Roaming blackouts

Lights appeared below, outlining the city as our plane approached, on our way in to help at an Entrust family camp. Suddenly the shape of the city changed as large sections below us went dark and smaller sections of light appeared. It happened again on the opposite side of the city; maybe six or eight blocks went dark and another one or two blocks lit up.

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Now I understood why our local staff recommended we westerners stay in a hotel. Houses in this Middle Eastern city suffer roaming blackouts due to the area’s insufficient power grid. With temperatures over 100 degrees, lack of power makes living extra hard. When the power went out at our hotel, the back-up generator kicked in and within 30 seconds, phones were charging, lights shining and much-needed air conditioning returned to our rooms. But only at the hotel. 

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Insufficient power is a huge problem affecting the million or so people in this city. The temperature one day climbed to 113 degrees. I can't imagine not even having a fan in such heat! Yet for some, roaming blackouts are the least of the problems in this area of our world.

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Most live without spiritual power. Their eyes are blinded by the god of this world. They live in perpetual darkness. They are deceived into thinking they have power—power of religion, tradition or culture. The majority faith here has an inoperable power grid, because it rejects Jesus as the Son of God.

 

Yet, God has not rejected them. One family we met at the family camp had recently transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Joy shone in their eyes. They had found Jesus, the light of the world. As 6- or 7-month-old believers, they were already teaching those younger than them in the faith. The husband is reading and recording psalms with background music in his language and posting them on YouTube for other seekers to find and be drawn to the light.

 

This family received truth and encouragement at camp, to return home and continue to allow their lights to shine brightly, so others might see their good works and come to know Jesus the light of the world and our heavenly father, the source of all power. 

 

One of Entrust’s goals is to train leaders like this family to train more leaders, so that the power of the gospel will overcome the darkness. The initial steps toward that goal are happening and we continue to pray for the light of Jesus to overcome the darkness.