Under the Surface
"Mama R, what is the word for believe in Kimwani?" I asked her in our language lesson as we sat outside in plastic chairs.
At first she didn't know, but after talking about it a bit she gave me a word. To confirm it was what I wanted I queried, "Can I use this word to say 'do you believe this will happen?'" She agreed that was correct.
"Can I use the word if I'm talking about God? For example, do you believe God created the world?" I plied further to which she affirmed again.
"Can I use the word to say 'I believe in Jesus?'" I continued, because I wanted to make sure that I had the correct word for the phrases I wanted to learn that day.
She replied that it was still a correct use of the word, but then she asked me what I meant.
"When I say 'I believe in Jesus,' I'm always thinking about three important things: 1. Jesus is God. 2. Jesus died on the cross for my sins. 3. Jesus came back to life again three days later. That's what I mean when I say 'I believe in Jesus,'" I explained to her.
She nodded her head in understanding. She knows what I believe, we've had many conversations about it over the year I have known her. Sadly, she has told me that she believes Islam is the right way, but I still love her and pray for her. After nodding her head she rattled off a huge phrase in Kimwani and I stared at her with a blank look on my face.
We slowly worked back through what she had said, piece by piece, until I not only understood what each word meant, but could also pronounce them well.
"I believe Jesus is God," I would repeat after her, "Why do you believe Jesus is God?" we continued on, "I believe because He died on the cross, was buried, then came back to life. That's why I believe Jesus is God."
The whole time I was repeating those words after her for our language lesson, I knew she was only saying those words because she knows I want to learn them in her heart language, but I prayed that one day she will say these words from the depth of her own heart and with sincerity.
After our lesson she said, "Rachel, do you have chapter 14 on your phone? In Portuguese?"
Taking a guess in the dark I said yes and pulled up the Bible on YouVersion and found John 14 and played the audio hoping it was what she wanted. She listened intently, following along with the words on the screen. When it finished she asked if I had Matthew 1. I pulled that up and she listened to that. It finished and she changed the topic, but I wondered in my heart what had caused her to ask for those specific chapters of the Bible? What is God doing in the depths of her heart that I can't discern from the surface?
At first she didn't know, but after talking about it a bit she gave me a word. To confirm it was what I wanted I queried, "Can I use this word to say 'do you believe this will happen?'" She agreed that was correct.
"Can I use the word if I'm talking about God? For example, do you believe God created the world?" I plied further to which she affirmed again.
"Can I use the word to say 'I believe in Jesus?'" I continued, because I wanted to make sure that I had the correct word for the phrases I wanted to learn that day.
She replied that it was still a correct use of the word, but then she asked me what I meant.
"When I say 'I believe in Jesus,' I'm always thinking about three important things: 1. Jesus is God. 2. Jesus died on the cross for my sins. 3. Jesus came back to life again three days later. That's what I mean when I say 'I believe in Jesus,'" I explained to her.
She nodded her head in understanding. She knows what I believe, we've had many conversations about it over the year I have known her. Sadly, she has told me that she believes Islam is the right way, but I still love her and pray for her. After nodding her head she rattled off a huge phrase in Kimwani and I stared at her with a blank look on my face.
We slowly worked back through what she had said, piece by piece, until I not only understood what each word meant, but could also pronounce them well.
"I believe Jesus is God," I would repeat after her, "Why do you believe Jesus is God?" we continued on, "I believe because He died on the cross, was buried, then came back to life. That's why I believe Jesus is God."
The whole time I was repeating those words after her for our language lesson, I knew she was only saying those words because she knows I want to learn them in her heart language, but I prayed that one day she will say these words from the depth of her own heart and with sincerity.
After our lesson she said, "Rachel, do you have chapter 14 on your phone? In Portuguese?"
Taking a guess in the dark I said yes and pulled up the Bible on YouVersion and found John 14 and played the audio hoping it was what she wanted. She listened intently, following along with the words on the screen. When it finished she asked if I had Matthew 1. I pulled that up and she listened to that. It finished and she changed the topic, but I wondered in my heart what had caused her to ask for those specific chapters of the Bible? What is God doing in the depths of her heart that I can't discern from the surface?
Please pray for me the same things you asked us to pray for you in your newsletter, other than learning Kimwani:), that I would use this time intentionally and productively etc. I had already started to try to incorporate those things into my life anyway. Thanks and God bless you! Norm
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