iHOPE Empowers

How can I share the Gospel across cultures? Jen’s story

Episode Summary

When Jen moved, she rushed out to meet her new neighbors. Then she discovered they were not like her. Surrounded by people from many faiths and cultures, Jen had no idea how to engage. Then a neighborhood App opened the door for her to be an authentic Christian witness and share the gospel with many. This episode will embolden you to love your neighbors across cultures, and give you bite-sized steps to begin.

Episode Notes

When Jen moved, she rushed out to meet her new neighbors. Then she discovered they were not like her. Surrounded by people from many faiths and cultures, Jen had no idea how to engage. Then a neighborhood App opened the door for her to be an authentic Christian witness and share the gospel with many. This episode will embolden you to love your neighbors across cultures, and give you bite-sized steps to begin. 

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Episode Transcription

Karen:

Have you ever held back from sharing your faith, especially with people of other faiths and cultures? Welcome to the iHOPE Empowers Podcast. This episode is from iHOPE Ministries, Blue Cord Series for women. I'm your host, Karen Bejjani. And here's a fresh dose of inspiration to embolden you, to share Jesus with women of other faiths and cultures.

Jenn:

I'm going to walk around my neighborhood. I'm just going to see who lives here. And so I just was walking the neighborhood and I was praying, okay, God, you taught me to love you. You taught me to love my neighbors. What does that look like? How am I supposed to do this? And I just started noticing women wearing hijab and it was this prompting of the Holy Spirit and the Lord. He says, do you love her?

Karen:

Hello, friends? And welcome back. Now, we all know we're supposed to love our neighbors. So what does that look like practically? Well, today's guest asked herself that when she realized that her new neighbors were from Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and more, but before we dive in, let me give you the backstory behind the name of the series. The Blue Cord. When I was a kid, most people in North America identified as Christian. Now, my neighbors, they were all Baptist or Methodist. And now our neighbors are from many faiths. In my cul-de-sac alone. There are eight nations represented. We can cross the col-de-sac and our suburbs to share the hope of Jesus. Yet we hold back and we struggle a little bit. Now, there is nothing new under the sun. The Israelites struggled too. God reveals in Numbers 15:37-41 that after another round of not doing what the Lord told them to do, He gave his people a reminder. It was a tassel with a cord of blue at the hem of their garments. Now rich with meaning and purpose. This blue cord is a symbol of God's divine commands that we serve a holy living God. Who left instructions for how to remember and trust Him. Inspired by that biblical blue cord. I pray this Blue Cord episode will be a catalyst for you to help you be His witness, right where you live. So let's get started. Today. I've invited my friend, Jen, she's going to share her experiences and learning to practically love her neighbors from another faith and culture. But before we do that, let's ground ourselves. In some scripture. When a teacher of the law asked Jesus, which commandment was the most important in Mark 12, Jesus quoted two verses first from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 when He said, love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. And then from Leviticus, 19:18, He said, love your neighbor as yourself. Now, Jen, after taking part in a summer women's Bible study on biblical hospitality, I know you started asking yourself, what would it look like to love your neighbors? So tell us about that.

Jenn:

Yes. I had just finished the bible study and God had prompted me to think like, I love God. Yes. I love my neighbors. Yes. And I was like, well, I don't actually know who my neighbors are. I mean, is it my neighbors that look like me talk like me act like me? Or is it just every person that's geographically around me? And I was like, okay, I'm just going to walk around my neighborhood. We had just moved to a new neighborhood. I didn't know anyone. I wanted to meet new people. I want to make new friends. And it'd been a long time since I'd been at school and now I'm a stay-at-home mom. And I'm like, you know what? I don't know. I'm going to walk around my neighborhood. I'm just going to see who lives here. And so I just was walking the neighborhood and I was praying, okay, God, you taught me to love you. You taught me to love my neighbors. What does that look like? How am I supposed to do this? And I just, I started noticing women wearing hijab and it was this prompting of the Holy Spirit and of the Lord where He says, do you love her? And I said, well, yeah. And then I kept walking and then I saw another Muslim family. And He's like, do you love them? Do you love those neighbors? And I said, yes, I'm living in this really, really diverse neighborhood. And I know I'm supposed to love my neighbors, but I don't know how, like, I'm just a stay-at-home mom. I don't know how to do that. And what does that look like? So that's where I was stuck for a little bit.

