Fresh News, Finishing Well, Lots of Pictures
Dear All,
Sunday’s Bottom Line:
God has answered our (YOUR) prayers, and Saturday’s vision-casting in Marrakech produced three new groups of believers ready to enter the disciple-making process! (BTW, I’ve seen that city spelled four different ways, so despite wanting to be consistent, I don’t know which is correct.) Our team is now back in Casablanca on the Mediterranean Sea, where they have just wrapped up their final vision-casting of this trip. Jenni sent us some great updates and pictures from the past several days (see below), and My Hero will be HOME Monday evening!!! = )
Sunday’s Prayer Requests:
1.The coaches of our Morocco teams to effectively reproduce in their new group members what has been invested into them for the past several months.
2. Safety and protection for the growing number of believers and disciple-makers in Morocco.
3. Grace, strength, peace, and good health for Jenni, Judah, and Scott as they return to the states today and tomorrow; for they and their luggage to arrive home intact and on time.
Sunday’s Details:
On Thursday, following a meeting with the local pastor who is hosting them, Scott, Judah, and Jenni visited a lady who hosts a persecuted church in her home. Jenni said, “She has dozens of young people living with her who have come to her in need in various ways and have come to call her Mama. She told us a story of a time when she was expecting four visitors and was struggling to make the cheapest meal she could eek out for them with what little she had…and instead of 4, 25 people showed up! Besides her own household! She prayed that the food would not run out, and it kept going and going until everyone was full…and people took home leftovers. What a blessing it was to meet this woman who is quietly living out the gospel without applause or support.”
That afternoon, Jenni had the privilege to share a devotion time with the church’s worship team and then to practice with them for Sunday. “After that, four of our Moroccan kids [who are in J & J’s online DM group] took us out to experience Marrakech at night. Because of the heat during the days, it is a city oriented toward night life.”
“We went back to the mosque where we saw men inside doing their prayers.”
“We got some very fresh juice from the juice stands and saw the old city square abuzz with music and dancing and activity. We rode a horse-drawn carriage through the city and were escorted safely home by our gracious guides by 1AM.”
They did some sightseeing on Friday, and that evening, they “went with Tim and Scott to the underground church where Scott had a very rare opportunity to preach.”
Morocco is a closed country (i.e., not officially open to Christianity), and for the sake of the believers there, we have to be very careful what we share about ministry there. While we think it is unlikely that Americans would be detained, locals who associate with such suspected “infidels” could be. In some closed countries, people who convert from Islam to Christianity are alienated, disowned by family, denied opportunities for education and/or work, fined, imprisoned, or even tortured. The cost to follow Jesus can be very high.
NOTE: “Underground” churches are not literally in basements, but are usually rather small, inconspicuous gatherings of believers, often meeting in an apartment. Scott is familiar with that situation having ministered in a different closed country some time ago.
Jenni said, “It was a profound experience listening to the Arabic worship coming from the lips of people who have faced serious consequences for their faith. One young man had been picked up off the street and taken in [arrested?] after his father beat him and left him for dead for converting to Christianity. And now he is leading worship. It was truly beautiful.” Scott said he expects that young man to be a pastor someday.
As I type this on Sunday afternoon MO time, our team has concluded their final six-hour DM vision-casting in Casablanca, and I expect that more people have signed up to join DM groups.
We are so humbled and honored to be a part of helping expand the disciple-makers movement in Morocco and other nations of the world, and although you may be tired of hearing me say it, we are SO thankful to know that you are praying for our teams and those they are training. Would you please pray for them again today?
Blessings,
Patty