Standing for two hours in the bitter cold was not what *Erden had envisioned for his night. After all, he had been invited to come back and share more Bible stories with *Yul’s family. Frankly, Erden wanted to give up, but he felt God telling him, “Be patient.” To pass the time, Erden reflected on the training he was receiving from *Stephen, a Beyond movement catalyst, and how his homework had gotten him here in the first place.
The training was on Jesus’ greatest command: love God with all your heart, and be a witness to that love by talking about it at all times, seeking those interested in knowing more about Him. The students’ homework had been to put into practice the simple strategies they had learned by going into the local community, sharing stories of what God had recently done in their lives with three or four non-believers. If that person wanted to hear more, they were asked to gather family and friends the following night so they could listen to the “God stories” as well.
The night before, Erden had been excited when Yul, a restaurant owner, had invited him back to share more stories with himself and his family. But tonight, while Erden had waited outside for the restaurant to shut down, he felt Yul had been ignoring him. Finally, Yul had come over to him and said, “I will take you to my son’s house.” Together they went to the son’s house, but after waiting outside for an hour, there was no sign of Yul’s son. Erden prayed about what to do:
“Be patient.”
Before long, Yul spoke up, “I will bring you to my brother’s house instead.” When they arrived, Yul’s brother and his wife welcomed them inside. As they started talking, the three men realized they had grown up in the same village! Yul’s brother even remembered Erden’s childhood nickname and what a naughty boy he had been. Erden shared how God had changed his life and told them there were many more stories of God changing people’s lives in the Bible.
All three were open to hearing the stories. Erden started with Genesis chapter one and did a Discovery Bible story with them. The family was so eager to learn that they did Genesis two as well. As the night was drawing to a close, Erden asked, “If these stories are true, what do you need to do differently in your lives?” Yul was the first to reply, “If God really loves us, then I need to love myself too.” He decided to stop getting drunk, and start taking better care of himself. His brother said, “I will make a decision to trust God.” The brother’s wife said, “I will pray to God to heal my sickness, and trust God. Will you pray for me?” Erden did, of course, and after the prayer, they all agreed that they needed to continue reading the Bible together!
Erden was so excited with what happened by merely doing his homework that he now has a vision of starting a house church in each village of his country.
Praise God with us that during this five-day training at least 8-10 new DBS groups started in this remote area near Siberia.
WAYS TO PRAY:
- Pray that these students would continue to apply their training, grow in the Word, and eagerly witness to those around them by sharing stories of God’s love.
- Pray for Erden as he seeks to implement his vision, bringing God’s glory to his country.
*pseudonym