AsiaStories

Claiming Christianity in India’s Orissa State means persecution and brutal beatings. Kanhar and Kata, in jail for proselytizing, have the scars to prove it. Kata remembers his own fervent prayer that started their journey together six years ago.

The neighbor shook her finger at the pastor and I and verbally abused us and told how I tried to convert the kids by giving them biscuits. She went on and on, but shut up when it was pointed out that she feeds the dogs the same biscuits I feed the poor children. She never thought to give biscuits to the kids.

Twenty-eight adults stood for Christ that day as we shared the story of Christmas. Some of these, the pastor and I had already been sharing with and answering questions.

Takahashi is one of the 4,000 homeless living in Tokyo and no stranger to distribution lines. He spends part of each day waiting for food donations or other supplies. He isn’t on this side of the line very often — giving, instead of receiving. So when the chance comes to leave his sidewalk “bed” outside of Shinjuku train station to volunteer more than 240 miles away, in one of the hardest hit tsunami areas with Tokyo Baptist Church, Takahashi takes it.

Delhi is a sprawling, energetic intersection of old and new, wealth and poverty, religion and science. People from all over South Asia come for jobs, education, and asylum. Some come willingly while others are forced here.Even though I’ve lived and worked in South Asia for years, I am easily overwhelmed by the city and want to know it better. Join me on a prayerwalk though the Delhi.

Stepping outside Ashley Benson and Mandi Mapes’ apartment and onto the street brings the global evangelism map decorating their wall to life. On the map, most of Asia is lit up like a Christmas tree, indicating those who have yet to be reached with the Gospel message. On the street, the dots become the faces and names of their neighbors and friends. Doesn’t anyone want the Truth?

What do you do when someone laughs at you and walks away when you share the Gospel? These Hands On workers didn’t give up, they kept on sharing!

Notes of a sacred hymn fade as Dorji Sangay* reads a passage from his Bible. The small congregation follows along in their New Testaments and then discusses the verses. From where Sangay sits cross-legged on the floor, he can look out the window and see the jagged Himalayan Mountains of his home country, Bhutan. His [...]

There’s not a day that goes by that Kencho Kinle* isn’t going door to door, sharing the Gospel. Everyone in the city knows him; some even run when he approaches. His testimony is hard to forget, because it is written in blood − in Jesus’ and his family’s.

Missionary kid Trevor Woods makes deep friendships in the country where his parents serve, Japan. When he is diagnosed with leukemia while in the States, he wants to return “home.” His friends stand by him through thick and thin. Little did Trevor know that the boys he befriended would grow up to be leaders in the Japanese church.

Dira Amar* was a successful career woman in a Muslim nation while rearing six children. Then tragedy hit. She was accused of corruption and embezzlement, ending up in prison. There, behind bars, she found peace and love.

I will never be Chinese enough to enjoy chicken feet or innards or sharing a bed with four other girls in the summertime. What they see isn’t how assimilated or “Chinese” I can be. What they see and remember is how I cared, loved, embraced, engaged and shared life with them.

Thai Christian woman spends years preparing the way for Joplin volunteers to spread the Gospel in her village. Six pray to receive Christ despite vice-mayor’s warnings about leaving Buddhism.