'Welcome, Prince,' said Aslan. 'Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?'
'I - I don't think I do, Sir,' said Caspian. 'I am only a kid.'
Good,' said Aslan. 'If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.'(Aslan and Prince Caspian, from C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian)
In just over three months I will be packing my bags and headed to the Middle East! Most of my fundraising is done (praise God!), and I have been blessed with a few months to prepare for what is next. There are so many things to learn and so many ways I am not yet ready. So what have I been up to to get ready for living overseas?
Well, I'm taking the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class. We just wrapped up the first unit that focuses on the Scriptural grounding for missions. We have been seeing how God’s plan to redeem “panta ta ethne,” all peoples, to Himself is revealed from Genesis to Psalms to Jesus’ ministry to the promise of Revelation. Grounding the reason I'm going in Scripture is so fulfilling and rewarding, because it means that it won't be my strength or knowledge that achieves any of what happens in these two years. God already plans to call the people group I am working with to Himself; all I have to do is be faithful to Him.
I have also officially read the English interpretation of the Qur’an! I have learned that the Qur’an focuses a lot on the hope of Paradise—gardens of plenty—and the peril of judgment—fire and destruction. Paradise is for those who believe, obey God and his prophet, pray, and give alms. We have also learned a lot about what the Qur’an represents for Muslims—it is not just the “Muslim Bible.” It is seen as the exact transcription of the holy words of God on a tablet in heaven, completely uncorrupted and unchanged in history, and revealed to Muhammad. Muslims believe that the words themselves, in the original Arabic, have power, so they often memorize and recite them, or read it out loud, even if they do not speak Arabic.
When I'm not reading for Perspectives or working through my Islam class, I am working on preparation for tackling Arabic. Right now, in my language aquisition class, my husband and I are making silly faces as we try to figure out what our tongues are doing when we make a “k” sound, trying to learn to listen for and imitate consonants in the Arabic lanugage that English doesn’t have, and trying to get the "ayyy" out of our American "a." So far, it’s pretty fun! We have also connected with a local Arabic speaker who will hopefully meet up with us to help us learn about working with a language helper.
Sometimes I feel like I am learning so much and so much farther than I was just a few weeks ago. And sometimes I realize that I am only scratching the surface as I learn and prepare while still not in my soon-to-be home. I know that no amount of reading books, practicing language, studying Scripture, or watching videos on Islam can make me sufficient for what is ahead. I mean, really--I'm just a kid! But a passage from Acts 4:13 struck me last night in my Perspectives class:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
Take a look at what the Jewish religious leaders recognized in Peter and John. They were "unschooled, ordinary men---" fishermen, not seminary graduates or ministry majors. But somehow they had "courage" that left the Sadducees without a doubt: these men had been with Jesus.
So here I am, an ordinary woman. 22. Recent college grad without much work experience, let alone missions experience. But the Holy Spirit has given me courage, boldness to act as a witness of the great things Jesus has done. I do not feel myself sufficient; but I know my God's strength is made perfect in weakness. But I have everything I need to be a courageous witness: I have been with Jesus!