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Standing in front of the largest mosque in Lebanon after taking a tour of the inside. Though we are smiling in the picture, our hearts ache for those who worship there. Hearing the Call to Prayer multiple times a day was a great reminder of the spiritual battle going on in the hearts of our Muslim friends.
Ahlam (which means “dreams” in Arabic) was sitting outside on a bench studying when Katie (a junior at Western Kentucky University) and I walked by and struck up a conversation with her. She was so excited to make American friends, she stopped studying and invited us to sit with her in the shade.
Like most Lebanese, she was very open and didn’t find it weird that we wanted to talk to her. After telling her that we were in Lebanon for a “cultural immersion program” we asked her several questions to get to know her and that would lead to deeper spiritual conversation.
Ramadan, a month of fasting for Muslims, began soon after we arrived in Beirut, so it was easy to get into spiritual conversation just by asking if they were participating. Ahlam is a Shia Muslim and this was her first time fasting apart from her family who lived in another city. Ramadan is centered around being with family so she was having a difficult time being far away. Thankfully she was surrounded by friends (even a few Christians!) who broke the fast with her at sundown every day.
After sharing more about her Islamic faith and what it means to her, she asked us what we believed! The door swung wide open for us to share the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Ahlam said, “I think that what you are saying could be the truth, but I do not know…I would like to know more about the God of the Bible.” She had had many conversations with her Christian friends about their faith and found it very interesting. I told her that one of my friends from the US who was studying at her university would probably love to read it with her. She was ecstatic! So, my friend Ashley (a former Cru student at Coastal Carolina who transferred to the American University of Beirut) has been meeting with Ahlam and studying the Bible with her!
When we got up to leave, Ahlam hugged us and said, “I really hope to see you again one day.” And with that, my heart broke. I silently prayed right then that I would see her again if not on earth, in heaven. Pray with me that God would reveal Himself to Ahlam through dreams and visions (since that is what her name literally means!) and that she would place her faith in Jesus Christ.
Each week our tea m filled in our “cedar” tree with names of students we had spiritual conversations and shared the gospel with. Praising the Lord for 2 Lebanese students who began a relationship with Jesus and for the 211 spiritual conversations our team had over 5 weeks!
Thank you for praying for me and my team while we were in Lebanon!
Until All Have Heard,
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