“What Do You Want?” Part 1
By Laurie Denski-Snyman
A missionary and his local partner were selling Christian books in a non-Christian neighborhood in a large city in southern Asia. They could see residents’ religious devotion through their clothing. Women wore scarves; men had long beards. Some people even had dark spots on their foreheads — rug burns from bowing their faces to the floor for long prayers.
At one house, a man with an angry face came to the front gate. “What do you want?” he asked gruffly, without opening the gate.
“We are working on a project in your community and selling books,” said the missionary, David. “Would you be willing to take a few minutes to look at these books?”
“I’ll be back in just a minute,” the man said harshly and left.
The missionary’s local partner, Maria, was afraid. “Let’s pray,” she said. “He looks scary. I think he’s a fanatic, a radical member of his faith.”
“Maybe he’s just hungry,” David said. It was the time of the year when devout religious men fasted for a month during the daytime.
Then the man returned. “Why don’t you come in?” he said.
Inside the house, he spoke abruptly. “What do you want?” he said.
David pulled several health books from his bag.
The man looked intrigued. “My wife will be interested in these because she’s a nutritionist,” he said, and called her to come and look at the books.
As he and his wife thumbed through the books, he commented with enthusiasm, “Wow, this is really good,” and “This looks really helpful.”
Then he asked bluntly, “Who are you working for?”
“We are Seventh-day Adventists,” David replied.
Abruptly, the man stood up and walked away. Then he returned and sat down. He stared at the visitors. The silence grew uncomfortable.
His wife broke the silence. “You know, I have Adventist clients,” she said. “They are very good people. But I really don’t know much about them.”
The man started to pace. He seemed agitated. Then he sat down again.
“What are those other books that you have?” his wife asked.
David opened his bag and pulled out The Great Controversy. “This book is all about true love, true forgiveness, and true peace,” he said.
She looked through it excitedly. David also showed her Steps to Christ and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. The man stood up, stared at the visitors, and sat down. His wife asked, “What do you believe?”
The man stood up again and walked over. He seemed determined to hear every word. Pulling out his cellphone, he started to record the conversation.
To be continued next week!
Laurie Denski-Snyman is a retired social worker who works with her husband as short term missionaries overseas. This testimony is printed with permission of Adventist Mission.
World Church Prayer Requests
August 30 — September 5, 2024
- Kenya: Pray that the Lord will use Soul’s Breath, an online live prayer program launched by East-Central Africa Division (ECD) Hope Media Network, to rekindle and encourage prayer as a lifestyle. It airs every Thursday.
- United States: Pray for the churches in the Rockland-Westchester area who are starting a joint evangelistic series in New York State. Please pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the souls to be won for Christ.
- United Kingdom: Pray for the Grace Community SDA Church as they prepare for meetings in September. Pray that many souls will be won for the Lord.
- Ghana: Please pray for the University of Environment and Sustainable Development in Ghana, for their student leadership and Adventist staff. Pray also for the local churches and all students in this tertiary education institution as they are coming together to establish a common association to develop their faith.
- Botswana: Pray for a place of worship for Block 8 Church. Pray that they can reach their immediate community for Jesus.
- South Africa: Pray for an evangelistic series that is going to take place in Buffalo City Metro in September. Pray for the speakers.