A Needle of Power in a Haystack

Sunsets last week on the French Island

There is a night, during the month of fasting, that is of particular importance.  Of this night, their book says, “[it] is better than a thousand months,” and “Peace it is.”  Many things are believed about this night.  It is said that their book was delivered to their prophet on this night.  It is said that a person who prays ardently with their whole heart will be guaranteed salvation.  To pray through this night and find its blessing is believed to be of more spiritual merit than a thousand months of daily prayers.  Some say, on this night, if you pray with fervency, you will see a great light, and in that moment, when the light shines on you, you may ask for any good thing in the world and it will be given to you.  With incentive like this you can understand why for many of this faith it is a night of great importance.

But, as with most things here, nothing is certain.  One might pray through the night and not see the light.  One’s prayers may not be ardent enough.  Moreover, no one is exactly certain of the day.  Just as no one knows for certain the day they will see the new moon which begins the month of fasting, no one can be exactly sure which night will be the night of power.  So, this causes some confusion.

But we’ve noticed that this special night seems to be less of a “thing” here on Clove Island.  Where it seemed like a big deal on the big island, it seems like people here are less likely to talk about, so we decided to ask around and find out what was going on.

It certainly became clear that people do not put much stock in this special night here on Clove Island for the simple reason that they don’t know when to find it.  Whereas most places that celebrate this special night believe they can narrow it down to one of two days, (a manageable amount to work with) Clove Islanders have been told that the night of power could be at any time throughout the month!  Some say during the first ten days. Some say during the middle ten days, and still others say during the last ten days.  With 30 days to choose from it’s no wonder that many have simply given up on this night.  In fact, most people we asked seemed to treat it almost as this impossible feat.  “Yes, it’s possible, but who really can find it?”  When we asked if they knew of anyone who had experienced this miracle on the night of power, they answered with a dismissive laugh, “God only knows.”

Our kids on ferry to airport on French Island

A brother of ours was talking to an Island friend who was telling him about the night of power and the bright light that would shine on the person who is faithful to pray on that night.  “And when the light shines on you, you will see God’s glory and be able to ask for whatever you want.”  Our brother, without skipping a beat, agreed that a person who saw that Light would indeed see the glory of God and know the truth, and proceeded to explained to him about the Light of the World.  There are always those who are searching. May they see the Light.


PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our time on the French Island ended well at the beginning of the week. We were able to connect with our landlord (who lives there) at the last moment and carry gifts for her to her family on Clove Island. Our sister Elewa is feeling better.   We are thankful for opportunities for good conversations, for regular meetings of study that are continuing to happen, and regular times of prayer that have continued throughout this month.  Time of prayer with women on Thursday included several neighbors of Elewa hearing the story of Hannah and receiving the invitation from our island sisters to hearing and learning more.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our sister Elewa is feeling better, but her husband has been in a great deal of pain.  Many people have prayed for him but he is also stubborn and does not do the things he needs to do to be in better health, both physically and spiritually.  Pray for a change of his heart.  Tom’s friend is waiting to have a dream, he is ready and willing to receive one.  Let’s keep praying.  We will be having a big fast-breaking feast at our house this weekend (something we’ve never hosted before).  Pray that we could show good hospitality to all who come.   Tom just met a brother who has been living on the Big Island for some time.  He seems like a good man.  Pray for his integration into the community here.  Despite Clove Islanders’ lack of enthusiasm for the night of power, there are many around the world this week who will be praying for a glimpse of the Light.  May we pray that many, many will see that light.  Our short-termer is traveling to the islands this week and will arrive on Saturday.  He will be with us for 2 months.  Pray for his integration into our team and for all the logistics involved in finding him a place to stay.

Prejudice

View over French Island capital

During the month of fasting, its difficult to keep our normal schedules.  We’ve tried in the past to teach classes but have found student attendance to dwindle and those who come to class are too tired to concentrate, so we’ve given up teaching classes during this month.  The one exception is our English Club.  Out of a sense of continuity we like to keep it going even during this month, but since we can expect a low attendance and late starts, we’ve taken to watching a film during this time and using it as a platform for discussion.

This year we decided to use just a single film clip and watch it every week and then use it for different topics of discussion.  We decided to use a clip from the classic film, “12 Angry Men”.  If you’ve never seen this film, it’s a good one.  In one scene one of the characters reveals a deeply held prejudice about immigrants.  He rants and raves about how good-for-nothing they are.  This is the clip we used.  (If you want to watch the scene, click here.)

So, using the clip as a starting point, we began to talk about prejudice.  It was interesting to hear our students’ responses.  First of all, many were unconvinced that prejudice was a bad thing.  They had two reasons for this.  Their first point was that stereotypes help us know what to expect from different groups. They said, if you know that a group of people tends to be a certain way, then you will be on your guard and not taken by surprise. Their second point was that prejudice might be a catalyst for positive change. As an example, they pointed to the small island and how everyone thinks that people from that island are stupid (the small island has historically had the least developed educational system). “But now the small island  is working harder to learn and become intelligent.” “Or take the airport town, everyone there is greedy and mean. They don’t share,” they explained to us. “Maybe they will hear that everyone thinks this about them and they will get angry, but then they will realize it is true and they will want to change.”

