Ways to pray for our Muslim students this month and engage with our other students.
Hello, friends!
We're getting close to our Easter celebration! Next week (March 21) we'll have our Easter meal. That night, we'll have class first at 6:15, then the meal at 7:15. I'm excited about the opportunity for us to share the hope of Jesus with our students through the story of Easter!
It's going to be a smaller crowd this Thursday night (March 14) now that Ramadan has started. About a third of our students are Muslim, and they will spend the next four weeks celebrating their holy month. We may see a few of them pop in here and there, but overall, most of them will be out.
Here are a few quick notes about that:
*If you don't know what Ramadan is, it's the month during which Muslims celebrate the revelation of their holy book, the Quran. During this month, they fast and pray to show their devotion to Allah. They abstain from both food and drink (including water) from sunrise to sunset, then they break the fast with a big meal at sunset called Iftar. Participating in Ramadan is required for Muslims - it's one of the five pillars of Islam. If you'd like to learn more, here's a short video made by Radical.
*The month when our Muslim students are focusing on spiritual thingsis a great time to pray for Jesus to reveal Himself to them through dreams and visions and confirm to them that He is the Son of God. We can also pray for God to open their hearts and pray that during Ramadan they become so dissatisfied with Islam that they truly search for truth.
*And even though we will miss all of our Muslim friends this month and will look forward to having them back, this month is a great opportunity to spend more time one-on-one or in smaller groups with our other students. Take advantage as much as you can of the chances to have deeper conversations about life and faith.
God has given us SO many opportunities with the people He has so graciously brought through our doors, and I'm so grateful for your investment in them!
Grace Thornton
ESL director
Do you have any feedback, suggestions, or exciting updates? Email Grace!
