The fire is burning in me
I want the whole of our people to be reached today.
Global partner Paul* shares with us about one of his disciples, Brok*, and his desire to reach his people today with the truth of the gospel.
“I want the whole of our people to be reached today, and the fire is burning in me to go home and bring our people from the darkness to the light.”
Brok* was born into an Islamic family and was a faithful Muslim. During one of our evangelistic programs in 2020 in the town of R*, he heard the gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
When he shared his decision to follow Jesus Christ with his family, his mother became extremely upset with him. She told Brok, “If you are my son, you have to renounce your faith in Jesus, or else you have to leave my home and get yourself another mother!”
In response, Brok told his mother, “I can’t renounce Jesus. I know that you are my mother, and I love you, but I also know that I need Jesus in my life. You need him, too! If you don’t want me to stay with you in your home because of my faith in Jesus, I would rather go out from this home.”
His mother told him to get out of her home. So, Brok packed his bag and went to go out to anywhere that he could find. But when his mother saw that Brok was serious and was actually leaving with his bag, she relented and brought him back. She pleaded with him, “I can’t stay without you. I only ask that you come back to our faith, my son.” Unrelenting, Brok refused her, but his mother, with frustration, let him stay.
The next day, early in the morning, Brok’s mother found him in his room, studying the Bible he received. Taking the Bible from him, she came to my home with the Bible in her hands. She called out to me, saying, “This book of yours has turned my son from our faith to your faith. I am not happy about this! Now, take back your book and don’t give it to my son ever again!”
In reply, I told her, “This is not my book, but it is the Word of God. You are taking away the Word of God from your son.” I shared that even if she removed this book from him, she could not take away his belief in Jesus. I took that opportunity to share with her the gospel. She finally understood the truth. Hearing the truth and seeing the dedication of her son, she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior that very morning.
God has touched that family and has used Brok to share the truth of the gospel with them. Today, more than 10 of his family members are followers of Jesus. Brok shows great potential for leadership in the church. He is becoming stronger in the way he shares the Word of God. He stewards his time well. He is active in sharing the Word of God and leading others to Christ.
After Brok fled to Arua, he expressed an eager desire to study and learn so that he could better handle the Word of God and share more effectively with others. We have been able to send him to Global Theological Seminary (GTS) to help with his development. He goes to classes and then comes back to us. He is eager to share with us and show us what he is learning.
Coming back from theology school, he said, “I feel so encouraged that I want the whole of our people to be reached today, and the fire is burning in me to go home and bring our people from the darkness to the light.”
After his schooling, he has his heart set on going back to share the Good News with others from his home country.
God designed His Church to work together — from our neighborhoods to the ends of the earth.
*Names altered to protect the identity of those working in areas of increased persecution.