Dear Prayer Partners,
Mark lives in Dallas, TX, with his wife and preschool son. He is a Bible Translator who is just beginning to learn the language of the people group he serves. American missionaries are not allowed to enter the country where the bulk of these people live. However, a number of them have moved to Dallas and are living close to each other. Mark and his family have become friends with a man from this people group named Abdullah.
In his February newsletter Mark wrote the following article: |
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HEARING FOR THE FIRST TIME
Growing up in a Christian household, I’ve been around Scripture my whole life. As such, I can’t remember the first time I heard, “For God so loved the world…” or really any other Biblical passage. I’ve heard countless sermons, memorized verses for Sunday School, sat through classes at Moody Bible Institute, and even delivered a few sermons myself.
While I’m thankful that my life has been so Scripture-saturated, I’ll admit that, sometimes, in my flesh, I forget just how powerful the Word of God is. Sometimes, it feels mundane, and I wish I could hear the Gospel with fresh ears. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to hear Scripture for the first time.
Last Sunday, I got to witness my friend Abdullah do just that when I played for him audio of the very first Scriptures translated into his language. Let me tell you, it was something to witness.
The book was Jonah, and my plan was simple. Start by reading a passage from Abdullah’s holy book that talks about the prophet Jonah. Then, ask Abdullah if he would like to hear the fuller version of the story of Jonah as recorded in the Old Testament. Finally, play the Jonah audio and talk about it as best we could with our limited common language.
We stumbled through the first two steps of my plan and began listening to Jonah chapter one. So far, so good. I settled in to listen to all four chapters. Imagine my surprise when, after about verse 6, Abdullah told me to stop the audio. “I don’t understand,” he said. “Perfect Jonah is a powerful man of God. He knows everything. How could he be sleeping in a storm, and how could this ship captain speak to him in this way?”
Believe it or not, this led to about an hour-long discussion, and for a while, I thought that Abdullah would be unwilling to listen to any more of Jonah’s story. The Spirit, however, had everything under control.
The whole time Abdullah spoke about Jonah, he continually referred to him as “Perfect Jonah.” Such an honorific title for a prophet is a common part of Abdullah’s religious culture, indicating respect for Jonah and Jonah’s position as prophet. Picking up on this title however, I decided to do something a bit risky and a bit uncomfortable—I confronted him. “You know,” I said, “Jonah was not perfect. He was a man. Only God is perfect.”
After some more discussion, I shared the story about the woman caught in adultery, when Jesus said that the one without sin should cast the first stone. After Jesus said this, all the people left, and only Jesus, the truly perfect prophet, remained. He faced the woman and offered her forgiveness.
When this story was finished, I could see that it had impacted Abdullah’s heart. His eyes were filled with tears, and he was visibly moved. I’m not sure what it was, exactly, that touched Abdullah. Was it the clear implication that all men are sinners or simply the incredible mercy of Perfect Jesus? One thing was certain: “Wow,” I thought,” God’s Word is powerful.”
For the next couple of hours we listened to and discussed the entire book of Jonah. Abdullah wept at least two more times as he listened to God’s Word for the first time. Please continue to pray for Abdullah. Pray also for his family, who sat nearby and listened to all that was discussed. Pray for all of us, that the mercies of God’s great Gospel would, each day, be greeted with fresh eyes, and that we would be reminded of the awesome power of God’s Word.
One more comment from Abdullah has really stuck with us. Speaking of Jonah the Prophet, Abdullah described him as a man whose prayers “reach God.” “A man like me,” he said, “My prayers don’t reach God.” What an incredible admission! Please pray with us that Abdullah and his people group would come to know the God who allows us to boldly approach the throne of grace through His Son (Hebrews 4:15-16). |
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Thank you for your prayers,
Gerald & Ruth Denny
Coordinators of Prayer Ministries
Pioneer Bible Translators |
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