The following story is written by an East-West short-term trip participant. Click here to learn more about our overseas trips.

Receiving the Word in an Unexpected Place

Armed with limited French, our short-term team headed to a port in France to distribute copies of the Injil (New Testament) to North African Muslims. I noticed a couple waiting in their car to drive onto a departing ferry and approached them to offer them an Injil.

In my broken French, I said, “This is the New Testament. This is a gift. This is free.”

Obstacles to Receiving the Word

The husband adamantly shook his head and finger at me, so I turned my attention to his wife. She wore a traditional black hijab that completely covered her skin. Only her eyes shown … marking her and her husband as devout Muslims.

My first thought was, “Why would this woman—who is fully covered—want God’s Word?” But I was overwhelmed with God-given boldness and reached into the car and over her husband to offer her the Injil.

Once again I said, “This is the New Testament. This is a gift. This is free.”

The woman stared at me and remained speechless for a few moments. I thought she didn’t understand me or was rejecting the gift just like her husband. I was about to give up when she surprised me by taking the Injil and thanking me.

The Power of Receiving the Word with Courage

I was completely shocked by her boldness! In her culture, her action was unacceptable. She didn’t just take a Bible. She took a Bible under her disapproving husband’s watch. That takes courage.

Minutes later, I watched this Muslim couple drive through the gate and onto a boat headed to North Africa—an Islamic stronghold—with a book containing words that give eternal life.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” –Hebrews 4:12, ESV

Please join us in praying that God would continue giving this woman courage and that her and her husband would read the Bible and find eternal hope in Jesus Christ.