So A Christian Man Walks Into A Mosque

An experiment if I may. I was curious....

I know that as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. I am fortunate not to be a cat.

Let Me Explain:

Some of you may know that months ago the Lord put on my heart a ministry called BibleDump. A Holy Spirit driven ministry that looks to use the Spirits leading in getting the God News of the Gospel to literally the NATIONS! The blog (bibledump.blogspot.com) has been put to rest as of late as I have been leading teams overseas and been busy, without much internet access. 

The passion came directly from the Lord, and ever since it started, my brain has been itching for finding new ideas to reach the NATIONS that the Lord has given me.

Yesterday, I found myself itching to get my hands on a copy of the Holy Koran (Islamic Holy Book). To be honest, I was wanting to know if I could just walk into a Mosque and ask for an English Koran and walk out with one. This is where my mind was absolutely blown... appalled may seem harsh but I was quite agitated to say the least. Not with the Muslims. But with the Christian Church as a whole. I am by no means wanting to church bash, as I myself am not the biggest fan of it. But if this story would instead Church Motivate.

The story of my visit is as follows:
I start by entering the "back door" of the Mosque grounds. My heart was beating quite hard, and I found myself being super hesitant with each step I took towards the Mosque building. I peek my head inside to see about 15 or so Muslims in prayer. Some make eye contact with me, and as I begin to take a step to go inside, they all have a look of dread come over their faces. Before my foot hits the ground I knew that I was not to walk on the floor with my shoes on. A man comes over to me, and directs me to the other side of the Mosque where I found the "leader" from what I could tell. They then find a person named Joseph in the mosque who becomes a translator for me and the Mosque leader.

They begin by asking me why I am there and what they can do for me. I tell them I am a Christian, who's name is Chris, and I am looking for a copy of the Koran in English so I can read it. They are curious as to why, and I tell them that I am looking for understanding of their beliefs, and that I would love to share with them what I believe if that is something they are interested in. The Mosque leader goes inside to look for an English translation of the Koran, and after 10 minutes or so he comes out and tells me that they unfortunately do not have any English ones, but he will make phone calls until he finds me one.

Another 10 minutes pass and then he tells me, that a Mosque in a town about 5 hours away has one, and they are going to bring it to me right away. He set up a time and place to meet with me later that day, and they invited me to come back to pick it up at 4 that afternoon.

The reason I was set off by the Christian Church in that scenario is that multiple times I have heard churches say, "If you need a Bible, we would be happy to supply you with one." Though "Come back in a few days and we will have one for you" can be sure to follow. Or, "We only have children Bibles at the moment."

I have heard many Christians ask "Why Islam is such a very popular, fast-growing religion?" I think the answer is pretty evident if you are willing to go out and look.

 

In Africa, the Muslim population offers the impoverished with FREE schooling in many areas. While the most "fine schools for learning" (usually Christian Boarding Schools) cost much more than even many average wage earners could afford. The Muslim community is willing to get the good news (small g) into peoples hands, no matter what the cost or even the struggle of time.

They have proven willing to provide what they can to those who need it (schooling for the poor, scriptures for the "lost"). And they don't shove it in your face, force it down your throat or bash it in your skull. They see peoples needs and make make it evident that they would rather see you "see success" then failure.

DO US AS CHRISTIANS REALLY WANT TO ALLOW OTHERS TO SEE ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD? ARE WE WILLING TO DRIVE OUR RESOURCES INTO THE GROUND IN ORDER FOR EVEN ONE LIFE TO ENTER THE KINGDOM?

Think about it.

As the SUN Drains Us... The SON Fuels Us!

This past week here in Busia has brought many challenges for our team. We dove into door to door evangelism and praying for people in the local hospital. We saw three individuals make the choice to follow Jesus as their personal savior this week. We also saw many people check out of the hospital after having prayed for them only a day earlier.

A project that our contact, Pastor Gideon Wanyama, presented to me this past week, was one that the Lord really placed upon my heart to support.

In Busia, missionary teams from North America and Europe tend to have difficulties when trying to find housing for their ministry team. This month as a team we have been blessed, that a local family has actually moved out of their house for six weeks so we could have a safe place to stay. They are staying at a local Catholic School, and will return home once we leave. Pastor Gideon is looking for the need of someone giving up their house to be something of the past. “By creating a two room missionary house on this (his own) land, we can house future teams for absolutely no cost...” For many mission teams, this means that they can open up their budget to allow for what was originally to be spent for housing, to be put towards community needs. And community needs are abundant!

