E3 Expedition Podcast 7: Joe and the Bus Driver in India & Carol and the Cyclist in Ethiopia

Last updated on: February 23, 2016 at 11:11 pm by Christian Podcast Central

E3 Expedition Podcast 7: Joe and the Bus Driver in India & Carol and the Cyclist in Ethiopia 2016-02-23T23:11:59-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

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E3 Expedition Podcast 7: Joe and the Bus Driver in India & Carol and the Cyclist in Ethiopia [ 16:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Joe was part of a team that went to Silchar, India to share the story of Jesus with the Bishnupriya Manipuri people of Northeast India. There are about 300,000 of them, and it was reported that before the group arrived, their leaders had been praying for 22 years that God would send someone to share the Gospel with their people. Here’s Joe’s story:

It’s awesome to me that I’m only 19-years-old and these people had been praying for 22 years!

One morning, I was feeling pretty sick, so I got down to breakfast late and pretty much went out for the day on an empty stomach.   We went to five different homes that morning, and none of the people living there would open up their doors to us or allow us to share God’s Word with them.  Finally, I said, “Well, I’m hungry.  Let’s just sit here so I can eat and whoever the Lord wants us to talk to, He’ll bring our way while we eat.”

Before we knew it, a dozen men from all around the village sat down with us and listened to the Gospel.  These guys then went out and brought a bunch of their friends, who brought a bunch of their friends… and by the end of the day, we had a steady stream of groups of people who wanted to hear about Jesus.  We probably talked to about 50 people in that short period of time and 21 of them made decisions to follow Jesus.  By the end of the afternoon, a huge group had amassed.  Some brought their kids that were playing volleyball nearby, some of the older men struck up conversations with our team members while people were hearing God’s Word, while others were praying.

One man that caught my attention was our bus driver.  He had set his heart on the opinion that he did not want to follow Jesus Christ.  Yet, by the end of that one afternoon, he had to have heard the Gospel five or six times, and the power of the Word overcame his skepticism.  He said he was choosing Christ and he was very serious.  This was a huge decision for him because he came from a Muslim family and going to worship with “the infidels” was a huge offense.  So, keep him in your prayers and be encouraged by his courage!

Joe’s experience is not at all uncommon. As soon as he returned home from India, he signed up to go right out again, this time to China. When you see people come to Christ over and over again, serving God and spreading His Word becomes like a thirst that you can’t quench.

Our next story comes from Carol who had just come back from serving God in Ethiopia:

I had always wanted to go to Africa – though I had imagined that it would be on a photo safari through the Savannah.  This turned out to be so much different than I had dreamed, and SO much better!

One day, we had planned on going from house (or hut) to house, sharing with whichever families God would allow us to meet with.  Our morning started out this way, but in this part of the world, the neighbors were very spread out.  So, as we started on what should have been a 30-minute or so walk to the next hut, we met one man, then another, then a group.  We discovered that it was market day, and we were on one of the main routes to the market.  We ended up just staying there on the road for the rest of the day, sharing God’s Word!  But, the crowd got to be so big that we couldn’t keep up.  Eventually, people started wandering away because we simply couldn’t get to them.

Then, I noticed a man ride up on a bicycle.  He stopped to see what was going on, talked to a couple of the men who were there listening, then to a couple guys from our team.  He was a local Christian – sent by God to help bolster our numbers and reach out to the ever-growing crowd!  By the end of the day, over 40 people had prayed to accept Jesus as their Savior.

But, what I believe was the most amazing thing that happened occurred on our second day in the village.  We met a man in the morning and he was very open to what the Bible had to say.  He asked us, “Why haven’t you come here before?!  We need to hear more of this!”  He accepted Christ, and then offered his home and his land to us to use to spread the word and grow God’s kingdom!  By Thursday afternoon of that week, this man’s generosity and the moving of the Holy Spirit culminated into the village’s first church service, held at this new Believer’s home.

I was struck with the passage from 1 Thessalonians 2 where Paul writes:

19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

“Why haven’t we been here before?” We hear those words so many times when our teams reach out to the ends of the earth with God’s Message. It’s a difficult question to answer, but we do all that we can to “keep the main thing the main thing” and focus on God’s Word.

In addition to saving people’s lives in Africa, we are also interested in saving their earthly lives by informing them on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Often times, the people may not be initially open to hearing the plan to save their eternal souls, but once they find out that we also have information on saving their and their children’s lives, they often become more interested in what we have to share regarding eternity as well.

For more engaging and encouraging podcasts and videos, visit the E-Squared Media Network at www.e2medianetwork.com

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