Door to door evangelism. Some missionaries or Christians might see that phrase and want to run…far. Well this was a large part of our ministry this month in Lusaka, Zambia. And let me tell you, it was one of my favorite months of the race. We would roam the dirt roads of neighborhoods like Kanyama, or the infamous Chibolya neighborhood in Lusaka talking to and visiting with the people of these areas. We had an amazing time being invited into their homes, hearing their stories, encouraging them, and sharing the gospel.
One day in Chibolya, we met a woman who had spoken briefly with Katie and Michael a few days earlier in passing on the street. This time she was eagerly waiting outside of a home we were visiting, hoping to divert our route towards her home across the street. Once inside, we began sharing what we were doing and who we were, only to find out that she had already met others from our group and knew exactly who we were. We also quickly found out the she was a Muslim by faith. She had been Muslim her entire life.
This started me thinking, why had this woman invited us into her home so happily, knowing that we were Christians and that we were out evangelizing, preaching about Jesus Christ? I quickly realized the Holy Spirit was at work and I stopped questioning the oddity of the situation and starting leaning in.
We talked to her about what we believe as Christians, what the foundations are of our beliefs and her beliefs. She shared her thoughts on Jesus and we shared ours. We each exchanged questions, trying to better understand where the other was coming from. It was all very civilized with the Holy Spirit clearly leading the way. We got to read and discuss scripture with her, pray for her, and invite her to our church service before leaving her house. She said that she had more questions and even asked that we come back tomorrow to chat more.
If that wasn’t cool enough, there was one more surprise left for us. This Muslim woman was now leading us from her house to other houses in her community, having us meet with and share the gospel with her friends and neighbors. She would introduce us and then sit on the floor and listen intently as we would talk and pray with the others in the community. As soon as we were done in one house, she would lead us to the next.
A Muslim woman was literally facilitating our work of sharing the Gospel!!
It was an amazing day. Our God is a God of surprises, and I’m blown away by how He uses us and others for His kingdom.
