We sat on the floor in a half-circle, L’s chin resting on his palm, elbow to the floor. When L saw Jesus robed in white at the transfiguration, he said that he connected the depiction of Jesus with a white-robed figure he had often seen in his dreams…in fact this theme of the white-robed figure surfaced in our conversation at several points. Of course, I tried to bring him to recognize that it could in fact be Jesus! When we got to the Parable of the Sower, it was his turn this time to pause the DVD; he asked for explanation, saying he did not understand. Praise God, I had given him a contextualized Psalms and NT the visit before and now was able to demonstrate its value as I turned to the story and read it for him, together with Jesus’ explanation of its meaning. Satisfied, we returned to the video as I rejoiced in the rising stock of the Word in L’s heart and mind. It was after 2am when the video finally wrapped up. L’s son R had joined us halfway through – and despite his having had fever, he remained glued to the story and his father didn’t seem to mind. The one room in their tiny house was walled off by a wall that did not even reach the ceiling…where L’s wife and three young girls slept. Knowing full well that his wife was probably not sleeping but listening in as well, several times I suggested that we might be hindering their sleeping…which L continued to brush aside. With the close of the movie, I summed up the essence of the gospel. With a sense that L was stumbling over the question of whether Jesus had in fact died (most would say God miraculously saved him from the cross), in faith I declared that we would pray (and I did) that 1) he would NOT have any more nightmares (this had been the subject of much discussion), 2) he WOULD have a dream confirming Jesus’ death (this was a real step of faith for me, but I related to him the recent story of the girl who had had such a dream…this came to my mind and I felt led to “go for it,” 3) that R would wake up well and ready for school and finally 4) that he would get a job (another subject of discussion). Needless to say, after we retired for the night my friend and I prayed again…and first thing in the morning were eagerly anticipating the post-game report. Much to my disappointment, while L did have a good dream (about getting a job) he still had a bad dream…and no dream about Jesus AND R was sick in bed and not going to school! My friend and I ran the kids to school in the car, enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of parents dropping their kids off as three little head-covered girls climbed out of a vehicle manned by two white foreigners. On the way back to pick up L (and R) to go to breakfast, I expressed my disappointment with God to my colleague. “What’s wrong with you God? All we’re asking for is a single word from you…that’s all it takes! And for all we know, L and his family may be the only ones among the 90+% Muslim population of his county with access to the gospel. Later with L, I expressed my frustration with God to him. I thought it would be good for him to see some transparency and the struggle of faith. Surprisingly, L wasn’t fazed reminding me that we need to continue to have faith. The thought occurred to me that this could be an opening to address his “emergency witch doctor practices” and so I quizzed him about the source of that power, reminding him that the Enemy can deceive us leading us to bondage. He agreed with me as to the need to reject those powers as I also encouraged him to get rid of the charms. I was already beginning to see God’s hand in the silence. As we began to wind up the visit, L once again pointed to the goosebumps on his arm, relaying his confidence that the goosebumps were a reflection of God’s presence and affirmation. In fact, he went on to say that with us he did indeed feel God’s peace. Later my friend asked me if I had seen a tear in his eye…I hadn’t. The next day I noticed I had a missed call from L. That afternoon when I had a chance, I called him. “Good news!” L said. “I got a job!” “Alhumdullilah (Praise God)!” I responded. “I also did not have any bad dreams last night…in fact I had a GOOD dream. I saw the Man in White again…it was like a village feast at the end of fasting month. He told me ‘I’m freeing you.’” Wow! We talked a minute or two more as I was trying to process. He informed me that R was also back in school. Another “Alhumdullilah!” before I told him I was going to find a passage in “The Book” and then call him back. A few minutes later I called him back and we proceeded to read John 8:31-59…not sure how much he understood of some of it, but certainly the first few verses of Jesus setting us free seemed to connect. After getting off the phone, I called him back, realizing the need to “strike while the iron is hot,” specifically the need to get him in the Word on a daily basis. All to say I gave him a bit of a formula that would connect with his Islamic background: -Before reading to pray and ask God to lead him on the “Straight Path (their normal daily prayer from the first chapter of the Quran)” so that he would not be led astray. While I was trying to reinforce trust, it certainly is a great prayer. -Secondly, I told him to ask God to give him a soft heart so he could understand. -Thirdly I told him to read a chapter each day, starting with Matthew 1 -Finally I challenged him to obey God when God “put a light in his heart” (equivalent to us saying “God spoke to me about…”) While I don’t think L is in the Kingdom, it does seem safe to say he’s moving in the right direction. IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR, YOU CARE ENOUGH TO PRAY. DO PRAY FOR L AS THE ENEMY IS CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO WANT TO EASILY RELEASE L AND HIS FAMILY FROM HIS GRASP. Just imagine pitch dark – the blackness of night in the middle of nowhere. No moon, no stars. Now imagine a light. How bright would that light be? What impact might it have?