A match made in heaven. There is no other explanation possible. Fredrick and Anna defied every norm, practice, and culturally acceptable process to become husband and wife. There is simply no earthly reason why they met, married, and remain so with such peace, tranquility, and joy.

Because the answer is not earthly…it is of God.

Fredrick and Anna are Kenyans. And that is where the similarities end. Fredrick was raised in a nominal Catholic family in the capital city Nairobi. Anna was raised in a polygamous, fervent Muslim family on the rural coast. Individually they represent archetypes that would typically collide…not combine. And therein lay the miracle.

Anna’s mother had been a Christian at one time. She renounced her faith in order to marry Anna’s father. He is a traditional Muslim from Tanzania, who emigrated to Kenya as a young man. Her mother’s faith remained hidden under the veil… literally. It was Anna’s Christian grandmother who resurrected the dormant Roots. During school breaks, Anna would stay with her grandmother “upcountry”. Anna’s sensed a vast divide between the God of her grandmother and the god of Islam.

“My grandmother would secretly send us to Sunday school classes whenever we stayed with her. Islam never took Root in me. The way Muslims worship and the way Christians worship are completely at odds. Even as a child I could sense the extreme differences.”

As with most Muslims, her father practiced a folk version of Islam: rooted in mysticism, spirits (jinn) and occultic rituals. This unorthodox version is the most commonly practiced form of Islam throughout the world. And perhaps the most misunderstood. It is far more associated with paganism and witchcraft, than militant fundamentalism. “My father would speak with spirits in his bedroom every day.” It brought Anna great fear…never comfort.

Her intermittent experiences at Sunday school could not have been more different. A tap Root was growing that only her grandmother understood…

In time her grandmother would positively but quietly remark to Anna, “I think you have replaced your mother.”

Fast forward to early adulthood. Fredrick met Anna in Nairobi, where she continued her schooling. “I saw her several times outside the gate of my home. I knew she was a Muslim, but it didn’t hinder me from pursuing her. In time, we began dating. It got to the point where we moved in together (in a common-law type of way).”

There was great pressure from Anna’s family for them to separate. Finally after 2 years, Fredrick took courage and met with her father to discuss the dowry. In the presence of her father, the sheik, various Muslim leaders and his own brother, the discussion began.

And with that, the dowry meeting was terminated. Banishment went into effect immediately. There was no contact between the couple and Anna’s father for over a decade. No visits. No communication of any sort. Not even a greeting was accepted. A complete blackout. Fredrick adds, “Her father put great pressure over many years to separate us. It was then that the breakthrough came.” From another direction.

“After we had been together 11 years, I felt compelled to attend a neighborhood church. I can only say it was a compulsion. I had never been in a Protestant Church, much less an independent Pentecostal church. I received Christ as my Savior that very day. I came home and announced to Anna, ‘I went to a church and I am born again.’ ” He braced himself for her reaction. She looked him directly in the eyes and said,

“Then next week I am going as well.”

The next week, the Seeds sown many years before by her grandmother, burst forth in full bloom. Anna became a Christian the first day as well. What had appeared to be barren and unfruitful was instead a deep Root just below the surface. In God’s perfect timing, He brought it all to fruition…

Anna testifies…

“I knew I was ‘home’ that very day. Everything fit into place in a way I cannot describe. My grandmother had planted something in me that had never gone away. It was always simmering in the background. I can only say, on that day, I felt like a daughter discovering her Father for the first time.”

From that point on, their journey as a Christian couple began. And much as the Seeds sown by her grandmother grew below the surface, so too did their conviction. They needed to make things right with God…and Anna’s father. Fredrick recalls the day…

“Three more years passed. We became increasingly convinced something was still wrong. It came to a head one day as our Pastor preached about marriage. I can remember his words exactly…

‘If you are together without having paid a dowry, then you are a thief! You have stolen from your wife’s father.’

We had never heard such boldness and bluntness from a man- of-God. And yet, I received it entirely. Right down into my heart.”

He continued, “Anna’s father had rejected every communication and certainly any attempt to visit. For 14 years! I knew there simply was no way forward with that man. None! And yet, God had just given me his Word, his Warning and His Command. I had no other choice to make. And so I asked Anna to approach her father one more time through her sisters. His answer came back immediately.

”Come. You just Come.”

With one week, Fredrick met with Anna’s father. The dowry was set, accepted, and paid. The relationship began healing. A wedding day at the CHURCH was set. Everyone was invited. Including her father, his multiple wives, and many children. Clearly, as a Muslim patriarch, the father could not attend a Christian church wedding.

But he did! Along with the entire family. Two of her blood sisters were bridesmaids….with no hijabs. Since that day, both sisters have become Christians. Even the one married to a Muslim. The tap Root is sprouting. It always does.

We often doubt when we see no outward fruit. But God’s Word does NOT return void. It cannot. He said so. May every Christian parent or spouse or friend of every prodigal embrace the fullness of His Promise. Our’s is not to fret…but rather to Rest in His Faithfulness. Like Anna’s grandmother. Faithfully planting…doing our part. But Resting about the part He has reserved for Himself.

Footnote: Fredrick is now an Elder at the same church, a DSM graduate and translator at the DSM Bible Institute. Anna leads the church’s Intercessory Prayer Group. They have 2 daughters (Staycy & Joyous Blessing) and 3 sons (Brian, Denilson & Prince Emmanuel)