When Amina met a missionary couple in Nyeri, a town in central Kenya, one of the first things they asked her was, “Do you know Jesus?” Amina replied that as a member of the nomadic Borana tribe, she was a Muslim.
“Then you don’t know the truth,” the couple told her. “Tell me about this Jesus,” Amina said. The missionary woman, Cheryl, gave Amina her phone number and invited her to call, which Amina did the very next day.
After several discussions and studying verses of Scripture, Amina placed her faith in Christ. “Can you pray with me over the phone to accept Jesus?” she asked Cheryl.
Cheryl warned Amina that she needed to be sure, because becoming a Christian would result in persecution from her family. However, having studied the Bible the missionaries gave her, especially the Gospel of John, Amina was sure that the Bible was true and that she must leave Islam for Christ.
The persecution Cheryl had warned of quickly became a reality. The next time Amina visited her parents’ house, her brother became furious at the news that she was following Jesus. He slapped her and tore her Bible in half. “Worst of all, he called me a pagan,” she said.
Although Amina’s parents banned her from their home, she was undeterred in her desire to share her Christian faith. She began praying that her family would come to know the truth, and she started sharing the Gospel with everyone around her.
The persecution intensified. Her Muslim husband divorced her and moved to Nairobi, thieves broke into her home and stole her possessions, and she lost her job. “I felt desperate,” Amina said. “Why was all this happening? I prayed to God, ‘If You are God, give me a job.’”
The next week, she was called for an interview and got a job that paid double her former salary.
Through all of her difficulties, Amina has relied on her Bible for strength and encouragement. “The Bible has been an armour for me,” she said. “The Word of God has been my weapon, and the Word has made me grow spiritually.”
BEARING FRUIT
In the nearly 10 years that Amina has been a Christian, she has shared the Gospel with almost everyone in her family. “Before my mother died,” she said, “I used to tell her that if she gives her life to Jesus and if she believes in the truth, she will have life after death.”
Once when Amina’s mother was sick, she and Cheryl visited her in the hospital and prayed for her. Amina’s mother recovered and lived for several more years. Afterwards, most of Amina’s family was more accepting of the Gospel.
When Amina’s mother was near the end of her life, she kept a Borana-language Bible near her hospital bed and asked others to read it to her. Before she died, she gave the Bible to Amina’s sister.
While some of Amina’s family members did not want to hear about Christ, others in the community were more accepting. “We do not have any complaint with your faith,” they said, “because everyone can choose their own faith.”
Several years ago, VOM supplied Amina with some audio Bibles in the Borana language. “The audio Bibles have really helped me and my family – like my aunt,” Amina said.
“She keeps listening to it. It is in her language, and it is easier for her to understand. Just the other day she called and said the problem with the Koran is they don’t believe Jesus is the Son of God. She somehow believes, but she worries. Because most of the community are Muslims, she fears for her life.”
For the Borana people, who measure their wealth in cattle, the audio Bibles are an ideal way to hear the Gospel. “They can put in their earphones and listen while they are herding animals,” Amina said. “The audio Bibles have changed them.”
Amina is teaching her two daughters from the Word of God, and her five-year-old daughter, in particular, loves the Bible. Amina said she asked for a Bible storybook, which she often reads three times a day.
Amina recognised the truth of Scripture and responded in faith when she first heard the Gospel. She obediently shared the Good News with her relatives and community, remaining faithful to God even through personal pain. She believes her witness, combined with the truth of Scripture and work of the Holy Spirit, is having an effect on her relatives who read and listen to the Bible.