I’m Olivia Davis, and this is how I’m living deeply. 

” As Muslims, our Turkish friends Duygu & Emir struggle with the concept of the Trinity. They believe in God, but they don’t think He would live within us like the Holy Spirit does. They also don’t see Jesus as divine, and definitely not as God’s son; they just think of Him as a prophet. Once, they brought up a story about Jesus from the Quran, saying, ‘We think you have this story as well in your Bible.’ As they explained, we realized how much of their concept of Jesus differed from our own. But, despite our many differences, my husband Daniel and I have grown so much closer to Duygu & Emir than we could have ever imagined. We got connected to them through CSPC’s English Language Learners (ELL) Conversation Partners program. In January of 2023, Duygu and Emir began attending the Thursday evening ELL program where I had been volunteering. The program was short on conversation partners for students, so I signed up to be Duygu’s partner, and Daniel soon became Emir’s. Being a conversation partner is so simple; you’re matched with an ELL student, and you just meet once a week or so (usually over coffee, a walk, or a meal) to help them practice their conversational English. And while we thought our conversation partners would be doing the learning, we’ve learned just as much from them as they have from us— about their culture, their food, their language, and their beliefs. At first, Daniel and I would meet with each of our partners separately, which was a great way to get to know them more personally. Then, we began going on double dates; now when we meet, we’ll share a meal, make Turkish tea, and talk for hours. Meeting with our conversation partners is truly a joy and a highlight of my week.

 Duygu & Emir are so kind, generous, and giving. In fact, I get a little insecure every time we go over to their house for dinner, because she’s an incredible cook (unlike myself), and they’ll spend hours making a delicious meal that could feed ten people, even though it’s just for Daniel and me. It’s a beautiful friendship, and God’s growing us both through it. Daniel has started to do a lot more research into the Muslim faith, trying to have a deeper understanding about what they believe before trying to evangelize; it’s harder to share the gospel with someone when you don’t understand their starting point. He’s learned a lot about Islam and about how to talk to people from that faith. Conversation Partners has also helped him feel more equipped in interacting with other cultures- not only in navigating awkward moments that can come up in conversation with a non-native speaker, but also how to go more deeply with a person who may have a vastly different cultural and religious background. For me, before becoming a conversation partner, I don’t think I really understood what it meant to truly love people who weren’t like me. But now that I’m close with Duygu, I’ve noticed that when I see other Muslim women out and about, I don’t see a stranger anymore; I see a friend. It’s really humanized others for me in a way that I never understood before. Now, I can look at someone, and I love them—without even knowing them!—because I love my friend Duygu. I’ve started meeting more people in my ELL classes who have a background similar to hers, and I find that I’m just so much more open, more excited to be around them, and excited to be friends with them… which is the first step in being able to reach out and show them the love of Christ. Sometimes, I wonder how I could’ve ever gotten to that point without meeting Duygu. It takes seeing people in a different way, and feeling the love toward others that I know Christ has for us. He sees us, and He loves us, and I think I understand that better now after being conversation partners with Duygu.

 While not all Muslims believe this, the way Duygu & Emir see it, as long as you believe in God—who they would call Allah—you’re basically good to go for eternity. Their view of Christians and Jews tends to be along the lines of, ‘You guys are good, we’re good. We’re all in the same camp. We pretty much all believe the same things.’ So that’s been kind of tough; at least if they believed their religion was right and we were wrong, we would have clear differences to sort out. But it’s hard because we talk to them about Jesus and they’re like, ‘Yeah, we love him. He’s great. We don’t think he’s God, but we like him.’ We’re praying for wisdom about how to more actively have conversations about faith. For example, when they came over this past Christmas, they said, ‘This is our very first Christmas dinner!’ We then got to explain different things about the holiday that we might have an opportunity to expand on later. And even if we try to keep sharing the gospel and they tell us they aren’t interested in Christianity, we still love being their friends. But we hope to help them think more critically about their view that everyone who believes in God is ‘good to go.’ The God I know (as confusing & mysterious as the Trinity may seem) is a loving God who has a plan for our lives in a way that maybe they don’t understand. I don’t know if we will ever see the fruit during our time together, but I hope we’re planting that seed and softening their hearts, if it’s the Lord’s will for them to find Him. That’s mostly what I pray for: that God will soften and open up their hearts. I hope I get to see that! I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to someone who does not have the same faith that I do. It definitely makes a difference in how fervent my prayers are for non-believers.

 What first got me interested in ELL was a number of international mission trips in high school. For a while afterward, I felt a call toward more missional living, but I thought ‘missions’ meant somewhere far away, outside the U.S. But after I got involved in ELL teaching, I realized I didn’t have to go thousands of miles away to help people in need; those people were all around me. In being a part of ELL, I am doing missions. And it’s not just teaching English; many students are coming from really hard situations and rely on the ELL program for education, community, transportation, and other basic needs. Going out to other places in the world and doing missions is incredible, but I think sometimes it’s easy to forget that that’s not the only way to do it, and that people in need are living next door to us. So, it’s been really fulfilling to be a part of ELL and Conversation Partners- it’s a way to live on mission right here in Knoxville, and to love our neighbors like Christ has commanded. There are so many students in ELL right now who would love to talk with a native English speaker for just an hour a week. They need practice, and more importantly, they need Christian community. Many students have been on the Conversation Partners waiting list for months, simply because there just aren’t enough volunteers- which is a hard reality, because we want them to feel loved and cared for by the Cedar Springs community. So, if you’re looking for a way to follow the call to serve those in need, this is such a fun, easy way to do it. When considering signing up, a common concern is, ‘What do I say if they don’t understand me or I don’t understand them?’ And if I’m being honest, that’s definitely something that will happen. Every once in a while, you may need to pull out Google Translate or play some good old charades. But the benefits -materially, relationally, and eternally- far outweigh the cost of an hour a week and an occasional awkward pause. The need is just so great, and the benefits for both sides are immeasurable.” 

 NOTE- To learn more about becoming an ELL teacher or conversation partner, contact Bob Mackey: mackey.training@gmail.com.