The blessings of Jesus!

The blessings of Jesus!

Eid Mubarak, everyone! Eid al-Adha is the festival of sacrifice, in remembrance of when Abraham went to sacrifice his son. Blood literally runs through the streets, streaming down the driveway from the houses where animals are sacrificed. Meat is shared with the poor and poor men can be seen walking down the road with their plastic bags of donated meat, asking for more alms. Pray for the message of God’s sacrifice provided in place of Abraham’s son to be seen and for many to understand the need for a perfect sacrifice. Since now, it’s summer vacation, I’m in the capital city of Islamabad visiting some people. Islamabad is in Punjab, not KPK, so I am at a loss for language as everyone speaks Urdu and not Pashto! Though some Pashtuns do live here. It is also very liberal here and, in my opinion, just like America! I can move about freely, and there are real toilets and showers… to my great humor and chagrin, I keep forgetting that you’re supposed to flush the toilet because I’m so used to the Persian commode. I spent Eid on the side of the road (picture above) with some village Pashtuns who were there in Islamabad to sell woven mats and animal fodder and one homeless man who lived on that strip of road. There was a crazy man in the park by the road bothering me, so they invited me to sit with them so he would go away. In classic, hospitable Pashtun fashion, they gave me some snacks and invited me to stay for tea. They said they did not have enough money for a sacrifice, but they were eating some meat someone had donated to the homeless man. With a propane cylinder, they boiled the meat and as they ate they began telling the story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, and I was able to chime in their native language to tell them about another sacrifice God provided. With attentive ears, they listened to the message of Jesus’ sacrifice, of His message that His body is real food and sacrifice. Pray for the seeds sown to be grown and for spiritual truths to be understood.

Pashto tappa (couplet): ته اسلام پښتو ګڼه دوه، زهٔ وايم يو دي خدای کهٔ هم انسان و، نو پښتون به و ‏Hamzah Baba- To Islam, Pashto is number two, but I say they are one If God was a human, so then He would be Pashtun.

As far as most people are concerned, to be Pashtun is to be M. That’s how it is. Pray for many to see they can walk in the path of life without losing their culture.

Pray for my time this summer as I go around Pakistan visiting people and places with the other believers here. Pray God will use my time.

Praise God for an opportunity to do some online work! Then I can have some work despite my travels all over Pakistan. Pray for my upcoming adventures

Praise God for the opportunity to go to the house church entirely in Pashto!

Pray for seeds sown to grow and for me to be wise as a serpent and innocent as a dove.

 
Thank you for praying! Khoda haafiz⁩

Kendall Freeman

Jun 18th 2024
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