Meeting a Cornelius
Have you heard the expression “Boots on the Ground?” Well our Live Dead Missionaries are the boots on the Silk Road. Here we’d like to take a moment and allow one of them to share part of their life with you. Some names and details have been changed, but this is a true story from this colorful, vibrant, and sometimes surprising region and those who God has called to work here.
Remember that story in the Bible in Acts when Peter travels to a different city to meet this random guy named Cornelius, whom he’s never met, and finds the guy’s friends and family all waiting there just to hear him tell them about Jesus? Yeah, that’s an experience I didn’t expect to ever have, especially not here.
Well, a couple weeks ago I went with a local believer to to a nearby city to visit a guy and his cousin whom we heard had become believers on their own through researching. We got there and found him, his cousin and his 60-something-year-old parents all waiting to hear us. That’s pretty much the opposite of what usually happens here. People generally try to keep their faith in Christ from their family for as long as possible because of the expected reaction. Other than the main guy, the others knew basically zero about Christ – who he is, what he did and how we can be saved through him.
But in spite of that they were all but ready to believe. They listened intently for a couple hours occasionally asking questions.
Last night, we went back and this time found more of the family gathered along with a couple of close friends, once again ready to hear whatever we had to share. They are ready to start reading the Bible on their own, seeking Jesus and meeting regularly with other believers to read and grow together! What an amazing example of how God is drawing entire families to Himself through Jesus.
