Healed Just in Time

My family and I were only a week away from leaving the field for an extended time in the U.S. when I ran into my Muslim friend Salaam in the market. Salaam and I had met months before, and he had been curious about the Bible. As we started reading it together, he had many questions about what it meant to believe in and follow Jesus Christ.

After exchanging a greeting at the market, Salaam quickly brought up a story he had read in the New Testament.

“I read in Acts that 3,000 people believed the message of Jesus,” he said. “The disciples told them that they needed to repent and be baptized if they believed. Does that mean I should be baptized too?”

I was overjoyed by his question and followed up with one of my own. “What do you think?”

He considered it for several moments before saying, “I want to do what the Bible says and be a follower of Jesus. I’m ready to be baptized.”

But when I went to our meeting spot, Salaam wasn’t there.

We agreed to meet a few days later to go to the nearby beach and put into practice what Salaam saw in God’s Word.

But when I went to our meeting spot, Salaam wasn’t there. After hours of waiting, I went home feeling defeated, wondering if he’d changed his mind or decided not to publicly declare his faith in Christ.

I didn’t want to give up on Salaam, especially since I was leaving in a few days. I believed the Holy Spirit was at work in his heart, so I returned to the market and learned Salaam had been sick. I left my phone number with his friends but heard nothing from him.

My family and teammates prayed for Salaam, but with our departure date right around the corner, I became discouraged at the thought of missing the opportunity to see Salaam take another important step of faith in Jesus.

I’ll never forget the joy on his face and the tears in his eyes as he praised God for saving him through the work of Jesus.

The day before we left the country, I received a phone call late at night from a number I didn’t recognize. I almost ignored it, but something in me urged me to answer the call. It was Salaam!

He explained his strange illness and surprising recovery. And then immediately he said, “I want to be baptized.” I told him I was leaving the very next day.

“Please, I’m ready,” he insisted. “I believe in Jesus Christ.”

We met early the following morning, and I’ll never forget the joy on his face and the tears in his eyes as he praised God for saving him through the work of Jesus.

I’m so grateful to God for healing Salaam just in time for me to baptize him and be part of his journey of faith. Salaam wants to tell everyone about the Good News he has received, and I pray his witness brings many more into the Kingdom.

Pray:

• Pray for Salaam to keep growing in his faith as he connects with other Muslim-background believers and continues being discipled by Frontiers team members.
• Pray that Muslim-background believers like Salaam will mature into men of the Word who boldly testify to Christ’s powerful work in their lives.
• Ask God to use Salaam to catalyze a movement of faith in Jesus that transforms his city and impacts his entire region.