When I first moved to my host country, language learning felt like a long, slow process. However, spending twenty hours a week with Wadha, my language nurturer, gave me the perfect opportunity to read the Bible with someone. Together we moved verse by verse as I practiced deciphering words and sentence structures.
During one language lesson, I opened the Bible to the story of Jesus’ birth. At first, Wadha corrected my pronunciation as I stumbled over a word here or there. But after a while, she began to comment on the story itself.
Silently, I prayed, “God, please touch Wadha’s heart through this story.”
Wadha and I continue to meet regularly to read stories from the Bible.
Wadha stood with a smile when our lesson finished. “We should continue to read a little bit from the Bible every day. I think it would help with your language.”
“That sounds good to me,” I quickly agreed.
As I waved goodbye to Wadha, I began to pray about what Bible passages we should read. Many of the Bible’s stories were familiar to her from sessions with previous students. So I wondered what we could read that would open her heart to Jesus.
With only a month of language lessons left, I asked God to show me how to use every moment to point Wadha to Him.
The next time we met, I sat down across from Wadha and placed my Bible on the dining table between us. “I’d like to start with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount,” I told her, flipping through the New Testament until I found the pages. She leaned over the text as I began.
“Blessed are the pure in heart,” I read from Matthew 5, “for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Wadha sat back, her eyes wide. “Wow, God must really want us to live in peace with one another. Will the pure in heart actually see God?”
“That’s what the Bible says,” I replied.
Wadha seemed captivated by what we had read.
As we continued reading, Wadha stopped me frequently to comment and ask questions about the text. I wondered if Wadha’s heart was finally opening to Jesus.
But my language lessons were scheduled to end in just three weeks. What would happen to Wadha’s interest in the Bible when we stopped meeting?
I read the last few verses of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 7 before closing the Bible. “When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Like the people in the Bible who were amazed by Jesus’ words, Wadha seemed captivated by what we had read.
Wadha and I continue to meet regularly to read stories from the Bible.
“These are good stories and people need to hear them,” she said. “If we tell them to someone around us, and then they tell them to others around them, the stories will continue to spread.”
“I agree.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Would you like to continue reading them with me even after our classes end?”
Wadha nodded. “I want to hear more.”
Even though I no longer need a language nurturer, Wadha and I continue to meet regularly to read stories from the Bible together and talk about what they mean. It is a joy to see her heart begin to open to the truth of the Gospel.
Pray:
- Pray that Wadha will continue to read the Bible and will choose to follow Jesus.
- Ask God to provide opportunities for Frontiers workers to share passages from the Bible as they practice new languages.
- Praise God that He uses men and women in various seasons of ministry to reach Muslims with the truth about who Jesus is.
This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.