Source: International Mission Board, April 13, 2023
Ramadan has been different this year for one Southeast Asian family. Sela and her husband Sok live in an impoverished Muslim village tucked away in a rural corner of their country.
For every year of their lives until now, Ramadan has meant waking before the sun rises for prayer and a quick meal, then fasting all day until the sun sets again. Sela joined the other women to prepare food for the feast after sunset each day while Sok worshiped with the other men at the mosque.
This year, Sela and Sok no longer need to fast and pray to Allah during the Islamic holy month. They have both put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
They first heard of Jesus when Sela stumbled one morning and spilled a pot of boiling water over her baby. She had no one to call for help because her village is hours away from the nearest city with a hospital.
That same day, IMB worker Nancy Potter came to teach healthcare classes in the community, as she’d done for several years. Potter was able to rush Sela and her baby to a clinic where the burns could be treated. This clinic is run by Christian believers.
Sela and Sok were amazed that Christians would care for them. They continued talking with Nancy and her husband William in the months that followed. As they learned more about the gospel, they began having dreams about Jesus. Soon they both put their faith in Christ.
When they did, they became the first known believers in their whole province.
Read the full story and pray for new believers as they explore what it may look like to live as faithful followers of Christ even when they are the first ones in their communities.