Inviting the Word into their homes

When we offered 15 Shan girls educational scholarships, our vision went beyond rescuing them from the sex trade. Even as we watched the gospel change these teens’ lives, we persistently prayed for a breakthrough that would transform their entire village.

We prayed for years, but only one Bible storytelling group started. We saw little interest in the gospel — until now.

We coupled our persistent petitions with frequent visits to the village. When we prayed for one woman, Pa Pram*, she felt the healing power that came through the name of Jesus.

Pa Pram told us that the local fortune-teller does not welcome our visits — when we’re around, the spirits she cries out to do not show up. Pa Pram used to go to that fortune-teller, but now she believes that the Spirit of the Christians is different. She even believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus, but still worships Buddha alongside Jesus.

Pa Pram wants to understand the gospel better, so she’s invited us to share the stories from the Bible in her home.

After years of prayer, the breakthrough has begun!

And it’s not just Pa Pram. In less than two months, three other village households have invited us to start Bible storytelling groups. Instead of one home group, we suddenly have five!

In one new group, the team shared the creation story from Genesis. The villagers listened intently. When it was over, they announced, “We have never heard anything like that in our entire lives.”

Our small team is thrilled. We’re also overwhelmed. But this leads to another breakthrough: We are training the Shan teen scholars to lead these storytelling groups. The Shan dorm mom and one of the young women have already begun telling the stories, marking the beginning of a second-generation disciple- making movement.

Thank you, Lord, for new Bible-storying groups! May many more Shan trust you as Savior.

Reprinted from SEND International's 2016 Annual Report.

*Not her real name

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When God First Widened My World: Remembering Urbana 1996

By Michelle Atwell • December 23, 2025

When God First Widened My World: Remembering Urbana 1996 I still remember the winter air. It was December 1996, and I was a junior at Oakland University in Rochester Michigan, serving as a small group leader with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship—the ministry that had profoundly shaped my faith since my freshman year. I was growing spiritually, serving faithfully in my local church, and stepping into leadership on campus. Attending Urbana felt like the natural next step. Urbana only happened every three years, and I knew that once I graduated, I might miss the chance altogether. My church believed in that moment enough to cover the cost. They entrusted me—and my campus minister—with a van full of college students, driving from Detroit to Champaign-Urbana during the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s. I had heard the stories: thousands of students, passionate worship, a clear call to live fully for Jesus. What I encountered exceeded every expectation. A Campus Taken Over by the Kingdom Buses poured in from every direction, unloading students onto a snow- covered campus. Dorm rooms filled. Cafeterias buzzed. The entire university seemed overtaken—not by noise or spectacle, but by a quiet, collective hunger for God. For the first time in my life, I met students from places far beyond Michigan— Harvard, Loyola, Wheaton. My world was expanding in real time. I don’t remember every speaker or session. What I do remember is the unmistakable clarity of the invitation. God was bigger than I had ever imagined. Not just personal. Not just local. He was King of the nations. And there were people—millions of them—who had never heard His name. The question was simple, but it felt weighty: Would I commit my life, in whatever way God asked, to the Great Commission? Explore God’s leading toward the nations with a SEND missions coach.