Today (Feb. 6, 2011) we talked with 12 widows from the community in/around the church. Having had husbands pass away, or in some cases walk away from their relationships, leaving these woman with, in many cases (multiple) children, and the financial burden of providing for their family. The most basic needs like school fees, food, water and a roof over their heads are rarely met. Many of these woman make a living by selling pastries on the street; a wage that most everyone would spit upon in the Western World. By helping provide housing at no cost for future teams, we are able to ultimately allow them to make a more lasting impact on Busia, Kenya altogether.

WHAT IS NEEDED:

2000 Bricks = 10000Ksh
12 Bags of Cement = 12000Ksh
2 Loads of Sand = 10000Ksh
Transport and Other Fees = 2000Ksh
Lumber, Nails, R-Bars etc. = 10000Ksh
Labour Costs for Foreman and 2 additional workers = 10000Ksh
Totaling: 54000Ksh = approx. $650

The Lord has made it very clear to me that this housing not only could provide temporary housing for missionary teams, coming from abroad. It would also allow for greater ministry and financial flexibility for these teams.

I am currently trusting that the Lord will pour out the resources that are to be used in this project. I am going to be giving 40,000Ksh ($450 USD) of the funds needed and participate alongside, in the building of this home, and will keep you updated on each detail.

But there's a problem!

I don't have all of the necessary funds to do this. So if you can give, please give to my mom or dad. If you want to give and do not know them, please contact me at chris.cave@live.com and ask how you can get that information.

Be Blessed!

Sorry for the Inconvience

This past Monday there was no blog post due to some unforeseen circumstances. This Monday the problem should be resolved and a blog should be posted. Please remember that THIS IS AFRICA.

Enjoy this Ridiculous Picture as Compensation.

Chris Cave

Parachute!

Hope Eberle, is a participant on the team I am leading here in Africa. In her most recent Blog she share insight that many may never see unless you enter another culture and talk to the people who have been there their entire lives.

"...tonight I was talking to Pastor Charles and he was saying that the problems here in Africa are much different then the problems in the West. It’s not enough to say “Jesus loves you” because those words don’t mean anything here. The need for love isn’t as great as it is in America. People here in Africa know they are loved. No one is lonely because they know and understand their need for community. It’s almost impossible to be lonely here. You can’t even really be alone, trust me I’ve tried. The people here are so incredibly social. Being loved isn’t as revolutionary an idea as it is in the West. If you’re going to walk around here and talk about Jesus and His love you need to have something more to go with it.
 

They need something big because they have big questions, questions that are hard to ask and even harder to answer.

Is your God big enough to feed my children?
Is your God big enough to bring the rain in this drought?
Is your God big enough to get these voices and evil spirits to quit tormenting me?
Is your God big enough to rid my body of AIDS?

I know what the answer is.
The answer is yes.....

Right?

Then why can’t I answer those questions with confidence?..."

We are to be dependent on the Lord. John Piper once said, "Our communication with God is not a personal intercom. It should be used as a wartime walkie-talkie!" Think about that for a moment.

When we put ourselves into the thickness of the war, then we can truly see the Lord show up. He has to! It's like skydiving. If you jump out of a plane, you are dependent that your parachute will open. Is God not more reliable than some fabric and ropes in a backpack?

Why not think about it. Leave a comment below.

On My OneOneSix!

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) {of Christ,} for it is God's power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes {with} a personal trust {and} a confident surrender {and} firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek

My name is Chris Cave. I am 22 Years old, from Ontario, Canada. I am currently (as of January 2011) working in Africa. Leading a team of college aged individuals through Abandonment, Brokenness, and ultimately closer relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, as we minister to the sick and poor, and the wealthy and proud. We pray for those who ask for it, and even those who don't. We are becoming more unashamed and undignified by the day, and look to be unrecognizable when we arrive home.

Please feel free to follow and stay updated on our journey. LEAVE COMMENTS and Click on the 'Follow' button to get email updates.

Stay tuned Every Monday for how you can be praying. How you can support the cause, and CRAZY updates on what God is doing each week.