The Power of the Cookie

I found myself at her house late in the afternoon. My new Muslim friend *Muna had invited me over to learn how to make a traditional dessert from her home country. After settling down in her living room with cups of tea and light conversation, we moved into the kitchen where Muna walked me through the recipe step by step.

The final stage of the recipe found us rolling the mixture into small truffle-sized balls. As we each rolled sticky cookie balls in our palms and then placed them in a dish, our conversation drifted to more personal topics. Standing together in her kitchen, Muna opened up about some of the hardships and tragedies from her past. Things like miscarriage, family suicide, and difficult marriages were sprinkled within the stories she told me. This is where the power of the cookie comes in. 

A week ago when Muna and I made our plans we didn’t say, “Let’s get together and talk about our struggles in life and the pain in our hearts.” No! We simply wanted to cook together, to have some fun, to hang out a little bit. In that moment, like so many times before, God used a kitchen conversation to build trust and deepen our relationship. Conversations like these can easily become relevant opportunities for Muslim women to hear the Gospel and learn about Jesus.  There is power in the kitchen, in gathering in this sacred space with our Muslim friends. 

Muna and I closed the afternoon drinking more tea on her living room sofa. In our final conversation of the day, we talked about Christmas traditions and why Christmas is so special to Christians. I explained that Jesus is at the center of my family's Christmas traditions and that we can share the gift of love with others because Christ loves us first.

I will go to Muna’s house again this week. Will you pray that the Holy Spirit continues to work in her heart and provides more opportunities for our community to disciple her into a beautiful relationship with Jesus? Friends, this is why we do what we do. At Say Hello, our heart’s desire is to see Muslim women brought to the feet of Jesus…one prayer, one conversation, even one cookie at a time.