We realized that as Africans, the idea of grouping people together and individuals bearing their community’s reputation was not an uncomfortable idea. Thinking communally is normal for them. So we were intrigued, but a little disappointed by their answers. We wanted them to see the injustice of prejudice, but they kept coming up with examples of people they were prejudiced against and basically defending why their prejudice was justified or how it was founded on fact. We needed to think of another example that they could understand, that would place them on the other side of prejudice.

Our kids on our short French Island visit

Then we remembered the French Island. On the French Island, Clove Islanders are seen as a social menace. They are primarily illegal immigrants and are blamed for all the societal ills.  Crimes, gangs, overcrowded schools, overburdened hospitals are all blamed on Clove Islanders.

We asked our Clove Island friends at our English club, “Is it true that Clove Islanders are liars and thieves?” Of course, they vehemently denied this characterization, while at the same time recognizing that this was how they were stereotyped on the French Island.  By the time we finally got them to understand this ugly side of prejudice we were already overtime.  We left them with the final challenging thought: If you don’t like how people talk about Clove Islanders over there, how do you think little islanders feel when you call them stupid?  We’re not sure they really understood.  I would not call empathy a strong trait among the young people who attend our English Club.  We’ll watch the clip again on Wednesday and see what, if anything sank in.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The month of fasting always gives us opportunities for sharing.  Tom found himself in front of a captive audience at the bank this past week when the bank security guard wanted to know if he fasted.  About ten people got to hear about the Kingdom of Light that day.  Tom continues to have good meetings with his friends.  Megan was able to explain some things with a difficult neighbor.  We are thankful for opportunities that we get at this time of year.  Megan’s parents are feeling much better and starting to heal from their surgeries.  We are thankful to have this opportunity to be mutually encouraged by our friends and colleagues on the French Island for the brief visit we have had this week.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
One of the men Tom meets with is hoping to have a dream about the Light.  Join us in praying that he receives it.  Our sister, Elewa has been sick with pain and fever.  Pray for her quick recovery.  We have been hearing about some of the challenges of working on the French island from our friends.  Pray for openings and interest among a whole people who seem both uninterested and unwilling to listen. 

Conformity

Mat set for breaking the fast

We’ve heard this week that the island president is calling for more religious conformity.  Apparently there have been some variations in how islanders pray. This is no longer to be tolerated.  All islanders must pray in the exactly the same way. (We haven’t heard yet what the penalty will be for not complying.)

The island national anthem proclaims that they are one people, one blood, one religion.   It announces with pride and delight that they are all the same and that this is the source of their strength and unity.

It is a verifiable fact that the islands are one of the least diverse countries on the planet— culturally, ethnically, and religiously. That doesn’t mean there is no diversity, but it is more subtle, small differences rather than major contrasts. Still the president is calling for even more conformity.  And by so doing he is presenting to all that he is a man of faith, who takes his religion seriously.  The religion of the islands, which is followed by millions of people around the world, calls people to conformity.   It provides lots of rules and guidance on what that should look like.  It instructs you in everything from how to pray to how to enter a bathroom.  It is legalism of a very high order, and though it is dominant in dozens of countries and dictates the lives of people from thousands of languages, it demands conformity.  Islanders and millions like them, think that conformity is what ensures their unity.  But conformity is not unity.  True unity does not happen when people conform but when people truly agree.  Conformity brings about the appearance of unity but it is only a shadow.  Yet islanders, and millions like them are fooled.   In fact, they are often puzzled when we try to explain what true unity looks like.

In America, we champion non-conformity (although most of us still conform to many unwritten rules of our culture, like everywhere else).  But in movies and literature, we often praise the rebel, the outsider, the one who doesn’t fit in.  We see value in the things they can teach the establishment and believe they add an important check to our society.  But neither is this unity.  And so we see in America the glorification of independence.  We don’t believe in being told what to do and we respect the man who wants his space.  We believe it makes us strong and in some way, unites us.  But this is not unity either.

Our daughter & neighbors waiting for sunset

But there is another way.  It looks both as wild and various as the “non-conformist” culture of America and as uniform and consistent as the “conformity” of island culture.  It is the way of the Spirit.  For what the Spirit offers that no other system, religion, or philosophy can is true unity—unity in diversity.  Heartfelt agreement expressed in a myriad of forms.  Whenever you see unity in diversity you can be sure the Spirit is at work.  And this unity is tenuous—it is so easily lost, as we have seen in two thousand odd years of history, but time and time again it appears.  Unity of heart that is spell-binding.  Diversity of expression that is mind-blowing. 

