruit drink - 'wood apple', water, and milk - it has made me quite ill. I had diarrhea for the first time since arriving here - and it was quite unfortunate that it hit while I was still in their house. I tried my best to contain it.... but I had to go! Fortunately, they did have a regular toilet (no squatty potty - for it is quite a feat to use a squatty potty in this get-up!) but alas, no toilet paper. Just a little pot full of water. Wash hands well. :) I still felt ill, though - and we went to Tripti's house for dinner. I explained to her my plight - and she understood. I only ate a little rice - but brought some food back to eat tomorrow.
So, to return from Tripti's house to the YWCA, we 3 women piled onto a rickshaw for a short distance, then flagged down a CNG. It's dark, and the first time we have been out in the dark with no male company. We didn't really want to be still very long - moving is good. The CNG was headed the wrong direction, however, so we needed to backtrack a little (very narrow streets) in order to find a place to turn around. He pulled forward into a large space with sand - however, the sand got deep, and as he stopped in order to go in reverse, he found himself to be stuck. He asked us to get out - and I did the most natural thing I could do - push. Holly helped me and we got him pushed back, then we pushed him forward onto the road again. When we got in, he exclaimed "Thank you, sisters! Very nice! Very nice!" Women here don't do things like that. :) Holly even commented to me "Leslie isn't one to just sit by and do nothing! Just jump right in!" We thought our fathers would be proud. :) We laughed about it after the fact - just another story for the blog. His headlights (and taillights and etc.) went out after 20 minutes or so, so our first night time CNG ride was a bit precarious. Fortunately, we didn't get hit. There are enough vehicles on the road to keep us visible.
Ok, off to bed. Maybe I can write tomorrow. Maybe not - we'll see.
So, I've noticed that I've been leaving out the spiritual component of what we've been doing. That's mostly because it's so hard to write about spiritual things when you are ready to throw the keyboard out the window, when 2 people are trying to talk to you as you are typing (we type at the YWCA behind the desk - the receptionists are always talking to me as I try to write!), AND when you are very limited in your time. It's just easier to type about what we did that day. But, I want to share with you what God has been doing. I just have to do it fast. :)
One of the things we have learned about Muslim culture is that their perception of who 'Allah' is is good in many ways. They have a deep reverence for him - and would dare not even think of alloting to him characteristics that would lessen his awesomeness. (We tend to be lacking a bit in the 'reverence' dept.) However, they have no closeness to him - no sense that he cares for them. They have no understanding of Christ - and what He did for them. They are a moral people - BUT - some are quite prone to lawlessness and corruption - for in their faith, two nights (all night long) of prayer a year wipes the slate clean for them. Therefore, many live thier life as they wish, only visiting a mosque twice a year. Sounds very familiar to our CEO Christians - those who visit church on Christmas and Easter Only.
In our devotional time with the staff at World Concern, Holly and I have inadvertandly covered the same topics over and over. She and I are taking turns leading the morning devotions - and we haven't really PLANNED on things coming out the way they have - so we know God has been at work through us. :) The topics we keep driving home are about Grace - God's gift so that we can KNOW Him. The fact that Christ is God. They only see him as a prophet. Side story: one night earlier in the week, one of the receptionists at the YWCA was reading some material that I thought was questionable. I advised him to be careful what he reads (he is a Christian) for sometimes lies can be cleverly disguised to look like the truth. He made the comment that Jesus was not the same as God. I ruffled. I finished my blog - told him I'd be back in a minute - then went upstairs to get my Bible and prepare to debate this with him. I asked Holly to pray for this - then I prepared my heart for what I thought was going to be a battle. Bangladeshis can be quite stubborn. :) I went back dowstairs, and we opened our Bibles together. I read from
Colossins 1:15-22
He is the image of the invisible God. The firstborn of all Creation. For by Him all things were created; things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers, or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
I John 5:20b
... and we are in Him who is true - even in His son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
I ask Milton - "who created the world?" He replies: 'God.' I say: "Colossians says that Christ created the earth. Colossians says that Jesus is God." He then says to me - so does I John 5:20 (he hadn't mentioned it until this point - I was talking first - go figure!) He says to me, 'see - Jesus is God.' I was confused for a second then realized: I had misunderstood his English - and we were trying to convince each other of the same thing. :) I loved that!!!
