From Restoration Church member Paul B.
In the days that have passed since our team has come back from Jordan, I have had plenty of opportunities to sit back and reflect on all that the Lord was able to do in and through our team in two short weeks. We spent days meeting with university students, listening to them talk about their beliefs, culture and desires in life. We spent nights in conversation classes with English learners at a community center in downtown Amman. We had the opportunity to support the workers in Jordan by providing them with extra hands and feet as they were opened their brand new women’s café. In all of these varied tasks and responsibilities, God was kind enough to open doors for us the share the love, hope and eternal life that can only come through Christ.
Whether sharing the importance of forgiveness with a group of university students who wanted to talk about Israeli-Palestinian issues or explaining the bible’s view on marriage to a man from the community center, almost every conversation led to discussions of faith and the Gospel. During my initial few hours in Jordan, I had my own anxieties about how to bring up these topics, but as I was encouraged and challenged to look to the Lord for boldness and courage, He graciously worked through my weakness to the praise of his glory. Also, it didn’t hurt that many of the topics Americans deem unfit for casual conversation (i.e. religion and politics) are pretty safe and commonly talked about topics among Jordanians.
For example, one of the guys I spent much time in and out of the community center invited me out to see the city with him, during one of my final nights in Amman. I was truly thankful to spend some time before I returned home, and was prayerfully seeking opportunities to sow some seeds for the Spirit to work in his heart. Sure enough, after about an hour or so of us talking about American and Jordanian culture, our conversation shifted to American films. We somehow got to the topic of dating and the man (who I’ll refer to as Ahmed) asked me if I had a girlfriend. This question led to a discussion of purity and honoring God which eventually opened the door for me to share the Gospel over a period of hours that night. While he did not come to faith at the end of the conversation, I was able to see that he was more and more intrigued by Jesus and asking questions about Christianity as well as his own faith that he hadn’t before.
This experience with Ahmed, typifies many of the experiences that I had in conversations and interactions with the people I was blessed to meet. The Lord continually opened doors for his Gospel to go forth in conversation after conversation in ways that I never could have planned or expected. While there is still a tremendous work still left to be done, I left Jordan greatly encouraged to see what our great and awesome God is doing now and hopeful for the future work amongst those people. As for now, when I reflect on the blessing it was to be a part of that work, I can’t help but joyously write to share this news with you. God’s grace, in and through your support, helped things to go by smoothly and I know that without the prayers and financial support of this church, our trip would not have been possible. Our whole team truly does thank God for Restoration Church’s partnership in his mission to receive worship amongst the people of Amman. It’s a testament to your passion for God’s glory among the nations.
Continue to be in prayer for the encouragement and peace of the team that is working there long-term and for the God of grace and love to be revealed to the people in Amman!
Blessings to everyone at Restoration Church!
Paul