O was born in the north of the country. She was committed to the local religion but always felt that there was great gap between how she lived her life and what God must surely expect. She was troubled by the fact that she could see no solution within her own religion, but still felt that surely God must have to solve this problem.
When she moved to another city to study at university, she visited her elder brother who lived there. She was struck by the beautiful poetry her brother quoted. She asked him about it and he said they were the words of Jesus from the Bible and that he had become a follower of Jesus. She was fascinated and asked him if he had a Bible that she could read. He did, and when she read it she was amazed to find that God had solved the problem. Jesus, as God’s son, had dealt with our sin. So she believed in Christ.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend, on hearing that she had become a believer in Jesus, immediately dropped her. She was now the enemy. So over the next few years, they began a discussion, each sharing verses from their book. After a while, the words of Jesus melted D’s resistance and he too believed. At first, O didn’t believe that D was for real. Eventually, he said, ‘Don’t you think that the God who was able to save you could also save me?’
Meanwhile, O was curious about how her brother had become a believer. So he told the story. O’s brother and sister in law had a four-year son. One day he became ill with a fever. O’s brother was away on military service so his mum was alone with the boy. She took him to a hospital but they were unable to treat the fever. They attempted to lower his fever with cold towels but his temperature still went over 40 degrees. After a while, the boy said he could see the light calling to him to come. His mother, in great fear, told her boy not to go. She then left the room to get more towels and returned. But in those moments her boy’s fever had suddenly left. She asked him what had happened. He replied that the man had told him that he would be all right now. His mum said ‘What man?’ He said, ‘Don’t you see the man? He came and sat beside me and told me, ‘You are not coming now, but you will come later’. Can’t you see him, the man with the holes in his hands?’
O’s brother and sister didn’t know much about Christianity but they’d seen enough pictures to know who the man with the holes in his hands was. After making enquiries at a foreigner’s church in their city they became believers. Since this time O’s entire family has become believers, something not very common here. Two years later D became a believer and after this, they married and D joined O on our staff team.
God Bless,
Steve Ellis
Executive Director
People International Australia
*Names changed to ensure their safety.
Would you pray for O and D? Pray that their enthusiasm for the experience they’ve had will be infectious and effective in all that they do.
GC3 has many other partners like Steve. Everyday people who are walking alongside people like O and D. If you’d like to know how you could become involved in Missions, then give Sefton or Russell a call. They would love to journey with you as you seek to know where God could want you to serve.
Phone: +64 6 357 8388
Email: admin@gc3.org.nz