Hello friends and family!
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement, there has been much evidence that God is hearing and answering! So please keep them coming! I am excited to share the events of our day. Today was the first day we got to head to the neighborhood we have been praying and preparing for, for the last 3 months. We were anxious and excited and could not wait to get out there. Before we got to the neighborhood, the day started with a prayer time on Roy’s porch over looking the mountains. Phyl shared a verse she had recently read and felt it was one God was sharing with the group. The verse God had for us was Colossians 4:2-6, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
These words pinned many of our anxieties: What if they don’t open the door? What if I don’t know what to say or say the wrong thing? But God was clearly evident and it was a blast to be apart of his plan and work today! Our mission today was to hand out invitations for a barbeque hosted by Quatier Libre (a group that works with kids in this poor neighborhood) and also ask to pray for the families. There were 3 groups of 2 team members and one translator going door to door handing out invitations and the 2 other groups of two team members prayer walking around the neighborhood praying for doors to be opened, open hearts and open minds. As Doug and I walked past one group it looked as though they were not going to get in, but as we were praying for them God literally opened the door and the group was able to continue with their mission. Praise God!
When it was our turn to go in and hand out invitations, Doug and I were blessed to be welcomed into a home. This woman (We will call her F) was a single mother of 5, kind, welcoming, and an incredibly gracious hostess. She brought out coffee, water, and Tunisian cakes that were “made from the heart.” When asked how we could pray for her, she brought up the struggles of racism that exist that she and her family experience. Her children work hard to find jobs but because of the racism, they are often skipped over in the application process. As we continued talking with her she shared that her sins would have to be punished and that our religions were very similar. We could not have asked for a better transition! We were able to share with her the assurance, love and peace that we experience in Jesus Christ.
While we were there, F received a call from her daughter informing her mother that she had been accepted into the nursing program! Being a nurse myself I could barely contain my excitement for this family, how difficult a task it is to get into nursing school as well as to overcome racism. Another blessing was the fact that F was not alone when she got the call but rather got to celebrate with more people, only God could orchestrate such incredible things. We then prayed for F, her sick mother, the racism, her daughter, and that she would be able to make it to the barbeque on Sunday. When we were getting ready to leave she shared with us how she felt we had brought light into her home and that earlier that day she had asked Allah to send someone. She has asked us to return and we are praying for an opportunity to continue to share!
My apologies for the long post but God has been incredibly evident in this trip, it sometimes hard to hold back! Again thank you for your prayers and support! God is on the move in Grenoble!