Who will stay in our home while we are away? So many people are cautious about interacting with us. Who will take care of our little garden? Who will be bold enough to live in the Christian missionary’s house after all that has been said about us in recent months? Who among our Muslim friends will be willing to cast his lot with us and show his people that we are safe to tolerate in the community?

Elmire and I pondered these and many more questions in the weeks leading up to our trip to the States. We had to find someone who would dare to stay in our house and take care of it while we were gone. Not only that, we hoped the person would carry enough esteem in the Muslim community that his example would lead others to open to us.

Twice in the past, Sosse, a young Dendi in his late twenties, stayed in our house while we were away. But he was getting married about the time we were leaving and could not help us. Sosse had served very well for us. He was the accountant for one of the big cotton-processing factories in town. He was known for his commitment to Islam, and his father was a close friend of the head Imam. Sosse was also a member of the board of the student Islamic society. His friendship and willingness to stay in our house had helped refute some of the criticism leveled at us. Elmire and I prayed that the Lord would help us find someone like Sosse.

Providentially, 17 months earlier, I had gathered four university students and three high-school seniors to fill out a questionnaire for me on religious liberty. Among those young men was Himouran, our neighbor’s nephew. According to his answers to the questionnaire, he was 80 percent in favor of religious liberty, a very complex and challenging concept in Islam. In a later discussion with me, he said he was 100 percent in favor of religious liberty.

When I asked Himouran if he would be willing to stay in our home, he accepted. He meets and surpasses all our criteria. He has a reputation of being very respectful and maintains a deep interest in religious matters. That is God’s doing. In our work, it is very important for us to associate with people recognized in the community for their devout and pious religious life.

We pray that God will draw near to Himouran and give him a deep spiritual encounter while he stays in our house.

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