One of e3’s Movement Practitioners, Lyla*, met a woman last month in a small, remote village in Africa. Lyla and her translator spoke with this woman, Imani*, and her family outside her home.
“This woman was totally hopeless,” Lyla said. “As I started to share the Gospel, I began with creation and was making the connection between sin and death. Then she said to me, ‘It is good that death came into the world. If I die, someone else can have my garden and then they can eat.’ I honestly can’t remember what I was thinking at this point, or even how I was able to continue sharing the Gospel. I could not comprehend her utter hopelessness.”
Lyla continued to speak with and listen to Imani, and she discovered that Imani had many doubts about God and why the world and her life are the way they are. So Lyla shared with her the story of Thomas doubting Jesus’s resurrection, and this seemed to open a door for Imani.
“I continued to share the Gospel with her, and she started to understand why things are the way they are, and why she can have hope in spite of her circumstances,” Lyla said. “She made the decision to follow Christ that day!”
A church planter who is starting a church in Imani’s village will continue to disciple her and teach her how to share her story and God’s story.
“Thomas was like this woman,” Lyla said. “He had found himself in a hopeless situation following the death of Jesus. Just like the reality of that woman’s suffering, the reality of Jesus’s death and betrayal made it difficult for him to believe that his Lord Jesus had risen from the dead. He had trouble believing what he knew to be true. But just like this woman, when he was confronted with the reality of Jesus, he chose to believe!”
*Names have been changed to ensure safety and anonymity.