From Family to Forever

I hung up my phone and smiled to myself. A new friend had agreed to meet with me to study God’s Word. I added the appointment to my calendar before heading to join my family, who were playing outside.

As I walked toward the kitchen, my nine-year-old son’s animated voice caught my attention. Wondering who he was talking with, I peeked into the room. Maeena, our family’s local house helper, swept the floor as Nick leaned on a chair and chatted away.

“Did you know that Jesus raised a little girl from the dead?”

Like most in our region, Maeena was devoutly Muslim, but she smiled at Nick and invited him to continue with the story he’d learned in Sunday school.

“Jesus can do anything.”

I watched from the hallway, wishing Maeena was as open when my wife or I talked about Jesus. She’d worked for my family for years, helping with chores and watching the kids. Her husband and son often joined us for dinner, and over time, her family had become like our own.

Occasionally, we talked late into the evening, yet Maeena never showed an interest in discussing spiritual things. I had told her about Jesus’ sacrifice and grace many times, but the Good News always seemed to fall on deaf ears.

As Nick chattered on about Jairus’ daughter, Maeena looked at him as she did her own son. Suddenly she asked, “How could someone come back from the dead?”

My heart jumped. I’d never heard her engage with Bible stories before.

Nick quickly responded. “Jesus can do anything.”

When I learned that Maeena had asked Nick other questions, I began leaving Bibles around the house. I prayed she would seek answers in the Word.

“Christ is the powerful one.”

Before she had much opportunity to do so, our country mostly shut down. The COVID-19 pandemic reached our shores, and the government established policies that restricted how often she could come over.

The Lord used even that for good.

One day, Maeena told my wife and me that she was struggling financially. “I’m not able to work because I can’t go into as many homes. But my family needs my income. Will you pray for us?”

I knew she meant for us to do so after she had gone home, but my wife asked if we could pray right then in Jesus’ name. To my surprise, she agreed.

The next time we saw Maeena she asked for more. “Your prayers are so powerful. They’re working.”

“It’s not us. Christ is the powerful one.” I explained that Jesus was God in flesh, and He loved her so much.

Maeena flashed a shy smile. “Nick has told me that many times.”

“Will you ask Jesus to help me?”

Over the next year, Maeena continued to ask for prayer, and even told her friends how God had answered. She began joining conversations about Jesus and spoke often of Him. Then one day she left a message asking us to intercede for one of her neighbors.

My wife said she planned to talk with Maeena the next time she came over, to ensure she understood she could talk directly with Jesus on her own. We wanted her to know Jesus wasn’t just our God. He wanted to be hers too.

But Maeena didn’t return as scheduled.

Her husband called later that day. Maeena had been rushed to the hospital with a serious case of COVID, but he had no other details. He wasn’t allowed to visit. He couldn’t even get through to her on the phone.

“Lord,” I sighed when we had finished talking. “At the very least, let them talk on the phone.”

Maeena’s husband never connected with her, but after a few attempts, my wife and I did. Machines beeped in the background as Maeena strained to speak. “I’m scared. I think I’m going to die. Will you ask Jesus to help me?”

“Of course.” But the Holy Spirit brought something else to mind. “Can I ask you a question first?”

“Yes,” she rasped.

“Do you believe in Christ alone as your Lord and Savior?”

Her reply came through clearer than I expected. Confident. Completely devoid of fear. “Yes, He is. He is.”

Gratitude and emotion overwhelmed me, but our time on the phone was limited. We prayed for her, then encouraged her to talk to Jesus on her own that night. She promised she would.

The miracle we received is the certainty that we will see our dear sister one day in heaven.

The next morning Maeena fell into a coma. My family spent the next ten days praying for her healing, and when we received word that she had passed away, we begged for a miracle like the one Nick had told her about all those months before.

God had other plans.

The miracle we received was the certainty that we will see our dear sister one day in heaven. In the meantime, we continue to meet with and pray for Maeena’s husband and son. They’re part of our family, and we hope to spend forever with them too.

Pray:

• Pray that Maeena’s husband and son will put their trust in Jesus Christ.
• Praise God for His perfect timing in drawing Muslim men and women to Himself.
• Ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers like this faithful family into the field.