I read this same passage for devotions the next day. Trying to help the non-Christians in the room to see that Jesus was so much more than a prophet!!! Then the illustration of Grace - God's free gift to us that we have to take, just like taking a gift. I borrowed Matt's illustration of holding out some money (THAT got their attention!) and offered it to anyone who wanted it. When I asked who wanted it, 15 hands went up. But no one got out of their seat to come and get it! I repeated my question of 'who wants it?' several times, until finally someone understood that to get it - they had to get up and take it! What a good visual for them - a lot of people here come from Christian families - but the term 'Christian' can just mean that your great, great, great grandfather converted from being a muslim to being a Christian. It may not mean that you yourself have made the decision to follow Christ. Most have attended church at some point - and most know the story of Christ very well. But knowing someone has some money that they want to give you and actually getting off your tail and taking it are two different things. :) They say that they understand English just fine - and Holly and I try to speak very slowly and clearly and avoid slang - but sometimes all we get are blank expressions in return. We always have someone read the Bible passage in Bangla, so we know that they at least understand that.
We have also been trying to drive home the fact that God cares deeply and personally for EVERY person. I've read to them the Psalm (can't remember it at the moment) about being 'knit together in my mother's womb.' We have told how that once we have 'received Christ' we have the right to be called Children of God (somewhere in John.) That the passage in Colossians tells us that when covered with Christ's blood, God sees us as holy and blameless! How my faith has been lifted as I gain a fresh new understanding of all that has been done for me!!!
Two of the women we have wanted to interact with - two that we metioned after we first got here(Jihn Tu and Teetu) we have NOT had much chance to talk to. They usually don't come to devotions - and have not been very friendly. (I have currently taken over Jihn Tu's desk and booted her out of her office, so can't say I blame her for not being all smiles and giggles towards me!) However, the day we went to the national monument they both were at devotions! They both accompanied us to the national monument - and after breaking the ice with my question of whether or not they wanted to try palpating a cow - we were friends!!! Jihn Tu was one of the ones who helped Holly and I put on our Sharees. Just a small connection - one small step - but it is more than we expected. :) Thanks for your prayers.
Another side story: (I have time to write now - it's 8 hours later and I'm back at the YWCA - bad keyboard, but I'll persevere!) The day we went to the national monument, we visited a little 'fast food restaurant' across the street. They ordered us fried chicken sandwiches and Holly and I were thrilled! They looked just like Chick-Fil-A sandwiches! We bit in with gusto only to realize there were bones!!! This minor detail took some work... take the chicken off the bun, pull some meat off, put it back on the bun, then bite. :) The Bangladeshis, however, ate the sandwich - BONES AND ALL!!!! I don't quite understand that....
So, lunch with Benedict was good - we visited with several people there for many people live in the same house. One is a medical doctor - she just finished her internship and is looking for employment. One is a pastor - of the growing Bangladesh Christian Church - and both of them speak English very well. The doctor is trying to get a visa to the US - he parents already live there. Most of the educated people we have met are either in process or hope to be in process to apply for a visa to the US. It's remarkable - one girl told me of her brother who has his masters in computer science - and he drives a taxi in NYC - and is thrilled!!! He got his visa to the US via a lottery. The money he makes in NYC is enough to support him - and I'm pretty sure he sends some home. This is a very common story. Anyway - after lunch we were served a fruit drink - 'wood apple', water, and milk - it has made me quite ill. I had diarrhea for the first time since arriving here - and it was quite unfortunate that it hit while I was still in their house. I tried my best to contain it.... but I had to go! Fortunately, they did have a regular toilet (no squatty potty - for it is quite a feat to use a squatty potty in this get-up!) but alas, no toilet paper. Just a little pot full of water. Wash hands well. :) I still felt ill, though - and we went to Tripti's house for dinner. I explained to her my plight - and she understood. I only ate a little rice - but brought some food back to eat tomorrow.
So, to return from Tripti's house to the YWCA, we 3 women piled onto a rickshaw for a short distance, then flagged down a CNG. It's dark, and the first time we have been out in the dark with no male company. We didn't really want to be still very long - moving is good. The CNG was headed the wrong direction, however, so we needed to backtrack a little (very narrow streets) in order to find a place to turn around. He pulled forward into a large space with sand - however, the sand got deep, and as he stopped in order to go in reverse, he found himself to be stuck. He asked us to get out - and I did the most natural thing I could do - push. Holly helped me and we got him pushed back, then we pushed him forward onto the road again. When we got in, he exclaimed "Thank you, sisters! Very nice! Very nice!" Women here don't do things like that. :) Holly even commented to me "Leslie isn't one to just sit by and do nothing! Just jump right in!" We thought our fathers would be proud. :) We laughed about it after the fact - just another story for the blog. His headlights (and taillights and etc.) went out after 20 minutes or so, so our first night time CNG ride was a bit precarious. Fortunately, we didn't get hit. There are enough vehicles on the road to keep us visible.
Ok, off to bed. Maybe I can write tomorrow. Maybe not - we'll see.
posted by Leslie @ 12:55 AM
1 Comments:
At 1:10 PM,
Addabaj said…
Dr. Brown,
I've really enjoyed your blog. Visit my blog from Bangladesh
www.addabas.blogspot.com
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