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Stories & Blog
Today is the Day for Salvation
EAST ASIA — “I want to start following Jesus,” Lita said to her coworkers around the table.
Shocked looks met her out-of-the-blue assertion.
“What do you mean?” asked Sokha, one of Lita’s coworkers.
The group of women had been working together at an anti-trafficking NGO for months. Some of them are Christians and some aren’t. The NGO offers a voluntary staff devotion time and Lita had recently started coming, but she hadn’t told any of her coworkers that she was serious about Jesus until now.
“I see how you all turn to Jesus for help in our challenging cases,” Lita said. “I want that. I’ve been crying out to Him and asking for His help for a few weeks now. And He’s answered my prayers! Recently I had a dream where I saw a man in white inviting me to follow Him. He didn’t say who He was but I know it was Jesus. I’m ready to follow Him now. How do I do that?”
Sokha looked around at her other coworkers — including her boss and a house mom — for who would lead Lita in trusting Christ. Age and status carry great value in this culture, and Sokha wanted to respect the authority of the women older than her.
But no one spoke up.
After several awkward seconds, one of the older women said, “We’re not pastors and the church isn’t open right now for us to take you there.”
Then another woman suggested, “Perhaps you’re not ready to take this step and you should think about it longer.”
“I don’t need any more time to think about it,” Lita said. “I want to give my life to Jesus now!”
Sokha wanted to speak up but she didn’t want to shame her boss by asserting her authority. As she considered the complexity of the situation, the Holy Spirit reminded her of the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts.
She prayed, and then addressed the group. “Remember how God sent Philip to the Ethiopian to explain the Scripture that pointed to Jesus? The Ethiopian believed and was ready to follow Jesus right then. Philip baptized him immediately! When and where someone comes to know Jesus is less important than the heart of the one who believes.”
At Sokha’s gentle reminder of truth, the women agreed that Lita could indeed trust Jesus then and there.
“But who will lead her in prayer, since none of us are pastors?” someone asked.
After more patient discussion, they decided Lita could just pray from her own heart. After all, she had already been praying to Jesus secretly for weeks.
The rest of the staff at the table came around Lita, listened to her heartfelt prayer, and then prayed for her too. One of the usually stoic women broke into tears of joy at the Holy Spirit’s work!
As the women returned to work after the meeting, Sokha took Lita aside and gave her new sister a hug.
“If you’d like to study Scripture together and grow in your faith, I’d be happy to meet with you,” Sokha said, and Lita smiled. “Just tell me when you’re ready.”
Shocked looks met her out-of-the-blue assertion.
“What do you mean?” asked Sokha, one of Lita’s coworkers.
The group of women had been working together at an anti-trafficking NGO for months. Some of them are Christians and some aren’t. The NGO offers a voluntary staff devotion time and Lita had recently started coming, but she hadn’t told any of her coworkers that she was serious about Jesus until now.
“I see how you all turn to Jesus for help in our challenging cases,” Lita said. “I want that. I’ve been crying out to Him and asking for His help for a few weeks now. And He’s answered my prayers! Recently I had a dream where I saw a man in white inviting me to follow Him. He didn’t say who He was but I know it was Jesus. I’m ready to follow Him now. How do I do that?”
Sokha looked around at her other coworkers — including her boss and a house mom — for who would lead Lita in trusting Christ. Age and status carry great value in this culture, and Sokha wanted to respect the authority of the women older than her.
But no one spoke up.
After several awkward seconds, one of the older women said, “We’re not pastors and the church isn’t open right now for us to take you there.”
Then another woman suggested, “Perhaps you’re not ready to take this step and you should think about it longer.”
“I don’t need any more time to think about it,” Lita said. “I want to give my life to Jesus now!”
Sokha wanted to speak up but she didn’t want to shame her boss by asserting her authority. As she considered the complexity of the situation, the Holy Spirit reminded her of the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts.
She prayed, and then addressed the group. “Remember how God sent Philip to the Ethiopian to explain the Scripture that pointed to Jesus? The Ethiopian believed and was ready to follow Jesus right then. Philip baptized him immediately! When and where someone comes to know Jesus is less important than the heart of the one who believes.”
At Sokha’s gentle reminder of truth, the women agreed that Lita could indeed trust Jesus then and there.
“But who will lead her in prayer, since none of us are pastors?” someone asked.
After more patient discussion, they decided Lita could just pray from her own heart. After all, she had already been praying to Jesus secretly for weeks.
The rest of the staff at the table came around Lita, listened to her heartfelt prayer, and then prayed for her too. One of the usually stoic women broke into tears of joy at the Holy Spirit’s work!
As the women returned to work after the meeting, Sokha took Lita aside and gave her new sister a hug.
“If you’d like to study Scripture together and grow in your faith, I’d be happy to meet with you,” Sokha said, and Lita smiled. “Just tell me when you’re ready.”
Your part in this story...
Crossworld worker Sarah, who shared this story, asks you to pray for these requests.
- Pray for Lita to be transformed as she walks with Jesus, and to understand what she reads in the Bible.
- Pray for Sokha and her coworkers to continue learning to make disciples in their workplace. Pray for unity and love despite their different backgrounds and traditions.
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