{"id":51127,"date":"2026-03-31T04:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=prayerline&p=51127"},"modified":"2026-03-29T16:10:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T15:10:11","slug":"out-of-nowhere","status":"publish","type":"prayerline","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of Nowhere"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The call came out of nowhere. An unknown number buzzed on the phone of a staff worker in FOCUS, the IFES movement in Sri Lanka<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

When he answered, things didn\u2019t become much clearer \u2013 as a Tamil-speaker, he couldn\u2019t understand what the Sinhala-speaking caller was saying. But, bridging the gap with English, he discovered that this was Janaka*, an engineering student in the country\u2019s northern province. He was calling to enquire if there was a church near his campus.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

\u201cAre you a Christian?\u201d, the staff worker asked.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m a Buddhist,\u201d came the surprising reply. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

A Curious Request<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Janaka explained that he was asking on behalf of a friend, so they arranged a call all together. Since the campus was far from any churches, the staff worker suggested that Janaka\u2019s friend could meet online with a group of other students who had asked for help with reading the Bible.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

The friend happily agreed. But when the day came, it wasn\u2019t just the friend who joined the group. Janaka had messaged the staff worker to see if he could also attend. The staff worker recalls: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

\u201cI must admit that I was a little suspicious at first \u2013 I had no idea what his intentions were. But we welcomed him anyway.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Janaka became a regular. He heard how Jesus\u2019s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection is good news for all. He was so intrigued that when he returned home for vacation, he tried a church service in his village. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

An Unexpected Step<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Some weeks later, after online Bible studies had resumed, the staff worker received another message from Janaka: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

\u201c<\/em>I was shocked. He said he\u2019d<\/em> <\/em>just been baptised! I hadn\u2019t expected such a step so soon. I knew I needed to meet him in person and hear his story.<\/em>\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

When they met face-to-face, Janaka shared how he\u2019d been involved in a serious accident. From initial scans, the doctors said he\u2019d need surgery. So, that night he prayed, \u201cGod, if you are the true God, please heal me.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

The next day, he insisted on another scan. The doctors finally agreed and saw that the potentially life-changing condition had vanished.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

A Sure Commitment<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

That inexplicable healing stirred Janaka to act on the gospel he\u2019d heard through the Bible studies. He turned to Christ as his Lord and Saviour and publicly declared his faith through baptism. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

He is now on an engineering internship and growing in his faith. Even though he\u2019s the only Christian in his family, he\u2019s eagerly following Jesus. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

With a seemingly random phone call, an impromptu online Bible study, and a powerful answer to prayer, God was at work \u2013 out of nowhere. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Pray<\/strong> <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
    \n
  • Give thanks for\u00a0Janaka\u2019s\u00a0journey to faith in Jesus \u2013 for the Christian friend\u00a0for whom\u00a0he first enquired, for the\u00a0FOCUS Sri Lanka\u00a0online\u00a0Bible studies, for\u00a0Janaka\u2019s\u00a0courage to be baptised into\u00a0Christ.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
    \n
      \n
    • Pray for\u00a0FOCUS Sri Lanka\u2019s\u00a0in-person and online Bible study groups \u2013 that\u00a0all would show\u00a0such\u00a0openness to\u00a0students\u00a0from\u00a0different\u00a0linguistic and religious backgrounds.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
      \n
        \n
      • Thank God\u00a0that\u00a0over\u00a020 students\u00a0were able to\u00a0gather for a\u00a0FOCUS\u00a0camp this month in the northern region where\u00a0Janaka\u00a0lives.\u00a0And pray for the\u00a0national\u00a0camp\u00a0on\u00a011-14\u00a0April\u00a0\u2013 that many students will be strengthened in their witness\u00a0and see God at work\u00a0in the ordinary and unexpected.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/div><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
        \n

        *Name changed <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":51128,"template":"","area":[463,672],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-51127","prayerline","type-prayerline","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-south-asia","area-sri-lanka"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOut of Nowhere · IFES Prayerline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The call came out of nowhere. An unknown number buzzed on the phone of a staff worker in FOCUS, the IFES movement\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Out of Nowhere · IFES Prayerline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The call came out of nowhere. An unknown number buzzed on the phone of a staff worker in FOCUS, the IFES movement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IFES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/FOCUS-SL-small-group.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/\",\"name\":\"Out of Nowhere · IFES Prayerline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/FOCUS-SL-small-group.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-31T03:02:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The call came out of nowhere. An unknown number buzzed on the phone of a staff worker in FOCUS, the IFES movement\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/FOCUS-SL-small-group.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/FOCUS-SL-small-group.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/out-of-nowhere\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Prayerline\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Out of Nowhere\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/es\/\",\"name\":\"IFES\",\"description\":\"A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. 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