The First Person You Meet

Over the course of our years in South Asia, we have seen God move in the hearts of Muslims in our city. Many of them have chosen to follow Jesus Christ.

But about 100 miles away, there is a Muslim region that has no Gospel witness—not a single follower of Jesus trying to reach the local people with the Good News.

So we decided to plan an unusual family getaway. We would spend two days in the largest city in that area and search for persons of peace—people whom God was already drawing to Himself.

“God, lead us to Muslims who are hungry to study Your Word,” my wife and I prayed.

The car was packed and our three children were buckled in. We were ready for whatever adventure God wanted to lead us into.

“God, lead us to Muslims who are hungry to study Your Word,” we prayed.

A few hours later, we pulled into a hotel’s dusty parking lot and spilled out of the car. The bellboy, a happy young man, immediately came bounding up to us to help with our bags.

I introduced myself to the young man and said, “We are a family that believes in God, obeys His commands, and follows the path of Jesus.”

The young man’s face lit up. “I’m Faiz,” he said, shaking my hand exuberantly. “Let me show you and your family around my city when I get off work in the morning. I’ll come get you at dawn,” he eagerly suggested.

True to his word, Faiz knocked on our door at half past five. I pulled myself out of bed and cracked open the door. Faiz’s face beamed with fresh enthusiasm. I abandoned any hope for a couple more hours of sleep and woke up my wife and kids.

Faiz first took us to an open field where he said local children gather in the mornings to play games. There were no children in sight. I imagined they were all sleeping peacefully at home. Nevertheless, our own kids set off running to explore the terrain.

A group of local men approached us, curious at the sight of such foreign early morning visitors. They gathered around me, smiled, and asked if we were Muslims.

“No, we aren’t Muslims,” I said. “We are a family that obeys God’s commands, reads His Word, and follows the path of Jesus,” I boldly asserted.

“If you read God’s Word and obey His commands,” one man responded, grinning broadly, “then you are my brother.” He gave me a hearty handshake as the rest of the group let out a collective grunt of approval.

The next stop was the mosque Faiz attended. My children and I were warmly invited inside to join a group of men who were discussing stories from the life of Muhammad.

Meanwhile, neighborhood women pulled my wife into a nearby home. By the time my children and I joined her there, she was surrounded by a smiling audience of women who had laid out an assortment of local sweets and were watching her sample their delicacies.

“You have given us many gifts,” I said to the host family as we left. “In return, we want to give you the best thing we have to offer: the Word of God.” Standing on their doorstep, I prayed a blessing over their home and gave them a portion of the Bible in their language. They received it gratefully.

“You won’t know who is interested in God’s Word unless you ask!”

Back at the hotel, I finally got to sit down with Faiz. He welcomed my invitation to study God’s Word together. After reading Genesis 2, in which God creates Eve to be Adam’s partner, I asked him, “How can you and I apply this passage in specific ways in the days to come?”

“This says that a man leaves his parents to be united to his wife,” Faiz replied. “When a man is married, he is responsible for loving his wife and helping her. But I am not yet married like you. So for now, my responsibility lies in helping and loving my parents.”

I pressed in for specifics to help make obedience to God’s Word even more tangible. “What specific step will you take today to obey what God is saying to you?” I asked.

“Tonight when I get home, I will ask my mother if I can help her with any of her work in the house. I will complete any work she has remaining.” Faiz also committed to sharing the passage with his parents. “I’m going to discuss it with them, just like you and I are doing.”

As we parted, I gave Faiz my phone number. “Call me when you want to study another passage from God’s Word.”

He beamed his smile at me and declared, “You will be hearing from me.”

The next day, my family piled back into the car to drive back home. We asked our children what they thought of our adventures.

“I learned that it’s good to always be on the lookout,” my seven-year-old daughter reflected, “because the person God wants you to meet might be right under your nose. It might be the very first person you meet. You won’t know who is interested in studying God’s Word unless you ask!”