God works in mysterious ways. Our students met a guy named John at a coffee shop at the beginning of this semester. They connected with him quickly, and he was soon a fixture at the guys house. He spoiled them and took them to places we usually keep secret. He bought them groceries and made them feel really comfortable, really fast. We were initially a bit annoyed that he was making their lives so easy. But God was at work.
From the time John was a child, he had been having dreams about God, dreams of a person so bright that he couldn’t see.
The dreams were often in English, and as he began to learn the language, he realized the person with outstretched hands was saying, “Follow me.” He didn’t know what it meant. More recently, he had dreams that some American people were going to show up and be his friends and tell him things he needed to hear. Of course, he didn’t share these dreams with the team until later.
One of the guys starting reading the Bible with him, and he read for hours, starting with the entire book of Romans. Questions and discussions led to him sharing the dreams he had been having since childhood. He became even more inseparable from the team: running next to the group during workouts, eating dinner at night, cooking them breakfast, sitting at the guys house reading the Bible for hours on end. He longed to spend every moment with those who knew the Truth.
Several weeks ago over breakfast, John was ready to take the next step. Ready to confess His need for a Savior and respond to the invitation to follow Jesus.
Our team plans to continue to disciple and encourage their new brother.
FROM THE TEAM:
“All the teachings that we have been showing him just seemed to be fitting together in his mind like puzzle pieces. One thing led to another, and now I can say with a confident heart that John has become part of our family and found out who his Father is… God is moving. He will not be stopped.”
“John’s story of turning from adoring man-made idols to the one Living God is one I will share for all my days. It is easy to think that we had some amazing part to play in this story, but in reality, God has been calling John to himself for years. All the glory is His! I’m humbled to walk with this brother as he begins his journey!”
“It just goes to show that it’s not our work but our Heavenly Father’s. God was working in John’s heart far before we got here and all we had to do was simply show up in obedience. Our Father is good and His saving grace never gets old! ”
“Blows my mind to be able to witness God work in that way. In reality you don’t always get to be the one to see the fruit of the labor on the mission field. I had already prepared my heart and mind to be content simply sowing seeds and beginning the work here but our Savior had a different plan.”
“I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” – Luke 15:10
