Thursday, July 6, 2017

Chicago: Answered Prayers

The research we've been able to accomplish for our supervisor these past few weeks has been fantastic. We're giving them a better understanding of the evangelical work and international groups in the city, and this information will be used my missionaries and church planters for years to come. Knowing that has been incredibly inspiring and encouraging, but Becky and I have both felt God calling us to something more.

Both of us are very social people, so one of our goals for the summer was to meet internationals in our area and build relationships through which we could share the gospel. Between Ramadan, us being females, and the stand-offish culture in Chicago, it's been incredibly difficult to meet people and start conversations. We'd been praying and praying for God to put the right people in our path to help us create relationships, and our prayers were definitely answered this week!

A few weeks ago, we had to interview an evangelical worker that has been working for years with refugees and internationals from the 10/40 Window. We had mentioned to him that we were struggling to make connections in the area, and I thought he'd forgotten about it. Then, he randomly texted me the other day asking us to stop by his storefront. We went, and he spent the next 2 hours introducing us to different families that needed help with their English...we're now helping four women and their children with English several times a week!

We are so thankful that God led us to this evangelical worker who got us connected in the community, and we're faithfully praying we can effectively share the gospel with these women (even though the language barrier seems impossible sometimes). Right now, we're rejoicing that the Lord heard our prayers and led us to these women who so desperately need someone in their lives that can tell them about Jesus.

Please pray for the following:
  • our English teaching skills (we've never done this before)
  • that these women would see something different in us because Christ's love is being shown through us and our ministry
  • the Holy Spirit would soften their hearts to be open to the gospel
  • Becky and I would find a way to share the gospel with them in a way that was accurate but also able to be understood by these women
  • these women have heart-breaking stories, so please pray for their comfort and lives here as they start over in America