WON OVER BY THE LIVES OF THEIR WIVES
"Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without talk by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of their lives.
1 Peter 3:1,2
We present a series of accounts of sisters who had to endure many, often painful, years of being disciples while their husbands remained in the world, and the victories they experienced as the men changed and became Christians. As with other lessons that we learn from the word and from the work of God's Spirit in the lives of His faithful, whether we are in the precise situation as these sisters or whether our challenges are radically different, we stand to be encouraged and thus empowered as we are continually reminded that there is nothing too hard for our Lord.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
JOYCE and AMOS MAGANGA
"Eight Is Enough" is the title of a popular TV series from the '80's in which a couple had eight children. Amos and Joyce Maganga from Nairobi's Kangemi sector do not have eight children - they have three - but eight-and-a-half years is the period that Joyce had to wait after her baptism before Amos finally became a disciple.
Joyce was baptized in September 1993 and their eldest child, daughter Angela, was baptized in 1999. This was exciting and rewarding for Joyce, but nonetheless the challenges posed by Amos' reluctance to become a Christian persisted. It wasn't easy for her, she says, "being a disciple when Amos was not, especially with the issues of raising the children and his going by what he believed to be true according to his church. He would question whether it was necessary for the children to attend midweek services, and there was a time when he didn't like it."
Joyce did not lose hope, though. "I never gave up on my husband becoming a disciple, and each year it was my goal for him to become one.' She continues, "One thing I will not forget that I decided to do differently apart from setting yearly goals was getting input from sisters whose husbands I knew had become disciples after them. One sister told me that I needed to be very desperate. I decided to fast weekly and to pray for Amos daily, I involved my children and friends, and we all prayed."
Amos works between Lokichoggio (northern Kenya) and Southern Sudan, but whenever he would be in Nairobi he would come to Sunday service with the rest of the family. He also made friends with different disciples in the church. But that was as far as he was willing to commit himself. "I was hiding behind my wife, reasoning that if she was a disciple, then so was I," he shares. "It was just pride that made me feel that way. But it finally hit me that I could not run from the truth any longer." In a sense, Amos decided that eight years was enough. It was time to stop resisting God. On the 28th of March 2002, he was baptized into Christ. And eleven months later, the Magangas second daughter, Charity, was also baptized.
"It is so great both of us being disciples," Amos shares with joy. "Now we can plan things together. Our marriage being discipled ha really helped us in our communication and in raising our children. We are happy and can't wait to see how God will use our marriage to bring glory to himself."
Let us all be inspired by Joyce's patience and Amos' turnaround, and apply the same faith in the various challenges we face, no matter how long we have to persevere through them. We might feel that eight days are enough, or eight weeks, months or years. God might think differently. So, let us persevere, firm in the knowledge that our father rewards our faith.
We present a series of accounts of sisters who had to endure many, often painful, years of being disciples while their husbands remained in the world, and the victories they experienced as the men changed and became Christians. As with other lessons that we learn from the word and from the work of God's Spirit in the lives of His faithful, whether we are in the precise situation as these sisters or whether our challenges are radically different, we stand to be encouraged and thus empowered as we are continually reminded that there is nothing too hard for our Lord.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
JOYCE and AMOS MAGANGA
"Eight Is Enough" is the title of a popular TV series from the '80's in which a couple had eight children. Amos and Joyce Maganga from Nairobi's Kangemi sector do not have eight children - they have three - but eight-and-a-half years is the period that Joyce had to wait after her baptism before Amos finally became a disciple.Joyce was baptized in September 1993 and their eldest child, daughter Angela, was baptized in 1999. This was exciting and rewarding for Joyce, but nonetheless the challenges posed by Amos' reluctance to become a Christian persisted. It wasn't easy for her, she says, "being a disciple when Amos was not, especially with the issues of raising the children and his going by what he believed to be true according to his church. He would question whether it was necessary for the children to attend midweek services, and there was a time when he didn't like it."
Joyce did not lose hope, though. "I never gave up on my husband becoming a disciple, and each year it was my goal for him to become one.' She continues, "One thing I will not forget that I decided to do differently apart from setting yearly goals was getting input from sisters whose husbands I knew had become disciples after them. One sister told me that I needed to be very desperate. I decided to fast weekly and to pray for Amos daily, I involved my children and friends, and we all prayed."
Amos works between Lokichoggio (northern Kenya) and Southern Sudan, but whenever he would be in Nairobi he would come to Sunday service with the rest of the family. He also made friends with different disciples in the church. But that was as far as he was willing to commit himself. "I was hiding behind my wife, reasoning that if she was a disciple, then so was I," he shares. "It was just pride that made me feel that way. But it finally hit me that I could not run from the truth any longer." In a sense, Amos decided that eight years was enough. It was time to stop resisting God. On the 28th of March 2002, he was baptized into Christ. And eleven months later, the Magangas second daughter, Charity, was also baptized.
"It is so great both of us being disciples," Amos shares with joy. "Now we can plan things together. Our marriage being discipled ha really helped us in our communication and in raising our children. We are happy and can't wait to see how God will use our marriage to bring glory to himself."
Let us all be inspired by Joyce's patience and Amos' turnaround, and apply the same faith in the various challenges we face, no matter how long we have to persevere through them. We might feel that eight days are enough, or eight weeks, months or years. God might think differently. So, let us persevere, firm in the knowledge that our father rewards our faith.