Recently, in order to attend the wedding of a friend’s relative, we spent a wonderful couple of nights in a village. My wife brought a good friend who had not yet been to a village. It was quite the new experience for both of them, having to sleep on small cots together with all the village women to keep warm at night! Because the women of this culture have little choice or say in who they can marry, the bride was clearly scared to be getting married to a man she had never met. It was certainly a sombre night. My wife and her friend could sense the darkness, but did have some meaningful moments talking to the bride. Getting a glimpse into people’s lives and the spiritual realities that hold them captive was so insightful and it was such a privilege to share the light of the gospel with someone feeling lonely and afraid at a key moment in her life. I joined them for a day at the actual wedding, but we didn’t see each other, because I was with the men eating freshly caught fish on the riverside! At the end of our time together, I too was blessed with the opportunity to share about the hope we have in Jesus with the older uncles, while the younger men were listening in. Sharing the gospel where we live is not quite the same as “grabbing a coffee” with someone in Canada, but we are always excited when God opens the door for us to share Jesus in some way.
Workers in Central Asia