{"id":10710,"date":"2019-12-16T10:21:06","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T10:21:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=conexion&p=10710"},"modified":"2019-12-16T10:38:07","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T10:38:07","slug":"hed-never-seen-a-christian-before","status":"publish","type":"conexion","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/blog\/hed-never-seen-a-christian-before\/","title":{"rendered":"He\u2019d never seen a Christian before"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It would have been difficult to\nguess his age. His face was weathered, his tattoos faded, and he spoke with the\nquiet wisdom of one who had seen and suffered a lot. Only when talking about\nJesus and his love for the students of his country did the brightness of his\neyes betray his youth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Sonam* shared his remarkable story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

The truth he\u2019d been\nlonging for<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Sonam had not had an easy life. His\nparents had divorced. Most of his childhood was spent with neighbours or\nrelatives. He often wondered why he\u2019d been brought into the world, why he\u2019d\nended up with this family. He kept bad company and numbed his pain with\nalcohol. His family disapproved of him; his schoolfriends didn\u2019t like him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

At high school, someone invited him to go to a Christian camp. Sonam had heard of Christians before, but he\u2019d never seen one. Everyone he knew was a Buddhist. Compelled by curiosity, he decided to go along. That was where he first heard the gospel. A God who loved him? A God who accepted him and had a purpose for his life?<\/em> This was incredibly good news! Sonam accepted Christ and found the unconditional love of a Father he had been longing for.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"
Taylor Simpson – Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

Truck-travelling<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Today Sonam is pioneering a new\nstudent movement in his country in South Asia. There are now Bible studies\nhappening in a few colleges and one graduate fellowship. Sonam travels across\nthe country on the back of a truck, visiting the students on different\ncampuses. It\u2019s not easy. The groups are not allowed to meet openly on campus. Those\nwho convert to Christianity will face discrimination in society and opposition from\nfamily. Some keep it a secret, reading their Bibles after everyone in the house\nhas gone to bed. Their parents might stop paying their tuition fees if they\nfind out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

As the only staff member, Sonam is praying for wisdom in recruiting a board for the movement. He would love to see the movement affiliate to IFES at the next World Assembly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Big dreams<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

That\u2019s not his only dream. Sonam\ndreams of seeing Christian students going on to change their communities: an\nend to street fights, drug trafficking, alcohol abuse, divorce. He dreams of\nseeing Christian students impacting their churches, working together across\ndenominations as Bible-saturated, missional churches. He dreams of seeing\nChristian students choosing to move to the rural areas after graduating, where\n40% of people have never even heard the name of Jesus before.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

These dreams fuel his prayers and\ndictate his next steps: recruiting staff, preparing for the student camp, investing\nin new student leaders, finding a permanent ministry base, starting a Bible\nstudy in the yet-unreached campuses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Join us in praying that Sonam\u2019s dreams\nwould become a reality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

*name changed<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":10714,"template":"","area":[463],"theme":[1219,1214],"class_list":["post-10710","conexion","type-conexion","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-south-asia","theme-my-story","theme-pioneering"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHe\u2019d never seen a Christian before · IFES Conexi\u00f3n Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It would have been difficult to guess his age. 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