제목: 주의 일에 헌신 (Dedication of God's work)

본문: 누가복음 9장 57-62절

찬양: 338장 내 주를 가까이 하게 함은

 I am Rev. Hassan Simon.   Before this name I was called Hassan Bin Said.

 I was born into a Muslim family; my father, my mother, and all sisters and brothers were all Muslims.                                                                                                           

Being there, I came to realize that Islam provides no assurance of salvation.  There is even the fear of one’s eternal destiny which brings deep insecurity from the beginning of the religion.  In Islam, it is believed that all human beings and Jinn (evil spirits) will be gathered in hell whereby Allah will call one by one to go to heaven or judge them by their faith and deeds.  I could never know if Allah really heard my prayer.   I did not feel his presence or receive answers when I prayed, as I do today, since I know God personally through Jesus Christ.   As a Muslim, I prayed five specific times each day, but now as a Christian, I can pray any time and continually, since I have an ongoing relationship with God throughout the day and night.  There are many things that I saw in Islam, such as consulting witch doctors, being taught to hate Christians and Americans whom they said were the main sponsors of Christians on earth, polygamy, and much more that made me doubt and find no meaning in their faith.     

Doubt about my Muslim faith arose at first from several observations I made about the Christian Community I knew in comparison to my Muslim community.

Generally, I noticed mostly the assurance of salvation that Christians had.   You could see it with the joy on their faces, in their words and daily activities. This truly amazed me and pushed me to try to learn more about them.  In addition, I noticed how well educated, obedient and respectful their children were.   Christians always knew that somehow their Jesus would make a way and would often not worry much about their problems.   Above all this, I was mostly touched by their virtue of forgiveness.  Christians were always ready to forgive; whereas among Muslims revenge is the best way they find to resolve conflicts.   Little by little, I felt the need to understand how they got those good qualities so that I could be like them.

How I met Jesus Christ my Savior and difficulties I faced after converting to Christianity.

On one day in 1999, when I was 21, a nearby Free Methodist Church organized an evangelization Crusade.   My friends and I were sent by our parents to do everything possible to disrupt this meeting.  Little did I know that on this day my life would be changed forever.  The message I heard captivated my heart, and though we cursed the pastor and the preaching of that day when we reported to our parents, I had been touched and my search for Christ had just begun.   My walk towards salvation started with several Gospel songs I heard on that day and a particular preaching on John 3:16.   In 2000, I thought a lot about that message.   One day, the Spirit of the Lord touched me and I realized I needed to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.   The following Sunday, as I passed near the church, I was very happy to hear the Christian music again and the next minute I found myself seated in the church clapping with other Christians. The Holy Spirit calmed my heart and I felt no longer afraid of the persecution I would endure if fellow Muslims saw me in this church. Until the end of the service I felt at peace and forgot all my troubles.   When the pastor made the altar call, I knelt down and asked Jesus to come into my heart and keep the peace I had felt at that moment in my heart.  

Several months later, I was filled by the Spirit of the Lord, and I had a great desire to know more about God and His Word.   I started reading His Word, and fasting and praying.

When my family learned that I had converted to Christianity, some harsh decisions were made against me.   I was beaten, I was chased away from the family; the family stopped paying my school fees.   As a result I was forced to drop out of school for two consecutive years, and for these two years I was never allowed to eat at home.   I was left to become a beggar even though I came from a rich family. 

I was even rejected by people I thought were my friends.   It was a very tough time in my life.    I spent many nights sleeping on church seats and even under trees.   Many times I narrowly escaped death and many times they tried to burn me, but God’s hand was always protecting me.

At some point  my aunt purposefully pushed a stick of wood  into my right ear saying I had chosen to follow this pagan religion maybe because something was blocking my ears and   I couldn’t hear properly the advice she was giving me. Since that incident I have had ear problems.   I was really hurt and my right ear was frequently bleeding and releasing pus.   It was very painful.   Up to now I have not yet had adequate treatment for the ear problem because I often feel a lot of pain in my right ear even today.   I thank God because He gave me a heart to forgive my aunt for what she did to me.   I told her that I forgave her because Jesus had forgiven me.  She cried.  I hope that someday she will become a believer.

As the days passed, I was trying to make new Christian friends. I found some to comfort and to counsel me.   The church also decided to intervene.   A pastor named Fidèle Dieli NTAMAVUKIRO of Nyanza-Lac Free Methodist Church decided to take care of me in his household. He tried to give me all that he could, like food, clothes and encouragement.   He showed me how this was a good moment for strengthening my faith; he even gave an example of Job, who had lost all his wealth, his children and even his health, but because he did not deny the Lord, our Lord granted him more wealth and children than he possessed before.   All his friends, who had rejected him, were obliged to bow before Him.   I thank and I will continue thanking him for the way he took care of me for about two years of my life.   I left his family when I attended the Theological Institute of Mweya in Gitega (was a high school).

How my mother came to Jesus Christ and the difficulties she met after making this decision.

 In 2003, my mother called me and she wanted to know what had pushed me to become a Christian. I hoped I would have a chance to share with her the message found in John 3:16 when we met.   For her, my becoming a Christian was a curse.   She wanted me to go back to Islam.   But because this discussion was not good, I went back to the place where I was living.

I continued praying for my mother so that she would be touched by the word we had shared. In 2004 she called me again; her attitude seemed to be changed.   She spoke humbly, saying that since our last discussion, she deeply thought about the word we shared; this word had never left her thoughts.   Her question was: what am I supposed to do?   I thanked God in my heart because I thought that it was the first step to victory.   I told her that God wanted her to become his servant. She wanted to know how she could restore her peace.   I asked her if I could call a Pastor for her.  She accepted, and I did as she liked as soon as possible.   At that time, she accepted and received Jesus Christ as her Savior.   She became a good Christian.   She is always praying and fasting.

