We had our doubts about Nico from the beginning. He was too loud. Too friendly. We met him while on a bike ride about two years ago. He was broadcasting about ethics in Islam to quite a large audience. He finished his teaching and followed us down the road, talking all the way. He quoted the Quran effortlessly. Later we found out that he is a Hafiz, a guardian of the Quran, meaning he has the whole thing perfectly memorized. He also has a Ph.D. in Quran, Hadiths, and Islamic history and is the moderator of forums discussing Islamic doctrine, where his comments are usually considered the final word.

He had been the president of the Islamic association in our province up until six years ago when his diabetes confined him mostly to his home. We visited his family earlier this year when, on a bike ride through the village, we felt impressed to stop at his home. The Holy Spirit then impressed me to pray with his family. He had not told me that his house was in final foreclosure. As soon as the glow of my flashlight faded away, Nico got a call from a friend he had not heard from for 20 years, asking for his bank account number to send him $10,000 and some other gifts.

God answered several other prayers in marked ways and tightened our bonds of friendship. Nico’s mother and wife started seeing changes in his life, and they both told him they did not mind if he became a Christian as long as it made his heart like ours. They said, “Those people are white [pure] on the inside!”

We invited their whole family of seven to our house for a simple, nutritious meal. They came to church with us once. Nico sent me a message saying his family wanted to be Christian. “We want to enter into Jesus,” he said, “When would be a good time to do that?”

Then they came. Under cover of darkness, Nico and his family showed up at our partners Carly and Eric Tirado’s house just as we were finishing eating. They were hungry, so we served them some leftovers. Then the real hunger came out. Wide-eyed and often with goosebumps, we studied John 3. Nico was a learned teacher coming by night. He did not understand who the Son of Man was or how to be born again. But, verse by verse, he began to understand more. And because of his similarities with Nicodemus, it seemed fitting to call him Nico.

After the study, Eric and I led them through a prayer of repentance, and they accepted Jesus as Lord. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. Nico’s wife, Mary, said, “I am so happy, I am so happy, I am so happy!” I snapped a picture and sent it to them later. Nico said, “Keep that picture and treasure it forever. I have never seen her smile so beautiful before.”

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