Karen:

So what was it like before you moved into this neighborhood? Who are your neighbors?

Jenn:

So most of the time, just like you said earlier when you were describing the blue cord. I grew up in a small town. Most of my neighbors were Christian, if not all of them. And I do have some history with my dad and where he grew up and things like that. But for the most part, my friends, if not, all of them were Evangelical Christians. And then I became a mom. Then I was like, I had Christian mom friends. And so these are who my friends were and who, my people that I was around, my neighbors. And so being in the neighborhood where I live now, we're all different. And now what do I do?

Karen:

Yeah. well, how did you feel when you realized that you were living in a really diverse neighborhood?

Jenn:

You know how if you have grown up in the church, they tell you no to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. And, but we're like, how do you do that? Do I have to like go to Jordan to do that? Like, do I have to move to the Middle East or do I have to move to China, or do I have to do any of those things? And so the feeling that I was reminded of, I'm seeing all these people, and God's saying, you need to love your neighbor. That's what Jesus said, love, God, love your neighbor. And so if that's what I'm supposed to do, then if my neighbors are Muslim, then I need to love them. I felt a sense of, I don't know what I'm doing, but I also felt God's prompting and God doesn't call us to things. And he won't call us to something without equipping us to do this thing. And so I had to lean into Him and say, what do I do? How do I do this?

Karen:

Yeah, okay so were any of your friends at the time talking about this?

Jenn:

They had an idea of what it looked like, to be a neighbor, but you live in suburbia. A lot of the people there are professing Christians for the most part, so me moving into the neighborhood that I'm living in, it was very different than my friends. They didn't have a lot of diversity in their neighborhoods like me. So I felt like, God, how do I do this?

Karen:

It's a little bit of an island by yourself and you're pressing into the Lord and you've got kids at home in that process, how long were you in this wrestling with the Lord? Like, what does this look like? And what next step did you take in the middle of all of that?

Jenn:

So realizing who my neighbors are, and I'm an intellectual kind of person and I love learning. And you know, simultaneously God is teaching me about my neighbors and who my neighbors are and you know, that I'm supposed to love them. But you know, being a stay at home, mom, I have two little boys and I was very educated. I had a career before I was a stay-at-home mom. And I don't know if there's anyone like me, but I felt like my brain was kind of going to mush because I went from doing very complex things to ABCs. And so I was like, I need something. And you know, I'm asking Lord, do I go back to school? What do I do? And in the same process, God dropped Arabic in my lap. And I know that sounds crazy.

Karen:

Wait did you say Arabic? God dropped Arabic on your lap? Okay, tell us about that!

Jenn:

Yes! Yes, so the language learning became something that God prompted me and it was just one of those things. And I was like Arabic, like Arabic of like all things like what? So I looked into some books and I got some things. And pretty soon, like I realized that I was like, okay, this is way harder to learn on your own. If you don't have native speakers to talk to

Karen:

Yes, it is! My husband speaks natively. And it's hard for me to learn it as well.

Jenn:

Yes! Yes, and so I was like, okay. And it was almost like God was preparing myself and preparing my heart and my mind and preparing the place an entrance, a door. And I didn't realize that Arabic was going to be a door. And I just thought it was something like, God's like learn Arabic, it'll help your brain. It'll help you be excited about learning about something. But it was to that point where I needed help. And God was like, you got a lot of people in your neighborhood that could help you. And I was like, huh. So now what?

Karen:

Okay, well, I can't wait. I'm on the edge of my seat. So you're starting to learn Arabic. You've got little ones at home. Arabic is hard to learn. I know I did a couple of semesters in college taking Arabic and without those native speakers to speak with, that's a problem. And so what did you do?

Jenn:

So as like, most of us were on some sort of social media app and I realized that my neighborhood had a social media app and I was like, okay, I'm just going to get on this social media app. And I'm going to ask if there are any native, Arabic-speaking women who wouldn't mind having tea with me. I typed it in there. I'm serious. I typed it in there. And I said a prayer. I was like, Lord, if I'm supposed to meet these women in my neighborhood this way like you've prompted me to then Lord make it happen. And I hit submit and it got posted.

