Saying Goodbye to 'Our Guys'

It’s over. The guys (our participants) are back home, and we’ve left South Asia with loads of impressions that we are still processing! How do I describe the last three weeks?  Being a typical Western ‘preacher,’ I’ll categorize my impressions under three headings:

1. Our generous hosts. We had assumed we’d be eating simple fare, but quite to the contrary, I didn’t know that so many different curry dishes existed. Nor was I prepared for the variety of tropical fruit we enjoyed. Have you ever had paradise apples? Custard apples? Jackfruit? Coconuts? Guave? Fresh mangos?  Three different kinds of bananas? The list goes on and on. Lunches usually included fish—the catch from the local fishermen, which was usually delicious white fish, though we had catfish once, too. In the evenings we had three our four curry dishes as well—all different kinds of vegetables, and beef, chicken, goat, or once even rabbit. Mornings we joined the family for prayers. Sundays we went for services at the local orphanage, which leads me to the second part.





Some boys from the orphanage school where we taught our seminar



2. The kids. Our training sessions were also held on the orphanage property, which includes a school for several hundred local children, as well as the orphans and foster children who board there. They seem totally unspoiled—no TV, no Internet, and little in the way of toys. Just simple games and a lot of laughter. They loved to hold your hand, get hugs, and use the English they’ve learned. We love the grandparent role!





A classroom of children at the orphanage school



3. The seminar participants, better known as ‘our guys.’ Someone has already built into their lives, though we couldn’t really figure out who. One of the older guys (‘Samuel’, a grandfather in the faith) related how an OM team gave him a Bible on the streets of a big city many years ago—the beginning of a spiritual pilgrimage that has touched the lives of many Muslims.
   
   Most know how to build bridges to their Muslim friends and share Jesus with them, which is an encouraging surprise. Where they struggle is in the areas of inductive Bible study, and perhaps, at times, understanding ‘grace’, which is a strange concept for Muslim-background believers. Also, because leadership tends to be ‘top-down’ in their society, the concept of 2 Tim 2:2—empowering others to lead, is a bit counter-cultural.
   
   Some of our guys still harbor doubts about the Bible—we know, because they said so on the last day. At the closing ceremony we asked them what they wanted to leave behind, and what their renewed commitment to follow Jesus would look like. Many of them wanted to leave behind their doubts and step into a new boldness and faithfulness to leading believers and spreading the Gospel. They stepped over a line in the sand, we all laid hands on each man and prayed.
   
   Will it lead to the church planting movement we’re hoping for? Maybe not right away, but perhaps soon. Time will tell. For me, the big issue is going to be what I’ll do with what ‘the guys’ taught me:
   • About being intentional in sharing my faith. 
   • About spiritual warfare—they are in the middle of healing and deliverance ministries all the time. 
   • About prayer and fasting—I promised to do the former for them; I know too little about the latter. They practice both. 

There is so much more, and I’ll write about it in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I want to encourage prayer support for these 17 men who are pastoring at least 40 to 50 house churches of Muslim-background believers! Even though I went to South Asia to teach them, they have taught me so much.

-'Gideon'