7 December 2005
The train wound its way along the river as we returned from a wonderful visit with our team in Central Asia. We passed many gardens and crops—some had been harvested and others had a variegated green theme. The ancient winnowing of wheat caught our eyes. This part of the harvest is almost complete.

Harvest! A happy time! And yes, that is how we feel as we reflect on our visit with our "family" members in Central Asia. Our team of planters and reapers is young in this heavily populated country. The longest any of them have been there is less than three years. But the harvest has begun!

We visited four cities. As we spent time with our folk we sensed a fulfillment in their tasks of learning language, teaching English, and researching opportunities for involvement. M has done quite a lot of research on making cheese from yak milk. He and his family are waiting on God for a possible relocation to working with a minority group. S is looking at a building to use for restoring antique furniture in order to make contact with another unreached group. D was thrilled that the student she'd coached won an English speech contest, in which she had even dared to share about her newfound faith. D told about his concerts, and J about her Easter celebrations with her university students.

We walked with them on their streets, slept in their beds, played with their children, tasted local cuisine in their homes and restaurants, worshipped with them in their homes, met with local believers, flagged down taxis with them, feasted at a "hot pot" meal with one of our summer teams from the UK, shopped, planned and prayed together.

Spending time on site with these dear ground troups gives us deep joy to hear of how our Father has orchestrated encounters with HIM! God is involved in a deep movement. Quietly hearts are being changed.

Go

SIM works in seven Asian countries. If you would like to know how your skills may be used to share the gospel in Asia, please contact your nearest SIM office.