“You… Christian?”: A Question That Sparked a Friendship
“You… Christian?” my new, move-in Muslim neighbor asked in broken English as she looked around at the Scripture I had framed on the walls of my home. She and her family of five had just escaped death threats in Iraq and, with the help of the U.S. military, were now living around the corner from our family. There are no coincidences. My husband and I are convinced that our home address is by God’s providence, so when I met Rosa just a couple of days before at our bus stop, I acted on that truth with an invitation to my house. Now here she was sitting at my giant farmhouse kitchen table, looking around an American Christian home while I made silky froth for our strong coffee and set homemade scones and Devonshire cream in front of her.
Discovering Rosa’s Hunger to Know God
To answer her original question, I smiled and said, “Yes!” I then proceeded to ask her what her relationship with God was like. I will never forget Rosa’s response. She teared up, looked out my kitchen window, and said, “I believe there is a God, I just don’t know who He is.” This was the beginning of a seven-year journey of trading visits to each other’s homes and drinking each other’s traditional coffees, chocolates, and baked goods over the one topic Rosa was hungry for: who God is and what He is like.
Sharing Scripture and Building Trust
One Christmas, I gifted her an Arabic/English parallel Bible. When she came to my house, we would read the Bible together with the promise that her antagonistic husband would never find out about it.
Opening Doors Through Church and Prayer
Rosa and her children began attending our church’s annual community Easter egg hunt, our Resurrection service, and our Christmas Eve service each year. We continued to get together for coffee, talk about God, the Bible, and her family. Whenever she opened up about difficult things going on in her life, I would pray with her about the difficulty.
The Exchange Bible Study: A Turning Point
Towards the end of last summer, Rosa was going through a trial and came to us for help. It was then, as we talked about soul-level life issues with a box of tissues at our kitchen table, that I offered to go through The Exchange Bible Study with her.
Understanding Sin and God’s Justice
Each time we met for the study, it was clear that the Holy Spirit was giving Rosa unusual understanding of the truths that God is holy and cannot tolerate her sin, and that God is just and cannot overlook her sin (not to mention the Holy Spirit giving her understanding as we spoke in her second language)! She cried through the first two studies, agreeing with what the Bible had to say about her sin.
A Life-Changing Revelation
She asked complex questions along the way and made connections that blew my mind. One watershed moment was when we read Isaiah 64:6: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” She asked what “polluted” meant, and as I explained, tears began to roll down her face. Rosa looked at me and said, “I never knew that the good things I do God looks at me like that, but I believe that’s how God must see me.”
The Joy of Knowing God’s Love
She turned the page to see what we would discuss in lesson three and saw the title, “God is Loving and He Reached Out to Us,” and whispered, “I can’t wait for lesson three,” with wet eyes.
Rosa Finds Peace in Christ
On a sunny November Saturday morning, Rosa arrived at my house with a smile, hugging her copy of The Exchange study. We sat down together for our umpteenth cup of coffee—with froth!—chatting about our families and our week. Pumpkin scones with dollops of Devonshire cream were soon forgotten as our appetites began to fill on the Bread of Life.
The lesson quickly took us to the exchange that Christ has to offer us: our sin-stained record for Christ’s perfect, sinless record. I asked Rosa to cross out her name in the diagram on the page and replace it with Jesus’s name, and then on the other side of the diagram to cross out Jesus’s name and replace it with her own name. I looked up and saw fresh tears flowing freely down her face. Rosa barely choked out, “I feel so ashamed that Jesus did this in place of me.”
She now fully understood that Jesus exchanged His sinless life in her place on the cross. As we finished the lesson and I asked if she was ready to place her faith in Christ alone for forgiveness of sins, she said, “YES!” Rosa bowed her head and invited Jesus to be her Lord and Savior. When she finished praying, she looked at me and said, “I have this feeling of relief.” The heavy weights of the Islamic religion had rolled away as Rosa found peace with God.
A Sister in Christ
Now, when I receive texts from Rosa during the week, she always starts them with a new language: “Good morning, sister.” I smile because I have witnessed a true miracle.
The Power of Prayers and Simple Hospitality
This all started almost twenty years ago when my friend, Anna Musgrave, challenged me over a cup of tea to begin praying that God would give me a lady to engage in relationship with, and to exchange their questions, struggles, and stubbornness with truth, love, and to give them the good news of the gospel. I have seen God answer this prayer many times over the years over a simple cup of coffee or tea enjoyed sitting at our farmhouse kitchen table. May God continue to do so.
(Our Muslim friend’s name has been changed for her protection.)
Tara Mosier is a renowned speaker and faithful wife and mother. She is married to one of our Exchange Trainers, Pastor Joel Mosier.