A few weeks ago, I was sitting on my front porch with several young men from my local neighbourhood.

This has become a regular activity for me and an excellent place for developing relationships and sharing stories, including the Gospel. Getting to this point has taken time and intentionality. And there’s still a long way to go yet!

On this particular night, quite a serious a conversation had arisen about the Muslim belief system. One of the older men was confidently sharing his ideas and the younger men were leaning in and eagerly nodding.

I was wondering how I should participate in this conversation when I noticed my friend ‘B’ glancing sideways at me. Unlike the other men, B didn’t seem as captivated with the older man’s words. In fact, at several points in the conversation, he politely interrupted the older man to clarify something that didn’t make sense. And so, I found myself praying. Praying that B’s comments and questions would cause others to question as well. And praying that the man himself would have an encounter with Jesus.

A couple of days after this conversation, I got a message from B, he wanted to come and chat one-on-one. B started sharing how he’d been thinking about what we’d talked about previously. He said he had found a Bible in his parents’ house, in his home village, and had begun reading it.

B started asking me questions like “What does it mean for me to be a follower of Jesus?”

I briefly shared with him about the broken relationship between humans and God, and how it can be made right again through Jesus, but I didn’t give him specific answers as I wanted him to find things out for himself.

I encouraged B, “Go home, pray and read the Bible you have. Ask God to speak to you through the words you read, then later come back and we can talk about this more.” And I left it at that.

I really see this as me partnering with what God is already doing here in South East Asia. I didn’t have anything to do with B finding this Bible and asking questions. I just developed a relationship with him while the Spirit of God was moving in his life.

As I partner with what God is already doing in South East Asia I encourage you to do the same. Please pray for B and all the young men who sit on the front porch with me, that they would come to know the love and hope of Jesus.