God’s Word – by bicycle
– for the people of Awassa

By Konstanse Raen, HIV/AIDS Consultant, UBS Africa Area

ETHIOPIA — She weaves her way past pedestrians and through puddles left by the rain on the crowded streets of Awassa. Her name is Mulunesh Jinebo (‘Mulu’) and she is an evangelist with the Mekane Yesu Evangelical Church. Like many others in this city of 250,000 people, the bicycle is her usual means of transport. She has played a very active role in church work here for the last 10 years. For the last five, she has had special responsibility for reaching out to women and children.

Put to shame

“Mulu’s enthusiasm puts us, her male colleagues, to shame,” remarks a priest. Several times a week, she ventures forth on her bicycle or on foot to teach, guide and spread God’s Word. She organises Bible study groups and women’s meetings and has developed a talent for guiding young people, in particular. In her tiny office, she points to the Bible on the table. It is her most important tool. She then takes a few leaflets and books from the shelves.

“I so want to have more materials for young people and new Christians. This is all I have and people cannot afford to buy it for even a single dollar.

Memorised

“I know very well what it’s like to be without a Bible and without the means to buy one. When I began my voluntary work with the church I did not have a Bible of my own. I could only repeat to people what I had memorised. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow my neighbour’s Bible, but it was so old and worn that it was nearly disintegrating. I was ashamed to take it out amongst people!

Mulunesh Jinebo ('Mulu') undertakes her church work by bicycle. She has a special responsibility for reaching out to women and children. Awassa, Ethiopia. Photo: Norwegian BS/Dag Smemo (ETH05DJ-15.JPG)

“There was one time in particular, though, when I really needed it. There was a drug addict in a very bad state whom I’d spoken to a few times. That day, I told him, ‘You must pray to receive God’s grace, so that he can lift you up to start a new life. Everything we ask for in his name he will grant us!’

‘How can I know that this is true?’ the man replied. ‘Because it is written in the Bible.’ ‘I won’t believe it until I see it,’ he declared.

“I felt pushed into a corner, because the only Bible I had was that old wreck that I had borrowed from my neighbour and I was ashamed to show it to him. But he insisted on seeing what I had said in print, so I had no choice. I took out the old Bible and showed him. And can you believe the miracle that happened? He read it, we prayed together, he accepted God and started a new life! I let him keep the Bible and he later passed it on to somebody else who in turn found faith by reading it. So all I can say is that the Word of God is effective.

Well-dressed

“I have encountered many other similar situations. Several years ago, for example, I was travelling by bus and was sitting beside a well-dressed man. I find it easy to engage with people and soon began talking to him. But he didn’t reply. He didn’t even look at me! He just turned away and began reading a book. He was clearly nervous and smoked cigarette after cigarette. I had a strong feeling that something was wrong, but he refused to look in my direction. I even took out a sheet of paper and began drawing on it to see if that would attract his attention, but no. Later the bus stopped for a lunch break. When we returned to the bus I deliberately sat in his seat to see if he would react. ‘Would you rather have this seat?’ I asked. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘it doesn’t matter.’ That was when we began to converse.

“‘Why are you so quiet and reserved?’ I asked him. ‘When I have a problem I know I can go to Jesus with everything. Life is not easy for any of us, but I have experienced that God is love, no matter what.’

Nonsense

“Then he became very angry, slammed his fist down on his book and said, ‘Do you know who it is you are telling all this nonsense? I am a qualified doctor, I’ve studied abroad and I don’t believe any of this religious nonsense!’

Fell silent

“He was very agitated and we fell silent. But before I got off the bus I managed to put a note into his bag on which I had written, ‘God is love. Greetings, Mulu’.

“Four or five years went by and I had forgotten the whole episode. One Sunday I took part in a service with a few others and our names were read out over the loudspeaker. After the service, a well-dressed man came up and wanted to speak to me. I didn’t recognise him but he asked if I was the Mulu who had taken that bus several years before. Then I knew who he was.

“‘You see,’ he said, ‘I have taken care of that note about God being love. It actually helped me to find my way back to God. I’ve often wanted to find you to thank you. That day on the bus, I was in a deep depression and things were starting to go very badly for me. I read your note, but nobody in my family had a Bible so I went out and bought one and started going to church. That shove from you and the words on the note gave me new direction in my life.’

“Events like that give me great faith in the power of the Word of God. It is like the story of the sower in the Bible. Our task is to sow the Word in all the fields and paths, so that it may grow and with time reach completion.” (WR 397/18 - 11.05) [2 photos]