We met at an ancient grave—a sacred tomb near the center of the slum. Someone had swept away the trash and spread large woven mats on the hard-packed earth.

A handful of women met us there and invited us to sit down. Over a dozen more women soon joined us.

In this slum, which was just a few minutes’ walk from where I lived, many of the women lived with as many as eight people in homes smaller than our bedrooms.

Kamala, my Muslim friend, had lived in this particular slum since she was a little girl.

Kamala had shared about a virus that was sweeping through the community. It was almost impossible to contain the virus in such close quarters with poor sanitation.

Together we started meeting regularly to ask God to protect the families living in the slum. Then we started dreaming about what it would look like for the health of her community to improve. I shared truth from the Word about the power of God to transform lives—physically, relationally, and spiritually.

Days later we took a walk together through the slum. We didn’t go as problem solvers with a solution to the health crises. Instead, we went as question askers.

We wanted to support people as they identified problems and discovered what resources they had to respond. It was important that they realize how empowered they were to apply their assets to improve life in their community.

We walked through the neighborhood and talked to as many people as we could. In the process, we listened to men and women and asked questions that guided them to discover tools and resources they already had.

Now we had more than 20 women sharing their ideas about how to move toward holistic health. We drank chai together as we brainstormed ideas and encouraged one another. Together we came up with our first action plan: to start meeting weekly to work towards transforming their community.

At the end of the time, a man wandered into our meeting.

“Why are you here with these women if you aren’t being paid for it?” he asked me.

One woman responded before I had a chance to: “They’re here because God sent them.”

The next time I met with Kamala, her face was glowing.

“The people living in the slum are talking more about improving the community,” she said. “I really believe things might start to change here. It is amazing to see all the things that have happened since we started praying. God is so good!”

God has a vision for families living in urban slums.

We pray that our friends in this community will catch His vision for transformed hearts, relationships, homes, and neighborhoods.

• Pray that physical changes in this urban poor Muslim community will bring about spiritual transformation in Christ’s name.
• Pray for Muslim men and women to encounter the power of God to save as they engage with biblical truth.
• Ask the Lord to raise up new teams of Frontiers workers to live among and share the Gospel with families living in poverty.

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

Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/the-tombs-of-transformation