“Where have you been?” my local friend Hana demanded. “I’ve been sick and you haven’t come to see me.”
I squatted down on the shaded patch of dirt outside Hana’s home, where she and her friend were tearing up cardboard to feed a pair of bleating goats.
“Sick?” I turned to her friend and asked, “What’s wrong with her? Does she have a cold?”
“A cold?!” Hana scoffed. “Ha!”
Her friend gave me a meaningful looked and said, “She’s been eating beans.”
“Ahh, the bean disease,” I responded, nodding sympathetically. “Hana, you must be very tired.”
The bean disease sounds more ominous than it is. It’s not a disease at all, actually.
But living in a place where people rarely say exactly what they mean, I’ve learned the importance of wit and wordplay.
To Hana and her friend, it’s rude to ask direct questions and give direct answers. Instead, they use euphemisms and indirect expressions to communicate important information.
Learning to share the Gospel effectively can be challenging in such a culture. But as God enables me to enter my Muslim friends’ lives, I trust Him for the creativity to share His truth in ways they can hear and receive.
Fortunately, Hana’s bean-eating disease isn’t contagious. It’s simply code for saying she’s pregnant.
I have several other local friends who’ve been eating beans, too.
Khadija, a woman living on the edge of destitute poverty, is about to have her seventh child. She is the sole provider for her family. She works hard and gladly takes on any job she can find.
Reema is midway through her second pregnancy. A year ago, she gave birth to a seemingly healthy girl. Sadly, the newborn died within a couple of hours.
My neighbor Aisha recently miscarried. She and her husband have three boys, but they long for the daughter they hope will complete their family.
Miscarriages and child mortality are high in countries like this one. Please ask God to protect babies and guard over the health of mothers like Hana, Khadija, Reema, and Aisha. And pray their hearts will open to Jesus Christ as I share the hope of the Gospel in the midst of their joys and sorrows.
- Pray for Frontiers workers like Julie as they enter the lives of Muslims and learn to share the Gospel with creativity and clarity.
- Ask God to show His deep love to Muslim women like Aisha who grieve over infertility and miscarriages.
- Pray for Muslim families to have the chance to discover Jesus Christ together and respond to His gift of eternal life.
**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names have been changed for security.**
Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/the-bean-disease
