What are You Risking?

This is a night I hope I never forget. Ezekiela instantly felt like a sister to me, and I just want to share a bit about her.

Our squad’s last night in Durres, Albania we ended up in the square right outside of our hostel singing and worshipping God. This created an avenue for us to talk to people passing by wondering what we were doing. As we were singing, I noticed these two people standing about 5 feet from me watching us. I smiled at the girl, then said hello and then moved closer to talk to her. She asked what we were doing, and we easily fell into a conversation. She’s 15 years old and is a Christian. Her name is Ezekiela, because when her mom was pregnant with her, her mom was newer to Christianity and loved the name Ezekiel. Her mom just knew she was going to be a boy and could name her child that, but when she was born her mom still decided to stick to the name but just added an a. I don’t know about you, but I think that is so cool!

What’s even crazier? We talked about God, her faith, her name with her dad standing right beside her. Her dad is a Muslim and doesn’t let her or her mom read the Bible when he is around. How were we able to have this conversation? Her dad doesn’t speak any English. We talked in the square for probably 15 or so minutes before her dad invited me to go sit at a coffee shop with them so we could continue talking. A friend came with me and we both got to sit at the coffee shop and talk with them for a bit longer. Ezekiela’s dad didn’t know we were Christians. She didn’t translate anything Christian related we said, because we wouldn’t have been welcomed at the table with him anymore. No, no words about God’s saving grace was shared with this man. But I think about both Ezekiela and her dad a lot. When I think of them, I pray for them too. She came towards our group because she heard us singing. She could have walked away when I tried to talk to her. She didn’t have to talk about God in front of her dad. Ezekiela is an inspiration to me in how she has to risk and make sacrifices just to believe in God. How many risks do I take for or because of my faith?

Ezekiela hopes to go to a university in Texas, study architecture and continue living in the United States afterwards. Please keep her and her dreams in your prayers. And please pray for her dad- that his heart will open up to God and that Ezekiela can share with him the amazing grace our God gives.