Stories | Beyond

A Bold Witness

Jun 5, 2024 | East Asia, Stories

*Yeng is Khmer (most Khmers are Buddhist) who comes from a big family. Her husband, Pouch, is blind; her 97 years old mother-in-law and three grandsons all live with her. Yeng works hard to provide for the needs of her family. Every day she sells green leaves at the market to support her family. It is not much, but with the money that she earns from selling these leaves, she is able to provide meals for her family.

Recently, while Yeng was at the market a lady, who is also really poor, came by to visit. Yeng kindly shared some of her vegetables with her visitor. After the visitor left, the seller who sits near Yeng asked her why she would give food away for free like she had. She asked, “Are you a Christian?”

Immediately, Yeng said: “Yes, I believe in Jesus”. To which the seller replied: “you are like Jesus. You have a good heart; you are loving and kind to people”.

Yeng saw this statement as a great opportunity to share about what Jesus had done on the cross for all mankind. At the end of the conversation, the seller said: “I believe in Jesus too, but I don’t have a heart like yours. I’m so busy with my work, that sometimes I don’t feel close to God. My family does not believe in Jesus yet, and often they pray to our ancestors, and sometimes I do that too.”

“No, you cannot worship ancestors; they are not God you need to worship the ONE and TRUE God who is our Lord Jesus Christ only”, said Yeng. The chatted a little more and Yeng invited the seller to the house church that meets in her home. The seller promised that she would come when she had time. Pray for Yeng, that she would continue in her bold witness for the Lord and that she would remain an example of His love and kindness. Pray for Yeng’s friend, that she will seek Yeng out for more conversations about God.

*pseudonym

A Lesson in Compassion

May 29, 2024 | South Asia, Stories

Movement catalysts *Ethan and *Nicole were pondering together these profound words by Henri Nouwen: “Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into the places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.”

Suddenly, a phone call interrupted their reflection. Vishaan, a close friend, asked Ethan to accompany him in visiting his eunuch friends. Yes, eunuchs.

For many generations in the past, eunuchs served the Mughal rulers of India, playing pivotal roles in the Muslim courts. They provided protection for palace women, served as advisors to kings, and even acted as generals. However, after the British ousted the last Mughal ruler, eunuchs found themselves displaced. Palace life ceased. No longer valued and trusted, they found themselves thrust into a society which feared and ostracized them, considering them cursed.

Little has changed since. Nowadays in South Asia, eunuchs are mostly ignored (at best), and often feared and despised. Not every individual in a eunuch community is an actual eunuch; some are men living as women, while others suffer from genital deformities. Children born with such deformities are deemed cursed and are given to eunuch communities at early ages to live as outcasts.

Ethan admitted feeling uneasy about visiting the eunuch community, finding it strange to interact with people who look and sound like men but dress as women. Yet, he recognized that friendships with “outsiders” could also unsettle the eunuchs, given the abundance of abuse they endure compared to gestures of friendship. Trust does not come easily.

However, Vishaan had nurtured trust with them over time, which resulted in their requests for more visits, in which they asked him to discuss the Word and pray together. So, Ethan agreed to join Vishaan on a visit. He thought, “How could I say no?” It was hard to ignore an invitation from one of India’s most marginalized communities.

On Ethan’s third visit to a eunuch community with Vishaan, after a ninety-minute auto-rickshaw ride, they arrived at the outskirts of Delhi and entered the eunuchs’ home. They were warmly welcomed, and about ten ladies gathered. Vishaan led a prayer, followed by reading from the book of Isaiah about the Messiah. Ethan then shared the creation story in Hindi.

The eunuchs genuinely appreciated the Bible reading and the story of Adam and Eve. Some of the ladies were sick and requested prayer. Ethan suggested they should pray for one another in Jesus name, emphasizing that their own prayers (Ethan’s and Vishaan’s) did not hold any special power. God hears all prayers, and the power is in Jesus’ name.

Their presence seemed to uplift the spirits of the eunuchs, and Ethan hoped that they each found solace in their time together. The eunuchs graciously served a delicious meal, and Ethan and Vishaan returned home in time for Ethan’s children to arrive from school.

What a stark contrast: one city, one day, two vastly different worlds. They had spent the morning with people rejected, hated, feared, and cursed. Neither Ethan nor Vishaan had ever experienced such prejudice. Their families loved them, and they had never directly faced hatred. They seemed to have nothing in common with the eunuch community. And yet…

Why had they invited Vishaan? Because they desired the same thing we all do: to know we’re not alone, to experience compassion. They invited Ethan and Vishaan because they wanted to feel God’s touch and encounter His presence.

Remember how the angel instructed Mary to name her baby Immanuel, meaning God with us? Why was that significant? To empathize means to feel what others feel. Jesus displayed God’s compassion, crossing the divide between divinity and humanity. He entered into human pain, brokenness, fear, and confusion. Today, He calls us to do the same.

*pseudonyms

IN SPITE OF THE BEATINGS
The two men shared a Bible story with the family. The family liked the discussion. The men didn’t preach, but simply shared the story, … read more

FRIEND, PEON OR MANAGER
In the West, it is the general practice for a business owner to hire a manager if he or she doesn’t have the time or desire to manage it themselves. read more …

MY LIP HAS FALLEN OFF
Krish grew up in a devout Hindu family. For six years, he had been an active member of a radical pro-Hindu group. read more …

Buddhist Woman Healed of Cancer

May 22, 2024 | South East Asia, Stories

*Somchai lived in the bustling city of Bangkok. Life for the 26-year-old seemed to be crumbling around her. She was separated from her husband and distanced from her daughter. Her abdominal pain had turned out to be the same type of intestinal cancer that had taken her mother’s life when Somchai was just a girl.

