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.

In my host country, I live in a large city, and this gives my team and I the freedom to “broad sow”- to randomly strike up conversations with strangers with the intention of sharing the Gospel. 

Recently my team participated in a training week that was focused on broad sowing. During this week, another team member and I went out together to find people to share with. We took a bus going in one specific direction and prayed that the Lord would lead us to the right place and the right person. 

My team member and I decided to get off at a stop, and at first it seemed rather empty – but we followed the people who also got off the bus and arrived at a large lake with a nice park. It was a beautiful day and lots of people were at the park exercising and sitting on the benches. As we walked and prayed, my teammate and I spotted an older man sitting on a bench.  

In the age of Covid-19, how we interact with native people looks very different because many people here have a strong spirit of fear. In previous years, it was culturally appropriate to randomly sit by a person on the same bench and strike up a conversation. Now, natives are skittish of being too close to people they don’t know because of the virus. 

We both immediately felt the Holy Spirit leading us to sit with this man and share with him. We wanted to be respectful and not sit right next to him, and we noticed there were two other benches next to him which means we could even social distance!  

As we sat awkwardly with the guy for a few minutes, I finally asked him what the lake was called and if he lived near there. This got the conversation started and as we talked, we learned this man had recently lost his job because of the virus and was taking early retirement.  

My sowing partner was able to share stories from the New Testament which led to talking about sin and then that led to sharing the good news about Jesus!  

I was also able to explain how we all have sinned and that our good works are not enough to “form a bridge” to a Holy God in heaven.  

We believe that every spiritual seed planted is alive and active and that there is power in sharing the Gospel. 

We are praying specifically for our friend to be employed and that he would know Jesus Christ was the one who provided, that he would read the New Testament and find that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and that we would be able to follow up with him and continue to share the good news of Jesus so that he and his family might worship Jesus forever. Will you join us in praying for these things?