Karen:

So at that moment, were you like, oh my gosh, what did I just do?

Jenn:

Exactly! I was thinking, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What's happening? Like, did I just do that?

Karen:

So what happened? Did anybody respond?

Jenn:

Surprisingly, four women from different places with different languages, but four women responded and one of them invited all of us to have tea at her house. And within a couple of days, I was sitting across the living room from four Muslim women who were very curious as, why this American-born westernized lady was interested in their language. And it was at that moment where I'm sitting there drinking tea. God says, here's your door? And I said, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh, Okay. Oh, okay. Okay. So we talked and it was just, it was lovely. And we're all moms. And we had a lot of things in common and we all liked cooking and food and it was just this beautiful picture. And it helped me not be so apprehensive about others that don't look like me or talk like me, or even raise their kids like me. But that we all loved our kids. We all loved our neighborhood. We all loved living where we lived. We all loved cooking and all of us had careers before we were moms. And it was this beautiful binding between these four Muslim women and me where relationships started to build beyond that tea and on one specific relationship, she was really involved with refugees with her mosque. And I didn't know anything really about refugees, really. I had, I knew, you know, the word and I knew that they came into the United States, but I didn't know what that looked like. And she asked me, she's like, do you want to go meet some refugees? And I, without even questioning, I was like, yes, I was like when are we going to do this. You know, cause I'm like if God is opening doors, I'm going to take them. And so I, you know, within a week of that, we were having tea on the floor with an Afghani family who had just come to America and I'm sitting there drinking tea, and God, again, prompts me through the Holy Spirit. Do you love these neighbors? These? And so that started me thinking, okay, well, yes. So practically loving my neighbor is, you know, hanging out with them. It means two or three hours of tea. It could mean helping their kids with their homework because it's in English and the parents can't help. It looks like helping take someone to the doctor because their husband's working and they need to go see a physician, but they don't have a ride. And it was like practical things that God was like, you know, these are the steps of this biblical hospitality that you learned about. These are the relationship-building things to be in a point where you can share my love for them to them. And it was beautiful.

Karen:

So I'm just curious, how did that first tea change you?

Jenn:

Oh gosh. In so many ways, just stop for a second and just be with people. I know that in the West were very like, go, go, go. We have an agenda. We, when we have things we need to do and just sitting in that tea, realizing that sitting with someone in their life and learning about them and drinking tea and sharing a moment with someone is far greater than getting to an agenda or getting to do something. And that's, you know because my culture is very driven that way sitting down and just being was something that I learned with them. But also just learning, like I said earlier about loving someone who doesn't look like me or act like me or talk like me. And yet we are still loved by God. And just looking at these beautiful, beautiful women, and God is saying, love them the way that I do. I tell people this all the time that God loves a Muslim the same, the day before they come to crisis the day after. And if God loves them that way, then I need to, to whether regardless they come to faith in Jesus or not, I'm going to love them wholeheartedly. If God brings them into my life, then I'm supposed to love them. Those were all of those things. There are things that I have learned just from doing that one tea and then walking them where God has led in this whole process.

Karen:

So now you're putting yourself out there, you've had this experience with the tea, you've met this Afghani family and you began to take the next steps. So what did that look like for you?

Jenn:

So hanging out with the Afghani family and you know, and, and my neighbor who does a lot of work with refugees through her mosque, I was thinking, I was like, you know what? I wonder if my city has organizations that are faith-based Christian organizations that are being led by the Holy Spirit and by the Lord to love refugees, there has to be a Christian organization that does this. And so I got onto Google-like everybody does when you want to find something. And I did. And I found an organization that works with refugees. They partner with a government agency and they do exactly what this Mosque is doing. And I got plugged in there. And so, you know, that was three years ago. I've met so many families that way and being invited into my neighbor's homes and things like that. But another facet of that is working for refugees.

Jenn:

So not only am I working with people that are here, have moved here, have immigrated here, but now I'm working with people that are coming here from trauma, coming here from a place of pain and fear and coming to America and being able to be that first American friend for them, that loving American, because a lot of them, you know, come here to America thinking, you know, things that they have learned about America, America is this and Americans are this and or that or whatever. And sometimes that's good and sometimes it's bad. And so being able to push past that with them helps to build friendships and trust with that. My neighbors, yeah. They may live across the street from me, but they may be getting off an airplane from Afghanistan tomorrow. They're my neighbor too.

