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In 1997, Isaac* (Central Africa) began searching for truth when a Muslim sect different from the one he belonged to came to his city and said everyone needed to convert to their group in order to reach paradise in the afterlife. “I was confused,” Isaac remembered. “We were praying the same prayers, reading the same Qur'an and doing the same things, so why was their group right and ours was not?”
Isaac, who was a high school student at the time, began searching the Qur’an for answers and met with local Muslim leaders, but what he learnt only led to more confusion.
The time for high school examinations was approaching, and Isaac needed to study. There was only one problem: there was only one library in his city, and it was run by Christians. “I hated Christians,” stated Isaac, "But I needed to study.”
At the library, Isaac met a Jesus follower who was secretly discussing the Bible with two of Isaac’s friends after a game of peton, a game played with a metal ball. Isaac was invited to play with them so that the teams would have an even number of people. Afterwards, when Isaac was about to leave, the believer said to him: “After the games, your friends and I often talk about religion. I am a Christian and I want to know more about Islam. I can also tell you more about Christianity.”
Wow, this is a good opportunity to win this Christian to Islam, Isaac thought.
He was given a French Bible and joined the group in reading from the Gospel of Luke. As he read, Isaac discovered the Bible was very different from the Qur’an. “When you read the Qur’an, you don’t understand everything, but in the Bible, all of the story and context are there. You can understand it without anyone explaining it to you,” Isaac said.
He left the study with more questions, and at the next study, the leader asked him: “Isaac, do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?”
Isaac opened his mouth to say no, but instead, he said, “Yes.” However, his friends said no, and later, they told him Isaac needed to repent. Troubled, Isaac asked the leader not to ask him questions like that again in front of his two friends. Soon, he was invited to join a different Bible study group of all believers. One day, while reading Matthew 7, Isaac prayed: “God, I am really seeking You. If Islam is right, put it in my heart and take all the questions away. If Christianity is, please put it in my heart and put everything else away.” After a few weeks, he felt Islam fading away from his heart and finally had to peace to say that Jesus was the Son of God.
Isaac began following Jesus in 2002 and was baptised three years later. However, he didn’t tell his family, or even his wife when they got married in 2009. He didn’t attend church; instead, he lived as a secret believer. In 2014, Isaac met the leader of OM in his country, who challenged him: “Isaac, if there was a sickness killing everyone in your city and you had the cure, would you give it to them?”
“Yes, of course,” Isaac replied.
“No, you wouldn’t,” the OM leader said. “Because now you have Jesus and people every day are dying without Him. You know where they are going, but you aren’t telling them about Him.”
“His words turned my life upside down,” Isaac remembered. He decided to start with his friend, Moussa*, who had initially invited him to the Bible study years before and was still a Muslim. They began meeting at night at Moussa’s work to talk about religion.
Through the weeks and months that passed, a friend who worked the same shift overheard and joined their conversation, saying: “I want to know more about Jesus.” Another friend and co-worker of Moussa, who was also listening, said one night, “I cannot find anything that is untrue with this. I want to believe.”
During this time, Isaac’s wife, who was first suspicious as to why he was out at night, learnt he was a Christian. At first, she was shocked and demanded a divorce, even leaving temporarily. After she returned, Isaac began sharing his faith with her, and she, too, came to believe.
Finally, one day, both Moussa and his wife began following Jesus. Looking at Isaac, he said, “If you had been doing this since you became a Christian in 2002, think of how many people could have been saved?”
Since then, Isaac has dedicated his life to sharing the gospel with those in his community and country. He joined OM and started planting churches in his area. He and his wife now have 10 children, and he is the leader of OM in his country. To date, Isaac knows of more than 85 people who have decided to follow Jesus through their interactions with him.
*name changed
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