From Deportation to Divine Appointment

From a SEND Missionary in Eurasia

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?" – Luke 15:4

For over two decades, Ben* lived and served in a region of Eurasia where sharing the gospel required patience, wisdom, and grit. He wasn't just a visitor – he was part of the community. He shared meals with friends who had become like family, discipled new believers, and walked with them as they learned to follow Jesus.

Then, in March 2022, everything changed.

Ben was issued a deportation notice. He appealed twice, but the ruling was final after seven months of uncertainty. He had to leave.

It wasn't just a move – it was an uprooting. The people he mentored, the relationships he built, the community he loved… he had to walk away from all of it. He didn't understand why, but he chose to trust that God was leading him somewhere new.

A New Call in an Unexpected Place

Back in the U.S., Ben wrestled with what was next. Several opportunities were before him, but a country in another part of Eurasia kept coming to mind. The more he prayed, the clearer it became. By July 2023, he committed to going.

Soon after arriving, something unusual happened. For two nights in a row, Ben woke up with a deep conviction to teach the Bible. He couldn't sleep. He saw himself teaching a group of people as if in a dream. As he envisioned this, he began to feel a sense of peace.

An Answered Prayer – For Both of Them

Days later, Ben attended an event for international students. One student told him, "I've been looking for a good Bible study. Would you lead one?" Moments later, another student said she had been praying for God to send someone to lead a study.

Ben didn't hesitate. God had already prepared him to say yes.
After the first study, Ben visited an international church and met three Indian students. He invited them to join. One of them was Arun*.

At the same time Ben was being deported, Arun had begun searching for God. Disillusioned with his religion, he wrestled with hard questions about faith, truth, and purpose.

Just before Ben traveled to his new field, Arun had prayed, "God, if you are real, send me someone to tell me about you." When he met Ben at church, he sensed God telling him: "This is the person I sent you.”

From Searching to Surrender

Arun joined the next Bible study and then asked to meet one-on-one with Ben. Over the next few months, they studied Scripture, wrestled with difficult questions, and explored what it meant to follow Jesus.

Four months later, Arun surrendered his life to Christ. Two months after that, he was baptized in the international church. That night, Ben remembered the verse God had placed on his heart before leaving his longtime field in Eurasia:

"You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand" (John 13:7).

At the time, Ben didn't know why he had to leave. Now, he sees it clearly. God had taken him from the 99 to find the one.

*Names have been changed for security.

"Just before Ben traveled to his new field, Arun had prayed, 'God, if you are real, send me someone to tell me about you.'"