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Bourama (Mali) found faith in Jesus at a young age, but his decision to follow Christ began to cause rifts in his relationship with his parents when he was at university studying to be a doctor.
“My father started asking me to visit witch doctors, and when I said, no, I can't do that because of my faith, he couldn't understand,” he said.
“After that, we had some clashes between us and for about five or even seven years.”
Part of his father’s confusion stemmed from seeing other people in their village who identified as Catholics but also practised occultism.
“For him, we are all Christians; we were the same,“ Bourama said.
Over time, they reached more of an understanding, and their relationship recovered.
But the distinction between true Jesus followers and those who have not fully committed their lives to Christ is still an issue in Mali.
Bourama explained, "People look at Hollywood and they think that is Christian. In different countries, I think people can have very different understandings of what Christianity is."
Many Muslims in Mali are happy to discuss faith with Jesus followers as they, too, are looking for an intimate and real relationship with God.
“They want to know how they can relate to God,” Bourama said. "Because in Islam, we don't have this kind of relationship. There is no personal god in Islam; Allah is always far from us.
“But when we read and study the Bible, those stories, they become alive and real for you. Islam talks about Jesus as a prophet, a great prophet. But it just stops there. It doesn't see Him as the Son of God, as God, as the one who can release and serve us.
"Hearing how they can relate to God and the forgiveness of sins, most of them are touched because of that. For them, there’s nothing they can do. There are no actions. There's no hope. It still has to do with your behaviour as a good Muslim.”
Please pray for Muslims who are searching for a closer relationship with God to find hope in Jesus. Pray for families with both Muslims and Jesus followers, that their differences in faith would not cause rifts but that they would work to understand one another better. Pray for those who practise occultism, that they would see that this is dangerous and turn away from it entirely.
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In celebration of International Women's Day, we recognise and celebrate the women around the world who selflessly serve God's kingdom impacting their communities through OM's ministries. Through the hundreds of ministries that OM has in different countries and cultural contexts, women serve in a variety of ways, often taking up a combination of roles building up the Body of Christ.
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