3/17/26

I'm a little behind in writing some updates for you as I've been traveling quite a bit this month, but here is a brief fun story for you from today!

I'm currently on my way to join a team from MidAmerica Yearly Meeting at the Exponential conference in Orlando, Florida; however, the travel has been very eventful! My first flight was delayed less than hour initially - which was manageable with my connecting flight though tight, but then the plane was having maintenance issues as we were about to board... So, we waited an additional hour before boarding the plane. At this point, I wasn't sure how it would all work out with arrival times and potentially more delays/cancellations, but as we landed in Dallas, Texas, it was already well past the departure of my connecting flight. This was a new experience for me (missing a flight), so I was in for a treat! Additionally, almost everyone on my plane was in the same boat and we were up a creek with no paddle! The airline had already rescheduled me to fly out the next day, but it wouldn't be until around 10 pm that next evening - a 21 hour wait! I know I need to write some updates, but I didn't necessarily need 21 hours to do that! As I exited the plane and looked for the help desk, I quickly found it, along with a dense line of people spanning further than reasonably imaginable. I was repeatedly dumbfounded at the profoundly long line to talk to te help desk. So, I got in line and started trying to figure out what I was planning to do. The whole voucher thing is new to me, but I must admit it's a nice touch compared to airport floor for 21 hours! Long story short, I ended up finding a slightly sooner flight to Orlando and was able to get some vouchers for a meal, hotel room, and Uber rides.

Speaking of Uber rides, today was also my first one of those! After a grueling process of standing in the freezing Texas weather (compared to Cali where I'm coming from and Orlando where I'm heading) and setting up an Uber account as well as setting up my iPhone fully - which I've never needed until now, I finally got a ride and was on my way to the hotel. But something cool about the Uber app is that it tells you the name of the driver picking you up, and my driver was named Muhammed. Come on, that's just too easy... I couldn't even resist - though I did resist a number of humorous opening lines into my evangelistic conversation!

I put my things in his car and got in the back seat, and soon we were off on our way. Then, all too easily, I asked him if his name was Muhammed - to which he affirmed - and then I asked him if he is Muslim. Sometimes you have to look for the archway, and sometimes the archway looks for you. From here he told me how he grew up as a Muslim in Tanzania and then later moved to China and is now living in America all alone. He asked me why I asked him about his name, so I told him that I go to CSUF a lot and have talked to some other Muslims named Muhammed. I told him that I always enjoy talking to people of different faiths. He then asked me if I do debates with Muslims, but I reassured him that I merely have conversations with them. I then asked him what it mean to him to be a Muslim. He then essentially described uniquely Christian doctrines and said that you have to believe the opposites. I made comment about that and asked if these primarily conflict with Christianity among religions, to which he easily affirmed. So, I then asked him what compels him to believe that Islam is true and that Muhammed was a true prophet. He told me that history plays a big role for him as well as some unknown text in which Jesus allegedly speaks of a future prophet to come - and we somehow know this must be Muhammed and not Joseph Smith or Joshua Mhlakela...

He then, knowing by now that I'm a Christian and talk with Muslims occasionally, asked me the question I hoped he'd ask: Why do you think Jesus is God? So, I told him about the overwhelming weight of the historical data that demonstrates the legitimacy of the Gospel records and the historically affirmed life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. I also told him that Jesus made very strong claims to be God in the Gospel accounts, and he strangely didn't go where I initially expected (corrupted scriptures), but rather asked to pose another question to me. I of course welcomed it eagerly! This question was about the death of Jesus. "How can the all-powerful, creator God die?" I've heard this question before, but I must admit that this can be very complex to try to explain to someone with such an already opposed worldview, but I accepted the challenge. I began by acknowledging the good question, as well as admitting that it might be hard for me to explain perfectly in our short drive but would nonetheless try my best. He made no objection, so I continued to briefly describe the basics of the Trinitarian nature before appealing to common understandings of death between Islam and Christianity. I told him that this will be an unresolvable issue if we misunderstand what it means to die. I asked him if, in his worldview, the spirit of a person goes somewhere when they die, and he affirmed my understanding that they do believe this. From there I pointed out how dying is distinctly different from ceasing to exist - that the physical body of a person can die while their spirit remains existent. He seemed to track with me, but we were pulling into the hotel driveway, so I had to drive it home. I told him that, in the same way, God can take the form of humans by incarnating, be tortured and killed, and yet remain alive in the spirit - never ceasing to exist but experiencing the wrath of God's righteous justice (which is immeasurably more abominable that merely crucifixion) and tasting real death for us in that. Muhammed didn't really try to push back on this which was interesting, but he then asked me why God would choose to do something like that, so I very briefly described the justice of God needing satisfied so that God can save and enjoy the beautiful creation that He desires to be united with.

I gave him an opportunity to continue the conversation, but he seemed to communicate that he wanted to be on his way, so I thanked him and sent him on his way - hopefully with something to keep him awake tonight with dreams of Jesus! From a human point of view, it would be very easy to conclude that I'm not where I should be right now - miles upon miles from my intended destination, but it seems that, much like Paul in Athens, God is pleased to use our travel plans to share with those in various places, worshipping false gods.

May God grant Muhammed undeniable dreams and visions which draw him to Himself in the most powerful way!