Storytelling Opens Doors in a Hostile Village

 

Maya and her family live in a tribal village. She and her children were living hand-to-mouth with her drunken husband, who spent all their money on alcohol. Maya’s total wardrobe was two saris, worn thin from countless washings. She had no money to replace them if she and her children were to eat. 

One day a KGM pastor missionary came to visit the village. Maya heard the tribal leaders warn him, "Don't share your message here. We worship our own gods and goddesses – you are not welcome here.”

So Maya was amazed when the KGM worker came back. Intrigued by his boldness, she tried to listen his stories of a God named Jesus with a few other villagers at his outdoor meetings; but every time hecklers arrived, shouting and mocking him until fights broke out. Certain that would be the last she would see of him, Maya was shocked when he stopped at her house three months later as she was outside working. Once he told her he had been visiting other families homes in the village every week, she agreed that he could pray with her.

Over the next five months the visits and prayers continued and God worked a miracle. Maya said, “God opened a way. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior; then the power of God’s Story began to transform my husband’s life, too. He met regularly with the KGM pastor and slowly the grip of alcohol on him loosened. One day he decided he would quit drinking altogether. Now all of my family took baptism and we worship the Lord Jesus and the one true God.”

Maya’s neighbors and family were stunned to see the once drunk father making an effort to live his life more honorably. They saw him working hard, using his earnings to take care of his family’s needs. The change in his life opened the ears of his neighbors and they began to listen to the Jesus stories. Today, many villagers attend worship services; over half of them have publicly claimed Jesus as Lord and been baptized.

And Maya, like the woman at the well, can’t stop sharing her story – and the Gospel. After attending Bible Story Scarf training, Maya feels confident  about sharing her faith. Every week she uses her her scarf to tell more people about Jesus. She feels blessed that some are listening and praying with her and she asks that you pray for her people, too. She wrote, “We want them in the saving knowledge of Christ.”

*The names and photos contained in this story are representative and not the actual people.