During a recent outreach in Buddhist SE Asia, two brothers were walking through a village in the afternoon and saw a man sleeping in his hammock under his house. It’s culturally rude to awaken someone sleeping under their house, but these brothers reasoned, “We’ve come a long way. We’ll only be here once, so let’s wake him up.” As they approached the house, multiple dogs in the yard began barking menacingly.
“In the name of Jesus Christ we command you to be silent!” they said. The dogs immediately quieted down.
They called out to the man. He awoke, and they began by saying, “We’ve come to tell you important good news of Jesus, who has come to help people out of their sins.”
As the man really woke up, he interjected, “You know, I was just helping some Christians last week in a nearby village.”
“Did you hear what Jesus has done for people?” they asked.
“No, what did he do?” the man asked.
They told him God’s story from Creation to Judgement. “Don’t you see?” they said, “God was reaching out to you when you worked on a construction project with those Christians. Now God sent us here to talk to you. God is calling you — would you like to respond and relate to him?”
The man did! The two brothers asked about his life. What issues did he have? He sells things in the market and was recently divorced. They prayed that God would help him with his work and finances. The man was overwhelmed by their kindness and the news that Jesus could remove his sins. “I don’t have much to give you,” he said, “but here is a bag of cucumbers I was taking to market. Please receive this as an expression of my thanks for coming to tell me about Jesus.”
In Luke 10:7, Jesus tells the 72 He sent out to eat, drink and receive whatever they are given because “The worker deserves his wages.” We’ve seen many times that when villagers welcome the message of Jesus, they offer something to the messenger, a sack of rice, bags of produce, etc.
The next morning a follow-up team visited the man to find out if he was serious. Did he really want to follow Jesus? “Yes,” he said, “I am serious. I do want to follow Jesus.” As a market seller, he knows many people and has good relationships across his area. He said he would ask others to join the discovery study group they plan to start in his home.
Pray that many friends and neighbors will join this new brother in his home to hear God’s stories and learn to walk as Jesus’ disciples.
Other Stories from this Region
PRAYER WALKING
As she walked, Trisha began to see the people in a new light. She could see the communities in which they belonged: shop owners helping each other … read more
MIRACLES, DEMONIC EXORCISM
After prayer walking with a local partner, sowing gospel seeds with whoever was receptive Scott* asked the Lord … read more
“IT MUST BE JESUS WHO …”
*Uhn was the town drunk and the senior patriarch of his large extended family. Over a year ago, *Scott’s local … read more