Padangpanjang
As the bus climbs the hills from the coast the air gets cooler and you really enjoy the fresh breeze as you climb out to enjoy the view. You buy a bottle of water at the entrance to Padangpanjang town while your driver and fellow passengers disappear into a mosque. It's time for midday prayers.
A young boy at the small food stall tells you that the words on the beautiful arch spanning the road say "Welcome to Padangpanjang, the verandah of Mecca".
Centrally located, this town is proud of its identity as a home of Islamic scholarship, education and outreach since the very early days of Islam in this province. Today, students can begin their education at one of the more than 50 Islamic kindergartens and complete it at the Islamic College in this town. Children from throughout the province and beyond are sent to Islamic boarding schools here.
- Pray for Muslim scholars to have fresh eyes to see the amazing things that their holy books say about Jesus and seek Him.
- Pray that those who study religion because they want to please God be granted visions and revelations so that they can know the path that pleases Him.
- Pray for Minangkabau young people whose whole education has been shaped by Islam that they would have a hunger to know God personally and would personally encounter Jesus.