We sped along the winding road toward a town nestled high in the hills. My traveling companion, Mansour, chattered along in Arabic, describing the town where he had spent his childhood and how he had left many years ago to attend university.

“Back then,” he said, “this road wasn’t nice and smooth. It was full of potholes.”

Mansour is a gifted evangelist. As we drove, he spoke passionately about seeing God’s Kingdom grow in his country. He shared story after story with me, recounting his treks throughout the region to reach his people with the Gospel.

“People are hungry to hear the Good News,” he said. “Many are coming to the Lord.”

Not in masses, he explained. Not yet in whole families. But as he shares with them over months—sometimes over years—they are coming to faith in Jesus.

“And when they do come to Jesus,” Mansour said, “they stay with Jesus.”

We pulled off the paved road and eased down a steep path leading toward a small gushing river. We parked the car, walked across a footbridge, and followed a path up to a dusty hamlet of small stone houses tucked between two hills.

The last time we visited our friends here, an elder son had resisted our efforts to talk about Jesus. Now as we approached their home, Mansour and I prayed for an open door to share the Gospel.

Our friends saw us approach and rushed out to greet us. The father ushered us into his old stone house and seated us onto cushions. He handed me a cup of cool water, freshly drawn from a nearby spring.

After a good half hour of greetings and customary questions, Mansour turned the conversation to spiritual matters.

“Do you know who Jesus is?” he asked the father.

“No,” the man responded. “I am not educated.”

I’ve heard this sort of response many times since moving to the Muslim world. Hearing this used to sadden me, and I grieved that there are still people who’ve never heard of Jesus.

Now I see this response as a joy-filled opportunity.

Mansour turned to me and said, “You often talk about Jesus. Can you tell us who He is?”

I started with His birth and how the angel Gabriel had instructed Joseph to name the child Jesus, which means ‘the Lord saves.’

“What was Jesus’ main work?” one of the sons asked. “What was His purpose?”

All of a sudden, lunch appeared. Shortly after that, they served us tea, and then it was time to leave. I felt torn, wanting to share more with them.

But Mansour seemed to think it was OK. Leaving the story unfinished—leaving so much untold—wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“It takes time for people in my country to come to faith,” he said. “The idea of God as a just Father and Jesus as a justifying Savior doesn’t fit in their worldview. Sometimes, it takes a while to lay that foundation.”

In the meantime, join us in praying for God to reveal the truth of Jesus Christ to our Muslim friends.

• Pray for spiritual breakthrough in Muslim families and in villages like this one.
• Ask God to raise up more workers to bring the Gospel message to Muslims living in hard-to-reach places.
• Pray for field workers to persevere with joy and patience as they share Jesus with Muslims.

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names have been changed for security.**

Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/stories-left-untold