Standing Tough Against Opposition

What do you do if you’re a young high school girl who is set to live for Jesus but your entire family is deep in Islam? When all your family members are against your association with Christians? When they are tracking all your moves and wooing you back to their religion? To whom do you run? 

This was the case with one of the young disciples in one of our fields in Northern Kenya. We will call her “Diramu”. I work as a teacher in a high school that is located in an unreached area but with a focus to disciple the students and members of the community. Most of the students are from Muslim backgrounds, and almost all are learning about Jesus for the first time. The few who had converted to Christianity are swimming against the tide to remain in Christ. A number have been persecuted and beaten back into Islam. Others have remained and by the grace of God, I have seen transformation and growth in their lives.

It was during one of my times of prayer and meditation that God revealed Diramu’s situation to me. That is when I started taking note of her spiritual walk. I called her for a discussion and compared her story with what God had revealed to me. The two matched and I knew God was preparing her for something. She had many questions and initially didn’t want to expose her struggles. She was looking for answers and didn’t know where to turn to. I’m grateful to have been there during that season. I came to learn how her family is deep into Islam and she was the only believer in the entire family. She has been under great pressure to re-convert to Islam. I came to learn that she would only attend church services or associate with Christians while in school. At home, this was impossible.

Since then I have walked with Diramu and she now knows the Truth. She knows why she is a follower of Jesus and is determined to keep her faith. She has embraced Jesus and He has become so dear to her that she is willing to openly express her faith. We have studied the Word together and we have prayed and met several times in between her regular classes. I have watched Diramu grow spiritually to the point she can now stand on her own. Something has happened to her. She is now as bold as a lion. Diramu ended up performing well academically and has since joined a university in a city far away from here. I continue to walk with her from there and visit her whenever possible.

I see potential, I see a disciple-maker in her. One capable of reaching her family with the Gospel. I see a vessel that God can use to minister and reveal Himself to her Muslim family. I choose to believe and pray that God will use her life and testimony to make His Name known and revered among her family members.

This is just one story among many Muslim students waiting to be discipled to follow Christ. A growing number of young Muslims are searching for Jesus. I’m grateful to the Lord that my presence here has provided me with opportunities to disciple dozens of Muslims. It is my profession that strategically placed me here to bear a Kingdom responsibility; I have a bigger responsibility than to give them an education. I must give them Jesus.

***Peter Kale (not his real name) is a missionary serving among an unreached people group in Northern Kenya