Baba
I spent several hours talking with one of my friends who has been our local mechanic. Many of the guys call him Baba which means "father".
When I heard his nickname I asked him what he would like me to call him. He asked me to call him "Ali". So of course I couldn't pass of the oportunity to call him Ali Baba. When I told him the story of Ali Baba and the forty theives he thought it was funny.
His son was very interested in talking as well. We discussed the Koran and the Bible and what we have in common. We talked about Issa the name for Jesus in the Koran. And how their scriptures veiw him.I asked him to teach me about Islam because most of the teaching I have had has been from Christian.
He told me one of his favorite scriptures from the Koran has the idea that before you begin to cook your meal look at your neighbors homes to see if there is smoke. (Are they cooking their food?) Make sure your neighbor has food before you eat.
It was fun to stand around for about three hours and share.
The son, who is about thirty said, "I have been wanting to talk to you ever since I watched you an entire day."
"What day was that?"I asked.
"I watched you searching the river all day for the body of a man who died. It was so touching to see the kind of relationship that you have with the family that you were helping. You could have paid someone to swim the river but I think God had a plan for us to talk about this today, so you swam!
I was concerned for you as there are many snakes but God did not even let you see a single snake! I was afraid that you might get sick because the water is so dirty being below the hospital But God protected you.
I also thought that you would work so hard but not find the body but God led you to him! It was God's plan. That is why I am so happy to talk with you today. Thank you for talking with me."
I was touched by his words. The Lord is the one who makes the plans. We just need to be faithful to what he asks us to do.
Very soon the call for prayer will ring out from the mosque as it does each day. May we remember those who belong to the faith of Islam as we pray through Jesus, the Son of God.