Sarah came to Christ twelve years ago, when a Catholic friend of hers shared with her the prophecy about Jesus from Psalm 22. He asked her if David was talking about himself or someone else. She said she knew that David was not crucified, so it must have been someone else. He told her about Jesus. She said that the verses about Jesus crucified for the people struck her heart and she thought about it day and night. She started going to church in secret. Two months later, her family found out, and her father drove her from the house. She was in eighth grade.
Her community tried very hard to kill her, so she had to leave the city. She was alone and friendless, no one would take her in. Sarah became seriously ill. She was homeless, slept on the road, and expected to die at any moment. A young man who was a believer found Sarah dying on the road, and had mercy on her. He took her home and gave her a room to stay in, bought her medicine and took care of her. In a culture where women are often treated brutally, he cared for her tenderly, nursed her back to health, and told her more about Jesus. He was an evangelical Christian. Sarah received Jesus as her savior. Eventually, she and the young man who had mercy on her were married.
After this, Sarah felt called to be a missionary and to work to share the gospel to the people who had tried to kill her. Her area is one of the most dangerous in all Ethiopia. Their reputation is this, “killing is easy for them.” The people in that region have attempted three times to kill the church supervisor in the area, but have failed, praise God! Understandably, it is very hard to find people to work in this area, and especially those who are as steadfast and courageous as Sarah. The church is entirely underground.
The Ethiopia director heard much about Sarah from the church leaders in the area. He heard that she is smart, and has the mind of a strategist–earnestly desiring to find the best way to reach her region for Christ. She loves discipleship and carefully teaches those that she leads to Christ as she goes from house to house, working as a servant, and waiting for opportunities to share about her faith. She has led three of her sisters to Christ, as well as at least ten others.
When Sarah saw that people were taking pictures at the training, she told Rich that she has faced persecution because people have been careless with pictures on social media before–and while she is willing to endure persecution if it advances the cause of the gospel, she would prefer it if we were careful. We are blotting out all of her face from the pictures, and omitting any identifying details.
Sarah was delighted by the training, and extremely grateful because there are almost no opportunities for her to learn about evangelism and follow-up, as it is not safe for any Christians to go to her area. She is hopeful that with the new materials and training, she will bring many more people to Christ.
Sarah needs prayer especially for protection. When we told Sarah that we would ask others to pray for her, it brought tears to her eyes. She and her husband have two small children, pray for their protection as well! We cannot tell you their names, but God knows how to direct your prayers.
We will continue to keep you updated as Sarah’s work progresses over the next few months. Praise God for her obedience to His call, and for her great faith!
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