8hrs, One Muslim, One House and Everlasting Impact
Michele was crying hearing the story of Raza.
This Muslim mother of four, wept recalling the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia as she described weeks of not finding food for her newborn baby. She was desperate and had to resort to digging in garbage to find a piece of bread, soaking in dirty water to keep her daughter alive.
This was my Saturday.
It was a day full of irony, and one of answered prayers. I was praying that Michele and I would impact this world as a couple and building this house for Habitat for Humanity we did just that.
We were able to be involved with several things:
1) Teach this moderate Muslim mother of four that Christians are way different from what they are taught. This mother was not a radical Muslim extremist (she hasn't been to a mosque for years and didn't stop once to pray to Saudia Arabia). We were able to shed light about Christians and hopefully shed the love of Jesus to this woman.
2) See and contribute to the strength of this country: immigrants with vision and drive can power America to her strength: helping people realize a dream of freedom and common decency. Raza, only eight years ago was weeping helplessly realizing she could lose her baby, three years ago she was crammed into a tiny apartment and now, working eighty hours to support four children and a husband who lost his legs in the Bosnia war -- now exclaimed with joy, "America is still the land of dreams."
3) Opened the door sharing Christ. Raza was struck by the background I had about Bosnia and the events that transpired there. She was struck by my goal that day of impacting her: I told her she had a second chance in America and told her it was my joy with my fiancee to set aside the day to labor with her to help her realize a dream. Obviously the Lord opened a door, because Raza wanted a picture of Michele and I for her new home. She made me promise.
Michele and I went home and we forgot about the sweat, and labor to realize we might be bringing another child back home to heaven.