Several of our summer missionaries spent time in Central Asia. Below is a recap of the trip from two of the leaders, Dave and Emily.
Dear Church,
I’d like to give you an overview of some of the exciting things God did this summer through our Summer Mission Trip to Central Asia. On May 21st My wife Emily and I, along with three college students who attend Ashland with us,and 15 other students flew across the world to a Muslim country in Central Asia to share the gospel with locals who have never heard of Christ.While we were there we partnered with long-term missionaries to aid in their ongoing ministry.
An Outline of Our Trip
We began our trip with a large English camp at a retreat center in the nearby mountains with over 40 locals university students. We spent four days building friendships and helping them practice conversational English. It was a great way to start building relationships with Central Asians and demonstrating Christ’s love to them!
One of our goals this summer was to create as many contacts for long-term missionaries as possible. After we returned from the mountains we spent the next week connecting with over a dozen local English centers where students pay to take English lessons. The centers were thrilled to have Americans visit and speak with their students. This resulted in many channels being opened that will lead to hundreds of students having the opportunity to meet Christians and hear the gospel in the next year!
The last several weeks of our trip were spent following up with students we had connected with, getting to know them, and sharing the gospel with them. In total our team had 133 individual conversations about spirituality and Christianity. Besides those conversations we were able to personally share the gospel with 72 students! While we were there one girl put her faith in Jesus! This new believer is particularly exciting because it can take a very long time for a Muslim to consider becoming a follower of Jesus. In fact, she had first met Christians through a Summer Mission team last year.
Personally, one of the great joys for Emily and myself was seeing the American College students who came with us each growing in huge ways personally and in ministry! I’m confident that God will use this experience in the lives of those 18 students to bring about even more fruit throughout the coming school year and throughout their lives as a result of taking a step of faith to travel across the world to make the gospel known!
Meeting an Old Friend
Six years ago, on a previous trip to Central Asia, I met a student named Steve (his name has been changed for security purposes). I learned that he came from a Muslim background. Since then he had changed phones and I did not have his number but one day I was walking down the street and I heard him say, “Dave?!?” I turned around, and was thrilled to see my old friend! We exchanged phone numbers and later caught up on what had been happening in our lives.
He shared about some personal problems he has been facing in some of his closest relationships I asked him where he believed those problems came from. He did not know. I told him that I believe that the problems that he faces, as well as my own difficulties in relationships, are bound up in our rebellion against God and trying to be the God of our own lives. I had the chance to share about how despite our rebellion, God loves us enough that He sent his Son to take our punishment.
Although Steve understood what I shared he does not understand that it is something that he can have. In his mind he is a Muslim and that is not something that can change. Pray that Steve would see that God’s forgiveness is also available for him.
Would You Like to Hear More?
We hope to see you on Wednesday the 19th of August as some of our students share about their experiences of the trip and how you can continue to pray for Central Asians to know Christ!
With Love,
Dave and Emily