Some Sabbath afternoons, the kids and I go visiting. One of the places we frequently go is the home of our friends, Awa and Adama. Their house is located about three quarters of a mile from ours in the valley that runs behind us. Their house used to be one of the only ones in the valley, but Kangaba is growing, and new homes are springing up around them.

Awa and Adama don’t have much money to support their six children and the various relatives who stay with them. The last time I visited Awa, she had four guests in her home. Adama has struggled to find a steady job. For the most part, he makes his living digging wells and septic tanks. Every few weeks their money runs out, and Awa sends one of her kids up to our house to ask us for a few dollars to feed her family. When she has extra food, she sends some to us as a thank-you. Recently, she sent us several bags of home-grown okra.

Awa and Adama were friends with previous AFM missionaries in Kangaba, so they have had exposure to the Gospel. Awa has asked me to teach her the Bible, but she was very clear that she would come to my house when she is ready. So far she hasn’t come, but I still hold out hope. It seems that she has a desire to know more about Jesus but the struggles of her day-to-day life make it hard for her to act on her wishes. In the meantime, I continue to visit her and to pray for her.

Please join us in praying for Awa and Adama and so many more like them. Please pray that they will have a desire to know more of Jesus and the courage and persistence to act on that desire.

• Twitter