Kindness Wins

Kindness and truth break down prejudices in Malawi, winning many Muslims to Christ.

“The church of Christ is God’s agency for the proclamation of truth; she is empowered by Him to do a special work. . . . If she will be true to her allegiance, there is no power that can stand against her.” Prophets and Kings, 259, 260.

When I met with the chief of the village of Chamatwa to request permission to conduct a public crusade, the Muslim authorities were not pleased. It seemed we would need to spend time here breaking down prejudices before we could proceed. No problem: My team and I had brought food and used clothing to distribute for free. Our gestures of kindness seemed to ease tensions, and soon the chief gave his consent to the crusade. 

Praying that God would open the hearts of the Muslims in this village, we began going from home to home, inviting people to the meetings. At one door, I met Mrs. Zaidi, a 42-year-old Muslim woman whose husband was away. She did not want strangers in her home in his absence, so I had prayer with her, gave her a tract, and promised to come back, hoping that when her husband returned, we could do Bible studies with them both.

When Mrs. Zaidi showed her husband the tract, Mr. Zaidi was upset. He took his wife to the chief, who asked three Muslim leaders to help him judge the case. After their deliberations, the chief told Mrs. Zaidi not to allow me or my team in when we returned. 

When I heard what had happened, I went out and bought more food and used clothing. Then, starting at the Zaidis’ home, my team and I distributed the supplies to the whole village. We didn’t try to give more Bible studies, but simply invited the people to our meetings. As the news spread all over town, the people seemed eager for the meetings to begin.

On opening night, people came by the hundreds. Mr. Zaidi told his wife not to attend, but what he didn’t know was that they would both hear the message through the powerful public-address system, which carried the sound more than half a mile in all directions. Every evening, the Zaidis saw more and more neighbors flocking to our meetings. Friends who had attended visited Mrs. Zaidi and recounted exciting stories about Abraham, the patriarch of the Islamic faith. As they heard the messages from their home, a desire grew in Mr. and Mrs. Zaidi’s hearts to know more about Jesus. They felt unrest and wished for peace. 

The Zaidis made up their minds to attend the meetings—just once. But when they went in person and heard the Word of the God preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, they were hooked. They wanted to hear more of what God said from the Bible; and every night, love for this kind God grew in their hearts.

When they saw that I did not attack Islam and the Quran in my messages, nor speak hurtful words toward them, and as they saw me continue to help the needy and the poor, many Muslim people were touched. When I appealed to the people to follow Jesus and be baptized, Mrs. Zaidi and her husband came forward with many others. The Muslim leaders tried their best to stop them, but to no avail.

The good Lord blessed our meetings with 78 baptisms and the establishment of a new church. May God continue to use us to win more souls and establish more churches in Malawi!  


Location
Malawi

Author
Golden Lapani is an evangelist in Malawi.

How You Can Help
Pray for Golden and his team as they continue conducting evangelism across Malawi.

Pray for the recent converts, especially the converts from Islam.

Give to allow evangelism in Malawi to continue. Mark your gifts “Malawi,” “Malawi workers,” or “Malawi evangelism” and send to:

Mission Projects International
PO Box 151
Inchelium, WA 99138

To give online, visit: missionspro.org/donate.