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Ali, an elderly man, lives in a village in the South Coast of Tanzania. This area deep in the forest has been known to produce liquor from tropical fruits. The liquor is made of coconuts and is called “tembo” signifying “elephant" in Swahili. This locally produced liquor has a high alcohol content that causes health damage which can result in death. It is, therefore, banned by the government. Despite police crackdown on the producers and penalty from time to time, the popular demand keeps the market alive. Ali was addicted to “tembo.”
We were involved in the new outreach ministry in Ali’s village. After some months of house visit, a family in the village accepted the Lord and we started to have weekly Bible reading with them and their friends.
One Friday afternoon, Ali joined our Bible reading session. He said, “I’m a Muslim. But can I join this gathering?” We replied, “Of course! This meeting is for everyone and you are most welcome!” And he did come. Whenever Ali came, he would be listening to the Word of God very carefully. There were times he came drunk and was incoherent in his speech. On other occasions he would lie down on a straw mat and fall asleep. But we noticed that as he absorbed the Word of God, he started to reduce his intake of “tembo.”
A year after joining us, Ali accepted Christ as his saviour. He started attending baptism classes to prepare himself for baptism on Christmas day. The members in the village and the town church were very excited by this.
But Ali did not attend the final baptism class on the Friday three days prior to Christmas. Neither did he turn up for baptism. He also stopped coming to the Bible reading meeting. He had just disappeared. We prayed for him and visited his house several times, but could not find him.
After three months, he suddenly appeared at the gathering. He was totally drunk. Some in the gathering were upset by his attitude and said, “He is useless. He betrayed us. Now he has slipped back into his old habits. We have no reason to bother about him anymore.” But I encouraged them saying, “Let’s thank the Lord that he came here today! We had no idea where he was. I was afraid that he might have passed away. But now, although he is drunk, he is here! Please do not give up on him.” We, like Ali, were all lost. Jesus had patiently sought us out and saved each one of us. I was not ready to give up on Ali.
The following Friday, Ali came to the meeting again without a drop of alcohol. He was sober. He quietly and slowly shared with us why he didn’t appear on the day of baptism. He said he was afraid of the threats issued by his family and friends. They had warned him, “If you get baptised, we will cut off our relationship with you. When you die, we won’t bury you but throw your body into a bush. We will treat you like a dog.” I encouraged him, “Thank you for sharing. We are glad you came back. The Lord is good. Don’t worry. In case of death, the church will bury you.”
Ali started attending the weekly Bible reading sessions again. After some months, he was finally baptised. He insisted on changing his name from Ali, a typical Muslim name, to Immanuel. He loved the truth of Jesus, reminding us that “The Lord is with us.” He was growing in faith day by day. As he grew, his need for alcohol slowly faded away. Jesus had completely changed his life.
One of the church members had to move to her hometown in Mozambique. After several months, we called her to check on her. She sounded weak on the phone and complained that she had no friends nor a church that she could go to. When Immanuel got a chance to talk to her, he encouraged her by saying, “Please cheer up! Isn’t there Jesus in Mozambique? Jesus should be there. We have Jesus here and you have Jesus there, I know. Jesus never leaves you!”
Hearing his words, all of us were very encouraged. Indeed, the Lord is always with us wherever we are! When Immanuel was weak, the Lord had encouraged him through this lady, and now He was using Immanuel to encourage her in return.
On September 5th, 2016, Immanuel passed away suddenly. He had attended the church on Sunday, a day before his death, but his aged body was afflicted by some sudden illnesses. He never woke up the next morning. It was a big shock for all of us. Unfortunately, that very week, the pastor and the evangelist were attending a seminar in a different region. The town church decided to send the elders and me to help the village church make arrangements for Immanuel’s funeral.
When we arrived at the village, the villagers were already preparing for an Islamic funeral. We approached the elders of the village and told them that we had come as a church to conduct a Christian funeral. Immanuel’s family cried, insisting on Islamic rites. After some discussion, the church conceded the funeral rites to them but decided to hold a memorial service later. However, to our surprise, the Muslim leader said, “Let’s respect the faith of the deceased person. Immanuel claimed to be a Christian so let him be buried in the Christian way.”
The Lord had paved the way for us! With the village elder’s approval, I was given the honour to conduct Christian funeral rites. As I led the funeral, I preached the Word of God from Matthew 5:3-9 (ESV) in remembrance of Immanuel’s life with Christ:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (v. 3)
He knew that he was poor in spirit, needing salvation. He had a religion and yet he was not satisfied with his life. He came to seek salvation and received it through Christ. Now, he is with the Lord in heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (v. 4)
His life was not easy but he was comforted by the Lord.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (v. 9)
Indeed, he was seeking for peace among the people. On one occasion, there was a conflict among members of the village church. He bravely stood up and calmed them down saying, “Where I grew up, there were conflicts and hatred every day. I came here seeking peace. And I found the peace in Jesus. But now you are ruining it.” He quietly calmed the conflict, and the church regained the peace in Christ.
Many villagers attended the funeral and heard the word of God. I remembered a promise we made to Immanuel that the church would bury him upon his death. We were thankful we were able to fulfil the promise.
A week later, when the pastor and the evangelist returned from the seminar, we held a memorial service for Immanuel in his daughter’s home. We praised the Lord because the family, which had tearfully insisted on an Islamic funeral, now invited us to have the memorial service at their home. We prayed for them. It was an amazingly peaceful moment with Immanuel’s family as we prayed for them and witnessed their smiles.
When Jesus performed his first miracle in Cana of Galilee, those who saw and experienced Jesus’s miracle were the servants who had followed His instruction to fill the jars with water. The master of the banquet did not know where the new wine had come from “though the servants who had drawn the water knew” (John 2:9b, NIV). They knew for sure it was water when they drew it but they clearly saw that when they brought it to the master, it had been turned into wine.
It is our privilege as God’s servants that we are able to see the Lord’s work close up. We knew how Ali lived before he met Jesus. We saw how he was changed by the Lord’s hand. Those who only knew him as Immanuel appreciated his presence and enjoyed fellowship with him. But we were given this privilege to know him as Ali and then as Immanuel and personally witnessed how the Lord changed him with His Word.
For those of us who are sceptical of God’s power to transform lives, Immanuel is an example of a prodigal child made good. For those of us who never doubted God’s transforming power, Immanuel’s life confirms nothing is impossible with God. We can surely give thanks to the Lord for the privilege of witnessing His mighty Hand at work both to save and to transform lives.