Mina’s Email and Blind Willie McTell
Hello from the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, India. Aaron and I are at the end of our time in India and we’ll by flying out at midnight tonight. A 16 hour flight. (Note to self: Charge the iPod, buy some more reading material and hope the movies are good.) And the 16 hour flight just gets us to New York. After 5 hour layover it’s the final leg home. From the time we leave the hotel till the time we reach home is 28 hours. Yeah, baby! And yesterday we traveled 12 hours to get to New Delhi. Along the way I will be working on my message for Sunday morning: Other People. I call these seven mile high sermons. I dreamed of preaching this message last night. It was good in my dream.
The two conferences went very well. I preached a total of 17 times. The Indian Pentecostal Convention asked me to return next year and speak every night. We’ll see.
Oh, by the way. The day I left Thiruvalla, Ravi Zacharias arrived. My host in Thiruvalla is a friend of Ravi. I just missed an opportunity to meet him. Darn! May there be another opportunity!
I got an email from Mina in Egypt today.
Mina was our guide and interpreter when Peri and I climbed Mount Sinai last November. Mina is a believer who came to the Lord through a series of dreams and miracles. He’s a Coptic Christian (Egyptian Orthodox). The Coptic Christians have a long history of persecution and Egypt is a land where many martyrs fell. This has produced a rich devotion in the Coptic Church. I want to share his email with you. I find it very poignant.
Hello,
How are you my friends?
Hope you are okay and every thing going to be fine with you in your life. I don’t know where are you now or if you went home or still traveling every where. But, i hope you enjoying your time any way. It’s the first day in my holiday today, you know i was thinking all of the time if we will be able to keep in tough or not, But when i started to check my E-mail, i got your sweety message and i cann’t describe for you now how much i been happy because of your words.
I know that you didn’t get excellent guiding because my English was not American and also i know that i didn’t understand you many times and that was a very bad from my site, I mean you could have another one more better than me.
But, you know, really i was vey happy to see you and also to know that there are many people love Jesus as i do and also to know that there are many and many from the most far site of the world believing in Jesus by your way.
Oh, I forget to tell you important point about me, I stopped smoking completly now. You know i had Three days off, then i was praying in my room in Taba where i am working and i refused to go outside with my friends, and i was praying asking Jesus to change some parts in my life in the first day, Then i had dream; “Dream of Fire” as i call it now: That i was smoking in my Dream and there was one angel beside me crying and his eyes were full of tears, then i started to look to him and my hands started to get burning because i forget the fire when i was looking to him. When i waked up, i burned all of my Cigarettes in the W.C, and to now i didn’t smoke any more and never i will smoke again.
I know you don’t have time to read all of that but i wanna complete what’s happened with me to you please, I am sorry for that. At the next day, i mean thje Second day, I was praying for all of the Christians in all of the World because of the problems which between people together now because of the Differents between The Orthodox, The Catholics and The Protostantics and in the end of the Third day i went outside my room to watch Football with my friends in Coffe Shop and on one News Chanal i got some News about the Christians here in Egypt, that Pop Shenoda the Third, Pop of Orthodox Christians in the Middle East sent Invetation to Pop of Vatican to come to pray here in Egypt and also sent another Invetation to Dr. Safwat who is responsable about the Protostantic Church in Egypt to come to Pray also with him togather as Christian People together not like Orthodox or Catholic or Protostant. You know that didn’t happen before, you know, I am very happy now because of that and i feel that all of the Christians will be one body one day as Jesus asked us to do in the BilBle.
Oh, i didn’t get the Books or any CD, But, i will go tomorrow to the Post Office of my city to check if there is something to me there or no. Then i will tell you later sure. Thanks for that very much, You know, you are the first people to something like that with me in all of my life.
I don’t know what can i sent to you from here, But i will do my best to send to you something which i hope you will like one day.
Jesus Bless you,
Mina
Egypt
Mena and me.
Jesus in on the move in surprising ways and in unexpected places.
From Indian Pentecostals to Egyptian Copts. Hallelujah!
I’ll be home soon.
Blessings,
BZ
PS
The bobtune going into my head as I post this blog: Blind Willie McTell
Such a cool song!
Here are the first and last verses:
Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, “This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem.”
I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
Well, God is in his heaven
And we all want what’s his
But power and greed and corruptible seed
Seem to be all that there is
I’m gazing out the window
Of the Imperial Hotel*
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
* Actually the line is the St. James Hotel. But I’m gazing out the window of the Imperial Hotel.
