We were walking outside, passing students in various stages of eating lunch, studying, or chilling before class. I thought we were going to walk past a lecture hall but was surprised when my group stopped by a young man with one headphone in his ear sitting by himself on a two foot high wall near a patch of grass. Our translator, Audric, spoke to him in French as we awkwardly sat beside him, three on his left and right.
A moment before we left a young lady who accepted Jesus. It was rough at first with the sound of lawnmowers, other students, and some difficulty translating. My mind pondered over her decision. I wondered if she understood & truly meant it or if she simply wanted us to leave. She had seemed hesitant to talk with us, but toward the end she had tears in her eyes. I decided that she was sincere, and prayed that the local church would contact her soon.
My attention was drawn back to the present when Audric told us the young man’s name, Konée, and asked someone to speak. There was a moment of silence and before I knew it I had volunteered. I stood up, walked over to Konée, and asked him what he knew of Jesus. He said he was Muslim and had heard of Jesus as a prophet. My mind was racing, “where do I even start? I should have paid more attention in World Religions. Will he even be perceptive to who Christ really is?”
Then I began with, “Jesus lived on this earth 33 years,” and paused for translation. It didn’t come. I repeated it a couple times before deciding that those small details weren’t important at the moment. Finally I got into a groove. Audric translated for me and during the pauses I tried to figure out what was going through Konée’s mind.
He kept glancing at his phone. He was open to what we were saying and would nod in agreement but his face had an unsure expression. Maybe he was just being polite by letting us speak to him, yet I had a nagging feeling that I should keep telling him about Jesus. He had a determined gaze for a long time, taking in each word methodically. I told him that Jesus loved him, that Jesus didn’t just die, but he conquered death so that Konée could have a relationship with him. His face softened and he asked if he would be Muslim if he accepted Jesus.
I explained that Muslims do not believe Jesus is God, if he accepted Jesus he would be a Christian. Konée took it all in and then said that he believed what we were telling him and wanted to accept Jesus but because he and his family were Muslim he feared what would happen if he became a Christian.
Audric spoke to Konée for a while and in my head I prayed the Holy Spirit would move to give him courage. In the end we prayed over him, but he did not accept Jesus. Walking away from Konée was bittersweet. I am happy that Jesus is working in his life, even if he doesn’t realize it, but it broke my heart to see how conflicted he was.
Really, I don’t blame him for his decision. It must be terribly difficult to potentially sever family ties and put yourself in danger. I can’t imagine not having my parents, sister, and extended family in my life. I have never been asked to lose the ones I love for Christ; leaving them behind in America is the closest I’ve come.
Still, Jesus is worth it. He doesn’t promise wealth or fame, heck, he tells us that following him may lead to persecution. I pray that Konée’s heart is continually softened by the Holy Spirit, that he would know the truth deep in his heart and have the courage to step out in faith to meet Christ. If you have a moment please pray for him.
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Thank you for coming to read about how God is moving across the world! If you are prayer warrior (or even if you aren’t) would you please keep these items on your list?
-First and foremost that me, my team (Worthy Warriors), my squad (K!), and all those who are currently on the World Race would be living in Christ, growing & being attentive to the Spirit. That we would be the willing and obedient tools God uses (let’s be honest, he doesn’t need us to work). That we would take up our crosses daily & follow Christ down any road at any cost.
– We leave the villa tomorrow to go to a different part of Abidjan where we will meet up with our squad and have some leadership training. Pray that our spirits would be refreshed.
-My squad is moving on to Ghana on September 6th! We have a long bus ride to Accra, and some of our teams have many more hours to travel once we reach the city. Pray for safe travels.
