Arabic Classes

I want to thank all of you for praying for me and supporting me as I take Arabic classes. I started my classes about a month ago, and it has been an amazing experience. Though it has been one of the hardest things I have done, I have also been overwhelmed with God’s grace in these classes. In my weakness God has shown Himself strong, and every time that I have thought, “There is no way I can do this class, or that I can retain all this information and progress forward,” God has provided me with strength, wisdom and even a deeper desire to learn this language. I have had to get up at 3am, 5 days a week for these classes and there have been multiple days when, because of Missions trips or other ministry events, I only had 3 hours of sleep. Some days even less. Yet, even then, God heard my prayers and helped me to not only stay awake in class, but to have the wisdom and strength to learn.

I am fully aware that I cannot do these classes without the Lord, but I praise God that He is both the reason I am taking these classes and the only way I can. I am halfway through the first of five phases of the class, and I am excited to continue to learn this language so I may use it for God’s glory. Please continue to keep me in prayer as I keep laboring to learn Arabic so that I may be able to minister, to evangelize, and to teach God’s Word in it. Please pray that I can have the ability to learn this language quickly and use it for God’s glory

Mexico Missions Trips

In my last update I mentioned that the young adults of the Rock were going to be heading out for a mission trip to Mexico in June. Well, I just got back from Mexico a few days ago from an amazing trip. We had so many different opportunities to serve, to minister and to share the gospel. I’d like to share one story with you that I had near the end of the trip.

A group of us went out to invite people to a special church service, and as we did, we looked for opportunities to share the gospel. We went out with flyers from the church and began to invite people. We had several great opportunities to invite people, to pray for them and to share the gospel as we walked around. But the one that had the biggest impact on me was the last one. Because we had to meet back up with the other teams, we were beginning to rush back to the place we had agreed upon. As we were heading back one of our teammates started a conversation with one of the guys they handed a flyer to. We were already late at this point so I was going to tell them we needed to end the conversation and meet with the other teams.

At that moment a man walked up to me holding one of our flyers which had the information for the church in Spanish. He then told me that he didn’t speak Spanish, and he asked me what the flyer was for. As soon as I told him it was a flyer inviting him to church he then told me that he was a Muslim Atheist. A Muslim by birth, but of his own decision he was an atheist. His name was Muhammad and he was born into an extremely religious and strict Muslim family, which seems to have given him a distaste for religion, leading him to reject God. From what he told me, it seems that he had grown to detest religion because of how extreme his family had been, and also because of the corruption found in many religions.

I am still in awe of how God works and how He orchestrated my conversation with Muhammad that day. How amazing is it that God brought me to that specific village in Mexico, had me walk down that street at that particular time, when a Muslim Atheist who spoke English and not Spanish was walking around. Then, had him walk right up to me to ask what we were doing. Immediately he began to debate me and explain why he doesn’t believe there is a God. So I addressed the things he said and explained how we know that there is a God. He listened and didn’t argue with what I said, but instead he started to change the subject and begin talking about the mind, and how religion is used to control people and other things. I realized that I wasn’t going to get anywhere by addressing the things he said because he would likely keep changing the discussion to a new topic. So instead I told him my testimony of how the Lord saved me and transformed my life. I told him how about the love of Christ. Of how Jesus humbled Himself, was born into the world as a man, died on the cross for my sins, then rose from the grave and now offers eternal life and relationship with Him forever to all who call upon His name and put their faith in Him for salvation. I told Muhammed how I put my faith in Christ and how He radically changed me. How because of Jesus Christ’s love for me now I live my life for Him. Not because I have to for salvation, or because my family pressures me to, or because of fear, but because of love. It was as I was sharing that God brought this passage to mind;

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
2 Corinthians 5:14-15

These verses came to my mind as I shared with Muhammed and they hit me in a powerful way, because I was telling this man that because Christ died for me I no longer lived for myself. In fact, I was willing to give my life and lose it to go to people like him and his family with the Gospel that they may be saved. I looked at this man and told him that I was there because God loves him enough to send our team to come share with him the message of salvation.

God used this experience to remind me in a powerful way of His love and to once again stir up a passion to bring the Gospel to the lost. My heart is heavy knowing how many people are going to hell thinking they know the truth and are serving God, but are greatly deceived into worshiping a lie. That is why I am learning Arabic, and preparing to go to the Middle East so that when the doors open I can go and bring the truth of the Gospel to those who are in darkness. Sadly Muhammed didn’t choose to receive the Lord after I finished sharing with him, at least not to my knowledge. Yet, my prayer is that Muhammad will humble himself and call on the name of the Lord for salvation. Not only Muhammed but all those who are lost and need to hear the Gospel that they may be saved. Please continue to join me in prayer for the Muslim world and all the 10/40 window, that God would send laborers to bring them the Gospel and that their eyes would be open to see the truth.

If you would like to partner with me in the work of the Gospel financially, either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, OR you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Jorden Skiles support” in the memo section to the Saving Grace World Missions office at 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.

Praise Reports

• Arabic classes are going very well.
• An amazing Mexico Missions trip.

Prayer Requests

• For wisdom, strength and ability to quickly learn Arabic.
• For Muhammad to be saved and for God to open the eyes of Muslims around the world to the truth of the Gospel.
• For God to raise up a team to join me in the Middle East.
• For the doors to be open so I can move to the Middle East.