Patrice Tossou, shown with his wife and children, teaches the Gospel using readings from the Bible and the Koran during his soap-making classes.
What better place to learn about clean hearts than in a soap-making class? That’s the philosophy put into practice by Patrice Tossou, a Gospel Outreach evangelist in Maradi.
In addition to showing students how to make soap, Tossou always spends time reading from the Bible and Koran and sharing pamphlets about Jesus.
Word of these unusual classes spread across town.
A man named Mr. Idrissa heard about the classes and, along with some of his followers, decided to attend. Mr. Idrissa is the president of a fundamentalist and radical Muslim association. They call themselves Izala, and they fight against traditions not supported by the Koran. The Izala are not well-accepted by Muslims. They practice many traditions that are not part of Islam. Two years ago, this association burned two churches, some bars and some brothels.
Needless to say, the day Mr. Idrissa and his followers came to class, Tossou did not want to pray and share the pamphlets as he usually did. He was afraid of these long-bearded men. He went straight into the soap-making portion of the class. But Mr. Idrissa said, “We want to hear the Bible and Koran reading, and we also want to see the pamphlets that you have.”
Tossou was scared to share the Bible with them. But God wouldn’t let fear stand in the way.
“A wind came along and blew the pamphlets all over the place, and the people started picking them up,” Tossou recalls. “I had no choice but to talk about the Gospel.” The “long beards” liked the presentation and started coming every day.
As a result, Mr. Idrissa is a good friend of the Seventh-day Adventists and spends part of every day with Tossou.
Pray for Tossou and his family as they share the Gospel.