I found this site which looks interesting...

http://daralmasih.blogspot.com/2010/12/ ... ts-to.html

Some amazing stories on this site. Thanks!

I’m providing an update on the Bible study with the Muslim kids in our neighborhood. We’ve had a few interesting sessions, but tonight’s was shocking. Let me explain. Instead of our regular Bible study, I invented a game called Who am I? On a piece of paper, I asked each child to answer 9 questions about themselves. Then all the papers were passed to me. I took a paper and read aloud the answers without saying who wrote them down. All the kids tried to guess who wrote down the answers. It was fun and everyone liked the game.

I asked traditional things like favorite food, best friend, and favorite activity. But I asked a couple of other things, and the answers were amazing.

Question: “What are you afraid of?” I thought I would hear about fears of spiders, snakes, that kind of thing. Two wrote “I don’t know”, one wrote “the dark” and another “people with guns.” Not terribly surprising, I guess. But 6 of 11 Muslim kids said they are afraid of “God”

Question: “If I could ask God a question I would ask…” I expected funny things like: Why is the sky blue? Where does everything come from? A few of the answers were: “I don’t know,” “what is my future,” and “I have a lot of questions.” Fair enough, but here is what the other Muslim kids answered:
- Why did you make my life so hard
- Am I going to heaven (three asked this)
- Why do we have to go to hell
- Am I going to hell
- Am I a bad person
- When will I die

Keep in mind these kids are all between the ages of 8 and 15, and the bulleted list above came from the kids 12 and under.

I was just wanting to give the kids a chance to say more about themselves, not realizing how distressing their responses would be. As a result, I realize my wife and I need to make sure we emphasize the loving side of God in our teachings. He is not someone to fear but someone to love and who loves us. He is not someone wanting to roast us alive, but someone wanting to save us and take care of us.

Your continued prayers are REALLY needed for this group. Many thanks!

Xavier!

Press on! Keep on keepin' on! Great thread!
I just wanted to compliment you and your wife for doing so well!

At an international high school [9th & 10th grades], one semester, two days a week, I subbed for a Teacher's Assistant, and was able to meet, greet, converse with, help with their classwork and homework mostly, kids from all over the world. Included in that group was a fair number of Muslims from different nations. If you have any questions or comments or suggestions for me for my job -- I have a ready ear and mind!!

The other posters gave you great advice, so I can add nothing.
Because I can always learn things from others, things that can be adapted to sub-teaching Muslims and all other international students, I'll be watching this very informative thread!

Roland

When I was still a practicing Muslim, we were told first and foremost to fear God. The Arabic term is taqwa which technically means to be conscious of God, but a lot of the Muslims that I know says it means to FEAR God. Also, being a Muslim doesn't guarantee that you are going to heaven. You still have to do everything right, and make sure your good deeds outweigh your bad. Muslims also believe that God sends you tests which might explain why the one child asked why God makes his life so hard.

Another item you might consider with the older kids is the idea that Christ is the perfect hajj. The younger ones might not be able to grasp this but the older ones might at some point when it fits in. I never correctly understood the paschal lamb of Exodus until I connected that with the Paschal Lamb, Christ, of the Gospel of John. What happened? I read a copy of Dr. Scott Hahn's book "The Lamb's Supper." I'm not suggesting you introduce the kids to this book as it is written for adults. Perhaps you could adapt the points so the kids can grasp and understand it.

Another thing about Islam is it's big on Mary. They really have a reverence for Our Lady. I'm not sure why but they do. She's mentioned in the Qur'an and muslims believe in the virgin birth. What I find so interesting is that they believe in the virgin birth but don't grasp that this is meaningless if Christ was only just a man & another prophet, even if a "great prophet." The VB only makes sense to me in light of Our Lord's being the Son of God & the Paschal Lamb, our Savior.

Prayers went up for your wife. I love what you're doing; this is amazing. If you want to read a great adult story about a Muslim converting to Christianity read, "Son of Hamas" published by Ignatius Press. It's a fantastic read. Good luck with this. I'm sure God has blessed you and your wife for doing this. What a fabulous vocation!

A long-delayed update here... We continue the Bible study with the neighborhood kids but are outgrowing our current house (our own kids share a room and we have only one bathroom!). We decided to purchase another house in the same neighborhood. There are some ups and downs with this. The upside is we will have a lot more room, and by chance, will also be closer to additional muslim kids and their families. However, we will be flanked on one side by an arabic Mosque, and on the other side by a Turkish Muslim community center.

The other issue is my job. I am a federal employee at an air force base and we learned this week there may be layoffs in the next few months. My boss says not to worry about it - that I will have a job somewhere on base at the end of all this. Even so the timing is not great, because we have not yet closed on the house (mid-June) and yet are under contract to buy.

So, I would really appreciate prayers that the Lord would provide for us to buy and maintain ownership of the new house, and continue our ministry at the new location in one of the most Muslim populated areas of the state. Thank you!

Please update your marvellous work