Last year I got a new mobile phone. It is small and stylish, but it can do a lot of amazing things! In any given day, I use my mobile to phone my friends, send and receive numerous text messages in English and Arabic, take pictures, and even record my Arabic friends singing or reciting a poem.
But what I really love to do with my phone is to show Bible story videos and to play local-style Christian poetry to my friends. I have about fifty video clips from the Old and New Testament stored on my phone. These are taken from the “Jesus Film”, the “Mary Magdalene Film” as well as some local dialect videos that were produced by Sabeel Media.
When I first came here in the 90s, mobile phones were unheard of. When my husband and I returned to after being in the States for a period, a lot of people had mobiles. Among our people, some of men had them at that point. Now, though, most women have mobiles as well as the men and most teenagers. The mobile has been changing their nomadic lifestyle- instead of setting up the tent near a water source, they set it up where they can get phone coverage. The people are also using what little money they have to buy expensive phones that play videos, music, radio and record videos and pictures.
The women now have a way to stay in touch with their friends and relatives, even if they are stuck inside their house for much of their life. I have found that my mobile has greatly increased my ability to interact with women and to have a role in the various circumstances in their lives. Before I only had contact with them on personal visits but now I can text or call my friends from wherever I am and therefore I can have much more frequent contact with them. Having outreach videos on my phone has helped me to be bolder in sharing on visits. Now I can show a simple clip, and if interest is shown, show more. Then, in-between clips, I can explain more about the story and ask questions to determine their understanding.
I feel like I have taken the opportunity to share the Gospel much more since having the phone and that it has been powerful since they can actually view these stories on the screen. I’m thankful to finally be using these great materials in a way that’s working (before we rarely had opportunity to show an entire film to someone but now we can show the shorter clips and then show more on later visits). Of course not everyone is open to seeing these videos but for those who seem open, it’s a great opportunity. We are still experimenting with Bluetooth and as the people get more advanced phones, the ability to Bluetooth and share the stories with them will increase. May God continue to use this to share and spread His Word.