Today I watched for the first time a lamb being sacrificed by our neighbors who are celebrating Eid al-Adha. This is an Islamic holiday held in remembrance of Abraham’s almost sacrifice of his son Ishmael. They believe it was Ishmael rather than Isaac on the altar of sacrifice who climbed the mountain with Abraham to worship God. They sacrifice thousands of lambs and goats across the Middle East to remember that God provided a substitute for the sacrifice of Abraham's son. However, they stop dreadfully short at the foreshadowing and miss the Savior it pointed to... Jesus Christ. He is the one who climbed the mountain on their behalf as the only substitute worthy to take away their sin.
Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you. (1 Peter 1:18-20)
It is difficult to believe all that has happened over the past few months. There have been hard, good, emotional, and grace-filled days as we, as a community, have gone through a lot of change. Two months ago our team consisted of 39 people but by next month there will only be 6 or 7 of us here. God has drawn near and brought great conviction and direction to many people on our team. In short, many are feeling it is time for them to go home for one reason or another. The mission field is hard, our ministry expression is changing, and God is shaking all that can be shaken. FAI (faimissions.org), for various reasons, will no longer be in operation for the foreseeable future, and therefore will no longer be the umbrella we, as a family, operate under. Many of the projects we were involved in will also come to an end. All that said, we are more sure than ever we are called to labor in this land because the Lamb is worthy to receive the reward of His sufferings.
For our family many things aren’t changing. Our vision remains the same: learn the language, share the Gospel, make disciples, plant a church, and equip others to do the same. The primary difference that is taking place is this: rather than fulfilling the mission with foreigners, whom we loved, the work is beginning to take on a very local focus. We are beginning to meet and network with the local believers and do whatever we can to support and empower them to do the work of ministry. There are only a hand-full right now but God is at work, and we are praying for faithfulness to follow Him.
Last week our Islamic neighbors came to our house and asked us if we were okay. They hadn’t seen us for four days. We told them we were doing great but going through a lot of change because most of our friends were going home. They told us we needed new disciples and I told them, “I agree.” They said, “We know other foreigners you could talk to.” I said, “We don’t only want foreigners, we want locals to covert and follow Jesus.” His eyes got wide and he exclaimed, “Locals?” He thought for a few moment and then said, “Okay... maybe me and my wife.” I told him, “GREAT!” Then he asked if this was why we were here. I said, “Yes.” He thought again and then with fire in his eyes said, “First you need the language, then the people, and then we will build a church.” I told him with great joy that I thought that was a great idea... Please pray that their love for us will draw them into awe struck wonder of Jesus the Lamb of God who was slain on their behalf. Pray also that God would lead and guide us all as we seek to glorify His great name. Pray for the people of this nation... that they would see Jesus as the only and ultimate sacrifice for their sins.