A young teen looking for love finds it in just the right place.

Fifteen-year-old Myriam wandered into the tent, curious to see something different from the everyday vice in the streets. Bible studies? Myriam did not find that topic interesting, but what she did find interesting were the young men talking to her about the study program. Maybe if she signed up for Bible studies, she could get one of these sharp-looking fellows to be her boyfriend. With nothing else to do, she promised to come to the tent twice a day!

Back in her hovel in Barumbu, a particularly down-and-out community of Kinshasa, Congo, Myriam found her father drunk again. Her mother’s home, with her drunken stepfather, would be no better. Myriam hadn’t been to school since her parents split up, and lately, street life had been drawing her in. Maybe life would be happier if she could date one of those young men from the tent.

But as Myriam visited the tent day by day, things did not move in direction she imagined. She found herself drawn by another kind of love: the love of Christ. The Bible revealed itself as a penetrating sword, removing Myriam’s negative thoughts from her heart. In no time, Myriam completed the 26 lessons. As she fell in love with Jesus, she wanted her dad to know Him as well, so she shared the study guides with him every day. When the Bible teachers told her about a prophecy seminar in Barumbu, Myriam attended every night, and she invited her dad and three of her friends. The third week of the seminar, Myriam felt like jumping for joy when her dad accepted Jesus and asked to be baptized. 

Before their baptism, Myriam and her father completed another series of Bible studies with the tent workers. They accepted all the Bible doctrines they learned, and they started attending church as soon as they learned the true day of worship. On the eve of her baptism, Myriam requested a special prayer session with the Bible workers and the main speaker from the seminar. She shared her testimony of how she had already been involved in sin and wickedness, and how God had given her victory over all her besetting sins. She shared her desire to surrender her heart completely to Christ, and asked for help in her new journey with Jesus. The next day, she and her dad were baptized together. Myriam promised to share Jesus with as many people as she can!

Today, instead of wandering the streets, Myriam is back in school. She has joined the church choir, and as part of the evangelism team of the Barumbu SDA Church, she shares Jesus on the street with broken people like her parents. Two of her friends from the street have now been baptized!

Knowing he would have a hard battle to fight, Myriam asked the church to fast and pray for her dad to stay faithful to his commitment to abandon alcohol forever and be a witness for Christ. Now her father is sharing Jesus with his old friends. Some have tried to draw him back to drinking, but by God’s grace he is remaining true to Jesus. 

The Bible study tents in Kinshasa have already touched thousands of lives. Hundreds have given their lives to Jesus and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church by baptism. In our efforts to reach the 14 million of Kinshasa, we plan to pitch 100 tents in the city, with two trained Bible workers under every tent, and to conduct Daniel and Revelation seminars every six months at different sites. You can join these evangelistic efforts through your prayers and your offerings!  

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Location
Democratic Republic of Congo

Author
Pastor Thomas Ongasa is the president of Train Them 2 Fish, a ministry focused on bringing the everlasting gospel to Central Africa.

How You Can Help
Pray for the Train Them 2 Fish team as they train Bible workers to reach the masses. 

Pray for Myriam as she shares her newfound faith with her old friends. Pray for her father to remain free of alcohol.  

Give. For $90 a month, you can sponsor one tent worker—and just $80 buys the tent! Mark your donations “Congo Evangelism” or “Congo Bible Workers” and send to: 

Mission Projects International 
PO Box 151 
Inchelium, WA 99138

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

Thank you. Your gifts already support 24 Bible workers in Congo. As funds allow, we hope to hire another 10 solid Bible workers soon.