HARD WORK PAID OFF
SowH trainings are continually conducted in Bangladesh to equip workers for the harvest.
“Our father has passed away. Please come and bury him in a Christian way since he loved you and even donated his land to you.” The sons and daughters of Popla Mru, headman of Chimbuk Para village, who had died, came and informed our country team. Although they were not Christians, the family wanted a Christian ceremony to honor their father. He had been very interested in providing education for his people, so he donated his land, where the Chuan Chung Hilltop School was constructed.
Many came that day, including a headman from another village. He witnessed the ceremony where the Christians sang worship songs, prayed together and shared testimonies of God’s goodness, honoring Popla Mru. “Do you do this every time somebody dies?” he asked. He took an interest in the ways of the Christians and invited them to come to his village to share their beliefs.
Brother David (not his real name) was then commissioned to the headman’s village, a Mro ethnic community composed of 30 families. There were no Christians, only Buddhists and Kramadi, who believed in guardian spirits. Although he was invited to go there to share the Good News, he met some opposition. He regularly visited them but without much result.
Less than a year later, Ethnos Asia Ministries conducted a Sow for the Harvest (SowH) Training. Brother David was among the trainees. The presence of
the Holy Spirit was very strong during the training and all of the participants were deeply touched. They graduated from that training with much zeal and excitement to proclaim God’s Word among the heathen. With renewed passion for the lost and equipped with the lessons learned from the SowH training, Brother David moved to live with the Mro community. Soon, the villagers’ hearts were opened. They received Jesus as their Savior and started to proclaim, “We will worship the Living God that you worship.” Praise God!
After a year of ministering to the Mro tribe, Brother David won 33 converts. The new converts clearly understood the meaning of their salvation and decided to be baptized in water. On their baptism day, they brought all their Buddha statues and other pagan images and paraphernalia, piled them up and destroyed them. They also destroyed the places where they used to offer animal sacrifices.
Today, 75% of the village are Christians; a total of 130 church members. A new church building has been built in the village. Brother David trained the church members using the SowH materials. He has found it very effective to equip and establish them in the Word. A local leader is now pastoring the church he has started. Brother David’s hard work has paid off. He has now moved to another Mro community to start work there. Let us pray that more will be brought to God’s Kingdom as he faithfully proclaims God’s Word.
Our country team believes in the strategy of using the SowH materials to equip more workers for the harvest. More trainings have been lined up until December this year. Pray for successful training.
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’”
