“You are a Christian?” the young man asked as we sat cross-legged on the porch at the entrance to the mosque.

“I am a Seventh-day Adventist,” I said. “I seek to worship the true God.”

It was mid-afternoon, and we had taken a day to visit a Cham village with Sina, a church planter whose father was Cham. After visiting with his family, he had taken us across the road to the local mosque. Several men had gathered for afternoon prayer. Afterward, they’d motioned us to come and visit with them as they sipped tea on the porch. “You are a follower of Jesus?” an older man asked inquisitively.

“Yes,” I said. Immediately, he raised his hand to his chest and began to make the sign of the cross. “No,” I interrupted, “I am not Catholic.”

To this, the younger man who had spoken earlier replied, “You believe in Mary?” (Many Muslims equate Christianity with Catholicism and assume Christians believe Mary is part of the trinity.)

“No,” I assured him.

“We worship the one God—Allah,” he replied.

“We also worship the one true God,” I said.

For the next few minutes, we had a very cordial discussion of topics ranging from the war in Iraq to the importance of worshipping God in spirit and in truth. This was our first encounter with Cham Muslims, or Khmae Islam as they like to be called. We were impressed with the commonalities we shared with these men, such as belief in one God, the importance of truth, and the necessity of religion being in the heart. We gained a clearer picture of our differences, such as our somewhat different view of God’s character, the nature of inspiration and hell.

Please pray for the Cham and for us as we seek to build bridges for the everlasting gospel and the three angels’ messages.

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