![English (United Kingdom) [Beta]](https://d16pzigze5um2c.cloudfront.net/modern-ministry-theme/images/spacer.png "English (United Kingdom) [Beta]")
"God is Helping Me Build Good Relationships in a Tough Place!"
On walks to and from the workplace, people continue to stop me, asking if they can talk for a while. I really can’t wait to see what God has coming up next.
Central Asia
It’s very hard to share the gospel in places where no one has heard of Jesus. That was true for our founding fathers, and it’s still true today. This story has been written by one of our workers in central Asia, who has been living there for a little over a year and is concentrating on slowly building relationships, while working out how best to tell people about Jesus.
I have many interesting conversations with the people we meet, especially the drivers who take us around the region. After peppering me with questions for hour after hour, one man finally declared: “If everyone was like you, there would be no wars in the world! There wouldn’t be the need for country borders or for wars.”
On one journey, while I was taking an evening walk in town with visiting tourists, we were approached by numerous people on the street. Eventually, one new acquaintance insisted that we go to her home the next day, even though it was several hours’ drive away. Her persistence was unmatched.
By 10 p.m. that night, less than two hours after our first meeting, she had become the fastest person to have told me she loved me! The following day, she had assembled a houseful of people milling about to throw us a feast. So many of them showed us great acts of kindness, both in word and deed.
On walks to and from the workplace, people continue to stop me, asking if they can talk for a while. These are tremendous blessings of love showered upon me. I pray that I can reciprocate their love through his God’s spirit in me.
One visible act of love was noticed and commented on by people living nearby, when some visiting tourists who were concerned about my short-term lack of access to water, carried water to my home. This type of expression of love means something here, and I thank the Lord for visiting folks like this, ready to display it in action. The bottom line is that I really can’t wait to see what God has coming up next.
Please pray!
* Give thanks for all the workers who have shared Jesus in Asia.
* For God’s word to spread among the huge numbers of people who have never heard of Jesus in central Asia.
* For many more courageous workers to be raised up for this challenging but rewarding long-term mission work.
* For all the workers in central Asia to build good, firm friendships with local people, who might then be inspired to ask questions about faith, about belief and about who God is.
Could God be calling you to work in Central Asia? Contact SIM today.
Related Stories
From noodles to soccer balls
Aof had gone to church for many Sundays and had said many “Amens” to the prayers people had prayed for her – but nothing really worked until she challenged God herself.
The seed planter
This week we were privileged to hear the testimony of a man whose life was eternally changed by a simple question. We invited Martin to sit around a table on our back porch to share with us how the Lord saved him, and how God opened his eyes to the truth of the Gospel. This is Martin’s story.
Encouraged and empowered: Helping women help themselves
Like most girls from her village, Khushboo grew up accepting the established gender roles. She would do housework in her parents’ home until the day she moved into her husband’s home, and she wouldn't leave their husband’s house until she was carried out – when she died.
Mark is making gospel connections in Ecuador
When you join any new community, it's a challenge to form relationships. With God, however, new relationships are often built in exciting and unexpected ways.
