A Catholic a Muslim and two Baptists walk into Persian Restaurant

I know it sounds like the first line of a joke, but it was one of our most memorable evenings since we have been in the Philippines. Two days ago while checking our e-mail we ran in to Alex the Catholic; Persian, Israeli, and Farshid the Muslim; Persian, Italian. We got to talking about what we were doing here in the Philippines. When we told them we were missionaries they were a bit baffled. Eventually we got the point across that we were here to spread the Gospel and tell people about Jesus. It was then that we learned Farshid is Muslim, and Alex (unable to do the Muslim thing) is Catholic. The two of them are here studying Dentistry, as it is much more affordable in the Philippines than in Iran.

We made plans for dinner the next night; they recommended the Persian restaurant very close to our condo. It was comforting to see a Filipina in the kitchen of the Persian restaurant. Truly this was going to be an authentic meal, I said to myself as I peered through the window into the kitchen. Luckily there was a Persian gentleman, if you could call him that, which showed us to our table, and exchanged a few pleasantries with our new friend Farshid, who had obviously been there before. We looked at the menu and Farshid recommended the beef kabob, it would have to be hard to mess up a kabob, so what the heck. Erin ordered chicken kabob, though she would eventually not get what she ordered. Farshid also ensured me that I had to try Dugh, a spiced milky yogurt drink, which would complement the kabob. He suggested that I try the sweet version, but he and Erin ordered the salty version. So our waitress came and took or order and got it wrong, so we repeated our order and she got it wrong again, luckily the third time was the charm. To be sure part of the problem was that Farshid speaks poor English and even poorer Tagolog, but being our gracious host wanted to do all of the ordering. It was a Persian restaurant after all, and he is Persian.

A few minutes later our waitress showed up with three cokes, a funny thing since we ordered three dughs. I should have kept the cokes, because the sweet version of dugh turned out to be not that sweet. It was kind of like a glass of iced ranch dressing, which I have missed dearly, but not in beverage form. Erin seemed to like it however and Farshid, said that it might be a taste you have to get used to. That was the understatement of the century.

The next thing you know Alex shows up out of breath and sweating like a pig. He had to meet his father before dinner, and apparently had a hard time getting a Jeepney, and once we had able to find one, realized he was very near the restaurant. Nothing like a jog to get you hungry for some dinner, luckily he wasn’t too hungry because it took for ever for his order to come, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Farshid and my food arrived after a long wait and everything was great. Erin’s food however was not exactly what she ordered. Her chicken kabob with rice, changed to half chicken, half beef and no rice. But the pita bread was great as was the dipping sauce. We prayed before eating and the three of us dug in. Alex assured us that he would be fine and not to wait for his food. Who knows how long it might take he added. The kabob was great and Erin loved her chicken.
When we had finished eating the conversation shifted from table talk to more serious matters. We talked a little about politics, a little about how we perceive each other’s culture and of course religion. Though we did not get too in depth about religion at the dinner table we exchanged questions about our beliefs and doctrines. It was really a time that God was allowing us just to get to know each other a little bit, and I think God was priming them and us for the Gospel message. After leaving the restaurant we bought some ice cream and decided to go back home to eat it. We sat down on the pool deck and as we ate ice cream started to explain what we believe. The conversation started out with the difference between the Jewish people and Christianity. We talked about how the Jewish people rejected Jesus as their messiah and rejected his message of repentance. From there we moved on to the difference between a relationship with Christ and religion; which binds men to a morale code and traditions rather than exposing him to the loving God, who sent his son to die for their sins. It was a wonderful evening of sharing what God has done and is doing in this world. We are amazed at how God is using us here to minister to different people. We had a wonderful time sharing the truth about our God with the two of them. Please pray for our new friends Farshid and Alex; that the Holy Spirit would be speaking to their hearts, and that God would use us to minister to them however he sees fit.

In His Service,
Justin and Erin McDonald