OneWay family follows God’s calling to Central Asia
One of our OneWay staff members was in his early teens when God put it on his heart to spread the news of Jesus in parts of the world that have been unreached by the gospel. Shortly after making that decision, he heard about a country in Central Asia that was closed to foreigners, making it nearly impossible for the people there to hear about Jesus.
On Tuesday, this young man, now in his mid-20s, boarded a plane with his wife and 1-year-old son to become full-time missionaries in that undisclosed country. More than 50 percent of the people in this predominantly Muslim country have never heard the gospel.
“We all have one life, each and every one of us,” David Morrill, OneWay’s chief operating officer, told the couple at a recent send-off. “And I can’t tell you how thrilling it is that you are choosing to give it to the Lord. For all eternity, it will be a great investment.”
A few years ago, the closed country where the couple felt called to serve opened its borders after many years to allow foreigners to move there. The couple joined OneWay to receive mentoring, training and guidance with support raising.
Mark* has a vision to use media to reach people in that nation, while Emma* wants to use her background in counseling to serve women there.
“Everytime we wondered or doubted, something popped up about the country either randomly or so intentionally from the Lord to say, ‘No, you’re going,’” Emma said. “‘This is where you’re supposed to go. Don’t doubt it.’”
One example came in 2021 when the couple traveled to the country to do field training in the area where they will eventually serve.
A few months earlier, they had been encouraged by a Prayercast video that told the story of a Muslim woman named Gulya*. The woman in the video had been abused and beaten by her husband but experienced the life-changing love of Christ as she worked as a housekeeper for a missionary family.
While they were there, they met a local believer. He was passionate about Christ and told them his transformation story. As he remembered the abuse and neglect at the hands of his father and his mother’s breaking point when she was preparing to kill herself and her children, Mark and Emma looked at each other in disbelief.
This man was telling them the exact story from the Prayercast video that God had used as an affirmation of their decision to go overseas.
They showed the video to the man, and he confirmed that it was his mother’s story. The young man asked if they would like to meet his mother, and of course, they agreed.
The woman is now faithfully serving the Lord through conferences with women throughout the rural regions in the country, counseling them, sharing Christ and being a witness to the Lord’s transformation in her life.
“It was an amazing opportunity to hear how God is moving through trauma care and counseling for women in that region,” said Emma, who hopes to help with this work in the future. “We know God has a greater story in line for us, and we trust Him in that.”
Please pray for this family as they travel and get established in their new home.
*names changed for security reasons
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