a Christmas story and prayer points

My closest Uyhgur friend in town is also friends with another m worker who held a Christmas party on Christmas day.  The two of these friends cooked together days before and expected to enjoy the well prepared, fun festivities together.  But Christmas afternoon, this Uyghur girlfriend and her boyfriend and several more of their friends, didn't show up for the party.  Such a disappointment.

What happened was that "N" (our current houseguest, see below), "the boyfriend", decided to ask the Imam (Muslim pastor) if it was ok for them to attend a Christian Christmas party.  He said no, (of course!)  This group of Uyghur friends are quite staunch in their Islam and many of them seem to be deepening in their studies, prayers, piety as Muslims.  They knew what this party would entail and they did not want to submit themselves to having to listen to a Christian message shared even though the westerners sharing are their good friends.

PLEASE PRAY:

~  These students are minorities in a communist nation and they are Muslim.  Both of these factors add up to them often being very easily, wholly swayed by what a leader they respect might say.  M. said that she is going to ask for leaders' advice when she's home (right now, for semester break) to see if it's ok for her to study the Bible with Christians at school.  Probably 100% of them will say no.  But their holy book, the Koran, does in fact urge Muslims to seek out "people of the way" (Christians) and to read the New Testament.   Would you pray that my dear friend M. would encounter Jesus somehow and have courage to leave behind everything that would hinder her from pursuing him?  

~ Please continue to pray for N who is staying with us now.  Since our kids were sick today, we stayed home and listened to a sermon and he asked if he could join in and listen with us.  His English is quite poor so it's doubtful that he understood much but it's amazing that he even asked to listen with us!  And he hears our every-meal Bible reading, short teaching time for our kids (and ok, for him too!).  We love how our second child reaches to hold his hand during prayers.  He's never once refused that!

~ Ask that the Lord would move among this whole group of students.  One young guy has recently expressed great interest in following Christ but most of them are banded together with great unity under the shared identity "We are Uyghur, We are Muslim."  Would that the Spirit of God move mightily, graciously, to draw this whole group to Himself!