When Serving Him Is Forbidden...

On our second trip to this village, we took the opportunity to greet many of the villagers, hoping to establish friendships for when we returned with the Jesus Film. Welcoming us with open arms, they couldn't wait to see us return.

As we were waving goodbye, this woman quietly came forward to the second in command of the village, asking him if it was ok to ask us for prayer. She had suffered for a long time from pain in her neck, numbness in her extremities and was unable to sleep well at night, due to the severity of her symptoms. Caitlin’s father (a physical therapist) was with us on this expedition and was able to give her a little medical advice, since there is no hospital or doctor in this village. The only “help” they have is a little mud hut with a grass roof, which serves as home to a randomly acquired stash of a few expired medications, rendering it an “illegal” dispensary. We knew that Jesus truly was her only answer.

After praying with her, we asked if she would like to accept Jesus, she sadly shook her head “no”, saying that her husband wasn't there to give permission. We told her that God already knew her problem and that He was going to touch her body, believing that she would be totally healed.

Two weeks later, we pulled into this village, just before nightfall to show the Film. Within the first couple of minutes, a woman left the site where the Film was playing (which was most likely the only opportunity she would have to see a movie in her entire life), and came to our campsite, where we were busy setting up our tents for the night. Excitedly, she grabbed our arms, and in the moonlight, we recognized her face as the woman we had prayed for. These were her words:

“I have been completely healed! I know that Jesus has done this, and I am now a Christian. My husband is a Muslim, so I am worried that he will be angry and forbid me to serve Jesus, but I cannot ever be anything else but a Christian from this day forward! He will always be my God.”

When serving Him is forbidden... you can be sure that His amazing love will win out every time.