Miriam

Miriam was raised a Muslim and never asked many questions about the faith of her people. She only wished her god, Allah, could somehow be more personal and approachable and would love girls and women, not just men.

Like many girls in her tribe, Miriam had been promised in marriage when she was a baby and was prepared for that role her whole life. She was not allowed to play with any of the young boys in town. She also learned the importance of being covered head to toe by the time she turned 12.

After her 17th birthday, Miriam had her long-anticipated wedding and became the third wife of Hassan, a man in his 60s. There is no concept of “honeymoon” in their culture, so she joined her new family right away, complete with two other wives and many children. Soon after the marriage, Miriam learned of a sewing center nearby where she could learn a trade and make extra money for the family.

What she did not know was that a church from the United States was involved in the center. The church had sent a two-year Bible story team of women through StoryRunners to introduce Muslim women to Christ using Bible stories presented through a micro business opportunity.

After receiving permission from her husband, Miriam began going there along with other Muslim women to learn to be a seamstresses. She was given a sewing machine so she could start her own business making money for the family sewing clothes. There are many micro business opportunities that can be used as a platform for sharing the gospel through Bible stories.

As Miriam learned to sew and run her business, she also heard a series of stories in her language from the Bible (what her people call the “Injil”). Growing up in a war zone with constant terrorism and with no choices in life, many women like Miriam have thought about or even attempted suicide. So you can imagine her intrigue and captivation with these stories. Day after day, she heard and quickly memorized the 58 stories that had been translated into her language. Each day she carried the stories home to her new family. Some of the stories had also been put into song using local musical instruments. Miriam especially loved the songs.

Through the stories from God’s Word, she heard about God’s love and redemption from Genesis through Acts. She slowly began to realize that God loves and cares for each person, and wants to make His home within people. That’s hard for a woman to grasp in such a culture. Story by story, it was as if Miriam was being discipled on her way to meeting Jesus. When Miriam saw the persecuted church in the stories of Acts, she realized that others had suffered for their decisions to be followers of Jesus.

When she made her decision to become a follower of Jesus, she talked excitedly with her friends at the sewing center. They told her that a new house church had just started near her village. So she began to attend the meetings built around the stories and songs from God’s Word. As Miriam grew in her new faith, she shared the stories and songs with her family and friends. Soon one of her friends also wanted to follow this Jesus, and so the spiritual movement began.

In just a few months 12 house churches had been birthed and the gospel has multiplied to the third generation of new believers! Miriam’s people still have no written language and no written Scripture. But now they have God’s Word in oral form, the way they are accustomed to communicating. And they are seeing movements of spiritual multiplication.

The church from the United States that initiated the project has been introduced by StoryRunners to a Bible translation agency that will help them begin a written Bible translation. The translation work will move much faster now that there are local believers who want desperately to read the Bible stories for themselves.

You too can help build movements of spiritual multiplication. Bible story teams are currently being trained, but still lack the funding needed to complete their Bible storying projects. If just 17 people would commit to give $100 per month for 25 months, another team could be sent to another people group like Miriam’s. There are still 2700 languages with no Scripture at all and 2.8 billion people without access to the gospel. Won’t you help bring God’s message of grace to them in a way they can understand and share with others?

Invest in new projects by giving online or by mail to:

StoryRunners
100 Lake Hart Drive #1100
Orlando, FL 32832

Make checks payable to Campus Crusade for Christ and designate account number 2817474.