“No friend, I WAS a Muslim!� our neighbor Moses exclaims. It’s our second time visiting him, and his face is still beaming.
The first time, I watched him sit quietly in the corner of the living room, soaking up the conversation we were having with his friend about God’s love expressed through Jesus Christ. I watched him lean in closer and closer, stroking his chin, deep in thought.
Finally, he piped up. “I have questions for you. I have been a Muslim all my life, and I have asked Christians questions before, but have only become more confused.�
My teammate Chris and I welcomed him to ask anything.
“Is it true that Jesus is God’s son?�
We talked a long while about who Jesus is, about the love of God, about God’s ultimate gift of love which was his son’s life, death and resurrection, and what it means to be born again into new and eternal life because of that gift.
“I have heard enough. I want to know Jesus. I want to give him my life.�
When we left that day, Moses was a different person. A peace and joy had settled over him that is only evidence of God’s presence and filling in someone’s life. He now not only understood who God was, but also understood who HE is in God’s eyes: a beloved son, who had now been reunited with his Father.
A few days passed, and we went to visit him again. This time, he excitedly sat us down and told us that he knew we had a very important message for him.
“I had a dream,� he said, “You and Christopher came to me, and you were dressed in white. Chris was holding a white sword. I knew in my dream that you had come to share something very important with me, but before I had a chance to ask you, I woke up. The question that I have for you is this: what is the difference between man’s love and God’s love?�
A smile crossed Chris’ face. “It just so happens,� he said, “that God was speaking to me about that as I read the Bible this morning.�
We talked through so much of the scripture that deals with the nature of love, that it originated with God, and that we are made in God’s image and therefore made to love in a way that reflects him (1 John 4:7-21) . It was a powerful conversation, one that ended in prayer and tears of joy.
As we were talking, the Ugandan pastor who had come along with us started talking to Moses in Lugandan. He hadn’t been with us on the first visit, so he was trying to find out some information about Moses’ background and life. When the pastor turned to inform us that Moses is Muslim, Moses quickly corrected him: “No friend, I WAS a Muslim! Now I am a follower of Jesus Christ! I have been born again!�
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This is just one of the many stories of how God has been intervening in the lives of his people here in Seeta, Uganda. I wish I had time to recount them all. Please pray for our team as we visit homes, host bible studies, and bring the Word of God to the people of Uganda. They are hungry!
