Cody* and Jennifer’s* hearts were moved by God to work in an unreached, limited access nation in Southeast Asia. After much prayer and planning, they departed for this region on six-month tourist visas to begin their search for persons of peace in hope of starting a sustainable gospel movement.
When Cody and Jennifer first moved to the mission field, they got to know their neighbors, including a man named Ichiro*.
Ichiro was eager to sit and discuss spiritual matters—including the Christian faith—so they continued meeting with him and prayed he would unlock a movement of God in his restricted access nation.
God answered their prayers and Ichiro trusted in Jesus. Upon belief, God gave him a burden to start a church in his hometown, and Cody and Jennifer equipped Ichiro with tools to obey his God-given call before returning to the States.
When Ichiro returned to his town, he met resistance. The local police captain heard about Ichiro’s desire and ridiculed him without mercy, not allowing him to start a church unless he healed the sick.
Ichiro didn’t know what to do. So he prayed, asking God to work miracles. Then he went to visit the local hospital.
There he met a woman who looked like a skeleton with skin. Ichiro asked the nurse what was wrong with her and learned that the woman was plagued with cancer and near death. Ichiro went and laid his hands on her and began to pray for her healing.
The woman opened her eyes and smiled as God worked a miracle through Ichiro. That day she was not only healed of stage four cancer, she became a follower of Jesus! When the local police captain saw what had happened to this woman, he gave Ichiro permission to start a new church.
Ichiro is one of eight believers Cody and Jennifer equipped on their first trip to Southeast Asia. Today they travel in and out of this spiritually dark nation to continue strengthening local church leaders and training new believers on how to make disciples and plant churches. Through their work, God has used indigenous believers to start 521 churches in their communities.
*Names changed for security reasons.