Fasting for a Family

To Sabbath School teachers: This story is for Sabbath, August 22.

By Tranqulle Fassinadouno as told to Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

The house gate was open, so I walked right into the yard. A man and woman were chatting on the front porch, and two boys were playing nearby.

“Good morning, brother and sister,” I said, smiling. “My name is Tranqulle Fassinadouno. I’m very happy to meet you.”

I went over to the children. Seeing one boy was of school age, I asked, “How is school? What did you learn today?”

The boy smiled and began reciting his ABCs. “Your children are smart!” I told the parents.

The parents relaxed when they saw that I appreciated their children. I asked for their names.

“My name is Maimouna Bangoura,” said the woman.

“I’m Alpha,” said her husband.

I pulled out a pamphlet called “God’s Love for Man.”

“Here is some good news,” I said, handing the pamphlet to Maimouna. “This is the word of God.”

She glanced at the pamphlet and said, “No, give it to my husband.”

“No, I can’t read it,” Alpha said. “Give it to my wife.”

Turning to Maimouna, he said, “Read this for me.”

She threw it to the ground and went indoors for her evening prayers. I asked Alpha whether he had any prayer requests and, as we spoke, Maimouna returned with a request for me to pray for her health.

I realized that no one wanted to read the pamphlet because Jesus’ name was written in small text on the cover. For people of their non-Christian faith, it is a sin to even read something bearing Jesus’ name. Seeing they were not interested, I left the house but resolved to pray and fast for them. As soon as I exited the gate, I wrote down their names on a piece of paper and placed it in my Bible. For three days, I didn’t eat food or drink during daylight hours. In the evening, I ate a light meal of bananas, oranges, and rice porridge.

I didn’t have much time to pray for the couple during the day because I was busy giving Bible studies and making new contacts as a Global Mission pioneer. So, I asked God to wake me up at night. For three nights, God woke me up at midnight, 1 a.m., and 4 a.m.

“Thank you, God, for allowing me to meet this family,” I prayed. “I want for Your will to be fulfilled with them. I want You to visit them before these three days are up.”

The three days ended on a Sabbath. I decided to visit Alpha and Maimouna after church services, and I prayed before leaving the house, “I’m not trying to convert this family. It is the Holy Spirit who will convert them. Be with me as I just visit them.”

During Sabbath School, I felt an urge to visit the family immediately in case they weren’t home later in the day.

Maimouna greeted me enthusiastically and said she had been healed after my prayer. She asked me to pray for her son, who had fallen ill. I prayed. That evening, I returned to ask about him.

“He’s over there, playing with his friends,” Maimouna said, pointing. “I’m so happy for what you have done.”

I asked Maimouna to call the boy so we could pray together. Seeing Jesus’ hand in the matter, I took the courage to mention Him by name.

“It is Jesus who healed your son,” I said. “So, we are going to pray in Jesus’ name.”

Bowing my head, I prayed, “Thank you, God, for You are worthy of honor and glory because it is through You that this miracle has happened. Thank you for healing Anthony. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, Amen.”

A month later, Alpha and Maimouna came to church. Alpha soon stopped attending, and he beat his wife every evening for still going. That didn’t stop her, and she said to me, “Please teach me the Bible. I want to know the Bible.”

We began to study the Bible. After a while, she began to read the Bible on her own and announced, “It’s Jesus and me forever.” She gave her heart to Him.

Alpha still beats her, but Maimouna has found strength in Matthew 10:37, where Jesus says, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. … He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

She and I fast and pray for Alpha.

I am so happy that she loves Jesus. Real joy is being able to show the truth to people and to see them embrace it.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help construct Kobaya Academy, a much-needed K-12 school in Conakry, Guinea. Thank you for remembering Tranqulle and all Global Mission pioneers in your prayers.