Again! Again!

Seventh-day Adventists and Muslims join together to present historical health expo for Muslim community

The phone call on Wednesday started abruptly with basic and broken English, "Tuesday! Tuesday! At the center?" Our team member responded positively, acknowledging that she had been part of the Health Expo the night before and that it was now finished. The female caller seemed to ignore the ending of the event and pressed the point further, "Again! Again!" She then gave a phone number to our team member that would lead to someone with better English skills to convince us of the absolute necessity of doing another Expo quickly in the area! Praise God!

The event on that Tuesday was a first of its kind, not only in this area, but possibly even throughout the U.S. I can hear you responding incredulously in your mind, wondering what could possibly be a first involving a fairly common Health Expo program. What made this unique was not the material covered or the activities that the 40 to 60 people did as they progressed through the eight stations describing the natural doctors of health (nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, air, rest, and trust). It was unique because of the people who were going through the expo and the group presenting it.

That night God brought together a team of 27 people, some of them Seventh-day Adventist and some of them Muslim, to work together side by side to be a blessing to the surrounding Muslim community. As the amazed participants learned more about the expo and filled in their personal health sheet from station to station, some realized the rarity of this moment and asked what group could be behind it? Our response was simply: the Adventist-Muslim Fellowship Association of Atlanta. Of course that would not mean anything to them or to you, so we also gave them a few short paragraphs describing the group a little further. As they read it and pondered the impact of "the People of the Book"* working side by side with Muslims to encourage good works and deeper faith in preparation for the return of Jesus and the Day of Judgment, each one responded with great joy and excitement.

Through the night, we saw God opening hearts and forging new relationships. In one room, Muslim ladies, relieved to have a private place to do their health activities, shared openly with the volunteers and talked about deeper-felt needs. At the trust station, Dr. Z (a strong Muslim leader and doctor from Emory) counseled and advised his "patients" in their need for better health based on their experience and results from the expo. Because of that event, he even encouraged one man to go very soon to the hospital for further help. Within the course of the evening, we had open invitations to do this same thing in three mosques and the foundations for some exciting relationships were built. Praise God, or in Arabic, Alhamdulillah!

Not only was that night a new beginning in this community, but it has led to another even larger miracle of God. This little group of Seventh-day Adventists and Muslims (AMFA of Atlanta) and volunteers from the Ohio area have also been invited to do a similar program at the Islamic Society of North America's annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, over the Labor Day weekend! Praise God Almighty. That means that we will have the opportunity to interact and bless many of the nearly 40,000 Muslims that will be in attendance during that weekend.

Please join us in praying that God will continue to open huge doors for this unique work of building bridges, loving, and calling others to an end-time faith in these last days.

If you feel moved to pray for us, we need it. If you feel led to help in some way, God may be asking you to be one of His stewards for this work. Please listen and contact us at amfaatlanta@gmail.com. There are many needs ranging from volunteers to financial sponsorships of transportation or materials to be used during the weekend. Please, pray and see if you can be a part of the answer for that lady who called a few weeks ago: Again! Again! Let's be a part of God's plan to do it again and again!

*This is a Qur'anic designation for people of faith within the Jewish and Christian faiths or the people who had previous Books from God. Particularly, some Muslims are looking for a group of the People of the Book to be an end-time blessing to them. See the previous post, "Good News Atlanta Team Stories: Are Muslims searching for you?" for an amazing story about that fact.