TESTIMONIES OF SISTER MARIAME DIALLO FROM GUINEA SDA CHURCH
‘‘Our God is a God who Saves …’’
Who Am I?
My name is Mariame Diallo, a native of Guinea Conakry, a country in West Africa. I am from the Foula tribe in the upper region of the country. I am 34 years old and married to a man of my family and have a son of two years. My husband lives in Europe with another wife. We were born Muslim so polygamy is not a problem to us. We purchased a house in Conakry where I live with my son, my husband comes in yearly. Our tribe is naturally rooted in Islam.
On this photograph appear Mariam Diallo and her son El Hadj.
-----Reported by Pastor GBALE Jacob Guinea Mission Station Director -------
My Conversion
My conversion to Christianity is a miracle. No one came to me with the Bible nor did I read Christian books. It was a call from God as compared to the conversion of Apostle Paul. Jesus appeared to me many times in dream and said to me I am the way to life. It was so repeating that I decided to look for a church to attend. Which one of these numerous churches in the city? It was on Saturday morning that a little girl unknown to me came and said miraculously I can show you a church. And she took me to the SDA church and she disappeared, I never saw her again, I say never again. Since that date, three years ago now, I am worshiping with my Seventh-day Adventists brothers and sisters of Conakry, Koporo-Rails and the Lord is blessing me and my son El Hadj.
The Deadly Meal
Since my conversion, I never had peace with my family members. I was totally rejected, my name withdrawn from the family list. Such an act of switching from Islam to Christianity particularly is considered to be a betrayal, a covenant breakage. Therefore I must die by all means because my parents could not keep going the shame I have caused to them. My mother was assigned to commit this unimaginable, dreadful and immoral act: to assassinate me!
Though they disliked me, my mother cooked the food I like most pretending to have come to her good senses about me (hypocrisy). She called me before bringing the poisonous food to me. I took it and put on the table in the dining room. ’’Will you not eat now?’’ she asked, and I replied: ’’Let me take a shower before I could eat my favorite meal.’’ Upon
this she decided to go and come back later. As I was in the bathroom and the food on the table, a miracle happened. Lo and behold! A cat came from nowhere, jumped on the dishes and poured the entire food on the floor. Later, I could see on the floor some large black spots of unknown cooking ingredients in the stew. It was a deadly poison in the meal to kill me. Late in the night, my mother called me to inquire if I was well, if there was no problem with my body. And I firmly answered her: ‘‘I am doing fine, very fine.’’ I could notice through the phone that she was astonished and confused.
Yes, the Lord is really our Protector; he can change situations for he knows things before they happen. The Bible says: ‘’Our God is a God who saves, from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death’’ Psalm 68:20.
Please continue praying for me, thanks.
Three Sad Days in Jail
To our tribe, a change of religion, from Islam to Christianity, is equivalent to a total rejection of the family. As I said earlier, I am married and my husband lives in Europe. He used to regularly care for me and my son but because of my transfer of religion and the oppression of his parents, things became difficult for us financially. That is why I went to explain my situation to my cousin, a lady, to help me financially. I asked her to give me an amount of 200 000 FNG about 30 US dollars to sustain my life. Surprisingly is confess, I was not welcome in her home that day. If I knew I could have gone to a church brother. She took all her time to insult, to abuse and to curse me for my transfer to Christianity. Firmly she compelled me to leave her home without any coin as transport money back home; my own cousin. Shamefully, regretfully and crying, I went home walking with my son. I deeply cried to Jesus about why these happenings to me?
The following weekend something strange happened in my cousin’s home. Some thieves broke into her house and went with an amount of 50 000 000 FNG about 7 200 USD. The next day she sent policemen to my house that carried me to jail at the police station. She falsely accused me of hiring and sending thieves to her because she refused to help me. Sadly, I spent three days at the police jail. I was disturbed, and annoyed. When the police commissioner got the real truth about my case, he immediately freed me the third day. These are some of the serious problems I am facing even now with my parents since I became a Christian. Their aim is to terminate my life for the shame I have caused to the family according to them. But I know ‘‘if I walk in the valley of shadow of death, I shall not fear any evil’’ Psalm 23 verse 4.
Thank you for praying for me.
Testimony written by Pastor GBALE Jacob, Guinea Mission Station, Director