Lee grew up in a typical Tuareg community where, left to mind the family herds and farm, he never had opportunity to attend school. He dreamt of one day learning to read.

One evening as a young man, he finished work in the onion fields and came to the nearest town where he found a gospel worker selling books and tracts. He purchased several books, commenting that he wished he knew how to read them. The worker asked, “You just spent money buying books that you can’t read?” Lee replied, “That is my next question. Would you be able to help me learn to read? It has been my dream almost my whole life.”

Together they spent months learning to read materials produced in Tamajaq, one of the languages of the Tuareg. They started with words, then sentences and eventually progressed to a book of animal tales. As Lee’s reading got stronger, they went on to read the first twelve chapters of Genesis. From Genesis, they went on to read the gospel of Luke.

One evening, Lee said to his friend, “I have something to tell you. I have decided to follow Jesus like you.” The worker asked, “Lee, who is Jesus for you?” His response was unforgettable. Lee said, “Do you remember when Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but at the last minute the angel stopped Abraham and there was a ram in the thicket that took Isaac’s place? As we have been reading in this book of Luke, I can see that Jesus is my Ram!”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray that Your Holy Spirit would move the hearts of the Tuareg people, enabling them to see God’s love and mercy and to receive Jesus as their substitute Lamb. May they experience the grace of ‘repentance and turning to God, so that their sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.’ We ask that You would help missionaries and Bible distribution efforts to move forward smoothly, so that every Tuareg person who longs to hear God’s word may receive the Scriptures and have believers walk alongside them to read the Bible and understand the truth. Raise up many believers like Amastan[1.1] to become church leaders within their own communities. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.