Dean(s)

Dean no. 1

As mentioned earlier, we usually go out late on Friday nights, praying and looking for opportunities to talk to people. Well this Friday the four of us (and Mark, a director), wandered out to around twenty guys out on the pitch, rowdy and drunk as usual. We said our "hello's" and went on our way before the police showed up, noticing that the guys had gathered some stones to throw at them. Well we went and prayed some, and then looked back from the other side of the pitch to see a police wagon thing driving up on the pitch spotlighting guys, and the guys in turn pelting the wagon with fist-sized rocks. This had an effect similar to that of hitting a wasp's nest with a baseball bat, so we decided not to walk back that way this time. We wandered for about 20 more minutes, by then having circled around back by our house. As we sat there trying to decide whether or not to go back inside, a guy walked by looking visibly upset, and mumbled something about the hopelessness of this estate. We asked a few questions and found out that this guy was named Dean, and that the mob had put in all the windows on his mom's house and tore down the fence. After talking to him some, praying with him, and giving him a New Testament, we walked inside, smiling at the providence of God for putting us in the right place at the right time. We have seen him a couple times since then, met his mom, siblings, and grandmother, and gave him another little book to read. It seems like God is working on him, so be praying for him. Also convenient is that fact that he works at Dominoes, so we got a good deal on pizza tonight.

Intermission

Melissa and Emily are still here, they leave Thursday morning, and they have been awesome! It's been so fun to have extra people around to talk to and cook for you, and they've been very encouraging to us. They will be missed.

Dean no. 2

The other Dean is a 15 yr. old guy who lives around here. He is much easier to find than Dean no. 1 because i've never seen him anywhere except hanging out in the cul-de-sac in front of his house. From what I can gather, this is because of two reasons. One, he is a slightly bitter protestant, which is not the best thing to be in Dunclug, and two, he tried to steal a Wii from another protestant around here, making him shunned from that group as well. Besides these things, he is on all accounts a very cool guy, so about once a week i wander over there and play soccer with him... he usually schools me. Due to his confined space, he has to be rather creative, using a tree and a lamp post as a soccer goal, even though the soccer cage is about 50 yards from his house. The funny thing is that Dean is a microcosm of what life is like for a lot of the people we hang out with. They can only walk so far into town, and wouldn't dare go near certain protestant estates, for fear of losing life or limb. Since this is how "protestants" treat them, you can imagine how they'd feel about going into a church. Pray that God might overcome culture and politics and the hatred done in the name of "religion", and spread the real Gospel around here. Also, pray for Dean and his brother Calum, and his mom, that they might meet Jesus. Thanks for praying!