Rebecca’s Story
“Hammad has really been pressuring me to return to Islam.” Rebecca lowered her voice and looked around. “But I could never go back! I have been following Jesus for 20 years! And I’m not going to turn my back on Him now. Jesus is the best! I haven’t told Hammad yet, though.”

“Nothing can fill one’s heart like Jesus,” I replied. “And Jesus is the all-powerful One. Hammad has a good heart. I think someday He will understand about Jesus and follow Him, too.”

Hammad’s Story
Hammad is a relative of Rebecca’s who lives just across the street. We see him often in his home, and he comes over to chat when we are visiting the others. This warm, grandfatherly man with a ready smile seems to be a man of peace. Oh, he is very zealous about Islam, yes! He was a religious teacher in Palm Village and is well respected. But there is something different about Hammad. He seems to hunger for fellowship with our Christian group.

In conversations with Hammad, the subject often turns to religion. One particular time he passionately stated, “Islam is a religion of peace. Real Muslims love and help people and would never hurt and kill others. Anyone who does acts of hate and terror is not Muslim! There are people in this village who say they are Muslims, but they aren’t. The ones who follow a religion of hate and violence, the ones who make their women wear burkhas, they are not real Muslims. We all need to love each other. Muslims should love Christians, and Christians should love Muslims!”

“Jesus has many teachings about these things,” Philip replied. “Have you ever read the Injeel (gospels)?”
“No, I don’t have one,” Hammad replied.
“I will give you one if you would like to read it,” Philip offered.
“Yes, I would like to read it!” Hammad said.

Back to Rebecca’s Story
Rebecca has an amazing conversion story. Twenty years ago, just 10 days after she was married, someone came through the area and gave a public showing of the Jesus movie. She saw it, and from then on she decided to follow Jesus.

Not long after that, she went to a neighboring country in search of medical treatment, but to no avail. One night she had a dream in which Jesus told her that she would go to a Christian clinic far away in her own country. When she went there, He would help her get better. Philip asked Rebecca if she’d ever had any other dreams about Jesus. She responded that she has had many similar dreams of Jesus. In a more recent dream she was shown that she would be pressured to return to Islam, but that she should stay strong in her faith and should continue to follow Jesus.

Rebecca did end up going to a Christian clinic that she recognized from her dream. There she was healed. This is the same clinic in the capital city where we often send patients. This clinic treats the souls of their patients as well as their bodies. In this country where patients receive little care at government hospitals, the people who go to this Christian clinic receive warm care, love and prayer. We hear the same report over and over: “They prayed with me! They cared about me! They read the Bible to me! They gave me booklets to read about Jesus! I saw the Jesus film in their waiting room.” Numerous conversion stories have come from this clinic, including Rebecca’s sister Lydia and her neighbor, Yaya. They, along with their families, are Jesus followers who meet with us on Sabbaths to study the Bible.

Seeds
Conversations about Jesus, movies about Jesus, warm handclasps and prayers, passing out spiritual literature and Bibles, loving and helping those in need—what do they all have in common? They are seeds. You may wonder if anything you have said or done for Jesus has actually made a lasting difference. Did that word of sympathy or that prayer really matter? It isn’t often that we get to see the full fruit from the seeds we have sown. It may at times feel as if our lives aren’t bearing any fruit. But if we faithfully sow the seeds God has given us, in big and small ways, we will someday see the fruit. On this earth, at times, we see small glimpses of what God is doing behind the scenes in the lives of those with whom we are working. I have no idea who the person was 20 years ago who went from village to village showing a Jesus movie. And they have no idea of Rebecca’s conversion story and the multiple other stories as of yet untold. Won’t heaven be amazing?

Please Pray with Us
We are praying that God will send us people with seeking hearts. We are also praying that God will send us those with an ability to lead groups of believers as they multiply. Would you please pray for Hammad especially? Pray with us that he will have a great desire to read the gospels Philip gave him and that Jesus will reveal Himself to Hammad in a real and meaningful way. Any success in this endeavor is directly related to our united prayers. The real work is done on our knees!

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