An Unexpected Zanzibari Taxi-Ride

Arriving into Zanzibar during the fading moments of the afternoon I met my taxi driver.  A bright young man full of life and energy, he quickly engaged me in conversation.  His English, however, only took him past the basic greetings and questions.  He was wearing a sleek T-Shirt and an islamic prayer cap.  He threw my bag in the mini-van and started off across the island with a very care-free smile.   

Some 5 minutes into the ride he asked me what I did in his best broken English.  "I'm a pastor" I replied without much thought.  "Where?" he asked with interest.  "Here in Tanzania" I answered.   "Do you speak Swahili?" his eyes pleaded.   I jumped into the conversation with Swahili eager to practice my Tanzanian Swahili. 

This young taxi-driver came alive telling me all about his family, life on the island, his adventures to the mainland, and even into Kenya, his love for Zanzibar, special places to visit, foods,  etc....  I was really enjoying his up-beat, detailed narration of his life and Zanzibar. Then came the question that threw me totally off-guard.   "What kind of pastor are you?"  "Errr.....what do you mean?" I asked this lively young Muslim taxi-driver.  "What do you preach?" 

The intensity of the question puzzled me.  What followed was 10 minutes of Holy Spirit directed conversation regarding the love of God, eternity, etc.... He seemed satisfied with my preaching doctrine, when suddenly I felt that nudging of the Spirit- 'ask him if he's born again'... I began to argue with the prompting...he's a Muslim....he's liable to go ballistic on me....'ask him if he's born-again'  

"My friend, are you born again?" I asked him gently.  He suddenly became very quiet and surprisingly answered "no not yet, but I think soon I will be."  We talked along these lines for another 15 minutes- about Jesus, about salvation, about knowing with conviction that you will go to heaven, etc...   He didn't receive Christ before the end of the drive, but he is so very close.  

Interestingly, we had an almost repeat conversation with a Muslim waiter the next day and with another Muslim taxi driver who took us back to the airport.  Such openness.  Such hunger for God. God is doing something in this place.  Across Tanzania I'm told that this is the case.  People are asking questions about God, about faith, about life, about truth. 

Would you pray for this land?  Would you pray that many  would come to know Christ this year? That many would decide to give their lives to Christ. That many would say- "yes I want to be born again."  And that I would be sensitive enough to the Spirit to hear and obey his inner promptings.