The Muslim village chairman welcomed me each time I came to Uganda. He would sometimes come and listen, but mostly he followed my teaching from afar. Over the years, though, he saw the changes in the lives of our congregation members as the Holy Spirit worked in them and transformed their hearts, their families, and their marriages. As I was completing my time here last June, he came by to bid me farewell and to encourage the village people to apply the things I was teaching them from the Bible. That day I asked him if he would allow me to give him a Bible. He said yes, he would read it. So I presented this lifelong Muslim with a Bible, then I had to return to the US.
Over the next 4 months, Chairman Dulaus read his Bible, secretly, in his bedroom, so the neighbors would not see. He sometimes read aloud to his wife, too. He would share with Musumba, my Ugandan ministry partner, how he found such joy and peace when he read God’s Word. He told my partner to be sure I knew he was reading. We made plans to meet when I returned in October so we could discuss what he had read and answer any questions he had.
However, when I first returned, he was not feeling well and did not attend the gathering with the village congregation. The next week, rain kept us from meeting that Friday. That night, Chairman Dulaus died. Musumba and I wept for that loss. But an amazing thing happened. We got word from his family that they wanted me to speak at his funeral. I am a woman, a foreigner, and an infidel by Muslim standards, yet I was invited to speak at this Muslim funeral.
The next day we arrived in the village at the funeral gathering. The preceding speakers spoke of how much Dulaus loved his village, and they spoke of the joy and peace they had seen in the chairman in those last months. They said he spoke highly of me all the time. As I stepped up to share, I commented that my connection to the chairman was because we loved the same people. He loved his village and he saw that I did too, so we connected. I shared, Bible in hand, about the one true God, the God of the Bible whom I serve. I spoke of how He created us in his image, male and female, and His desire to have a relationship with His creation. It was basically an “Introduction to God 101.” I concluded, “I know Chairman Dulaus would be delighted to know that you, as well, have discovered the joy and peace that he came to know through the God of the Bible.”
Some people appeared shocked as I spoke boldly at this Muslim gathering. But all listened intently. That was November 4th. This past Friday, December 29th, as I was passing into the village to minister to some sick people, we passed a lady who is one of the family members of the chairman. Musumba and I stopped to greet her, and ask about the chairman’s widow. She took us behind her house to the house where the widow lived. She greeted us warmly; they brought chairs for us. A man joined us. I learned he was the older brother of the chairman. The first lady we met was his wife. As we spoke with the three of them, Nisim, Dulaus’ widow, said she would like to become a Christian. It was then we learned that her husband had read the Bible to her as well. The brother and sister-in-law nodded in agreement, saying they too wanted to become Christians. Eesa, the brother, said the day I spoke they had recognized that I spoke Truth. They have been talking about that day ever since. And so, I shared the plan of salvation with them and had the precious privilege of praying with all three to be saved and brought into the Kingdom. Eesa said, “Your words have healed our hearts.”
He then told us that next Friday at 3:00 p.m., he will have his friends gathered at his house to come hear more. Will I come? So, next Friday we will be there to speak to whomever the Lord brings. We are expecting a harvest among the Muslims of this village. The Holy Spirit has prepared the way!