A Hunger for Jesus in Asia

When we were invited to serve in an Asian country with less than 10,000 Catholics out of a population of 30 million, we had no idea what to expect. Our first months have been full of overwhelming feelings about how much work there is to do, alongside tremendous joy, to be able to share the Gospel with someone who has never before heard about Jesus.

We’ve had the opportunity to take short trips out of the big, dirty, noisy capital city to a few small villages. One village is a four-hour SUV ride and the other is an arduous 10-hour bus ride through treacherously narrow winding mountain roads.

After the four-hour drive, we met missionary nuns from a neighboring country who tirelessly work to help their community. They are blessed with an 87-year-old European missionary priest who lives close by and celebrates Mass and hears confessions. This missionary priest has been in this area of the world most of his life. He created a book with all of the Gospels written in a way that he can proclaim the Word in Spanish and the people hear the Word in their local language. It blew our minds. He has started multiple schools in this area and has a God-given gift for teaching.

During our visit, we helped the nuns inaugurate a summer school program for the local children. More than 50 percent of the high school seniors fail their final exam, so this help is greatly needed.

We were blessed to meet the family who lives next to the priest. They are thinking about converting, which would make them the very first Christians in this village. They are Buddhist, and the priest has been journeying alongside the man and discipling him since 2016. In order to abide by the federal anti-protelyzation laws, the priests must have a person sign and fingerprint a document that states they were not forced into conversion and it was a decision of their own free will. New Christians are persecuted by those in their village who no longer accept them at their community events. This husband and wife are respected teachers at the local school, so I am not sure what could happen to them. They could lose their jobs, but they have already put their son through school and have a home.

Many people here convert in their heart but say that they cannot convert publicly until their parents have died, as it would be too shameful for the family.

In the other village, a 10-hour bus ride away, we met a family from a Buddhist background who desires to become Christian. This young couple with a newborn walked one and a half hours from a neighboring village to attend Mass. We could see and feel their hunger for Jesus. They want something more for their new and growing family. This couple mentioned that there are many others in their village curious to learn more about Jesus, and we plan to visit their village on our next visit. It is exciting to be a part of these early roots of Christianity here in this place.

We could see and feel their hunger for Jesus. They want something more for their new and growing family.

We have been able to visit this village numerous times, and each time we witness baptisms and meet new people who are interested in learning about Christianity. Often there are opportunities to pray over people and share the Good News through local interpreters. We are in the process of expanding the tiny chapel in this village to about three times the current size.

There is a tremendous amount of work to be done and we ask for prayers for more laborers to be sent out to this plentiful harvest.