A Fruitful Harvest: Stories from a Mission in South Asia, Part 2

Ali* is a pastor in South Asia who attended a Four Fields training hosted by East-West a few years ago. After being trained and praying for two years to take the gospel to a specific area in his country, Ali finally traveled to that region with two translators. This is the second post in a three-part series about the ways God worked during that trip. Read the first post in this series.

A Providential Flat Tire

Tired yet enthusiastic, Ali and the translators were on their way to the next town to share the gospel when a loud pop brought their journey to a halt. One of the car’s tires had a blowout, and the men didn’t have the right tools to fix it.

They were 20 kilometers from their destination and had no choice but to drag the car to the nearest town.

Already exhausted from little sleep, the men towed the car in sweltering heat to a village only to find most of the shops closed. In the distance, Ali saw a shop that appeared to have customers. He and the translators dragged the car to the shop, and the owner ran outside to meet them.

“Are you looking for tools to change this tire?” the shopkeeper asked them.

“Yes!” Ali answered.

“I have this exact model!” the shopkeeper exclaimed and rushed to get the tools to change the tire.

While the shop owner changed the tire, Ali and the translators bought water from his store and then sat down to share the gospel with the man. The shop owner was overjoyed and accepted Jesus on the spot. While the men celebrated their new brother in Christ, Ali realized that the flat tire afforded them the opportunity to share the gospel with someone they might not have otherwise met.

A Household Finds Salvation

But the day wasn’t over. After the tire was changed, Ali and the translators traveled to the border of the country and openly prayed for lost souls. A man named Hazeem*, who saw them praying in the name of Jesus, approached the men and invited them to his house.

Ali and the translators gladly accepted and went to Hazeem’s house for food and tea. As they ate and drank, Ali felt the Holy Spirit prompting him to share the gospel. So Ali began sharing about Jesus, and Hazeem’s wife and two children joined them in the living room. After sharing the gospel, Ali asked the family if they were ready to accept Jesus. Hazeem’s family jumped for joy and answered, “Yes!”

In his excitement, Hazeem invited Ali and the translators to meet the leader of their community. This was an opportunity Ali had only dreamed of—being able to take the gospel to someone in this community with a great amount of influence.

Ali and the translators agreed to go and followed Hazeem to a heavily guarded and gated building near the country’s border. It turned out the community leader was also a government official named Ahmed*.

Hazeem led Ali and his companions through the gates and introduced them to Ahmed. Ahmed was very interested in hearing what the men had to share with him. When they began talking about Jesus, Ahmed said, “I’ve already met Jesus in my dreams, and I was waiting for someone to tell me about Him and how to come to Him.”

The men were ecstatic! It was clear that Jesus had already paved the way for Ahmed to come to Christ. Ali explained to Ahmed how he could accept Jesus as his Savior, and Ahmed stepped into salvation at that moment.

Ali and the translators wanted to stay longer, but they were already late for their next meeting. They arranged to have someone follow up with Hazeem and Ahmed and promised to visit again soon. The men left with full hearts as they began the final leg of their journey.

Read the next post in this series.

*Names changed for security purposes.

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