iGo currently has several teams serving in the ME. One college guy is there for six months. Another team has been there since mid May, and another team just recently arrived. Here are updates from each team. Please join the work by praying for these teams.

Plowing the Soil

We have been going out in the morning and pr walking around our neighborhood, “plowing” the soil and preparing for seeds to be sown. This week I have begun to realize that pr is not part of the work; it IS the work. This neighborhood, especially at the top of the hill where we live, has never had believers working in it. This soil is hard, but beginning to soften in places, which is really encouraging to see! Father is at work here, and we are beginning to see that he is moving, and that all we have to do is ask! The parable of the sower in Matt 13:3-9, 18-23 is a great representation of the soils I am talking about. We are asking father to soften the soils of people’s hearts, so that the seed of the good news, when planted, will spring up and bear fruit.

The Ancient Work

The last few weeks have been spent being invited into homes and meeting new friends. It’s been so exciting to see Father open doors. We’ve been able to see Father’s ancient work on display as we walk the streets of the neighborhoods we live among. Father has always been at work here and we are able to step into the work and partner with those who have come before us and those who will come after us all for the sake of his name and glory. We have been reminded of the partnership with those who have gone before us the past few weeks. Reflecting upon how many girls have come and spent time here whether it be for a summer or a longer period of time pr walking the same streets and we are getting to see some fruit of their labor. We have been getting invited into homes and that is not what has been typically seen in the past in this area.

A specific example of this is when we were in a home hanging out with a girl our age who speaks English (we’ll call her R), and she asks us if we had a friend that used to live here. She described her to us and we realized she was describing a girl who was with the team here for a longer period of time. After we confirmed we knew her, R told us that she used to see her walking the streets below her house. As I thought about that, I knew the girl R saw would daily be pr-ing for the people in these neighborhoods and I know she was pr-ing for future workers to be invited into homes and have opportunities to share the story. She was apart of plowing the ground and we get to step into the softened soil and help plow more and hopefully sow the seed of the Gspl.

The M Life

A typical day in the Middle East begins with personal time in the Word. After this the teams come together (we are neighbors) for community time in the Word and other teaching. We have just finished a week of Seasons, a study of the different phases of the harvest and the work we are doing. After eating lunch together, the teams go separate ways for the day. In the afternoon my team attends language lessons and pr walks around the neighborhood.

One thing the team has been reminded of is how likely it is that these people may not have ever had someone pr to the Father for them specifically. Even as conversation with friends may be slow because of language barriers, I am encouraged to know that I have been brought to a position where I can look someone in the eye and labor in pr for them to know the Father.

I am looking forward to getting to meet with friends again because this morning we learned about Storying, telling a story from the Word (without having the Book in front of us) in a way that is accurate to the text and allows the listener to understand even if they have never heard of Father. Because this is an oral culture the people here love listening to and telling stories, so as stories are told, the people are very engaged in the conversation.

So much of what we have been learning in the past week are things that will be easy to reproduce when we return to the States and wherever we may find ourselves in the future. This is one of the reasons that what we are doing for this month is more than just a trip. It is a lifestyle.