Written by Joe*, an All Nations missionary in the Middle East
One of the most helpful things that All Nations taught me in training was to be prepared to answer everyday questions with “salty statements”. Salty statements are answers to those everyday questions that show I love God and can be a launching pad for spiritual conversations.
Why Are You Here?
I get asked “what are you doing here” basically every day – from taxi drivers, teachers, and random people on the street. It is great to give them a simple answer with God at the center. I often say, “I am here because God put a love in my heart for Arabs and He gave me a dream to help those who are suffering because of war. I am here and learning Arabic so that I can help.” Sometimes they tell me I’m crazy and move on, but oftentimes I get to have a small conversation about God’s love for all people.
Deeper Conversations
I am still very young in Arabic, so I don’t often get opportunities to have deep conversations and really brag on Jesus. But because I am learning language, I spend several hours a day with my Arabic teachers which sometimes opens space for meaningful conversations.
I have somewhat of a colorful past and am often ashamed or afraid to tell it to people, especially in the Muslim context, where life seems to be driven by shame and honor. One day I was sitting in class with one of my teachers who used to be a college professor, so he is very educated and is also a good man.
We got into a conversation about drugs and alcohol because of something we saw in the news, and it became a natural opener into my story. So natural, in fact, that I got to make some salty statements and he then began asking a lot of questions. I got to spend the entire two hour class session talking about how Jesus came to me and rescued me from addiction and suicide and all the surrounding chaos. I shared how I was able to walk away overnight because Jesus gave me the strength to do it.
At the end of our class my teacher told me he was deeply humbled and grateful that I was willing to share that with him. He told me that in this culture, it is almost unheard of for anyone to open up and have a conversation like this. I pray God will water the seeds planted in this conversation.
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Would you like to partner with us to make our training more accessible to other missionaries like Joe? Join us to make Jesus known across the street and around the globe at our annual fundraiser dinner. Further Together 2022: Making Jesus Known, is on September 16, 2022!
Interested in getting equipped yourself to make Jesus known? Check out our People of Peace training to learn about salty statements like Joe described – the training can be adapted to any context. Also check out our full list of Upcoming Trainings.
