Opening Hearts to the Gospel

In the last few weeks, fellow church members and I have been going out for evangelism outreach in the neighborhoods surrounding the center where I work. One morning I was out with Pastor Tirumbu, who left me to speak with this group of women and children while he pursued conversations with men. I told them we were going around letting people know that Jesus loves them, and then I started asking questions of them, their lives, their health, their families, etc. (all important getting-to-know-you questions in Ghana!). They revealed that the reason they’d come together was to discuss ways to improve their families’ lives by starting small business ventures: all they needed were loans to begin their industries. Of course they asked me whether I could help; but I explained that I didn’t give out such loans. However, the ministry with which I’m working sometimes gives out micro enterprise loans, and the women might apply to see whether they qualified.

The next week I returned to speak with the women, and we again discussed their families, their lives, and the need for micro enterprise loans. I was taking probably 15-20 minutes to hear their hearts and enter into their lives, all the while praying, “Lord, You know the reason I’m here: if you want me to speak about You, show me how and when!” God is so faithful, because suddenly the women talked to the one who was interpreting, and she turned to me and said, “Now we want you to tell us about Jesus.” Praise God! “Did you have a specific question about Jesus?” I asked her, and she instantly replied, “Yes: they say Jesus is the Son of God, but how can that be since God has no wife?” Starting with this question, I ended up presenting the entire gospel to the women, being urged “Go on!” whenever I paused.

Some men joined us toward the end, and because of the pressures women can be under from the men in their lives, I felt God wasn’t leading me to pray a salvation prayer with them at the moment. Instead, I told them what they should tell God from the heart if they wanted to accept Jesus’ sacrifice to open the way into heaven. Please pray for these dear women who have heard the truth: may God be drawing them to Himself, even as He planted the interest and questions in their hearts!

Important note: When I asked Pastor Tirumbu about available loans, he stated that the money they use for such loans is all designated for specific communities, and can’t be used for these women. However, he is willing to administer a separate loan program for them if the funds can be raised, and asked whether I can mention the need on my blog. He estimates that $500 will be needed to get ten women started in small businesses. The exciting thing is that the woman he would choose to administer the loans was herself once a Muslim, and is now a glowing Christian who can speak the women’s language. My ministry has agreed to accept funds for such a project. If you are interested in contributing to such a fund, please contact me at african leah at yahoo dot com (no spaces, of course). Thanks for considering, and for praying for these women!