Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Missionary (10/19/06)
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TITLE: You Know The Truth | Previous Challenge Entry
By Tamara Rodrigues
10/24/06 -
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Ibrahim is a Nigerian man. He has lived a life similar to Saul/Paul of the New Testament. The town he grew up in was predominantly Muslim. He was raised to be a strict follower of Allah.
He wasn’t allowed to attend school with the other children of his town. His father was afraid his mind would be polluted and he would be drawn away from a traditional, strict, Islamic upbringing.
There were Christians in his home town. They were persecuted by the dominant Muslim population.
One night during the month of Ramadan, the Christians showed a movie about the crucifixion of Christ. Ibrahim told us that the prayers being said were so loud they interrupted their praying. Their singing interrupted the silence.
The leaders of his church told the young men they knew what they had to do. Ibrahim and his friends went to their homes and met outside the building the Christians were meeting in armed with baseball bats, machete’s, crow bars. The young men surrounded the building.
Ibrahim went in through the back. He began to walk to the front of the screen, his bat raised. His feet became immovable. He felt something forcing his head up to look at the screen. He tried to look around, but couldn’t. The image on the screen was of Jesus on the cross. Ibrahim heard a voice in his ear telling him “you know the truth”. He looked around and no one was near him. In the film, Jesus said, “it is finished”. With that Ibrahim could move. He looked all around and saw the people crying, prostrate on the floor, praying.
The only thing he could do was run. He ran all the way to his home. He locked himself in his room. He knew the truth, but he was a devout Muslim. He tried to shake the vision and the words out of his mind. As he slept he kept seeing an ocean and a wave like a tsunami overcoming many children and young people. The voice in the dream kept telling him, “you know the truth; you can help save these children.”
The next morning Ibrahim went to the pastor of the church where the movie was playing and told him that he wanted to live for Christ. The pastor went and talked to Ibrahim’s father.
Ibrahim went home and was bound and brutally beaten. His father had to kill him. It was the way of the Muslim faith. His father picked up a knife and cut Ibrahim’s throat. The blade did not penetrate him. His father took the knife and jabbed at Ibrahim’s chest. The knife did not penetrate.
Ibrahim had to leave home after that. His friends were trying to kill him too. He was sheltered by pastors. Each time he would get situated, his friends would find him and the pastors and their families were beaten protecting him. Each time before the attack, he would hear a voice in his head telling him to go to the bathroom. Each time he told the voice he did not have to go. The voice told him again, “go to the bathroom”.
Ibrahim now lives in the United States and is serving with Youth With a Mission. His goal is to return to Africa one day and reach out to other Muslim’s with the good news of Jesus Christ.
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