Most of the team is back! The Central Asia trip is a two week trip where teams from different churches rotate in for a specific week. The majority of the team from our church just got back. They spent an amazing week seeing God work with one of our mission partners in Central Asia.
This is a unique trip for our church. The team is able to engage people from an unreached people group, having conversations and distributing digital Scripture and other resources. Many of the people the teams talk with have never heard the true gospel or had access to the Bible.
Given the nature of this trip, we are not able to share pictures of the people or places our team is. However, below are some stories team members (from our church and others) shared of how God has been working over the past week.
God’s Timing
“Late one night we were walking and met a man named ‘Adam’ who was walking alone. He was very kind and due to the late hour, we weren’t able to take him to visit the coffee shop. So, I asked him to meet my husband and me at the coffee shop when it opened the next day. He said he would meet us there and seemed like he genuinely wanted to go.
I contacted prayer partners back in the United States who I knew would pray for this man to come as agreed. The time came and my husband and I waited in front of the coffee shop. We waited and prayed for 35 minutes before, disappointed, we decided to join the rest of the team. As we were leaving we saw him! We greeted him with hugs and were excited to see he brought his brother with him.
‘Adam’ explained he was late because he was working, but wanted to go get his brother so he could hear as well. Both men came into the cafe and had a gospel conversation with someone who spoke their native language. After a long conversation, both men made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ! I am humbled beyond words that God would call us to be even a small part of His work.”
PLANTING SEEDS
“Earlier this week, two of us met a man and had a friendly, but general conversation. Towards the end, he asked for our phone numbers so we could hang out. I gave him mine and we said our farewells. As we were leaving, I realized we didn’t even bring up the gospel or give him a chip with digital Scripture on it. I was frustrated with this failure to take the conversation to the gospel.
Later that day he texted us asking to get together the next day, so we set a time. This time, when we met, we didn’t waste any time in letting him know we are Christians. He mentioned he was an atheist and we ended up talking for an hour and a half about the gospel. During our conversation, he mentioned that others had tried to give him a chip the day we met him and he refused to take it or talk with them. After our conversation, we were able to give him a New Testament and pray with him that God would reveal Himself to him through that New Testament.
I found it incredible that God used our forgetfulness in giving the chip, which he likely would have refused, to lead us to sit down with him for an hour and a half ot have a gospel conversation!”
THe Beauty of the Cross
“A younger man who was curious about Jesus came to have a conversation with a believer. During the conversation, the believer was able to walk him carefully through the full gospel. When they got to our atonement through the crucifixion, the man began to weep. After a few moments he looked up at the believer and said, ‘I can’t resist a love like this!’
This man professed faith in Jesus Christ and became a believer that night!”
Count the cost
“A young couple was having a gospel conversation with a team member. The wife was already a believer, but the husband was not. After talking for over an hour, the man told the team member, ‘I want to believe in Jesus, but I’m afraid.’ He asked for a couple of the believers there to pray for him to have the courage to believe. He did not professs faith before he left that night, but God is working in his life!”
PRAY FOR WEEK TWO
These are just a few of the multitude of stories from this past week. God is moving in a powerful way among this unreached people group. Please continue praying for the new teams here for week two.
PRAY
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God will give the teams endurance, discernment, and courage as they engage in conversations.
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God will draw people into conversations and open their hearts and minds to the reality of the gospel.
