Missions Insider
Exclusive Stories from the Mission Field
April 11, 2024
“Jesus saved your life,” the American soldier told Saif* after he was freed from an ISIS prison. Who is this Jesus? Saif wondered, and he vowed to find him. What he discovered transformed his life and that of his family. “I am Christ,” the man in Mahdi’s* dream told him, and he instructed Mahdi where to look to find the answers he sought. When Mahdi obeyed the command and met Christian missionaries who presented him with a Bible, he knew he’d truly been in the presence of the Lord.
March 28, 2024
Seventeen-year-old Mateo* hated his parents for the years of physical and verbal abuse he suffered at their hands. His resentment toward his family coupled with the constant peer pressure from his friends weighed heavy on his shoulders, and the burden grew more difficult to carry each day. But on the day that he met a native missionary in his rural community, his life changed in a way he never could have imagined.
The missionary told him about Jesus. About forgiveness and redemption and transformation. Mateo soaked up the truths the missionary taught him, and in return, the missionary listened to Mateo’s own troubling life story. Their conversation came exactly when Mateo needed it the most; and as the Holy Spirit moved, Mateo gave his life to Christ.
After he chose to follow Jesus, Mateo received a Bible that he read all the time, and he visited the missionary each day to discuss the stories he’d learned about in Scripture. He even forgave his parents, and with that forgiveness, the burden he’d struggled with for so long was lifted. Now, his once bleak outlook on life has dramatically shifted: he hopes to become a missionary, preaching among indigenous communities and helping change lives as his own was changed.
March 14, 2024
In a prison filled with some of Africa’s most violent criminals, the atmosphere was as unsettled as the air before a thunderstorm. The inmates were restless and unafraid, too hardened by their pasts and hopeless about their futures to care whether they caused any more harm. Here, life was nothing more than a waiting game with every one of the 166 inmates destined for execution.
But none of this intimidated the missionaries and their medical outreach team who gathered outside the prison gates one Sunday morning. They were excited at the opportunity to not only treat the sick, but also present the gospel.
“It doesn’t matter if men don’t need them anymore because of their wickedness,” the missions team leader said. “We know that the Lord needs them for His kingdom. They must also hear the gospel of life of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
February 29, 2024
Charna’s* father is a priest in a traditional South Asian religion, but as followers of that religion, Charna noticed that her family seemed oppressed by an invisible darkness. “Almost all in the family were possessed by evil spirits and demonic attacks were very severe in the family,” she said.
Her father disliked Christians and would frequently perform rituals against the Christian families and ministry workers in their village while at the same time performing rituals seeking peace for his family.
His efforts were always in vain. The Christians in the community remained, and Charna’s family seemed to sink into an even deeper spiritual struggle. When someone fell sick, which was often, they sought answers from magicians and spent enormous amounts of money on special offerings and sacrifices.
February 15, 2024
January was cold. Too cold to be crammed into a leaking boat filled with dozens of other terrified refugees desperate to escape Africa and reach Europe’s shores. But Amadou and his two young daughters had no other choice. They couldn’t turn back now; they could only squint toward the horizon and hope for land. The water lapped at their ankles, freezing Amadou’s youngest daughter’s feet. It was a terrifying sign of what would happen to them if the boat sunk. Even worse horrors befell his older daughter, but Amadou was helpless to protect either of his children.
January 11, 2024
A young man in Indonesia who had suffered setbacks throughout his life found himself trying to make a living by performing on the street. Osbert*, 28, told a Christian worker who engaged him in conversation that his wife had recently left him, and that he had no hope for the future, the ministry leader said. The worker shared how Christ cares for him so much that He died on the Cross to take the punishment for all sinners who accept His salvation.
“Since the first time he heard the gospel story, he immediately responded positively and then put his faith in Jesus,” the ministry leader said. “It wasn’t long before he accepted baptism.”
Exclusive stories from the mission field