God laughs...

Sometimes at me. Oh, I know my Heavenly Father loves me; He just doesn't always take me as seriously as I do.

Case in point: today I went to the Centre for a bit, just to drop off some salad stuff for tomorrow, and then I got sucked in to the whirlpool of activity in anticipation of our fundraiser. It was a good thing, though; there's a lady whose computer I periodically fix (I am not remotely qualified), and she had come yesterday looking for me, when I wasn't there. Today she started asking me when she could bring her computer for me to look at it, and I told her, no problem, I can go home with you and look at it. She was delighted. I also was delighted; the last time I went home with her, she ended up giving me delicious dinner. So off we went. On the way she began to tell me, with deep and abiding excitement, about molokhiyya, a very famous Egyptian dish, particularly popular in Cairo. She had made some last night, and it was very delicious, and she would feed me that. I was, of course, only too happy to oblige.

We arrived at her house, and I set to messing with her computer while she busied herself in the kitchen. After half an hour or so of sheer frustration, she said I should just come eat dinner. I walked into the dining room, and... there was the molokhiyya. Molokhiyya, I have learned, is whole kidneys boiled in crushed grape leaves, garlic, and a respectable amount of salt. I gulped and thought, She's going to give me as much meat as possible to honor me. Well, thank You, Jesus. I could feel Him laughing.

I know what you might be thinking: Jennifer, you're an MK. You've eaten weird things! Or: Missionaries have to eat a lot crazier things in other parts of the world, you huge whiner. I know, I know. But homegirl didn't grow up eating organs. And homegirl took two years of biology in high school. I know what kidneys do.* So I asked God's blessing and help and grace to eat, and sat down to my full bowl. It was everything I could have imagined. I am now immensely grateful for bread and cheese and strongly flavored pickles. My friend did give me a kidney and some change, and she offered seconds. God has a sense of humor.

What tonight bought, though, was an opportunity. I got to serve my friend in the name of Jesus, and I got to spend time with her. God let me pray with her and share with her from the Bible. Her brother is in Libya with his wife and five small children, and they are running out of food, and he is afraid to go into the streets because of the violence. This morning I read Luke 12, in which Jesus talks about how we are worth more to God than many sparrows, how He will feed us. I got to pray with my friend for her brother, and I was able to open biblegateway.com and share the passage with her in Arabic.

The Lord is good. He works in ways that are sometimes exceeding mysterious, but He is good.

Praises

• Praise God for this opportunity to share with my friend.
• God gave me a good day today and blessed me with encouragement.
• I had a really neat time in Ottawa learning about how to pray for Canada and hearing from God in interesting ways.
  

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for my friend and her brother's family. Pray for the Middle East during this turbulent time. Pray for the rise of rulers who will rule with justice and righteousness.
• My landlord is putting the house up for sale. Please pray for wisdom for me in how to respond to that--do I stay? Move with her? Move somewhere else? Will it even sell?
• Please pray for God's provision for the Friendship Centre. We are under some pressure right now. We are holding a fundraising dinner tomorrow. Please pray that God will move in the hearts of people to give to the Centre, and pray that He will raise up provision in places we don't even expect, just to show His power. Pray that He will protect His reputation in front of the people who have seen the Centre operate.

Thank you so much for praying!
-Jennifer

P.S. Ottawa post forthcoming; I haven't been able to collect my thoughts well for it yet.


*Kidneys make pee. Just in case you didn't know. If you haven't eaten part of a ureter, your life is incomplete.