The Harvest is Plentiful: Ministry Somewhere in Asia.

Summer2004

By KT (The Bridge Church & University of Alberta BSM, Edmonton)

A dust devil blew through the small army tent, quickly covering us with a layer of sand and debris. The nine of us sat quietly, enjoying the shade from the scorching sun. Surrounded once again by the history which millions of believers read about in Scripture, the scene was unreal. Here, where the Scripture comes alive and where the gospel originated, the people have never heard. "This is likely the largest group of believers that has ever been here," one of the workers commented. In recent years the local mosque had become much more evangelistic, and with no workers in the area, the local people followed blindly. We prayed that barriers would be broken down and that the truth may quickly spread among the people in this isolated village.

My journey to... in 2004 began over two years ago with a pilgrimage to Israel in 2002. Seeing for the first time the stories which plague our news stations in North America altered both my focus in life and my Christian walk. The people, on both sides of the conflict, long for peace and freedom from oppression. Yet, the peace and freedom which they long for will not last. Judaism and Islam both have their roots in the lands where Jesus once walked, yet when they read Moses, "a veil lies over their heart" (2 Corinthians 3.15).

In the summer of 2004, the God opened the door so that I could continue to labor in the area, beginning to learn Arabic and once again be absorbed into a very different culture. With 12 other workers, we had the task of making contact with men and women who could not speak English, who had never met a Christian, and who had never seen a Bible. The enormity of the task and the complete inadequacy of our service quickly became evident. Seeds can't be planted until stones are first removed, and daily new stones became evident.

Yet daily seeing the women who were veiled was a constant reminder of the veil that lay over their heart, motivating myself and the others on the team to press on. Each day, my ministry became more and more focused on prayer, because it became continually more evident that I was incapable of ministering there; praying for the door to be opened to speak forth the truth which we have been entrusted with, praying for wisdom in how to speak, praying for boldness for laborers, and praying for more laborers to come to the harvest.