living lettersstories from the Great Commission

hot topic The whir of the cappuccino machine doesn’t distract the group of regulars at Carl’s coffee shop. They’ve come for more than a lei-surely latte. The Bible is their focus. Carl* doesn’t mind their table time. After all, some Christians changed his life forever in a matter of weeks. As a young Muslim in Lebanon, Carl had a hard time making sense of his country’s civil war in the name of religion. Two of his friends died when a bomb blew up in a park. Fleeing to Jordan and then to the U.S., Carl read about Islam and other faiths. He had lots of questions, but few answers until some Christians visited his shop. After several weeks’ worth of

conversations, Carl and his wife’s new friends left to serve overseas but not before they gave him the biggest tip of his life: a Bible. Within a few months of studying it and attending a Baptist church, Carl and his wife accepted Christ. So did two of their three children. Back in Carl’s shop, both believers and skeptics are welcome inside and with good reason. “You never know who you are touch-ing,” Carl said. “I’m a good example that you can touch somebody from Islam.”

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* Names changed

MAY 2010

because you prayed What happens when believers pray? Plenty to celebrate! In 1991, Christians worldwide began observing an annual Day of Prayer & Fasting for World Evangelization on Pentecost. Like a morning star rising, those early prayers for China’s Zhuang people set in motion fantastic works of God’s mighty hand. In 1995, prayers focused on Mongolia, and today about 45,000 believers and more than 400 churches dot its countryside. The following year, Christians lifted the Buddhist stronghold of Tibet. That harvest included 19 churches and more than 600 believers. Your prayers have also netted increased Gospel access among Persians of Iran, the Bhutanese of Bhutan, the Lingayats and the Sikhs of India, the Tuareg of Africa and the Chinese. More recently, God’s handiwork is among the Udmurts of Russia. In less than two years, God has worked in the hearts of two couples and sent them to be students in Udmurtia. While they are there, they’ll share the love of God with the people they meet. One Udmurt believer has already been deeply affected by your prayers. “When I heard that America was praying for Udmurt people, I felt like I wanted to hug and to kiss you all,” exclaimed Tatiana Berfilova, speaking through her translator.

atheist touched by miracleDanny McDermott was an atheist in Tucson, Ariz., when neighbor and North American Mission Board missionary Ben Barfield invited him to a Bible study. He came, but only because his wife made him; he needed a miracle to believe. That miracle came when his daughter, Bobbi, defied doctors by surviving birth — and ultimately living 18 months. Today as fellow believers serving in Ben’s new church, the McDermotts continue to celebrate their dual miracles. They look forward to one day seeing Bobbi again, together.

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Be part of this year’s Day of Prayer & Fasting for World Evangelization, May 23.