Karen:

So I have a curious question for you, Jen, in this process of loving your neighbors, one of the greatest challenges I've seen many Christian women walk through as they start this journey of dipping their toe in the water and learning to love their neighbors from another faiths and cultures is just pouring themselves out in love. And yet holding back from declaring God's glory and sharing their biblical faith or about Jesus. So tell me about that. Have you had opportunities as your loving part of loving is to point people to Jesus? So how does that look? Tell us a recent story.

Jenn:

So just like a lot of people, like it's really easy to, you know, be friends with someone and hang out with them, but we get to that moment where, you know, the Holy Spirit is saying, you tell them about God and you tell them about his Son. And a lot of us just kind of stop right there because we're like, oh, I don't want to offend anyone. Ah, we don't want this relationship to end. Ah, we have all these like things that we hold back like you said, and I had all of those to all of them. And one of the most loving things we can do for someone is yes. Be their friends. Yes. Be there for them, help them be trustworthy, be someone they can depend on, but also loving someone is also loving them through the way that God loved us. Yes, God loved us when we were sinners, but Christ died for us and he died for them too. And if we don't open our mouths and tell them and share that truth with them, are we really getting past just being a friend and loving our neighbor as our friend, are we loving them as ourselves because the Lord loves us through his son Christ Jesus, are we, are we doing that too? I would say that it took about a year and a half to get to where I was in a conversation with someone where they were interested in things that I was sharing with them. One of the relationships that comes to mind is a woman and her husband. And she has two kids. She was here as a refugee. I was at their house every week, having tea, hanging out. My kids were hanging out with her kids and it was just this really beautiful relationship. And her husband started to get really sick and he was getting some sort of skin irritation. I left their house and I'm driving home and God's like, you need to pray for them. Like, it's this thought in my mind, you to pray for them. And I'm like, okay, cool, God, I got this. I can pray for them. And it was this prompting. It was like, no, you need to go pray for them. Like in their house, pray for his healing in Jesus' name. And I'm like, what? did I hear you right? I know I'm supposed to, but really? Okay. So I don't want to offend this family. They're very conservative Muslims I don't want to be that jerk that's like, now I'm in your home and now I'm going to pray for you. That was my thinking. I was like, I don't want to push too much. And so I just, I called her and I said, Hey, I know that your husband's sick. Would it be okay if I prayed for him? And she says, oh yes, yes, yes, yes. Pray for him. I said, um, can I come to your house and pray for him? She said, sure? And I said I pray in Jesus' name. Is, is that a problem? And she says, oh no, no, no, that's fine. And I was like, okay. So, you know, so I'm thinking like, okay, I'm like, get him hyped up. I'm like, God, you're asking me to go to this guy's house. Like, I'm going to pray for him. He's going to be healed. This is going to do this amazing thing. A couple of days before I went, I was like, fervently, praying like, God, you know, I'm going to be going to this house, like open doors, whatever means Lord, that you have to bring them to you make it happen. And so I go to their house and you know, I pray and I say, Amen. And they say Amen and we're, we're just staring at each other. And I like thinking going, okay, God, what are you going to do? I'm so excited. You do something big. And to be honest, when the husband said, thanks for praying and he got up and he was like, I have to go to work. And I was like, oh, okay. So he gets up and leaves to go down the hallway. And I'm sitting there with a wife we're kind of making small talk. And she, she kind of leans in close and she says, you pray differently. And I said, what do you mean? She's like, you pray like God is your friend. And I was like, well, he is my friend. She's like, no, no, no, no, no. You talk to him. Like he hears you. And I said, but He does. I mean, He, He does. And then I said, do you want to pray together again sometime? And she said, yes, yes, yes. I mean, she was very excited. And I said, would you like to learn how you can pray to Allah? You can pray to him in a way that you know that He loves you and that He hears you. And she got really quiet. And she like leaned her body over to look down the hallway. Like she was checking for her husband, where is he at? And she comes back and she says, yes. And I said you know, when do you want them to do this? Do you want to be? Or, or what do you want to do? And she says, can we meet at night? And I said at your house? and she's like, no, no, no, like FaceTime or Skype or whatever. And I said, yeah, what time? And again, she leans down the hallway, again, appears down the hallway to see if her husband's there. And she leans back. She's like, can we do it at 10:00 PM? And I was like 10:00 PM?10:00 PM. I was like, yes. I mean, it could have been 2 am I don't care! She was like 10:00 PM. And I was like, yes, let's do this. So I lovingly started calling her my Nicodemus because she'd come to me in the middle of the night to ask me questions. And so we met for about five or six weeks together and we would talk about prayer. We would talk about why I view God this way and why she views Him that way and how my relationship with the Lord is different than hers and how that is. And she was very interested, but I, there was this withholding, this kind of the stubborn perseverance, like I'm a Muslim, but I can't be doing what you're doing, but I want to do what you're doing because you seem like God hears you. And sometimes I don't think God hears me.

