THE
Daughters of Abraham
Women Reaching Women: Daughters of Abraham
Daughters of Abraham is a dynamic, Africa-wide network of Christian women with a passion for reaching their Muslim friends and neighbors with the love of Christ – raising awareness, training, equipping and mentoring women for God’s Kingdom.
Some years ago, during an area-wide Christian broadcast campaign, I met Fatuma over the phone. I shall never forget her sobbing desperate voice saying, “I watched your program every night. I know this is the truth and I need Jesus to get forgiveness for my sins, but I live with my brother and his family. He would never allow me to accept Christ. I’m so scared. I can only phone you now because nobody is in the house! Please don’t ever try to reach me, otherwise I’m in trouble… What shall I do?”
I prayed with her while she wept uncontrollably on the other side. I never heard from her again. But her voice kept ringing in my ears and made me think: where are the Christian neighbors, colleagues or acquaintances who could share with a woman like this?
It became clear to me once more that we cannot just try to reach the Muslim families via the head of the house. We need to reach them purposefully, for each one of them is precious in God’s eyes! Jesus wants to give each one hope and a future.
Challenged by this experience, a new ministry was birthed – “Friends of Fatuma.” We started by creating awareness among Christian woman about the spiritual needs of Muslim women. We sought to motivate as many Christian women as possible to reach out to their Muslim friends and neighbors, by befriending them, becoming part of their lives and sharing the Gospel with them. A little later, the name, “Friends of Fatuma” was changed to “Daughters of Abraham” for Abraham is such a significant person whom every Muslim wants to follow. Both the Qur’an and the Bible refer to Abraham as ‘the friend of God’.
In Luke 13:16 it states: “…should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, be set free from what bound her for many years?”
In the meantime, this small beginning developed into a movement. As a fellowship, Daughters of Abraham meets together regularly to learn together, pray for each other and hold each other accountable to purposefully reach out to Muslim women around us. Each member of Daughters of Abraham is seeking to actively get involved in building relationships with Muslim women for the sake of the Gospel.
What Practical Steps can I take?
Establish friendships.
Every woman needs a friend and a Muslim woman is no exception. As women we have similar joys, fears, problems, pains, sickness and difficulties.
Become a good communicator.
Women usually thrive on being able to share with other women, finding out family matters, birthdays, deaths, weddings and other feasts to celebrate and meet together.
Get yourself acquainted with good, easy topics to talk about:
– How to raise young children, how to cope with independent teenagers,
– Gossip and revenge
– Shame and honour, Lies and Truths
– Forgiveness
– Purpose and aim of my life
Don’t just communicate Truth by logic or by concepts,
but also by proverbs, stories and illustrations. Women in the Bible…
Learn from Jesus – our master communicator
He arose the interest of his listeners through riddles, parables, stories, and everyday life illustrations.
Find the needs of the community
What would the people like to know or to learn?
– Literacy classes, sewing classes, Sports clubs, Primary school needs, Community health.
There is so much more that can be shared. Are you interested in joining the movement of Daughters of Abraham? Contact us today!
