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Depressed and discouraged. This is the life of Tanish* in South Asia. She’s a university student living like the walking dead. No purpose. No hope. No life. That is until she met Amos*.
Amos met her on campus, shared the gospel, and over time Tanish believed. Joy, purpose and life returned, so much so, she invited her brother to hear the gospel as well.
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Amos* enters this gospel-deprived village sharing the gospel when suddenly a man surrenders his life to Christ. It was beautiful and sudden, considering the reality that this man’s community lacks a sufficient gospel witness. To give you a clearer picture, the vast majority in this community has yet to hear the gospel one time.
In all the joy taking shape, this man’s wife was not so excited. In fact, to describe her demeanor as irate is an understatement. She’s irate because they are from a Muslim community and leaving one’s family religion meant turning one’s back on their family. Nathu and Maya left their mountain village 5 years ago with their three little kids. Unable to support their family in the village, they ended up in the capital city working at a carpet factory.
Nathu used alcohol to run away from his problems which ultimately created family trouble. Quarreling with Maya became the norm and their children’s demeanor grew worse over time. It’s clear they were no longer a happy family. During the pandemic, SRC delivered relief packages to the carpet factory workers. Nathu and Maya were one of the recipients and became overwhelmed with emotions when given the food, as did their kids. But, they were not interested in learning about Christ. Now let’s move forward to 2022. “Chinese missionaries? I’m confused. They are serving in China, correct?”. I have heard this statement or similar ones on a number of occasions. It comes from the perception that Americans can be called to serve as foreign missionaries but everyone is called to stay put in their own backyard.
The explosion at the Kabul airport last summer, while a sea of Afghans were trying to escape, separated Abdul* from his family. Not knowing if the other survived, he and his wife kept searching until they found each other. Not long after that, a miracle transpired. They escaped Afghanistan. Why am I sharing this?
Attacks are on the rise against Christians in South Asia. Yet despite this reality, Amos* takes every opportunity to share the Gospel because the need to deliver the Gospel to those without access far outweighs his own safety.
Back in July, Amos met Sharma. Sharma comes from a strong and dedicated Hindu family. His family has strong ties to the local temples. Knowing the reality taking place in his country, Amos met Sharma and shared the Gospel while Sharma was doing work at Amos’ home. Rather than pushing back, Sharma’s interest peaked. They began spending time together and eventually Amos led Sharma to Christ. And, this was no small decision. This past week, Ezra (SRC leader in South Asia) traveled to a rural community in South Asia. He hosted Christmas parties and shared the Gospel with Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. Five people were baptized on the spot while many others made an initial profession of faith.
More than 1500 people accepted Christ. 18 new house churches were established. 1,120 Afghan refugees were served. 5,672 people heard the Gospel with 2,293 of them for the first time. And this is not all.
2021 has been a year to remember. I did not see our massive change in China coming like it did but it came. I did not see us adding the Middle East to our areas of focus just yet (I saw it in the future though) but it has now become my number one personal focus for the time being. And, I had no idea we would be serving Afghan refugees as a result of that horrific Afghan crisis this past summer. But, God’s ways are higher than ours and my aim is that we always follow the Holy Spirit rather than our own plans. Their marriage was torn apart. They drifted away from the Lord. Yet, this did not happen overnight. It was a gradual journey as their hearts became consumed with the stress of finances and lack of work.
Ved and his family were confessed followers of Jesus. But, confession was not enough to keep them centered on Christ. They lacked discipleship. When a few years had gone by, Isaac and Rebekah connected with this family, although Ved was out of picture at this point. They learned that Ved left his wife and family and lived far away, like a wanderer searching for hope while ignoring the One who gives it. “I have a similar story of abuse”, said a man from a Sikh background who recently watched Asim’s testimony online. He discovered Asim’s testimony on YouTube and was immediately captivated. Immediately, he reached out to Asim and invited him to his home (hours away). Asim accepted.
Upon meeting, Asim met some of his other family members, they shared a meal, conversed about their history and the Gospel, and ultimately, four of them gave their lives to Christ. |
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