Hey, y'all.....

About 4 yrs. ago, I invited a man from the A country who spoke almost no English to trade language lessons. (For safety, I'll call him R but that isn't even his initial.) The forever THEME is KINGDOM but my custom is to always follow my friends as they initiate/stop spiritual dialogue. R gradually revealed a curiosity about Jesus. Then he revealed that he often listened Gospel radio while living temporarily as a refugee in the country next door! Matt. 11:15

Fast forwarding to the night before the anti-democratic movement took over his country, R told me that he was flat broke after all of his bills & that he had no $ to send his brother (whom I will call S......also not his initial) & his family......(this is a real source of shame for people in that religion who live here.....as their relatives often presume they're rich). Like so many in his country, S had lost his job & was soon to face hunger due to imminent food shortages. I volunteered $100. Then, R determined to stretch his budget & match that. He wired $200 that night. The family had enough to eat for quite a while!

In early July, R asked me to teach him the Bible! (We've been getting together w/another American friend for DMM studies & help w/his citizenship test q's.) Then, a few weeks later, he told me that S (who'd recently fled to the country next door), had "taken a bath"! Recently, I was able to find them a safer place to stay through a Christian org. We will keep sending him what he needs as long as needed. I'm a tightwad & want to get bang for my Kingdom buck. My level of generosity is not astonishing......but very strategic. I'll never claim that the $100 was THE thing that brought this man into the Kingdom, but I love being part of the Lord's ongoing story! 

Below is a photo of S "taking a bath"! His wife also took a bath! R is waiting on his visa to visit his bro in that host country. Wouldn't it be awesome if S gives R a bath when he visits???  S's host country is also a hard place for believers.   

In memory of Ali: 

A brother in the Lord, Ali, suddenly passed on September 6. He'd left that "other Abrahamic religion"  5 or 6 yrs. ago. Providentially, I was in the middle of a DMM study w/R on my back porch when I got the call. Breaking my rule, I seized the rare opp & initiated questions. I asked him if he were ready to meet God.....He said, "I'm 80% sure because of my good works". R is a very good man by human standards, even housing & feeding a recent arrival in his basement free of charge for 2 months. I asked him to imagine what would happen if S came here w/o exchanging the currency he's been using into dollars.......& then trying to pay for something in a store w/it....I said, "In America, you have to use dollars, right?" He agreed. I told him that God also has a diff currency for entering heaven & does not accept our good works in place of it. We then read Isaiah 64:6 (....our righteousness is like filthy rags) & Isaiah 55:8-9.....(For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.....etc.) 

I also told him, "Just as you want me to remove my dirty shoes when I come into your house (their custom), God wants us to take off our dirty shoes when we come into His. But, it's actually much worse. We're 100% dirty!" He said, "I think about 50%".....I said, "Ok....50%. So, can I come into your house w/one clean & one dirty shoe? If I have money for your brother & insist on putting it on the kitchen table....without taking off my shoes when I come in......that would insult you, right?" Pray for R. So close to the Kingdom. 


Below is a video of Ali's testimony. He was eulogized by an odd but compelling assortment......A couple of well-groomed people who looked like nice Church folk & a former heroin addict in a t-shirt (who's also now a nice Church folk!) got up to speak. There were maybe 125 in attendance & the pastor asked people to raise their hands if Ali had ever shared the Gospel w/them. About 40 hands went up. Later, the pastor told me that his sister had requested that nothing be said against his former religion......but that when Ali "took a bath" in front of the Church, he went off script & boldly RENOUNCED his former religion!!!!! 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PDxlgwhGicF_YsDNuyrYXzFikihmCxy_/view
​
For more English lessons, spiritual baths, redeeming sorrow.....and the nations.....

​......Just another witness to His Glory

Hello, friends.....
On 3/26, 4 friends & I launched our 1st English class in the home of a family out of whose tribe rose the insurgent organization. Obviously, there was a special hatred for that organization as the patriarch fought in the resistance. He's forged from 1001% pure grit. After a partial leg amputation & prosthetic, he was back on the field, facing the enemy again! Had they been caught, they'd have been slaughtered. One of his many other health issues was an abscessed tooth, leaving his left cheek throbbing in swollen pain. 
1 of our friends mentioned a dentist who'd "likely extract it for a nominal fee". Taking this hero to his appointment was a high honor.  We got that sucker yanked 2-3 days before the season of the fast, making that time more bearable, I'm sure. Soon afterwards, some folks from another ministry asked on a zoom if anyone knew a dentist. The good doctor now does 2 procedures weekly for an 80% discount! The ministry schedules everything & pays the balance! 
A friend whom I'd only met 2 wks prior also joined us. His nickname is Aerialist Bro....or "AB"....(I'll explain). A cousin of the family (whom I will call M) was there that day & became our liaison. AB & I texted M, offering to buy him dinner so he could tell us how we could best serve them. A few days later, M was apparently unaware that he was on the group text when he asked me, “Would you ask AB if my family could move into his house?” I replied, “You’ll have to ask him”. I texted AB, “I did not put him up to this!”. He later called to say,  “I’m actually praying about it.” Wow! He'd already bought another house & contracted to sell to a fellow Church member, who, in turn, gladly released him! 4 other profound confirmations! Then M's family of 6 moved in! 
Despite minimal previous exposure to people from "that other Abrahamic religion" & a rural childhood, AB is a DUCK TO WATER. No missteps to my knowledge. God is moving in amazing ways.  One of his fellow Church members comes to his house & teaches English to the ladies 2-3 times per wk! She wears a long dresses & a head covering, so she's seen as their "American sister". They've already initiated spiritual q's. Pray for her as she navigates! 
AB has also never made any "missteps" while doing home maintenance! (I don't know why he didn't just use the "tight rope" which was already available right underneath his feet. Seems far more practical than messing w/a ladder!!!!) 

​^ He's taken up the mantle of & been coronated the new Harold Lloyd, (the renowned stuntman of yesteryear). After numerous requests, he agreed to teach a class he’s calling, “Keeping dry feet whilst running Aquatic Marathons”. (Matt. 14:22-33). In the fine tradition of St. Peter, we start next Saturday by taking baby steps across the river! In many ways, he's living up to the reputation of the aforementioned metaphorical duck!!! QUAAAAAAAACK!!!! LOLOL

^  Harold Lloyd:

​A Romanian friend also joined us that day. I told him, "Not important that English isn't your 1st language. You speak way better English than they do."  A special brotherhood has formed as they resonate in their past & current hardships. He lives about 50 miles away on a farm & we're invited for a big day in the country! We will slaughter & roast 1 of his sheep & have a potluck on Oct. 1. On a subsequent visit, we went over to teach & the patriarch had enough bureaucratic disability paperwork strewn out on the floor to make the avg. American scream. (No furniture...we sit w/them on the floor on pillows.) Oh well, Providence struck again! A lawyer friend who just so happens to be on our team was there & knew just what to do. Contrary to public opinion, not all lawyers are liars, but it's hilarious because when people from the A country mispronounce lawyer, they say "liar".  "Do you know any immigration 'liars?'". LOLOL. He's also handling a situation w/the federal gov't., which claims that another former soldier "owes" them $21K. This man regularly received checks from America for his service in his country. Soon after arriving, he was notified that our gov't. made a "mistake" in sending that money during Covid!!!  Another Christian lawyer friend has teamed up w/him to help!
(If anyone can offer any kind of pro bono services for these folks, let me know.....) And we need English teachers! 
For more English classes, more Providence, more OSHA agents....., 
Just another witness to His Glory.