 The act of my mother becoming a Christian was like pouring more fuel onto the fire that my conversion to Christianity had started in my family.   She had no peace; she came to a point where she wanted to turn back to Islam.  My father divorced her; people in my village talked about her.  She had hard moments.   As she was suffering, I was also suffering.

My young brothers ran away from her.   Life became worse.   We continued to pray.   Sometimes she fell sick, sometimes she got some medicine, sometimes she didn’t.   God revealed Himself to us in these hard times.   As we used to pray my mother became stronger and stronger every day. I kept witnessing God’s victory to the point that my two sisters became Christians.

 HOW HOPE IN CHRIST MINISTRIES Started.

 After completing my high school, the spirit of the Lord brought to my mind a very important task to be done in my village, where the number of Muslims is so high compared to that of Christians.  I took about three days, fasting and praying for other young Muslims especially from my area to know Christ.  In the year 2006, I was admitted to Hope Africa University in the department of Bible and Theology.   Unfortunately, I didn’t finish my studies because of lack of school fees.

In the same year, my calling to preach to Muslims became stronger as I was not able to continue my studies.   Through continued prayer and fasting, God revealed to me that I should start the Hope in Christ Ministries, which I did in 2006.   I started with one-on-one preaching and the very first person I preached to be a young boy called Siwema.   Our exchange of ideas went on for about three months and he decided to become a Christian.   In the same village, I also had opportunities to talk to some sisters, one of whom, Sheuri, decided to become a Christian.

In February 2007, a married couple accepted Jesus plus this young man called Hussein became a believer.

In September 2007, some friends in the area were happy to hear about the ministry to the Muslim people and they prayed for it for a good length of time, shared and continued to be part of this ministry by helping spiritually and by offering Kirundi Bibles and hymn books.   In 2008, Jimmy became a Christian. Five months later, with the support of Mr. Bob Hughes, we managed to show the film of Jesus Christ in my home village of Nyanza-Lac.  During this time three young men and another couple accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior after several follow-up visits that I conducted.  I conducted a very big Public Debate between Muslims and Christians.   During the exchange of ideas two young people, one man and one woman were touched.   After six months of follow up visits, they finally received Jesus Christ as their savior.

Since 2009, God has used me to preach to a Muslim lady who comes from Pakistan but lives in Nyanza–Lac, and she accepted Jesus Christ along with her daughter and her younger sister.   I also preached to a Muslim religious teacher in the same area and he got saved.   Unfortunately, he is persecuted by fellow Muslims, has been forced to run away, and up to now we do not know where he is. Please remember to pray for all these new believers because they are going through many difficulties.

I would also like to request that you pray for me as I am leading this struggle for these lost souls. I face many challenges and life threatening situations.  I am waging a war against unpredictable individuals who would do anything in their power to stop any individual from showing Islam for what it is. They fear anybody who can confront Muslims and teach them about the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Several Muslim religious leaders have threatened to kill me if I continue with my ministry, and even at one of our public debates, they threw stones at me. However I will not stop spreading the Gospel to Muslims.   This is why I need your support and prayers.

Difficulties Encountered by Believers

 Most of the believers in Jesus are chased away from their jobs and from their families.   Others are forced to divorce their husbands or wives, parents no longer provide for their basic needs such as food and clothing, and even refuse to pay for school fees for the young people who become Christians.  In some extreme cases that I and my church have witnessed, the converts are physically and mentally tortured or even threatened with death.   Some of them are so discouraged and scared that they want to go back because they consider this decision to be the only solution to their problems.

I try, with the help of God, to encourage and support them, but unfortunately two have gone back to Islam.

Muslim Strategies for Converting Young People to Islam

Nowadays, Muslims Leaders are doing their best to employ Muslims for three reasons:

•to make sure that none of them is attracted by Christianity

•to make sure that those who have already converted to Christianity may come back

•to attract Christians, most of whom are jobless, to convert to Islam

They offer jobs, such as mechanics, carpentry, taxi driving, teaching, and they fund micro projects and businesses.   In addition, they also sponsor students in high schools and universities. They are even translating the Koran into our mother tongue Kirundi.  These strategies make our work even harder and we are praying to God to help us to find ways to reinforce our ministry.

I thank God in particular for many people who have supported my efforts to bring Muslims to Christ through HOPE IN CHRIST MINISTRIES (OR MINISTRIES TO COUSINS).  They have given me advice whenever I needed it.   In addition, they donated much needed Kirundi Bibles, one Koran (for reference), and hymn books, and much more, including providing me with bus fare to allow me to make frequent visits to new believers in my homeland.  They also helped me to raise some funds so that I may attend a one-month training workshop in the USA.  For two summers I went to Texas to attend a seminar organized by Global Proclamation Academy at Dallas Theological Seminary and visited Free Methodist Church in Spring Arbor Michigan.   I want to say thank you to them for their support.

Prayer Requests:

1. That God would give me wisdom and knowledge so that this ministry may impact more and more people. 

2. That the Ministry may have the financial means to  supply God ‘s Word (Bibles) to those who are coming to Christ and to visit members who are suffering from HIV/AIDS, and the new believers so as to give moral and spiritual support to them, so that they may not go back to Islam.

3. That God will strengthen this ministry so that I will have the means to provide income generating activities for old and new believers so that their living standard will improve.

4. That God may provide sponsorship and partnership to this Ministry.

5. That God may provide a car for God’s work and facilities.