Page 111 - Neglected Arabia Vol 1 (3)_Neat

NEGLECTED ARABIA 7

There is another man, who has passed through great sorrow because
of a death in his family, and it seems to have brought him very close to
tlie kingdom. He lm» been u eonaUmt utteudant ut our Bible shop in the
Uuuur, but only during the present year did he begin to attend our •;
icrvices. Now, however, he is there regularly and takes a very intelli­
gent interest in all that we do and say. He has several children and
how beautiful it would be if all of them could take the step together and
ucp out of the darkness of their former life and into the wonderful
light of the Gospel.
Still another young man, who has also gone through the deep waters
of sorrow, comes whenever he can find freedom to come. He is not yet « i
a free agent, and as his aspirations are known, he is watched the ; more
closely. He has continually confessed his faith in the superiority of our
religion and when opportunity offers he comes to our meeting and takes
part in the singing and the reading and often leads us in a simple prayer. i •
There is also a young man who does not come to the services yery
regularly, but this is due to the fact that his business takes him out of 'A
town among the Arab tribes. He lives in a tent in various sections of the •i !
country, as he is a government surveyor. But it is interesting to know
lhat on his table, alongside his maps and blue prints and the instruments 0
of his trade, there are copies of the Gospel and other religious books,
uul that in the evening, as the tribesmen gather about him, it is with the
Utter that he entertains his guests.
* Also three boys have been coming to our meetings regularly, although Ml!
of late their attendance has been irregular because their parents or
guardians do not allow them to come. There are also some who have
expressed a desire to come but do not dare to do so. They do not have
even the courage of Nicodemus, as they do not dare to come even at i
night. But many are reading and thinking and comparing and we know S
that those who seek will eventually find.
These uro some of the men and the boys who are doing just what the
hymn tries to tell us is the way of those who are following Jesus. At
the Muharratn festivities in our station, when the battle of Kerbela and
i .
the death of Hussein and his family are reproduced in a crude way, the • *
grandchildren of Hussein are represented as being persecuted by the
enemy and finally slain. To simulate this persecution the children run
i
mtoss the arena with an enemy behind them. The children run and
tumble and get up again to run, only to stumble a little farther on.
This scene impressed itself upon my mind as a picture of those who i.
ue "Finding, following, keeping, struggling” in the way that Jesus leads •\
2*m. In the case of the struggling children the pathos of it moved
o<n a hard hearted Arab policeman to tears. I am wondering how
«xny of those who read these lines will be moved to a word of prayer.
Friends, meet these men, these boys, who are willing to risk all, to
Vive all, and follow Him. Remember them, pray for them, be to them
4 source of strength and a beacon of light. Their names cannot be given *•.
Urc, but if any one would like to pray for them by name, we shall be
gUd to answer every such request and tell more in detail about their •S
bo, their problems, and their struggles.