Simulations: House Visits

This was a much more fun simulation than the bags being stolen one!

All of the Squads were brought into the Training Center, and we were handed cards with our team, location, time, and country on them.

I was on a team with Clara and Aaliyah, and I was so thankful to be on a team with them, because they both had more than just a little experience when it came to house visits! We waited on the dining deck for about an hour and a half, until 5:10, the time we were told to report down to the pavilion. We were welcomed and told to visit any “house” (which was really just a rope marking out a square) that we wanted.

We chose a house with a man and a woman in it, and a few minutes after we told them our country, Asia, they invited us in. The woman, who’d covered her hair in a hijab, looked at her husband for approval, then gestured for us to enter, which we did after removing our shoes. She gave up her chair to Aaliyah, then stressed over not having enough seats for anyone. We assured her it was all right and, after dusting off the floor for us, she hurried off to make tea.

Aaliyah took the lead, and after thanking our hosts, she asked if they’d ever heard about the Gospel or Jesus. The man pretty much immediately told us he didn’t want to hear about it, and Aaliyah said, “Okay, that’s fine. Is there any way we can serve you?”

The man declined, so we started some small talk, which ended once we asked if they had any kids. Then the wife started sobbing and saying that they’d had one, but lost it. “And I don’t understand, because we pray to Allah five times every day, every time the bell rings–”

“Tabitha!” The man, I think his name was Romiero (it was hard to tell because of the accent), interrupted, and Tabitha quieted.

“Can I give your wife a hug?” Aaliyah asked, and after some consideration, Romeiro nodded his consent. Aaliyah sat beside Tabitha, and told her of her own testimony, how she’d come from a Muslim home but found Jesus through her mother.

Romiero didn’t like that, but he did allow his wife to ask the question, “Why did you choose to follow Jesus? Why not follow Allah? Why do you not pray five times a day?”

He cut her off as she started to mention Jesus again, and Aaliyah calmly explained her choice. There was some silence afterwards, and I mentioned losing my grandfather and uncle, and how I didn’t know how I could have handled it without Jesus. Clara also brought up her testimony, of how she’d also lost someone and how it ended up bringing her to Jesus.

They both listened quietly, and when we were done, Tabitha left to refill out tea (which we hadn’t touched, because we didn’t know what it was actually). Aaliyah praised her recipe and asked whether she could bring some back to her friends. After some consideration, Romiero nodded permission to Tabitha.

Then they pretended the bells were ringing for their prayer time, and they both got on their faces to worship Allah, and we just awkwardly sat there, wondering what we should do. I spent the time praying to Jesus, and asking him to soften their hearts to his truth.

When they finished, they told us the simulation had ended, but we didn’t catch on right away. It was really weird to not see them acting anymore. They gave us feedback, saying we did really well in complimenting the drink and relating to their story, but that we were too fast in jumping in with Jesus, since most Muslims need relationship first.

There were other unique house visits, like a visit with American stoners or Buddhist people in Thailand, but this was the only house visit I had, and I loved it so much!

You can hear all about a teaching, and the best way to share the Gospel with individuals of a different faith, but going through the simulation really helped make it stick! I really hope we get to do it again!!