Karen:

So, Jen, this is an ongoing story, and listeners, you can be praying for the situation that she comes to know the Lord. And I know listeners, as you were listening to what was happening as Jen was inviting her into prayer, and you might be thinking, Hey, I can do that too. I want to just share with you a resource that might be helpful to you. And that is a book called Muslims, Five Biblical Essentials. And it's by Renod Bejjani and inside there, there are chapters of stories, just like what Jen is sharing right now, as well as some really practical things that will empower you and embolden you when you're in situations. Just like what Jen shared. So, Jen, that is a remarkable story. I'm on the edge of my seat because I want to see how the story continues and how it transpires. Are there any last thoughts that you'd love to share with our listeners today?

Jenn:

One of the things that I learned from my Muslim neighbors is come with me and come see. Meaning my Muslim neighbor, I didn't know anything about refugees. She invited me, she said, come with me. I'm already doing this come and see., Come with me kind of thing. And I was like, oh my goodness we should be utilizing that too. And so there are lots of my friends, my church friends that have been like, Hey, come with me and have tea with my friends. And they've never sat across the table, drinking tea with a Muslim before. And it's the first time it's that same principle of just come and see like come with me. And I think for those of us who don't know even what to do or where to go, there are people that you probably know that are doing this. So you can say, you know what, Hey, the next time you go visit this family, can I come? Or like, Hey, you're reading this book. What is it called again? Can I read it too? And if I have questions, can I ask you? it's just being willing and open to go in through any door that the Lord has. I had no idea Arabic was going to be a door and I walked through it. And so just being open, even if the door looks crazy that God has a purpose for all things and for all people. And he wants to use us. That's the most beautiful part about this whole thing. It's, God's unveiling his gigantic kingdom story. And he's using people stay-at-home moms like me and moms like you and men who were in businesses and things like that. He wants to use us exactly where we are and he's going to bring the harvest to us because that's what he's doing.

Karen:

I love this. You shared this with me. And you said something like wherever God is now at work, I want to be right there. Oh yeah. I'm going to be right there and that is my prayer for every one of our listeners today. So Jen thank you so much for joining me today and just sharing your experience and inviting everyone all over the world to just come and see, come be part of this incredible opportunity to expand God's kingdom here on earth and declare His glory among the nations who do not know Him. And so, as we close out our time together today, I want to leave you the listener with one thing to think about and talk about with your faith-filled friends this week. And that is this. Are you willing to love your neighbors? And if so, what is a practical next step for you? Do you need to start praying and telling the Lord just like Jen did, that you are willing to love your neighbors? Maybe you've already been doing that. And it's time for you to take that next step. Like Jen did like posting on a neighborhood app that you're want to have conversations and tea whatever that next step looks like for you. Are you willing to do that? Just go and get started. Or maybe it's time for you like Jen to take another woman by the hand and go do it together. Whatever it is, wherever you are, just start.

Karen:

Thanks for listening to this podcast. A donor-supported series from iHOPE Ministries. For more bite-sized things to know and do to share your faith with intention. Follow us on Instagram @ihopeministries, then go to ihopeministries.org, and sign up for our weekly e-newsletter. If you enjoyed today's episode, please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and subscribe wherever you listen. Your review helps the show empower more everyday Christians with the courage, confidence, and know-how to share Jesus in our generation. See you next time.