North Africa

We searched for a man (or woman) of peace. This isn’t always easy to find.

A man of peace is someone who has influence and respect in their community AND is open to learning about the Gospel. This learning can be at different stages – from totally grasping and accepting the Gospel to simply being open enough to discuss Jesus Christ.

We searched in northern Africa for this person. The mountainous terrain provided a beautiful backdrop. Houses were built up the side of the mountains. In most areas, streets were so narrow that a car could not go down them, only pedestrian traffic.

We hiked up and down the mountain, stopping to talk to anyone. We sat at roadside tea houses, drinking tea (a glass of hot, sweet tea with a handful of mint leaves). We talked to the waiters and those sitting near us. Most men were happy to talk and curious about where I came from. (I was the only blond hair, blue-eyed person on the team – so it was obvious that I wasn’t from North Africa.)

Another woman on my team and I talked to a hotel clerk. She was young and very interested in what we were doing in her city. She wanted to set me up with her brother on a date (maybe on my next trip to North Africa, I’ll have time for a date). We watched women wash clothes at the community washing machine (a river with small waterfalls).

We finally ran into the person we were looking for, the man of peace. He drank tea with us, then invited us to his house for lunch. As we sat talking to him in his home, he told us that every time he meets a Latin person or an American – they are always so nice. Then, he asked if all Latins and Americans were Christians. That made me smile. You see, God is working in this man’s life. God is making sure that every foreigner he meets is a Christian and has a chance to share more about the Gospel with him.

Our man of peace had watched Mel Gibson’s “Passion” more than a dozen times. He had a lot of questions about Jesus’ suffering. This provided the perfect opportunity for my team to share more details about Jesus and his life.

All of this was going on in Spanish, so I just sat back and prayed. Then, his wife walked in with the girls. She spoke some French, so we ended up talking about Jesus, too, as we played with the girls.

Please pray for this family. God is working in the hearts of this family of peace. It has been five years since they met their first Christian and had their first conversation about Jesus.