Frail and worn out from surgery and chemotherapy, Somchai clung to her Buddhist amulets, the last vestiges of hope in a world that offered little solace or peace. Depressed and hopeless, Somchai decided to go back to the quaint village where her mother had once lived before the allure of the big city called.

In this small village, Somchai fondly remembered the days she spent there with her mother. She even reunited with her Uncle *Sunan. Having returned from Bangkok a few years before himself, Sunan had come back with a mission to start a house church in his ancestral village. This vibrant community of new believers embraced Somchai, and after many months of fellowship and prayer with the house church, Somchai felt hopeful.

A few months later, surrounded by the prayers of her new church family, her uncle, and a movement catalyst, Somchai cast aside her Buddhist beliefs and confessed her faith in Christ. As she did, she felt a weight lift from her weary shoulders. She described it as feeling a rush, like something had left her body. She felt slightly nauseous and clammy, but oddly free.

In the days that followed, miracles unfolded before the eyes of skeptics and believers alike. Somchai defied medical expectations. Not only did she surprise her doctors with a rapid recovery, but she put on weight. Even her countenance changed. As news of Somchai’s healing spread throughout the village, other villagers and even people from neighboring villages started to believe in Jesus.

Pray for Somchai and her daughter, now that the Lord has healed her physical body, pray that He would heal the relationship between her and her daughter.

*pseudonyms

READ OTHER STORIES FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA

THREE DELICIOUS DISHES …
Danny and *Holly were at their favorite Thai open-air market on Christmas Day. When they gave … read more

MIRACLES, DEMONIC EXORCISM
After prayer walking with a local partner, sowing gospel seeds with whoever was receptive, Scott* asked … read more

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR
WORK IN THIS AREA

Sheep Make Sheep – What?

May 15, 2024 | South Asia, Stories

In Matthew 9:36-38, we read that Jesus told His first disciples the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. He then stated His solution to the problem: pray for God to thrust out His children from their own places into the fields that are ripe for harvest. The harvest is ready. It just needs laborers to bring it in.

We have heard these words before. In fact, they get repeated so often that it’s easy to miss their importance. In 2011, movement catalysts *Ethan and *Nicole began to wrestle with this description of the harvest. “Was Jesus right? Is the harvest actually plentiful?” They had to admit they believed the opposite: “A plentiful harvest, Jesus? Really? Lord, if only You knew how things are in this place! People aren’t interested in You or Your Kingdom.”

They started to ask themselves some serious questions: “What if the bottleneck isn’t, in fact, with the lost but with us, His children? With me, His child?” They searched the Scriptures, asking the Lord to show them what they were missing. He showed them two things:

First, they read the parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15 with new eyes. In the story, the Shepherd doesn’t hang out with the found sheep. He goes out looking for the lost one. Ethan and Nicole asked themselves: “Who are we in this story?” Every time they had previously read the parable, they had put themselves in the position of the lost. But the truth is, Jesus had found them a long time ago. They were safe! So, where’s the shepherd? He’s out looking for the one who’s lost.

Ethan and Nicole knew they wanted to be out with the Shepherd. The question was, practically, what would that take? For them, it meant freeing up schedules. They were so busy doing Christian things with Christians that they didn’t know many people who weren’t Christians. They realized they needed to stop spending so much time in the church. It was time to actually go OUT. If that’s where Jesus was, they wanted to be with Him there.

Second, a simple statement from a dear friend engaged their hearts. He said, “Sheep make sheep.” What?! They stared dumbfounded at him as he explained, “Shepherds don’t make sheep. Sheep make sheep, naturally.” They realized that they had spent many years and much effort training shepherds (pastors, church leaders) to go make sheep. But, if sheep make sheep, then they needed to rethink everything.

As they searched the Scriptures, they were amazed to see how quickly Jesus equipped and released sheep (His disciples) to go and make other sheep, including those who knew little-to-nothing about Him, who came from ugly backgrounds or who had little-to-no education (e.g. Mark 5:19-20; John 4:28-30, 39).

So, they changed their tactics. They began encouraging sheep to make other sheep, starting from their first encounter with Jesus and His Word. They said it like this: “Truth is not to be hoarded, but shared. With whom can you share this Bible story we studied today? With whom can you share your story of all Jesus has done for you?”

They found that when new “sheep” were encouraged, even expected, to freely pass on to others all they were learning, they multiplied themselves. And it happened quickly. In one year, they made disciples of Jesus who made disciples, who made more disciples, seven times over.

Desperate to Know

May 9, 2024 | Austronesia, Stories

Ali* is a poor carpenter from a large Muslim Unreached People Group in Asia.

He wondered why his religious leaders never discussed their second greatest prophet — Isa Al Masih (Jesus the Messiah). They rebuked Ali for repeatedly asking about Isa. He asked his construction boss (who was a Christian deacon) about Jesus — and was refused every time!

Ali’s ethnic/religious group and his boss’s group dislike each other. Riots had caused businesses in his boss’s community to burn. He suspected Ali was faking interest to generate accusations of Christians forcing Muslims to convert.

For two years, Ali begged people to tell him what Jesus taught!

One night, a man in white appeared to Ali in a dream. When he awoke, he immediately biked for an hour to his boss’s home. It was 3:00 am when his sleepy boss opened the door. Ali blurted out, “Tell me about Jesus!” He finally received a gospel tract.

When Ali was later asked what had led him to follow Jesus, He cried and said: “Jesus looked down from the cross and forgave me! He said, ‘Father, forgive him, because he does not know what he is doing.’ And He was right! I did not know what I was doing, but he forgave me anyway!”

Who knows how many hundreds or thousands of people are like Ali: eagerly longing for the Good News, many of them desperately. Would you consider how you might contribute to serving the unreached – whether through prayer, joining a team, or providing financial support?