Sarah: Once Timid, Now a Force for the Gospel
Sarah, in her early 20s, grew up in a Muslim family in an area of East Africa dominated by fundamentalist Muslims. Sarah studied the Qur’an, attended mosque, and for the most part, did what society expected of young Muslim women like her. None of that obedience came from the heart or any strong convictions about Islam at all. “I was just following what my peers expected of me,” she confesses.
But all was not well with Sarah. She suffered from incessant, debilitating headaches. And as is often the case in these rural parts of East Africa, her family and community tried to help with things they had the easiest access to: concoctions and incantations.
She had weird mixtures rubbed over her head, had goats and chickens slaughtered for her “benefit” and Imams chanting scriptures to try and break whatever “spell” she was under. It had no effect other than sucking up funds, causing exhaustion, and keeping her out of school. “My family could not afford the items all the time,” Sarah explains.
One day, as she had reached the end of her energy and told her mom she did not want to undergo any further healing rituals, some children in the village told Sarah that there was a man of God in the area that could pray for her. “What human being can pray for me and cause me to be healed?” she wondered by herself. At first, Sarah didn’t want to put herself through yet another ritual, but some of the Christians in the area asked her to accompany them to church to mind one of the younger children. At church, they prayed for her, but she refused to participate – too skeptical about it all. But the tiniest of seeds had been planted in her heart.
“I went home and continued using the medicines. But they were harming me, so I thought, maybe it would be better to receive Christ. Muslims do not know that Christ is God, but I started questioning that.”
She decided to follow the advice of the Christians and put her trust in Christ. By God’s grace, she was healed
Her choice caused an uproar
However, the choice to follow Jesus came with consequences. All the members of her family rejected her and refused to give her any further support. In the end, she was forced to drop out of school.
As soon as local Open Doors partners heard about her situation, they tried to help. She was enrolled in their Discovery Bible Study and then they also invited her to the persecution preparedness training and trauma healing seminars. Sarah found what she learned useful, not only for remaining firm in the faith but also for courageously sharing the good news of salvation through Christ with her family. Since then, many of them have come to follow Christ.
While they may have had peace in their hearts for the first time, there was no peace in the area. The persecution she initially received from the family, was now meted out against them by the community.
“Our Muslim neighbours started hating us. Those who used to borrow things from us stopped coming. They would throw stones on our house when we sang. No one would talk to us. When we went to church, they would come and damage our mango tree. They would tear our clothes and talk badly about us. They asked us why we were going to church. They said I had become a Christian because of a man, and that I was deceived by that man and ended up misleading my mother.
“Nowadays I do not feel anything about my own hardships. I do not care because I have been healed. I just feel bad. If I greet people in the village they just keep going and they ignore me. But when they talk ill about my community, I feel bad.”
Her conviction about sharing the gospel outweighs the worry about these challenges. “A person like me, a girl my age, cannot easily convert to Christianity.” Girls are mostly afraid to listen to the gospel fearing the very mocking and isolation she had to endure.
So, she has started a cell church and keeps sharing the message of salvation with her community. Their numbers have since grown so much that they have had to find an alternative place to gather. One of the people she prayed for and who received healing, had a larger home that is now being used for gatherings.
“We are in a small church made up of a few families. Sometimes we can invite someone to come and teach us. …The Muslims around complain about us. But the same people who would talk about us would call us again to pray for their sick children.”
From Sarah there is only appreciation for the support you made possible.
“Because of you, Open Doors gave us counsel, prayed for us, were close to us. You helped me learn new things. Initially, we would be silent about our stress and not talk about it, but now we share about it. We have learned how to deal with what we are facing. The stress inside I would share with the rest to encourage them. I have learnt a lot, I received assistance from the training which I passed to my group, and it has helped them.
“Those who come from Islam will face challenges. I advise my people to express themselves to other people so that they can be helped like Job. He had a problem, but he was patient to trust in the Lord. I learnt many lessons to wait upon the Lord. Hannah waited upon the Lord to get a child. I have learnt about all these from reading the Bible. Even if there is a problem at the beginning, there will be healing. After the problem, there will be a blessing after persevering.”
Please Pray
- Pray that God strengthens this home Church community and gives them wisdom as they seek the Lord.
- Pray that God will give them peace in their region and that they can teach the gospel to others. Also, pray to scriptures and bible study resources to be received by the community.
