The
bright African sun reflects off the desert sand as sweat drips into his eyes.
He can scarcely see the faces surrounding him.
The men have rich olive skin with coffee-colored eyes and chocolate
hair; he can only see the dark brown eyes of the women- the rest of their
bodies are covered by black cloth.
Everything around him is dark - except the sun. It beats relentlessly. Josh and his wife, Liz, moved to
a 99.8% Muslim city in Africa a year ago, choosing to surround themselves with
these people in hope to share Christ with them.
Venturing into the Unknown, they left everything familiar behind to
become the only Americans for an eighteen hour radius. From the moment they stepped off the plane,
people noticed them. Liz, her long
brown hair hanging freely on her shoulders, and Josh in his new khaki pants,
stood out in the city of poor Muslims.
Some men kept their distance while most were receptive because “in their
view, you’re the American. You’re smart,
you’re rich, you have the American dream and you have chosen to take interest in
their lives and their culture.” Spending
over a year there and completely immersing themselves in the Islamic culture
brought this couple a different view on the people Americans so greatly
loathe.
Being
the only Americans, they were forced to learn and embrace Arabic. Every form of communication, besides talking
with their boss, was in Arabic. For Josh,
this was one of the most difficult parts of adjusting. “I’m not a language guru,” he sighed. “I
still struggle with the language. It also makes it hard to form relationships
when you can only speak certain words.” However they learned it because that was
the key to unlocking new friendships and insights to the Muslim thought
process. If, through this language, Josh and Liz could form new relationships with a people that are so demonized
by Americans, then they could overcome any obstacle the language presented. The people were patient with them. Laughter over misused words at the souq, the
local marketplace, brought about conversations and friendships that would not
have happened otherwise.
Culturally, the Muslims are governed by
all things Islam. “Everything they do is
Islamic to the core. The way they raise
their kids, the way that they do business is based on Islam.” Americans say that this is a terrible and
radical way of life. In some ways, there
are negative effects from the Islamic worldview and thoughts. Women are persecuted greatly. Men always eat
before the women and children. Perhaps the most recognizable degradation to
women is the covering, or jilab, they have to wear. The men cannot “control” themselves so women
cannot have any part of their body exposed in public. Besides his wife, Josh never saw a woman’s
head uncovered. “Not being able to walk
down the street and talk to a lady is really different from our culture.” Beating of women is a norm to the Muslims. If the woman does one thing wrong, men have
the right to hit them. Very rarely would Liz ever walk the streets by herself.
“In the few times I did go out by myself, I would cover my head and try
to blend in more.”
In contrast, while Americans focus on
their jobs and professions, the Muslims concentrate on relationships. “You could be invited over to someone’s house
for tea and end up staying three or four hours because it’s not about the time,
but the relationships.” Work and schedules are not priorities to them; rather,
the men will work in the mornings, then come home for a few hours for lunch
with their families and neighbors. The
interaction between people and friends govern their day to day lives. Although food is limited, Josh and Liz’s
neighbors would invite them to their houses almost daily to mingle at dinner
with their families. The evening would
often fade into night as conversations between friends were enjoyed over pots
of tea.
Because of their illiteracy, Muslims
tell stories of their families or of their religion in order to pass down their
traditions and wisdom. Much like in
Appalachia, oral storytelling imparts the history and beliefs of generations of
Muslims to younger family members. These times of socializing and bonding with
the locals provided perfect opportunities for Josh and Liz to tell
“stories” about their faith. Hoping to
share Christ in a way that was natural for their friends, Josh and Liz incorporated stories of the one Lamb who was slain to rescue everyone from a
terrible eternity. They also told
several simple Bible stories such as Noah’s Ark or Daniel and the Lion’s Den in
order to pique their interests in Christianity. Although the language continued
to pose a bit of a problem, their friends began asking pertinent questions
about why they believed in God and His Son.
Some chose to reject Josh’s answers because they did not align with
their Islamic faith held all of their lives.
Others would sit in quiet reflection, soaking in the new point of view
the strange English-speaking outsiders told.
Despite the danger that comes with turning from Islam, Josh could tell some
were hungry for more than their culture provided. The Bible stories bestowed a means to escape
a lifetime of Islamic culture and open their eyes to a new Hope.
Josh and Liz may consider their
struggle at language, the strange way of cooking, or people not relating to
their stories failures. When they moved, they realized they had to redefine
their definition of failure and success.
“If you’re scared of failure, you should never move overseas because you
fail every day.” Even though they were
incredibly afraid, they moved to the Muslim city in Africa daring to reinvent
the American thoughts of Muslims and to share the Gospel
with people who desperately need it. They
learned that there are many faults to the Islamic religious system. More importantly they learned that all
Muslims are not the radical terrorists Americans make them out to be. They require the exact same necessities Americans
do; they want to love and be loved and share in the everyday experience that is
Life.
