A Glimpse of the Future

Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.

It's a rare and wonderful thing when we get a glimpse of the future. Yesterday God gave me just such a blessing.

Wifey and I packed up the kids and took a two hour drive to meet with pastor J and his Arabic-speaking congregation in Birmingham. They had a Sunday afternoon gathering at the home of one of the members. It was a time of food, fun, and worship.

The meeting began ostensibly at 3PM, but in the Arabic culture that means show up by 4PM. Pastor J had warned us to expect the meeting to last 4-5 hours, so we trimmed off one on the front side by showing up at 4. One of the big cultural adjustments we're going to have to make is our concept of time. Americans are always in a hurry even when there's no reason to be in a hurry. Arabs are remarkably free of that trait.

Be still, and know that I am God.

The meal was an adventure in foreign cuisine. Some of the dishes were familiar, like Babaganoush, but I tried a number of new delicacies. My favorite was Maklouba, which means "upside down" in Arabic. It is often considered an Iraqi dish, but I believe the family that brought this was Jordanian. Meat, eggplant, onions, spices, and other goodies are baked atop a bed of rice. This allows the flavors to seep down into the rice as it is cooked. When finished, the casserole is flipped upside down onto a serving dish. I managed to score leftovers of this to eat later at home. I also learned that "ganoush" means "spoiled" which raises questions about that dish.

Everyone spoke English and Wifey was able to meet and talk to a few people. The kids also made a few friends. It was very easy because everyone was so warm and hospitable. This is one of the traits I admire most in Arab people. They are very gracious hosts. I did encounter one elderly Jordanian gentleman who spoke no English. We had a pleasant if somewhat halting conversation about his family and his move to America.

I was delighted to meet a young man named C from Beirut. Much to our mutual surprise, I knew his Pastor, who is one of my contacts in Lebanon. His Church is the largest Baptist Church in Lebanon, with about 250 people on the rolls. Regular attendance is "somewhat less than that." It is considered a huge Church compared to the other Baptist Churches.

Pastor J told me that he'd ask me to pray during the service. I asked if I could pray the Lord's prayer in Arabic, and he was pleasantly surprised by my bravery. Either that or he was looking forward to the entertainment value. I practiced it once for M, the worship leader, and he gave his approval to all of my pronunciation. He's been very willing to correct me in the past, so I felt good about that.

The gathering filled four rooms, with the adults occupying two rooms that formed an "L" shape, and the children and youth gathering in two other rooms. We sang a few hymns, and Pastor J gave an inspiring talk about the faith of a man named O. This gentleman was in his 40s, had 4 kids, and had Lou Gehrig's disease. One of his children had Leukemia. Why did these things happen to him? The answer is found in the observation of Jesus about why a man was born blind: so that God would be glorified in his life. I was able to translate this roughly for Wifey and the boys, who stayed for the entire service.

After a few more songs, they took up an offering. My son Angus asked how far along we were in the service and I figured we were almost finished at that point. Things seemed to be moving much faster than I thought they would. Then Pastor J took out his Bible and began the real sermon. Fortunately it was a very good sermon on the importance of giving. He highlighted Paul's praise of the Church in Macedonia for their giving spirit, and the importance of not fixating on a number as a level of giving. He finished with the observation that we must give ourselves to God before we give our money.

Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.

It will take some adjustment of our Western mindset about time, but I enjoyed the pace of the service. Why should we hurry God? If we really love one another and enjoy being together as a family, this is what it should be like. Too often we're in a hurry to "get home" and do "our thing". I owe Pastor J and his flock thanks for helping us graciously to make this adjustment.

Finally I was called on to lead prayer. There were perhaps 60 people present including children. I've spoken before much larger groups, but I've never been more nervous. Earlier that evening in the course of conversation I told someone that I was going to Lebanon for missions. The word for missions is "Irsaliyah" but apparently I said "Israliyah" and so told them I was going to Lebanon for the Israelis. That's quite a gaffe for one transposition of consonants. All it would take was one good mispronuncation at this point to reveal the full measure of my ignorance for all to hear. Abraham Lincoln is credited with saying "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." Fortunately it went well enough.

They followed up with a hymnal version of the Lord's prayer. My recitation was from the "Book of Life" translation, which is a contemporary version that I use for side-by-side comparison to the NIV English. Their song used the Smith/Van Dyke translation which is traditionally widely used for preaching and teaching. I have this version on my computer thanks to e-Sword. The differences are pretty minimal, and not significant in any way.

Thanks to the wonder of the internet, I present that prayer for your inspection in the Arabic (SVD version).

أَبَانَا الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ لِيَتَقَدَّسِ اسْمُكَ.
لِيَأْتِ مَلَكُوتُكَ. لِتَكُنْ مَشِيئَتُكَ كَمَا فِي السَّمَاءِ كَذَلِكَ عَلَى الأَرْضِ.
خُبْزَنَا كَفَافَنَا أَعْطِنَا الْيَوْمَ.
وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا كَمَا نَغْفِرُ نَحْنُ أَيْضاً لِلْمُذْنِبِينَ إِلَيْنَا.
وَلاَ تُدْخِلْنَا فِي تَجْرِبَةٍ لَكِنْ نَجِّنَا مِنَ الشِّرِّيرِ. لأَنَّ لَكَ الْمُلْكَ وَالْقُوَّةَ وَالْمَجْدَ إِلَى الأَبَدِ. آمِينَ

After the service ended we started packing up for the long trip home, but it was not to be. Our American desire to rush away could not overcome their protestations that we must stay for coffee and desserts. By coffee, I mean that Turkish version that is ubiquitous to the Arab world. It is made by stirring powdered coffee and herbs directly into boiling water. The resulting sludge is then poured into a very small cup. One does not drink the stout mixture so much as sip it slightly. Once the liquid portion is imbibed, there is a thick paste in the bottom of the cup which does not have to be consumed.

I'm very glad we stayed, because I had the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation one-on one with Pastor J. I shared with him a lot of details about my military career and language training that I had been reluctant to share up to that point. I cannot explain that reluctance in any good way, and in hindsight I should not have had it.

I also shared with him a more detailed explanation of our vision for reaching the Arab world with home Church plants, using Lebanon as a starting base. We were in complete agreement on the whole situation.

Pastor J also shared with me that he is currently organizing an outreach to Iraqi families who have relocated to Atlanta. It was very reassuring to hear him express a love for missions. He's on the short list of people I'll be asking for help when it is needed.

Having consumed coffee and enjoyed more conversation, we finally packed the kids in for the long drive home. Wifey seemed more confident in her ability to mingle and function in a setting like that, which is the biggest blessing of all.