Burdened for my friend
Madina is a special friend of mine. When we began ministry in a Tagbanwa village in the Philippines, this fiery little lady quickly became close to my heart.
She has deep searching eyes that have so much expression in them, and is well known in the village for her love of telling stories. And Madina is a language learner's dream.
As I struggled to speak and understand Tagbanwa, she wouldn't just tell me stories. Madina would even act them out, often getting the people around her involved to help me understand.
She also understood that when I said something wrong I wanted to be corrected. And she did, over and over and over again.
When evangelistic teaching started I prayed and prayed for Madina. Her life is full of darkness, and she lives in fear of death and even life. I longed for her to know freedom and salvation.
As I walked home with her after the teaching one night and started asking her what she thought, Madina grabbed my arm. I could hear the intensity in her voice. Madina told me that she realized her thinking has been unclear and wrong for so long. She didn't know about God and who He was.
She reminded me that I had been coming to her house to learn language. I had needed her help and she had given it. She asked me to help her now. I knew the truth, the right thinking about God, and she didn't.
She had corrected me. Now it was my turn.
As we continued to walk home in the darkness, I knew she was right. It was my turn.
That night I prayed and prayed, nearly overwhelmed by the burden I had for Madina.
In the days to come Madina kept learning and understanding, but then her husband quit coming. She attended alone for a few lessons but soon stopped.
I am still burdened for Madina's salvation. It is so hard to watch her continue to live in fear and darkness when she seems so hungry for the Truth.
Pray for Madina as she sees the new Tagbanwa believers and their changed lives. I long for the day when I can call this fiery little lady my sister in the Lord.
And pray for me. I need wisdom in this new culture and language to live a life that points her to Jesus.
She has deep searching eyes that have so much expression in them, and is well known in the village for her love of telling stories. And Madina is a language learner's dream.
As I struggled to speak and understand Tagbanwa, she wouldn't just tell me stories. Madina would even act them out, often getting the people around her involved to help me understand.
She also understood that when I said something wrong I wanted to be corrected. And she did, over and over and over again.
When evangelistic teaching started I prayed and prayed for Madina. Her life is full of darkness, and she lives in fear of death and even life. I longed for her to know freedom and salvation.
As I walked home with her after the teaching one night and started asking her what she thought, Madina grabbed my arm. I could hear the intensity in her voice. Madina told me that she realized her thinking has been unclear and wrong for so long. She didn't know about God and who He was.
She reminded me that I had been coming to her house to learn language. I had needed her help and she had given it. She asked me to help her now. I knew the truth, the right thinking about God, and she didn't.
She had corrected me. Now it was my turn.
As we continued to walk home in the darkness, I knew she was right. It was my turn.
That night I prayed and prayed, nearly overwhelmed by the burden I had for Madina.
In the days to come Madina kept learning and understanding, but then her husband quit coming. She attended alone for a few lessons but soon stopped.
I am still burdened for Madina's salvation. It is so hard to watch her continue to live in fear and darkness when she seems so hungry for the Truth.
Pray for Madina as she sees the new Tagbanwa believers and their changed lives. I long for the day when I can call this fiery little lady my sister in the Lord.
And pray for me. I need wisdom in this new culture and language to live a life that points her to Jesus.