Tuesday, July 15, 2014: Day 14 In the morning Mikel popped his head in my window, ready to go. We rode our bikes to Hamra where the Burger King is but we rode a much flatter way that Mikel knew. Very wise. We had more discussion with Fadi about his engagement. He said he texts her everyday and they get to see each other once a week. Lord save this man. Open up more conversation with him about Jesus. I caught up on journaling while Mikel relaxed. We then went to AUBs campus across the street. We saw people we knew which was a blessing. Hassin had a small hangover from drinking hard liquor. We talked to Patrick, a half-Lebanese, half-Irish man. He is an atheist and said that his Catholic mother has tried to convince him to believe in God but his logical father has simply tried to encourage him to blindly believe. We discussed how astronomy points towards a Creator, since Hassin was taking an Astronomy class. Lord show people that you exist and that you dwell fully in the person of Jesus Christ. Those guys took off and I began a conversation with Marwon. We discussed his socially intersecting socialistic religious political ideology. He is Druze, which is very hard to understand. He agrees that he deserves to go to Hell because of his sin. He said, We are always falling behind, in reference to Gods standards. He resisted the need for substitutionary atonement because thinks he has to deal with his sins by himself. I tried to gently lead him to see that if he has no mediator he will burn in the fire forever. He was very kind in our conversation. God would you save Marwon? Save all the people who call themselves Druze. I then saw Omar, who approached me the day before near the end of the group conversation and said, I now see what type of man you are. I replied that day, Is that good or bad? He strangely said, I will leave that to myself. Today he revealed his offense: people should respect others beliefs and never say anything critical about Islam or its prophet Mohammed. I tried to find a middle ground in conversation with him: we can totally respect one another with dignity because we are created in the image of God, but we can never respect an idea we think is a lie or not true. I told him, Every time a Muslim says that Jesus is not God, theyre not respecting me then nor my idea. He was a bit obstinate on the point so I tried a different strategy: Perhaps it comes down to how we talk about it. He responded, Yes. We need to be very careful about the words we use. I agreed with him and I thought we had a breakthrough. I joked with him about messing with Mikel and he then joked back briefly before going to talk to another group of students smoking non-stop. Haig showed up and we discussed the Druze religion with Jad and Marwon. I was asking many questions as I really knew and know nothing about this mysterious and esoteric sect of Shia Islam. Marwon and Jad informed me that the Druze religion has principles that cannot be known by anyone but the Druze, no one can join the Druze sect except by birth, and no one can actually find out let alone understand the principles unless they are fully committed. I told Marwon and Jad it seemed a bit ironic that Omar, a Druze Muslim, would take offense to any exclusive statement about how Jesus is the only path and Muhammed is not a true path when Omar belongs to a very exclusive sect. Marwon and Jad seemed a little persuaded. At this point a security guard approached Mikel and me and asked to see our AUB ID cards. We told him that we arent students. The guard asked Haig and the other two students, Do you know these men? They replied, Yes. The guard then told us, You must come with me to the security station. So we followed him and were told to sit down as we waited for their decision. The guards all looked at me with some form of skepticism and/or contempt. When we were told, You must leave, I asked for the reason why. They told us it was because we didnt have a friend with us that was an AUB student. I told them, Can I go talk to Haig for two minutes and he can be the person whom we are visiting? They emphatically told me, No. The captain has said no and he will not talk to you. I persisted in my request to talk to the captain. He eventually came out and told me with a frustrated face, Please leave. You dont have an ID. And besides, we have had several complaints from students. Your message must not be appropriate. He then quickly left the room. I wasnt satisfied with how things were going. So I addressed the security officers in the room: I just want you to understand that it seems like you are discriminating against me because of my message. Will you simply admit to that? They wouldnt answer me and seemed to become tired of me. So I asked one last time, Can I please go see my friends for two minutes? They would not let me. We began to walk out of the station when Haig approached us. He was more than willing to go in the station and talk with the captain. Mikel later referenced this action and said, Haig is the best. He is awesome. And he was. He confronted the captain and the guards and said, I know the policy. I have an ID. He has his passport. He can stay. And I know the policy. There is no policy against discussion on campus. Praise the Lord. It was very cool to see Haig defend us when he didnt have to. The captain changed his position and was going to let me stay. Yet he lectured Mikel for not having any ID on him. I decided it might be prudent to simply leave with Mikel for today and not cause any more disturbance. As I left, I tried to clarify with the security guards where I was coming from: If I had known the policy that I needed an AUB student to let me in, I would have followed that policy. But Mikel and I have tried to enter in the gates at the bottom of campus. And all the security guards merely said, Go to the front gate. So we did. I think they meant go to the front gate and then come into this station and drop off my ID. So know that I want to follow the policy. The guards then had warm smiles for Mikel and me. I think we reached some form of understanding. We left the station and Haig talked with us. I told him, I have been very encouraged by your non-verbal support last week and your verbal support yesterday and today. I think it was very kind of you to take time to help us. He then went to a store and bought us a candy bar and drink. Thanks God for people like Haig. He was more than willing to meet at the gate the following day at a set time. Mikel and I then began our long bike ride home. We stopped downtown at the big mosque to see Khalid. He had a headache but was once again willing to hang out with us in his smoky trailer. A friend of his showed up named Omar. We discussed some of the teachings of the Hadith and their impact on courtship. I am intrigued by the intellectuals in the Muslim community. I think I do feel more drawn towards the college students and young professionals. Khalid told me he will get me a Quran in English with explanations along the way. Lord save Khalid and his friend Omar. We found a flatter path home again and I took a short nap. I then headed to the soccer fields. All the fields were filled. But I saw Rudy, a guy I had played on the same team last week. He was tired and told me I could take his place. I really enjoy soccer but really suck at controlling the dribble. I think my opponents can tell. But today I was attacking on defense and stopped many plays. The teams could tell and invited me to play on Saturday and Tuesday at 6pm. Thank you Lord for this kindness! I headed to the basketball court and saw Eli who was there with Emil. Mikel and I challenged them to 2 on 2. Somehow we won. Mikel has few skills but was able to make a basket and minimize his turnovers. He had fun playing. We then were able to play three on three with a few guys who showed up. I enjoyed it but would have preferred to be playing fenced-in soccer. Eli had told Emil about me. We talked a little bit about his faith. He seems nominally Maronite from what he said. Bring a revival to the Maronites. Bring true repentance to all who claim Jesus in Beirut and in all of Lebanon. We went back to the ministry center and played monopoly with the guys: Mikel, Ivan and Rezan. I wasnt really interested in playing. But these guys love the game. All three of them will say prayers out loud for the dice to roll the way they want them to. I think there is something wrong with this but I dont know how to explain it to them. Any ideas? I spent some time with Beth and the kids on FaceTime and then tried to sleep. But all throughout the night my face felt like it was on fire, along with the back of my neck. I think it is a reaction to the chemicals that were used to spray my room. Lord help my eyes feel better as they are still burning today. And help all the eyes in this city to be fixed on Jesus. Help mine Father. I need your help. In Jesus name.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 11:53:42 +0000
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