No Way In

The walls are up. The local religious leaders have squelched all efforts to bring God’s Word to the village. The way is blocked by what the missionary* calls “the Stone Curtain.”

There Had Been Hope

7cda2df4-ab40-4b10-aa53-30ebb7f205c9At first, several people in the village welcomed a visit from the missionary and a believer from their own people group. But opposition grew and support melted away. And on the most recent visit, none of the men who had welcomed them were around.

Only one man “was brave enough to come visit us,” the missionary wrote, and they shared a Bible lesson with him. He told them what had happened. The religious leaders threatened the people who wanted the missionary to come. They promised wealth to those who followed their teachings. And they claimed the missionary only wanted to steal that wealth.

We’re in this ministry as an expression of worship to God, and not in it for the approval of man or the response of the people we’ve come to serve.

Out But Not Down

4eb6081e-25ca-4100-87a7-57568124d7d9So that door appears firmly closed, but the missionary is not discouraged.

“We’re in this ministry as an expression of worship to God, and not in it for the approval of man or the response of the people we’ve come to serve,” he wrote. “This is all for Him and His glory.”

Please pray that doors will open for God’s Word to go forward among this people group, to the glory of God.

* The name of the missionary, believer, people group and country are withheld for the sake of the ministry.