Dan Lawler*, a Christian worker who serves among Central Asians in Europe, shares the following recent encounter:

“I went to the webpage of a church in U.S. to listen to an online sermon. The pastor used 1 Peter 1 to talk about perspective. When the sermon was finished and my spirit was lifted, I told my wife that I was going to walk the 2.5 kilometers to a local market to pick up a few items that we needed.

“On my way home, I thought that perhaps I would catch a bus instead of walking. As I approached the bus stop, I noticed an Afghan man standing there waiting. He was wearing a peron/tambone; there was no doubt that he was Afghan. I didn’t even bother asking is he was Afghan or if he spoke Dari, I just started talking to him in Dari (from 1.5 meters away of course). Like normal he was hesitant to talk at first. I get it.

“He relaxed. And I asked him if he was afraid during this time. He said yes and that opened the door for me to talk about God and His love for us. I asked his name (but I didn’t understand his response). Regardless, I told him that I was praying for him in the name of Jesus. His bus came and we parted. I didn’t get a phone number and I may never see him again. But I am praying for him and that my simple words impacted him today.

“I’m also thankful that God gave me this today. I needed it. I was so uplifted that I walked (maybe floated) the rest of the way home instead of taking the bus.”

*Name changed for security