Since January

The past two months have been interesting. They were full of hope and frustration, exciting moments and doldrums. Sometimes the slow pace of progress has this particular American chomping at the bit to move forward. Other days, I come home and look through my notes wondering how so much can possibly be jammed into the course of a week.

We have moved forward with our Mums and Tots group with varying degrees of success. On the very first week, no one came. We continued to spread the word, and by the next Friday our small room was full of mothers and children. The majority of the women attending were from Muslim backgrounds, and conversation was friendly and open. In the following weeks, none of these women have returned. Rather, two different women - one Muslim, one Sikh - have brought children, generally at different times. The room is almost empty again, leaving Philippa and I to wonder whether mothers have been offended by something we've said, unimpressed with the playroom itself, or simply have busy and unpredictable lives. The fact that the playgroup has only been able to meet on Fridays thus far - a day of prayer, instruction, and ritual cleansing for Muslims - has also been unhelpful.

The situation with youth outreach has been accompanied by similar frustrations. The students who attend are from what may be considered Christian backgrounds. Outreach to young men has been going wonderfully, with Sammy, Ali, and Kaine interacting through casual conversations and games during youth club on Tuesday nights and Philippa's husband Chris helping to lead Bible Studies on Fridays. Young women have finally begun to attend youth club regularly - streaming in at once, chatting in tight groups or playing games for a few moments, and streaming out again before any real conversation can take place. Recently, I've been learning names, but it feels like we're making very little progress. Yesterday we held an Easter event for young women based on feedback from the students. We advertised for several weeks and received numerous assurances that the girls were happy to attend. Of twelve to fifteen girls who appeared interested none whatsoever attended. Frankly, this is an area where I'm finally seeing how spoiled I've been by the engagement of students at Grace.

For the past several weeks I've been attending a Bulgarian Bible Study led by Yordan. There are two to five people who have become regular attenders, and they are asking good questions. Last night's passage was John 3:16 - 21 and I was excited to see what they would make of such an explicit statement of the Gospel. They appeared engaged, but as soon as the prayer following the lesson was over conversation turned immediately to the shallowest possible topics.

I came home last night and brought this litany of frustrations to my housemates while we prepared our dinners. They were each encouragements, reminding me both that exciting things are happening and that these situations are in God's hands. I can not decide how many people come to events, I am not in control of how interested or receptive people will be, and God is the one who opens eyes that are blind to the Gospel. Now it's just a matter of remembering that.