How can you teach this?  How can someone understand it?  How can someone raised in a culture of conformity or non-conformity expect to appreciate this?  One will look on the unity of the Spirit and reject it as chaos.  The other will see that same unity and imagine it to be a prison.  But the person with eyes to see…  The person who has been searching for something more…  They will look on it and see it for what it really is—harmony, peace, and freedom. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We’ve had a great response from our invitation to pray for the islands this month. It’s not to late. Send us an email if you want to get the daily guide/emails to help you pray. Prayer is powerful so we’re encouraged to have people lifting up the islands. We were able to gather with many local brothers and sisters for a meal on Saturday and prayer afterwards. It was encouraging to have so many together. The women gathered for prayer on Thursday, sharing a story with some who are seeking. Megan’s parents’ both had unexpected surgeries (her dad for his blown out knee and her mom for kidney stones that she didn’t know she had). Both surgeries went well!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for the islands during this time of fasting that those who seek would find and that more would seek! Pray for Megan’s parents that they would both recover well and quickly from their surgeries and that Megan’s mom would be able to go see her own mom (whose health is failing) before too long. Pray for this call for more religious conformity by the president— pray that it would create a conversation among islanders about religious freedom. An island brother we know is seeking religious asylum on the French island. We’re not sure if this is the right decision for him. We pray for guidance and wisdom for him and others.

Preparation

New Moon (Sighted Monday Night)

It’s here!  For weeks people have been talking about its approach.  It nearly arrived yesterday but  the new moon wasn’t visible on the islands on Sunday night, so it started today and it changes everything.  Okay, maybe we’re being a little bit dramatic, but a lot of things will change, for one entire cycle of the moon.  Yes, whether you are aware of it or not, millions of people were looking at the sky this week to see the new moon which ushered in the month of fasting.  For us and for islanders I think it is fair to say that this is both a difficult and joyful month full of it’s own challenges and difficulties, blessings and opportunities.

A quick review, for those who what we are talking about: the month of fasting involves no food or water from sunup to sundown.  Nights are spent feasting with family.  In this month, islanders believe good deeds count more and religious observance gets more religious merit than at any other time of year.  A properly performed month of fasting is believed to forgive sins and greatly increase one’s chances of reaching paradise.  Everyone, excepting children and the sick, are required to fast.  Restaurants are shuttered.  Public eating or drinking can result in jail.  For those who choose not to fast the community pressure can be intense.

Many years, the month has started before we’ve thought about how to approach it thoughtfully. That is why this year we decided to be pro-active and for the past few weeks we have been preparing.  How?  Most of it is mental and spiritual preparation: What will we do?  What will we say?  How will we respond to questions?  What can we do to be encouraged?  How can we encourage one another?  How can we make the most of this month which is so full of both darkness and blindness and yet opportunity and hope?  

Finishing class before the month begins

We have been praying and thinking about these questions, but we wanted it to be more than just about our team. We wanted the body here to be unified. So we prayed and were very encouraged to see that our island brothers and sisters were thinking about these things too. But could we agree on one way forward? We sat down and started to discuss. Many people spoke, different ideas were passed around, but we clearly had similar hearts. Encouragingly we quickly decided to mark each day with a different group coming together for times of intercession and encouragement.  Some days will be mixed gender, other will be mixed nationalities, some in the capital, some in other villages. Then to mark the beginning and end of the month, we will gather as a larger community to feast together. 

We hope this will give the month a new feel both for us and for all the islanders involved. It is a new step.  We hope it will bear much fruit, where each person is encouraged by others to endure and remember that none of us is alone.

There is one part of it that we haven’t mentioned yet.  That’s where you all, our faithful blog readers, come in.  We’ve been thinking about you for the past few weeks and the role we would like you to play as well.  We were reading a book recently about the power of the intercession of friends back home, not just praying for us, but that things would happen among islanders.  Would you join us in our goals for this month?  We’ve got everything prepared to have you join us.  All you need to do is let us know you want to be a part of the action.  We’re ready to send you more information, answer any questions you have, and bring you into the work for the next 30 days.  Interested, send us an email at this address: tmislands@fastmail.net!

Our preparations are complete.  Let the month begin!

Our daughter turns 11!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful for the meeting with islanders and the united plan for the month! Our teammate’s family has had a wonderful visit and lots of good interactions. The consultant checking went well and they were able to finish checking a small book!  We are very thankful for our daughter who celebrated her 11th birthday! She is a gift to us! 



PRAYERS REQUESTED
Tom’s friend continues to wrestle with the truth. He is praying for a dream to help clarify what is true, pray that he has one. Megan’s dad blew out his knee, still waiting to hear if he needs surgery, but at the very least he has a long recovery ahead of him. Pray for fast healing. Megan’s grandmother’s health is failing. They hope to put her in hospice care. Pray for peace and clarity for everyone in how to proceed. The first day of fasting and all our kids woke up feeling sick. Pray against attacks on our health and well-being during this month.