“Yalla, nit’qahwa,” my Muslim friend says.
Translation: “Hey, let’s have coffee together!”
Nit’qahwa is my favorite Arabic word. It expresses one of my very favorite things to do here in the Middle East. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve nit’qahwa-ed with a friend or a group of women, eating dates and drinking coffee from small demitasse cups.
Sometimes I sit back with my cup and take in the chatter reverberating all around me. Other times I chime in as they try to hide their appreciative snickers at my improving attempts to speak their dialect.
“I’ve always wanted to read the Bible, but no one has ever asked me to.”
Recently, I nit’qahwa-ed with a couple of friends at a park. As the sun set, my friend Hana refilled my cup with coffee, and we talked about life.
In our previous coffee chats, Hana and I had talked about how to connect with God. This time she spoke about the importance of the Quran and how she strives to read a bit of it every day.
“What about the Bible? Would you like to read it with me?” I asked her.
“You know, I’ve always wanted to read the Bible, but no one has ever asked me to,” she replied with a smile.
I shared that I love reading God’s Word with people in the Middle East because their culture is very similar to the culture Jesus lived in. I told Hana about being invited as a guest in a local home and sitting down at the lowest place, only to be invited to sit in a place of honor.
Pulling up Luke 14 on my phone, I asked Hana to read Jesus’ words about sitting in a place of honor at a wedding feast.
I didn’t understand the meaning of this passage until I lived in her culture—until I experienced it for myself.
As Hana read through the passage, she began to smile and nod. “Yes,” she said. “This is very important for my people.”
I shared that I didn’t understand the meaning of this passage until I lived in her culture—until I experienced it for myself.
“What I love the most about this passage is that it gives us such a beautiful picture of what Jesus does for us,” I continued. “We humble ourselves as He humbled Himself for us. When we give our lives to Him, He invites us to sit with Him at the seat of honor.”
Her eyes opened wide. “Wow! That is so amazing, it gives me goosebumps.”
With every nit’qahwa, I pray for deep, meaningful conversations and strive to be ready to share God’s Word. Each cup of coffee is a chance to draw women to Christ by listening to their stories, asking them questions of faith, and inviting them to discover Jesus in the Word.
“Yalla, nit’qahwa!”
- Pray for Hana’s heart to be drawn to Jesus as she reads the Word of God.
- Ask the Lord to give Frontiers workers meaningful and fruitful conversations as they spend time with Muslims.
- Pray that God will give workers the gift of language and increase their vocabulary to share deeply with the people they’re called to reach.
Learn about the legend of how a herd of goats led a sleepy imam to discover one of the world’s most popular beverages.
This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.