Inconvenient? Annoying? Or a Divine Appointment…

This story was originally shared in a letter to our Gospel Partners in February 2025. Learn more about becoming a Gospel Partner!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 

Recently, I was preaching at a church in “The Frontier” and a young lady in her mid-twenties (Let us call her ‘Alana’) accepted Jesus. It stood out to me because the whole time I was speaking this Alana was fixed on the message.  To say she was attentive is an understatement.  I was teaching about what the Apostle Paul calls the “Natural Person” (1 Cor. 2:14), the brother that is still of the flesh (1 Cor. 3:1-3), and the Spiritual Christian or the one who has crucified the flesh (Gal. 2:20).  It was an obvious differentiation between them all with a couple questions for everyone to consider “Which one are you?  What are you going to do about it?”  Alana knew she was a natural person and hopelessly lost without Jesus, so she surrendered to Him that night and is now walking with Him.   

…and now, the rest of the story… 

I thought it was great that Alana had come to Jesus, and I was praising God when one of our partners approached me and said, “You know who brought Alana right?”  I had no idea.  “Amy.  You know Jared and Amy?”  “Oh wow!  I got to hear this…” 

Two days earlier I had met with a man named Jared who became a “digital nomad” after the pandemic. In short, he and his family travel to the nations while doing their small business remotely online. They spend a few weeks at each stop and seek to encourage the church and missionaries wherever they go. 

Jared and Amy woke up one Saturday morning in their apartment and there was no water. Thinking they could go down to the ground floor and find a little tea shop for breakfast and use their facilities, they set out. They quickly found a spot and were seated at a table. Unfortunately, the water was off on the whole block. So, Jared set out on foot while Amy stayed behind and ordered. Amy, just choosing not to let the inconvenience set the tone for her day, was looking around for a connection to make.  Seated by herself was a young girl from the people's group we work with in this country. Amy approached her and learned her name was Alana, who was there for work but did not have any community with her people group.  So, Amy says, “I know lots of your people, and they are a genuinely great bunch of people.  Would you like to meet them?” Alana said, “Yes, of course.” In full disclosure, Amy told her they were a church, but this did not deter Alana who was a Muslim. They made plans that Amy would pick up Alana and take her the next day, which was Sunday.   

On Sunday, Amy was doing some quick shopping for souvenirs because their time in this country was ending and they were leaving for their next destination soon, but she had to hurry so she could go pick up Alana. The souvenir shop she walked into ‘just so happened’ (I love that phrase) to be the place where Alana worked.  Amy began talking with Alana and soon there was a coworker that came over, who ‘just so happened’ to be a Christian. This is exceptionally rare for a national of this country to be Christian. Long story short, the owner of the shop joined in the conversation and realized that if they did not leave soon, Amy and Alana would be late. But Alana was not off work yet. The Christian coworker volunteered to take the rest of Alana’s shift, and the Muslim shop owner agreed to it, SO ALANA COULD GO TO CHURCH.  And about two hours later, Alana’s life was changed for all eternity!   

I love serving a God who makes all things work together for our good, even the annoyance of no running water… Your generosity causes stories like this to happen. Thank you! 

Matthew S. Osborn  

President/CEO Partner 135