Hookah Bible Study

Raw thoughts from the Middle East:

Yesterday I sat in a hookah Bible study. I certainly didn’t think that’s where the day would take me, but God had other plans.

So there we were, sitting in a home visit with refugees while they passed the pipe between each other and we opened the Bible together. We read and talked in three different languages about how God is still alive and moving today. We talked about how we have seen God in our day to day lives and I got to hear women tell me their favorite Bible stories in Arabic and African dialects.

Since moving overseas I have experienced new cultures in a very up close and personal way. Around tables, in cars, over meals, shoulder to shoulder with people who look and live very differently than me.

From Central America to Eastern Europe to the Middle East, I’ve seen people express hospitality, community, and culture in their own ways.

I’ve had to learn how to be adaptable and learn what it means to live out what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. To “become all things to all people”.

I  have come to see how culture is imbedded in our behavior and how it drives our actions, often without us realizing it.

Now don’t hear me wrong, I’m not advocating that you smoke hookah at your next Bible study, but I think Paul was on to something when he told us to sacrifice our own comforts and freedoms. Be it physical freedoms, cultural freedoms we are accustomed to, or religious freedoms that we have in Christ, it’s important that we get comfortable being uncomfortable.  Learning how to bend away from our preferences for the sake of sharing the gospel.

We are commissioned to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Not just go and make disciples of those you feel comfortable talking to, but to go and make disciples of ALL nations, ALL people, ALL backgrounds.

The places we step out in uncomfortability are the places that allow us to depend less on ourselves and more on God.

Living in an Arab nation, I have come to realize that my willingness to trade my American preferences for a more regionally appropriate expression of freedom is often make or break.

In Christ we have freedom, but how we choose to wield that freedom could mean the opening or closing of doors to gospel conversations. In this part of the world, we may be the only Christians that someone ever directly encounters in their lifetime. Honestly that’s intimidating some days. But there’s comfort knowing that God doesn’t need us to fulfill his plans. God can move with us or without us. Regardless though, we don’t ever want to be a barrier to the gospel simply because we want to exercise our freedoms in a way that puts people off to the gospel.

So after living in Muslim countries for the last three/four months, I have learned a few things. I’ve learned how to dress in a way that fully covers my collarbone, arms, legs, and butt regardless the desert heat, to not make prolonged direct eye contact with men, to always sit in the backseat of taxis as a woman, to not shake hands with men when I meet them, to eat and drink whatever indistinguishable food/drink is placed in front of me, to not cross my legs or point the bottom of my foot towards someone (if you know me, you know this is difficult for me haha), and how to be adaptable for the sake of the gospel.

Once again, don’t get it twisted, I’m not advising you smoke hookah for the sake of the gospel. But as Christians, it’s critical that we carry ourselves in a way that isn’t surprised or judgmental towards the actions of others. We come from different cultural backgrounds and there are things we just might not understand. We are influenced by many things in this world: cultural norms, societal tendencies, the environment of our own upbringing, our experiences, etcetera.

While smoking shisha (hookah) in a Bible study is something I never thought I’d witness, I recognize that in this nation its fairly common. And while hookah is common, the number of Bible studies occurring in this region are next to none. So if someone wants to smoke shisha while they talk about Jesus, so be it. The God of the universe can do all things. So surely He can set us free from any part of our life that has us in chains, including the chains of nicotine addiction for my refugee friends.

But instead of pointing a finger or sitting in judgement I get to praise God that there are individuals who know truth and are seeking after truth.

To sit in a rooms with people from countless nations, displaced from their homeland and hear story after story of hardship, death, war, persecution, etcetera is heavy. These people have been through more in their lifetime than I will ever be able to comprehend.

My eyes welled with tears as we sat in that house that day. I felt so humbled to spend time with these people. People that have walked through some of the darkest evil this world has to offer, but continued to put their trust in Jesus. Regardless of circumstance, trusting that God has their best interest in mind, continuing to seek God. They acknowledged that the brokenness we see in the world was never the way God intended it to be. We left the house that day with new friends and old friends. But I left with a deep respect for their faith.

It’s easy to trust God when life is going well, it’s another thing to trust in God when everything you know is stripped from you.

This family happened to be Christian, but almost all homes I walk into are filled with people who don’t know the hope or peace of God. I think that’s why this home visit really touched my heart. These women were strong, but not because of their own strength, because they had assurance and trust in God. Assurance and trust in the one true God who has shown up and  provided for them time and time again. Even if it wasn’t in the ways they expected.

We typically go to three home visits a day with the NGO we are partnered with. Which means lots of different people, from different places, with different stories, and different religious backgrounds.

But Praise God that Jesus came to earth and died on the cross for ALL people. Not just for American people. Not just for Arab people. Not just for white people. Not just for black people. Not just for straight people. Not just for Republicans. Not just for Democrats. Not just for the affluent.

Not just for ______.

He died on the cross for ALL PEOPLE.

The gospel is inclusive.

If I could tell you the stories/testimonies I’ve heard from people around the world, I guarantee some of you would fall out of your chairs.

Stories from former Mafia members, former international drug dealers, former secret police/intelligence agents, former devout Muslims etcetera, all who had personal stories of experiencing the life changing love and salvation found in Jesus. And many of these people I feel honored to call friends to this day.

Being overseas has taught me how to value people from different backgrounds and cultures better. How to honor people in ways that might feel unnatural to my American self.

We are commanded to love God and love people. So how can we as Christians love people better? How can we as Christian’s love those that the world loves to hate?

Jesus sat with sinners, he ate with tax collectors, he talked with the prostitutes, he spent time with people alienated by society. He didn’t engage with people’s sin, but he sat in close proximity to them and loved them and mourned with them and spent time with them.

Today I think the church as a whole needs to get more comfortable being uncomfortable and learning to place people in a higher position above our preferences.

Honestly, its hard sometimes. This week I had to hand plunge a sink so I could finish doing the dishes for the team. And let me tell you… I REALLY wanted to place my preferences over serving our team in that moment. But if I didn’t do it someone else would have to, and I stand by the fact that nobody should have to experience hand plunging a sink hahaha. This is a silly example, but it’s the motivations of our hearts that matter most. Am I willing to sacrifice my preferences and place other people in a higher regard than myself? 

We are all growing and learning though, myself included. And there’s grace for the times we get it wrong. But at the end of the day, the gospel is purest expression of a selfless love.

The way we steward our freedoms, honor and respect people, and simply carry out our day to day life, is all a reflection of how we view God. And when we understand that our desires and our preferences are not the most important thing in the world, it changes things. We will love God better and love people better.

I know this blog was a little all over the place but I wanted to say thank you for those of you who took time to read all of it.

I wanted to share my thoughts in real time, and I t may not be the most polished blog I’ve ever posted, but I wanted to share a small piece of my experiences with you all. God is moving in the Middle East and it has been a real blessing to partner with God in this country.

مع حبي

(with love)

Mikahla