Planting Faith
Posted on Friday, February 5, 2016 by
Emad jumped in my car while I was waiting for the rest of the Wilson high school student leaders to arrive. He was eager to join us, though I was a bit confused! Emad is Muslim and we were meeting to talk about how, as followers of Jesus, we would lead Campus Life at Truman Middle School.
I first met Emad at Truman lunches. He has an easygoing demeanor, a smile on his face and is open to sharing. He arrived in the states with his family from Yemen when he was 12 years old. He adjusted quickly to American culture and appeared like all the other eighth grade students in his class.
We would talk every week at lunch. Toward the end of the year he started to attend Campus Life…although hesitantly. Emad would participate in the games and the discussions, but he would leave the room when we began sharing about Jesus. When he moved on to Wilson, I thought that would be the end of our interaction.
"He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."
Psalm 126:6
It wasn’t…
This past fall, Emad showed up at Truman to join us at Campus Life. And there was an amazing change. He stayed through the whole club, even the talks about Jesus!
Over the next few weeks I learned that life has had its challenges for Emad and his family. His father had to go to California to find work, which left his mom to parent the family alone. On top of that, he has had to deal with the insult of “bin Laden lover” and other ethnic prejudice.
Emad has more interest in the latest hip hop song and playing soccer than in his Muslim faith. When I’ve sat down with Emad to discuss his faith and what it means to be a Muslim pursuing Allah, his answers show tension and uncertainty. He is not sure how to answer such queries. Emad has permitted a dialogue and I am grateful for the opportunity to listen to his story and discover his heart.
Jesus will be revealed to Emad and my prayer for him is that he would pursue Christ! There is a long way to go in the process but seeds are being planted through our friendship.