September 11, 2000

Texans trek to Sahara to study Berbers
___Believe it or not, there's a place on Earth hotter than Texas has been in the last week. Two Baptist seminary students from Fort Worth can vouch for that.
___The sun in the Western Sahara is the same one that beats down on Texas, but for some reason, the penetrating heat seemed a little more merciless to the two students from

STUDENTS FROM Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary joined a small group of other Baptist students this summer to study at an Arabic university in North Africa. Here, they look out over an oasis in the Saharan Desert during a break in their academic pursuits. They also found time to interact with the largely Muslim population and explain why they had traveled so far to learn about another culture. (IMB photo)

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary studying in North Africa during their summer break.
___Jacob Pollard, 23, and Heather Moon, 24, were in North Africa as part of a larger group of 12 from six states. The group, all 24 years of age or younger, volunteered their summer vacation to travel across the world to study at an Arabic university. More importantly, they came following Jesus' command to go to the nations sharing their faith.
___A sense of helplessness is unavoidable when standing in the dry, dusty wind of the Western Sahara with temperatures nearing 125 degrees, Pollard said.
___"We are here to communicate that Christianity is not just a day-to-day regimen, but a love relationship with God," said Pollard, a native of Missouri. "I asked someone if when they woke up in the morning, did they live in fear. He said 'Yes, because I don't know where I am going.'
___"I came back to my room and cried," he said. "You can't come here and not have your heart break for these Muslim people."
___As part of their study requirements, the group spent several hours a day in class, learning basic Arabic and studying the culture and society of their host country. Everything they heard was based on the pillars of Islam.
___After classes, the group spent time in the open-air markets, among women--veiled from head to foot in black robes with only small slits showing dark eyes--and men, weather-beaten and rough, who cast curious looks at the American young people.

SOUTHWESTERN Baptist Theological Seminary students learned basic Arabic and studied the Berber culture of their host country.

___The group drew attention simply by the color of their skin and the smiles on their faces. Everywhere they went, they saw how God was overcoming the barriers of these unreached peoples, most of whom are tribal Berbers.___
___The Berbers of North Africa call themselves "Amazighen," which means "The Free People." A proud, independent people, they have lived in the mountainous desert region of North Africa for thousands of years, according to International Mission Board personnel working with the Berbers.
___Steeped in tradition and bound by tight family structures, the Berbers of North Africa practice Islam interwoven with traditional animistic religions. A hard life greets the peoples of this region. Acrid land and dry conditions yield nominal crops; in the desert, ancient dirt and rock forts still stand guarding water sources, the most precious commodity in the region.
___While the Berbers have seen their freedom encroached by tightening borders and government control, it is their spiritual freedom that concerned the group of students from America. Despite restrictions against sharing the gospel, the students believe they witnessed the spiritual hunger in the people's hearts.
___In the markets, curbside coffee shops, and even in the dark of night, Moon said, person after person would approach members of the student team, eagerly seeking to know "Who is Jesus?"
___The need is great for people to share the gospel among the peoples of North Africa, the students agreed. But desiring to share their faith and the truth of Jesus Christ takes sacrifice, they admitted, especially on foreign soil.
___"There are so many who need to know God," Pollard said. "That strikes fear in my heart, because they are so steeped in Islam, and if no one answers the call to go, how will they ever hear anything different?"
___In a special excursion, the group of Americans traveled to a compound of a Muslim sect, located several hours' drive out in the sands of the Western Sahara. In a small, barren schoolhouse, young Muslim girls sat on the floor, chanting passages of the Koran from memory.
___"Standing in the school listening to the girls chant their prayers, I felt so faithless," Moon said. "How will God ever get through to these people? I felt God saying that he loves these people and has a plan for them.
___"I'm so amazed how God is working. I know God will bring the gospel to this land," she said._

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