Breaking the Ramadan Fast

A few nights ago, I had the incredible honor of breaking the Ramadan fast with a family. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims will fast from sunrise to sunset. Once the sun goes down, they will break their fast and eat. Breaking the fast is a pretty big deal each night, and they typically will prepare large, extravagant, and incredibly delicious meals! This particular family that we broke the fast with was Turkish and owned a Turkish restaurant in the city that I live in. They closed their restaurant for the night, only to open it back up for their family once the sun went down. Here’s the thing about their family- between aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews and cousins and grandparents, this family was about 40-50 people. All packed into this little restaurant.

We had met the host family on the street earlier in the day, and they had kindly invited us to break the fast with them in this special way. When we arrived, this place was absolutely packed, but they made sure people moved around so that the five of us could have seats. One of the children, who was about 14, came over and made sure that there was nothing that we would need to be more comfortable. They had all this food that they had prepared laid out buffet style, and wow was it good. All sorts of meats, rice, watermelon, and several foods that I can’t even pronounce the names of. This family was incredibly welcome and hospitable, constantly urging us to take more food and enjoy as much as we wanted.

The evening was spent eating and talking and laughing with this (LARGE) Turkish family. The restaurant was loud, crowded, and I couldn’t understand 4 out of the 5 languages being spoken. Yet, it at the same time felt like home. And that is because of the hospitality of this family. I was able to experience a lot about the culture that I had only heard about before- I’d heard that they prided themselves on hospitality and making people feel welcome, and this night I really experienced it. They welcomed us and made us feel like part of their family. Obviously, our job here in Germany is to work with refugees and share Jesus with them, and this family knew that. But, despite the clear difference in religion, they treated these random people that they met on the street like their own family. I think that that is amazing. And it provides a lot to think about. But check this out- this is a completely normal thing!! I have had team members invited to break the Ramadan fast with other Muslim families regularly, and so it’s not shocking in the slightest to me that I got invited. For me, this was another experience that has reformed and reshaped my own perspective.

God is moving and doing awesome things here in Germany. Both in the lives of the refugees, the locals, and my team.

Thank you for praying for us.

-Bae