I just got back from an interesting trip to the Middle East that I would love to post more about soon. But for now I wanted to talk about an interesting and challenging Christian activity that is taking place within Egypt. The Zabbaleen are Coptic Christians that live within Egypt. There is only 60,000 of them or so and they are responsible for picking up 1/3 of Cairo’s trash. They take this trash and pick it up off the streets and then bring it with them back home. Their home is literally a landfill. Trash surrounds them.

It puts a whole new spin on the idiom, “one person’s trash is another man’s treasure.” The men go out into the city and pick up the trash and bring it home where their wives sort out the trash into plastics, glass, papers, etc… It is a very efficient recycling system. After they do this they make goods out of the trash and sell it.

At first as an American I can respond with disgust and anguish that these folks are living in a landfill. Can you imagine little kids that often put whatever they find in their mouth living in a landfill and putting whatever he can find in his mouth!!! Sometimes there is broken glass and used syringes!!!

However it has been once told to me that an observation of the phsyical condition of someone’s life is an example of someone’s spirtiual condition. In light of this, when we look at the lifestyle of these Christians I can impose an idea that quite possibly this is exactly the life that we are to life. We are to be those who go within the dirtiest and darkest of places and pick up waste, sort through it and redeem it. These families give me quite a picture of what we are to be like. In the midst of darkness we are to be light. In the midst of trash we are to be garbage collectors and redeem the usefulness of fallen and broken items. To look at the bad and find the good within it. For more information about the Zabbaleen you can read:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A23780270

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabaleen

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0106/p07s02-woaf.html

Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.

Napoleon

ABANDONED TO JESUS | Graduation and Middle East Trip

Hey friends, I wanted to give you a heads up on the latest and greatest. On May 2^nd I graduated with two Associates degrees in History and Liberal Studies. Now I am pursuing getting my BA in Global Studies at Northwestern College.

Janice and I just got back from the Middle East on June 12^th. She did great! It was her first time overseas and she found that it was a lot like traveling within the United States, except you don’t speak the language. I however found that living there would be a lot harder than I anticipated. Please be praying for the workers over there.

We are super pumped because we started another BFBC class on July 7^th. We have 17 students. There is also talks in the works that another missions agency will be sending their missionaries through our training. If this happens there would be 20 more students coming through. Praise the Lord!!!

RESCUING THE UNREACHED | Vision 2011/2016

I thought I would use this time to recast the vision that you are signed up to support. As Napoleon said above, in order to make a difference in the world we need people who will commit to not sit in silence but to raise a battle cry and make a difference.  This vision is one way we are working together to not remain silent. 

Vision 2011 is my heart to have a BA in Global Studies by this point. We are well on the way

Vision 2016 is multifaceted.

-       2,000 unreached peoples reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ

-       600 missionaries trained and sent from Heart of God Ministries

-       10 churches planted among HGM teams.

Please pray for God to bless this vision. Your help in prayer, financial support, as well as encouragement to our missionaries can greatly benefit this goal. If you are interested in helping me with Vision 2016, please email me about ways you can get involved.

COMMITTED FOR LIFE | Prayer and Action

Prayer

1) That Janice and I would experience Jesus’ nearness and immediate, continual presence (Col 1:9-14) & that we would look more like Jesus this year then we did last year.  

2) I would be a good husband  

3) Pray for Janice to have wisdom as she teaches her students.

4) For 100% full Financial Support, through new supporters, increased giving.

New to the Chronicles :  People Group Highlight

Sasak of Indonesia 

http://www.prayerguard.net/index.php?page_id=11&target=Sasak%20of%20Indonesia&pronoun=6&role=24

In Christ,

Jason and Janice Weigand

Isa 61:1-3

blog: http://sonofencouragement.com