Christ's Ambassador of Zumba

This article was first published in French at TPSG. 

“God is milking the cows through the vocation of the milkmaid.” Martin Luther

The German Reformer is famous for reviving the teaching of the priesthood of all believers. In fact, he argues that the vocation of the baker or the milkmaid is just as important as that of the preacher. Through our work, we glorify God and love our neighbour. In Luther’s days, this brings a much-needed corrective in a society in which a huge divide exists between the secular and the sacred, between the religious leaders who teach that they serve God with their lives while everyday women and men merely accomplish worldly tasks. 

Heroes of the Faith

My family recently hosted my friend Annie* and her husband Ben. He's a trial attorney and she's is a stay-at-home mom who homeschooled her children and volunteers in her community. She has told me more than once that she wishes she could be a missionary like me. Yet while you may never read a missionary biography of this godly couple, I assure you that they are heroes of the faith. If this sounds like an overstatement, allow me to convince you otherwise.

Teaching Zumba to Build Intentional Relationships

Annie loves fitness, and several years ago the Lord opened doors for her to teach Zumba classes at a university near her home. Eager to reach international students, she discovers that teaching women-only dance classes provides the ideal setting to develop intentional relationships with women, many of whom will never otherwise hear the gospel.

Over time, she builds a rapport with her students, who hail from Ethiopia and Argentina to China and Libya. Annie regularly hosts them for meals in her home. She offers them driving lessons, English lessons, fitness and nutrition seminars, and parenting classes. She even teaches a Bible study with those interested. In so doing, she develops a deep friendship with Khadija, a Middle Eastern woman whose husband studies at the university.

Khadija’s Unimaginable Situation

During one of her Bible studies, Khadija opens up to Annie about the abuse she and her children are enduring at the hands of her husband. The frightened wife and mother even goes so far as to send Annie pictures documenting the beatings, in case anything ever happens to her. When the abuse escalates, Khadija resolves to return to her home country. Her husband allows her to take their daughter, Fatimata, having no use for her. He refuses, however, to let their sons Moussa and Ibrahima out of his sight. While there, Khadija files for divorce and miraculously receives custody of her children (Islamic law normally grants custody to the father). 

Mohammed does not accept this verdict. Believing himself to be invulnerable, he returns to his homeland with their boys to celebrate Ramadan. He is shocked and enraged when local authorities require him to return his sons to their mother. Under the pretense of  taking them to visit their uncles, he abducts the boys and manages to return with them to the United States by paying off an immigration officer.

Khadija is powerless to pursue them, her ex has stolen her passport, making it impossible for her to leave the country. Plus, this occurs during the height of the pandemic, which adds another layer of complication to her already unimaginable situation. 

With no mother to shield the boys, the abuse intensifies. Moussa and Ibrahima’s frequent beatings and prolonged neglect leave them scarred and traumatized. Khadija seeks counsel from Ben and Annie. With his legal expertise, Ben advises her of her rights and suggests she alert local authorities of her sons’ plight. When police pay a visit to investigate, however, Mohammed threatens the boys, who remain silent out of fear for their lives.

A Plea for Help

In the meantime, Mohammed’s family finds him a second wife and arranges for her to join him in the U.S. Sadly, she, too, soon finds herself on the receiving end of his blows. After an especially severe episode, Moussa and Ibrahima finally overcome their fear of their father and report him to their school counselor. He is arrested and detained. The question then arises as to who will take custody of them. Having no close family in the U.S., Khadija has one hope: Ben and Annie, who live hundreds of miles away.

Following a call from Child Protective Services (CPS), my friends discover that they have 24 hours to recover the boys, or they will be put in foster care. Ben and Annie drop everything and purchase expensive, last-minute flights to extricate Moussa and Ibrahima. Sympathetic to the boys’ condition, child protective services release them into the care of this loving couple. Their first step is to stop by their apartment to search for the boys’ passports. As Ben and Annie step foot in the dark, half-empty apartment, the stench of dirty dishes mingled with that of filthy laundry overwhelms them. With little of worth to recover, they begin their search for the one thing they need for the boys to escape this nightmare. Miraculously, they find the passports easily in a desk drawer. Soon, they are safe aboard a flight and outside of the grip of their violent father. 

Who is the Kidnapper?

The overnight foster parents must next begin to make arrangements for the boys to be reunited with their mother. This, however, proves to be a challenge. Because of the limited number of flights due to COVID, tickets to the Persian Gulf cost $15,000 per person. My friends lack the means to pay such a price, and they reach out to the embassy to see what they can do. They explain that a citizen of their country abducted his sons and that they intend to return them to their mother. That’s when they learn that Mohammed has also contacted them claiming that two Americans have kidnapped his children!

In the most respectful yet firm terms possible, Mamabear Annie describes the injustice Moussa and Ibrahima have faced, promising that she will not rest until they return securely into their mother’s care.  A trail of photographs and paperwork brings to light who the true kidnapper is. With no further doubt in their minds, diplomats move to action. The oil-rich nation has a policy that they will repatriate any national stranded abroad at the government’s expense. Within two weeks, not only does the embassy purchase tickets for the boys, but their vice-consul personally escorts them home. A harrowing journey that lasts two years ends in joy as the boys run into the welcome arms of Khadija.

Why Would You Do Such a Thing?

The story doesn’t end there. Twelve months after the reunification, Ben, Annie, and Emma fly half-way around the world to pay a special visit to Khadija and her family. They expect to spend a quiet seven days with her and her children. Instead, Khadija’s extended family invites them to several feasts in their honour. Their recurring question is, “Why would you do such a thing? Our own extended family members in the U.S. refused to do anything for the boys. Why did you?”  With such clear open doors, this godly couple proclaims over and over again the glorious good news of a Saviour who loves the weak and the helpless and who gave his life to ransom a people for himself. 

In a country with few churches or known believers, their witness for Christ truly epitomizes what it means to shine his light in the darkness.  A follow-up trip is already in the works. Would you pray for the Lord to speak through his son and daughter so that lives will be transformed by the power of the gospel? And would you also pray that Annie's ministry as an “ambassador of Zumba” among international students would bear much fruit for eternity?

* All names have been changed.