People International

Women have a very difficult time during Ramadan, with no food or water during daylight hours. They have to be up well before the crack of dawn to make sure that their families are fed in the dark, then they are exhausted for the rest of the day. They have to make sure however, that stacks of food await their menfolk at exactly the right time for breaking the fast at sunset.

For the men, Ramadan brings a different set of challenges. During the day taxi drivers park their vehicles under the shade of trees, open all the doors and windows and sprawl out for a long siesta. Llater, during the half hour before sundown, the roads are extremely busy and very dangerous. The drivers are short-tempered, desperate to get home, low on sugar and high on adrenaline. They then arrive home or at their friend's house for the piety of ifturlik, the feast at the end of the fast.

or "That horse doesn't want to go there"

One challenge can be finding ways to rest here. If you are sick for a couple days, somehow spending more time in your room hiding from children shouting "Salom" to you on the street isn't attractive. We as a team do get together for meals a couple times a week, like after our church service, but one of the best ways to relax is to go for a walk. Our team leader bought a horse a while back, and the horse is still learning to be ridden, so we took the horse out for a walk.

Sometimes the horse would want to go where we wanted, and sometimes she didn't. Sometimes one of us would lead her while another rode, and a few times if we let go we would have to run after her and catch the bridle again. At one point things were going pretty well and Marcus was riding the horse down the hill into a valley right towards a flock of sheep, and the saddle broke! And Marcus fell off. Slowly, and with his hands around the neck of the horse and his feet caught in the stirrups. The shepherd boy was amazed! What will foreigners do next? Marcus was unhurt with the exception of his dignity!

Claude is a man in his late 40's. His wife had come to faith a few months ago after spending hours at the kitchen table, talking, questioning and praying with one of our friends. Claude's wife is not pretty, in fact it is difficult to describe her features in a politically correct fashion. What spoke to her was the love and the acceptance she was offered by those who love Jesus. She actually said, "How can a woman with a face like mine, ever hope to be employed, accepted or loved?" But she found such love among the people of God.

Her husband had to come to the capital on business for a few days and was amazed that someone he had never met, a foreigner (an infidel), would not only allow him to stay at this house while he was absent, but that this household had a holy book out on display. When he returned home, the car in which he and his companions were travelling, broke down in a city en route. Who gave them food and shelter? The elders of the local small fellowship. He wanted to receive that kind of love, acceptance and deep fellowship too. So now he too has received Jesus as Lord and a strange beauty shines out of his wife's weathered face.

From the beginning of October Annette has had a new helper with her household duties. 38-year-old Betty is a sweet lady from quite a deprived background. Betty felt that it was a great gift from God to be able to work for us after so many years of struggling with her husband's sickness and his unemployment.

She couldn't hold her tears back when she realized that this work would help their family's finances in a considerable way. She had thought to herself that nobody would like such an ugly person as herself. We saw it from the very beginning that God began to work in her heart. Afterwards she told that she felt God's Spirit and presence in such a way in our house that she'd have rather stayed at our place than gone home.

When Ramadan began, Annette and her husband decided to fast as well as their local friends. She suggested to Betty, who was also fasting, that they'd study the bible during the lunch breaks. In the beginning Annette showed the Jesus-movie in portions so that Betty could grasp the bigger picture. she feels inside her like a 17-year-old woman full of energy! Let's pray that God could mightily use this simple, but, but to Him, so dear woman. Day by day Betty began to talk more and more about Jesus and God's Word, our conversations with her and Christian songs were also ministering to her heart. God also gave her a couple of powerful dreams that clearly manifested the power of Jesus' name and saving blood.

To our great joy on the last day of Ramadan Betty made a public commitment of of faith and we can testify everyday how she keeps on growing in her faith. She really feels that she'd been born again, having new life and instead of the restlessness there's a deep peace in her heart. She said that her suicidal thoughts are history and she feels inside her like a 17-year-old woman full of energy! Let's pray that God could mightily use this simple, but, but to Him, so dear woman.

Just as we got this letter ready we saw how the blessing of Ramadan continued - we had the privilege to lead Betty's husband Simon to Jesus!