From Andrea Herman in Guinea

Thu, Nov 12, 2009

Africa, Good News from the Field, International

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“I was shocked at how many opportunities God provided for me to have great spiritual conversations and occasions to share my faith during this past month, with friends and strangers alike. On days that I would greet in the market this month (which was usually four days per week), I never had less than three rather lengthy conversations about our sinfulness and why God is the only one who can save us. Since we were in the market, there was always an audience ranging up to a dozen or so people who were listening to the conversation.

“Village visits also provided great opportunities to share. In one of my village visits, I was going to greet an old friend who had moved away. I had never met her husband, because they had been separated. She took me to his work place, which was the transit center of their village, and also the ‘county seat,’ which provided a built-in ‘captive’ audience of about two dozen travelers. Like everyone else, he asked if I was fasting, which allowed me to tell the story of the creation of the world and humanity’s fall into sin-which is the reason they fast. We talked about how God is Holy, but we are not anymore, since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. We are all on the same page until we get to how to ‘fix’ the sin problem. They are taught that their works can save them if they do enough good.

“Of course, the exciting part is sharing with people that God always knew that Adam and Eve would disobey. He wasn’t surprised and He wasn’t unprepared. He promised that everyone who believes that the ‘Promised One,’ Jesus, was sent from God to pay for our sins and received the judgment that should have been ours, will be saved. My friends and neighbors here have a lot of fear. One of their biggest fears is death. They fear death because they have no certainty of their eternity. They know there is a heaven and they know there is a hell. They hope that they have done more good than bad, and that that will be enough to get them into heaven. They are bewildered by my assurance of spending eternity with God. Please pray with me that their bewilderment would give way to curiosity, which would result in questions about how they can have that same assurance.”