Friday in Calicut

Today (Friday) has been long and hot thus far.  It is now 5 pm and we just returned from a local church in Calicut.  We were there doing what the IMB calls T4T training.  It is training local believers to share their testimony with their friends and families as a bridge to the Gospel.  It is something that is reproducible and it feeds a rapidly growing house church planting and multiplying strategy.  In the picture, you can see me teaching my portion of the T4T training.

In a few moments we are going out for an hour or so in hopes of encountering a Mapilla to meet and converse with.  Why aren't the local churches reaching out to the Mapilla?  Why are the Mapilla unengaged if there are churches in this city?  Those are all questions that I asked myself until I met a couple of the local pastors.  The reason the Mapilla people are not being reached by the local churches is fear.  The Mapilla people are afraid of being confronted by believers.  If a Mapilla Muslim converts to Christianity they are immediately disowned by their families and friends.  Their lives are also in jeopardy if they leave the Muslim faith.  Another reason is the pastors and churches are afraid.  If they begin reaching into the Mapilla people group the Muslim leaders and the devout Muslim believers will retaliate.  They will threaten and possibly even inflict physical harm on the pastors, their families, and the church as a whole.  To reach out to the Mapilla people could prove to be dangerous.  There is no doubt if God does a work among the Mapilla people so that they begin converting and planting house churches in Calicut then persecution is inevitable.  This will put the Christians in between a gigantic rock and a hard place.  They will face persecution from the Hindus and the RSS and they will face persecution from the Muslims as well.  So....no one is going to the Mapilla.

 

Well, we are here and we are trying to figure out some way to connect with these people.  It is very difficult when we are the only white people in the city and that is not an exaggeration.  We have not seen one single solitary white person in this city.  The people here act as though they haven't seen a white person before in this city either.  We are stared at without ceasing.  To be honest, we do not feel welcome at all.  We are all as out of place as we have ever been.  It is our prayer that God will choose to connect us somehow, someway with the Mapilla person of peace...a person who will hear and receive the Gospel message with an open heart...a person who will eventually believe the Gospel and follow Christ forsaking all others...a person who will then be willing to go back to his or her friends and family to spread the Gospel and begin a house church movement among the Mapilla people.  

Please continue to pray for us without ceasing.  We need God's protection from the dangers here.  We need God to open doors into the Mapilla people group.  We need that man or woman of peace to rise up so that we can begin building relationships with him or her.  We need to be bold and to be given the words that we should say as well as the wisdom to know when to shut up.  Please pray for us.  The situation is much more "tricky" than we could have ever imagined.  Pray for the team not to get discouraged.  Please continue to forward this blog to everyone that you will.  We really need all of the prayers that we can get.  

I am about to head out and try to find a Mapilla to talk with.  Supper will be at 7 and then we will come back to the hotel to pray, share, and rest.  Until next time...