6-18 Day Twenty One

This morning, I started my day meeting with a fellow believer in the coffee shop where we got connected. Context: A week or so ago, I saw a girl reading her Bible in a coffee shop, went up to her and shared that I was encouraged by her, and she said we should read our morning devotionals together. Today she also asked if we can make it a regular thing in my remaining time here, I obviously said yes! Unexpectedly, she shared that she was encouraged by what my friends and I are doing here. Based on what she has seen of us when we are out in the city, she said we are living out the Gospel. We are not unkind in our approach to strangers, and we genuinely care for those who do not know Christ. This was SO sweet and a delightful way to start the day. 

I met back up with the team to get started on our presentation for the church, coming July 9th. We made a PowerPoint outline today, so we are moving in the right direction! I also began adding practical information to present to the church in the section I am covering. The goal is to leave the church with all of our information so that they can continue the work that we have begun in our short time here. 

My favorite part of today was getting to meet with the PhD student from Monday night. Recap for those who have missed it: while we were doing outreach, a Muslim girl began talking to us, and I got her number. We met up this afternoon because I wanted to get to know her better, build connections with people in Providence, and learn more about Islam if given the chance. We chatted in a coffee shop for TWO HOURS. I learned a ton of information. After hearing how judgment works in her religion, it made me sad. She explained there is a point system for good and bad, that on judgment day, you need to hope your good outweighs the bad. The uncertainty does not give me hope like Christ Jesus does. We talked about the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, why the cross matters, and forgiveness. It was a good exercise for me as well in articulating what I believe to somebody who already believes that I am wrong. She also had so many good questions about Christianity, which I hope stir her to dig deeper into what she believes. 

Currently, I need to pray through whether or not I continue to meet with her in my time here. She has a heart for our mission (which is odd, knowing her beliefs are not ours), yet I don't know how to use my time well and what that looks like for this friendship. I hope to use my day of rest tomorrow to spend a lot of time in prayer about the subject.