Now the tears were flowing freely. I’ve never heard such sobs from our team leader, sitting on the old sofa beside a young Tanzanian couple, arms held in front of them as though receiving a gift from God. Other team members gathered around the small living room; those who couldn’t physically reach them kept their arms and faith outstretched. Passionate prayers were offered for their safety, for their effectiveness in reaching Muslims with the Good News about Jesus, for their relationships, and for their children.
We had assembled for worship and prayer mid-morning on the main island of Unguja.
In all, 13 new students were finishing their studies and preparing to move into field assignments around the islands. For months they had lived in this discipleship house. Daily they had sought the face of God—the same God who sent his own Son into the world to save it. The same God who had commissioned them to follow in His footsteps, in life or in death.
And that’s why the tears came. Jesus spoke about the great missionary Paul, “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:16); we were now seeing what this faithful couple would suffer for the sake of Jesus’ name among their Muslim neighbors.
The day before, our team knelt on the black coral of the beach, crying out to God to save Zanzibar.
Salty tears mingled with the crusty beach and generations of saints who had labored to establish the few churches holding ground in this staunchly Muslim area.
We taught all that day in a local church just outside Zanzibar City, the seat of power for the formerly independent island nation. This Indian Ocean archipelago lies 16-31 miles off the coast of mainland Tanzania. More than 1.5 million people call the island paradise home, with over 99% adhering to the worship of Allah as taught by the prophet Muhammad. The cultural mix of the Swahili, Omani Arabs, and ethnic Persian, Somali, and Indians make Zanzibar a unique melting pot of culture–it feels more Middle Eastern than East African.
The church had been burned to the ground twice, the pastor informed us, and while freedom to choose one’s own religion is enshrined in Tanzanian law, proselytizing to Muslims is heavily discouraged. The believers in attendance sat in plastic chairs in their newly rebuilt building, now consisting of brick and mortar to ward off any future attacks of the radical youth who would try to rid the Christians from their island. For many hours, we freely shared from the Scripture, encouraging their hearts to take hope and live for Jesus in the place where God had sent them as sojourners.
Before our coming, we didn’t know anyone on the islands.
In just a few days we had rubbed shoulders with faithful friends of Jesus, people with open hearts to work together to see the Kingdom of God spread throughout their islands. Ron takeoff, I looked out the small window and mused out loud, “Who are we to help bring Good News to Zanzibar? Who are we to come alongside persecuted believers to encourage them to reach their neighbors and friends?”
But in the months following our short visit, we have begun collaborating with other sending organizations to get one of our trained missionary families on the ground in Zanzibar. Together with other like-hearted Gospel workers, we are excited to see what God will do on these beautiful islands in the days to come.