The Time I Nearly Shoplifted

As a single woman in a Muslim country, I’m painfully aware that the local market is full of men.

Men and women aren’t supposed to interact in public. But I’m grateful for my regular crew of shopkeepers and vendors. They’ve been really kind to me. In a way, these men look out for me as if I were one of their own.

I’d love to meet more women—but I rarely see them. Women in my city hardly ever leave their homes. And when they do, it’s to visit to family members or go to a doctor’s appointment. This makes it difficult to make friends. How will Muslim women hear the Gospel if believers can’t even meet them?

So I decided to ask my shopkeepers to introduce me to their wives, sisters, and daughters.

I’d love to meet more women—but I rarely see them.

I asked the fruit seller to introduce me to his wife. He gave me an awkward smile and nod, which I didn’t know how to interpret. I paid for my grapes and pomegranates and left.

A week later, I tried again, this time with a different approach.

“Uncle, I want to learn how to make local food,” I said to the fruit seller. “Do you know any women who can teach me?”

He smiled proudly and said, “I live just across the street. You can go there any time to learn how to cook.”

The man from the flour shop overheard our conversation. He came over, clapping to loosen from his hands the fine white flour dust, which floated up and settled in his beard. After the two men discussed my request, the flour man informed me that yes, it would be good for me to learn to cook with the women in the fruit seller’s family.

“There are lots of women at my house,” the fruit seller said. “My wife, sisters, sisters-in-law, cousins…”

So excited about the invitation, I nearly left without paying for my produce. The fruit vendor laughed as he called me back to pay. I was so happy that I nearly shoplifted.

I’ve since learned that the fruit vendor and his family belong to one of the unengaged Muslim people groups in the country that have no one reaching them with the Gospel. My teammates and I have been praying for the chance to meet members of this group. Praise God for orchestrating this opportunity.

Please pray with me that my relationship with the fruit seller’s family will lead to meaningful conversations that introduce them to Jesus.