Recently, a SEND missionary traveled to India to train believers in how to use English teaching as a ministry. The story of one of his students caught his attention. 

One of my students in the India course was a man from Afghanistan. He grew up in a devout family who took their beliefs in the Koran seriously. As a young man, he was sent to Iran in order to escape the Taliban soldiers. There, he learned Persian so that he could read the holy script.

A few years later, he made his way across the border to Turkey, through Greece, and eventually into France. There, he and a friend were able to get on a train to England by holding themselves up on the undercarriage of the train. Hanging inches away from the tracks, he prayed as he had never prayed before.

Upon arrival in England, he was caught by police, booked, and given a new set of clothes.

Life in England included compulsory English classes. One day in class, a south Korean girl asked him if he wanted to come to her church. He accepted but was confused by what he saw there. Why were people singing and dancing? His friend told him that the people were worshiping and praying. “This is foolishness,” he thought. 

But he was intrigued and wanted to know more. “After the sermon, I took the Bible home. When I read it, I found a different message. That message made me hungry for more. I concentrated on reading the Bible more carefully. After quite a long time, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I realized that the Bible is true. It is really and truly the Word of a true and living God.”

His heart began to ache for his family and village back in Afghanistan. He returned there but was met with ridicule and scorn for his faith. His family forced him from the village. He was no longer welcome in his own country so he moved to India since it was one of the few countries offering visas.

He still prays for his family daily, and tells many Afghani immigrants to search for the Truth. With his new training as an English teacher from our ministry, he believes that he will be able to reach even more Afghanis. May he do just that!