In a remote corner of the African Sahel, my teammates and I are witnessing how dramatically the Gospel is spreading in Muslim villages.
My language tutor is a woman named Salma. Over the years, my
teammates and I have shared Bible stories with her, and she’s gradually drawing
near to Christ.
She’s also helping my teammates and me refine the story-based
health lessons we offer in communities and villages.
A few months ago Salma’s sister, Mahmuna, asked us to come
to her village to share these lessons. So once a week, we began driving 30
miles into the desert to present them to the women in the small community.
That’s how we know they are engaged—when they interrupt our stories and retell them to one another.
Then the rainy season came and made the road impassable.
It was weeks before we were able to return. When we finally visited
to resume the lessons, we were prepared to start over at the beginning. We
assumed that the women had forgotten the health teachings and stories in the
time since we last met.
But as I began to recap the previous lessons, Mahmuna
interrupted me. She shared how she had gone to another village and found people
suffering from diarrhea. She showed them how to make the oral rehydration
solution we had taught her in a previous lesson, and everyone got better.
There were also many malnourished children in the village.
So Mahmuna taught another group of villagers to make the nutrition supplement
she had learned from us.
“I’m not a doctor,” Mahmuna told the people in the village. “But I know a few things from a woman who taught me. Now you know a few things you can teach others.”
Mahmuna and the other women had not only remembered the
previous lessons. They were also sharing them with others!
“These stories are important and beautiful. People in other villages need to hear them too.”
Then it was time for the Bible story portion of the lesson. Previously we had shared stories about Old Testament prophets. This time, we described Jesus’ birth, the shepherds in the field, and the prophecies of Simeon and Anna in the temple.
The women interrupted the story with excited comments. “Do
you understand this?” they asked one another. “Do you hear this good news?” We
had hardly finished before they started retelling it to each other.
That’s how we know they are engaged—when they interrupt our stories and retell them to one another.
“These stories are important and beautiful,” Mahmuna said. “People
in other villages need to hear them too.”
- Praise God for how the Gospel is spreading among
Muslims in this region!
- Pray that Mahmuna and other women will believe
in Christ and share the Good News in other villages.
- Ask God to equip Frontiers teams to bring lasting
holistic transformation to Muslim communities.