Reading the Bible for the First Time

“This is so good that I didn’t go to work today,” said my neighbor Amadou. He held up a copy of the book of Genesis in the language of his people. “I’ve been reading it since I woke up this morning. I can’t put it down!”

Then Amadou continued, “Did you know God created the world in six days? Did you know Adam lived to be 930 years old? Did you know Abraham lied to the King because his wife was so beautiful that he was afraid they would kill him?”

Amadou was reading the Bible for the first time, and lightbulbs were going off all over the place for him.

“I’ve been reading it since I woke up this morning. I can’t put it down!”

We’ve known Amadou and his wife since we moved to their town three and a half years ago. Up until last summer, he spent most of the year 600 miles in the heart of the Sahara where he drove trucks for a mining company.

Family separation is common among Amadou’s people. Many men like him spend long periods of time away from their families because of work.

But the stress of Amadou’s absence took its toll on his wife and two young daughters. So we prayed earnestly that he would come back and find work close to home. Eventually, the company he worked for shut down, and he’s been home for a year now.

Now they’re together again—a rare thing for poor families like theirs. Amadou and his wife spend every day working to survive and provide for their family. They live on less than $3 a day and still manage to host many guests and relatives in their small home.

We are in their lives every day, and they are in ours.

Pray that God will richly bless this family on every level and that the Bible will come alive to them.