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February 24, 2006
Meet Michael
Friends,
Meet Michael Lino. He is a handsome Sudanese guy, about 25 years old from the southeast corner of Sudan. He came to live here because of serving in the SPLA (Sudanese People's Liberation Army). Michael came to fight for his country and his life as a teenage 'Red-Army' soldier. So, at the age of 25 he is a battle-hardened veteran. He has completed secondary school and has command of 3 languages.
I was sitting in the market drinking coffee with another guy, when Michael approached me. He had seen me in the church and also at the football fields where we do a storytelling ministry. I was sitting on the broken steps under a baobab tree in the corner of the Kukmuk market.
I was startled at his command of English, but the impact of his words grabbed me: "I have been fighting and struggling to survive for so long that I have forgotten how to live. I love Jesus and feel God is telling me to grow up in faith, but I do not know how to do it. I want to know how to talk to people to tell them about my faith. God is telling me to preach to people. Can you help me?"
I sketched out some basic discipleship teaching that I had learned on a piece of paper. He became very quiet, concentrating intently. I could not gauge his reaction, so I asked him, "Is this what you are looking for?" "Yes," he said simply looking at me.
Michael came to our appointment promptly at 4pm today. He had no Bible but brought the closest thing he had, an English grammar book printed in the UK. Can you imagine being able to speak, read, and write three languages and not owning a Bible? We met for one hour, and I laid out his assignments and explained the eight-week program.
I was praying for him today, you know how sometimes someone just pops into your mind? Sort of a "popcorn" prayer. Then our cook, Khadijah came up to me and started saying something in Arabic. It took me a while to decipher it - she was saying Michael was her neighbor and had told her about our discipleship meeting. In closing, Khadija pointed to the sky with one finger and said, "Hoo gal da bita Rabuna" (He [Michael] said that [our meeting] was from God).
Michael is apparently a "faithful man" (2Timothy2:2). He has already started witnessing to his neighbor, by explaining what God is doing. Please pray for Michael to draw near to God through putting the Word into his heart. Pray for us both as we meet and sharpen each other. Would you pray even further that he would share his gratitude to God with others? He can do it better than I.
In Christ,
Chris for Crowders
Published at February 24, 2006 09:46 AM
