“A Small Candle in a Dark Place”

She walked into the small space where we were worshipping, head covered and candle in hand. A young Muslim woman, worried and alone, she was holding back tears as she shared her story with a greeter in the back.

Amina and her husband had recently come as refugees to our city. Her husband had traveled on to England in search of a job, and she had not heard from him in days. She did not know how to contact him or what to do. The night before, a Friday evening, Amina had had a vivid dream. In her dream she was told to buy a candle the next morning, go to church, and ask for help.

So in the morning Amina bought a candle—but she had no idea how to find a church. Asking a taxi driver to take her to a church, Amina was brought to our doorstep. We were worshipping in a evangelical church that only a few months before had graciously allowed us to begin holding meetings there on Saturdays.

Amina’s candle was lit before the service started, and during prayer time she was invited forward. Our small group knelt in prayer around her, not knowing her story but praying fervently for what appeared to be a very great need. As we asked the Lord to help her and bring her peace, grateful tears ran down Amina’s cheeks. Church service then continued as usual—except for a cell phone that rang during the sermon. We didn’t learn until the following Sabbath who had called.

God Answers Prayer!

The following Sabbath one of our church members shared Amina’s testimony during the morning announcements. We learned then that the phone call that had come the previous week had been from Amina’s husband, who had called her on her cell phone. He was OK! Our prayers of intercession had been answered. We may never see Amina again, but she will not soon forget the prayer to God that brought her peace. A seed had been sown.

God’s Army of Youth

We are a small group in a city of more than 5 million unreached people. Just a few years ago there was no Seventh-day Adventist church in the area at all. We are also a statistical minority in the Adventist Church. At 35, I am almost the oldest member of my church family. Our elders, music leaders, church treasurer, speakers, and anyone else participating are mainly college students in their 20s.

We might have a young membership, but I realized that day that if it weren’t for these youth standing in front of me now, there would be no Adventist church in this city in the 10/40 window. And Amina, looking for help, would have found none.

The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray today that the Lord will send out laborers into the fields of our unreached world.

*India Hayes and Amina are pseudonyms. Hayes is a frontline worker in the Middle East/North Africa region.