International Mission Board missionary Eleanor James met Faith in an unlikely place — at baggage claim.
She knew right away Faith was different from other Muslim women she’d met. Dressed head-to-toe in pink, including her brightly colored hijab, the young Middle Eastern woman approached and struck up a conversation as soon as she noticed Eleanor’s smiling baby.
The two women exchanged phone numbers before leaving the airport and met for coffee within the week.
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At first, conversation centered mostly around Faith’s on again-off again relationship with a man from work. Faith explained she had only seen her boyfriend a handful of times during the last few years and confessed the relationship was causing her to spiral into depression. As their conversation turned to spiritual things, Eleanor sensed Faith was searching for hope.
“There were a lot of ways to connect her problems to the gospel,” Eleanor said, noting how Faith was especially easy to share with and really opened up during their time together.
After they met, Faith sent Eleanor a text.
So thankful for meeting you. You have no idea how much your words about Jesus meant. I want to meet again.
Soon Eleanor and Faith began spending time together regularly.
Each time they met, Faith read Bible verses aloud from Eleanor’s phone. As they discussed the message of the gospel, Faith shared it was the first time she had ever heard any of these things.
When she asked for more Scripture to read, Eleanor gifted her a copy of the New Testament in Arabic. A few months later, when Eleanor’s family moved to a different city, Faith continued to keep in touch through phone calls and text messages.
I’m learning from you that I need to trust God more and I need to lean on Him more. I need to learn more about Jesus. I’m also reading the Quran and I’m doing my daily prayers more.
Common hurdle
It’s a common hurdle missionaries face when working with Muslims.
“They will say Christianity and Islam are basically the same, and we’re all trying to worship God,” Eleanor explained.
Though Faith chatted freely about some aspects of Jesus’ life, like His ministry and the parables He taught, she carefully avoided deeper discussions of His crucifixion, death and resurrection — things many Muslims don’t believe really happened.
It often takes many years to see Muslims come to faith in Christ, Eleanor said.
But recently, she has been encouraged by evidence of God’s grace in Faith’s life. Like one day when, after reading in the Bible about Jesus calling the disciples to Himself, Faith sent Eleanor a text expressing gratefulness for hearing the gospel.
I feel so lucky I ran into you at the airport and got to know you. I feel chosen that God has let me know who Jesus is and let me hear about His life and what He has done.
Though it’s only been six months since Faith heard the gospel for the first time, Eleanor prays that one day soon, just like the disciples, Faith will hear God’s call and leave everything behind to follow Him.
Some names have been changed for security.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Kristen Sosebee and originally published by the International Mission Board.
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