Go Now missionaries see God at work in the midst of opposition

We have Go Now missionaries faithfully serving everyday around the world. The peak time of service is over the summer, when many college students have a break from school. However, it is important to know we also have students who take a semester of time to serve the Lord wherever He has called them. I love being able to hear the phenomenal stories of these faithful students and pass them on to our Texas Baptists.

This week, two Go Now students serving in South Asia have endured spiritual warfare unlike what many of us have ever seen and have remained faithful to the Lord's call to proclaim the Gospel.

Rachel and Michelle* go out each week and train nationals to share the Gospel and then accompany them on house visits to help them immediately put their training into practice.

Last week, they saw 14 professions of faith! God is really moving. In fact, the career missionary says he has seen more salvations in their region in the last month than he has seen in the last five years. But, the team is really facing some strong spiritual warfare.

In a home visit last week, Rachel and her national partner encountered some strong opposition in one of the homes they visited. One of the sons in the home exhibited signs that he could be demon possessed. They realized the need for prayer coverage and reached out to many of their friends and family at home to petition the Lord on their behalf.

When Rachel and Michelle went out for evangelism this week, they were accompanied by national believers.

Rachel was supposed to lead the training, but as they arrived and set up, she felt very ill. She was in pain from head to toe, developed a fever and could not stand up. She tried to teach, but could not.

Her partner, Michelle took over. Rachel fell asleep for two hours while Michelle taught. At the end of the session, they woke Rachel up to tell her they were going to go back to the house where they had opposition last week. Undeterred, Rachel knew she was supposed to go back to the house. Others in the group tried to discourage her and tell her not to go. But, the national believer with her last week spoke up and said, "I think her sickness is spiritual warfare. She must go. She has something to say to them."

So, faithful to the call, Rachel went! When they got there, the son had a friend with him. Rachel was able to tell her testimony and share the Gospel with the friend of the son and he became a believer! They prayed again for the son and he was much more responsive. "I believe that he is going to be healed of the evil spirit in him and I believe he IS going to become a believer!" she shared.

Rachel also reported the people that were trained last week shared 40 times on their own between last week's training and this week. Two people believed, and eight people attended church. After the training that Michelle led this week, they sent them out again. Sixty heard the Gospel, seven believed and 25 said they would come to church.

Praise the Lord for the faithfulness of these students, burdened with a heart to reach others with the Gospel and steadfast in their faith, regardless of circumstances. Join with me in praying for Rachel and Michelle and for the other Go Now students serving this fall. May the Lord strengthen their faith as He uses these willing vessels to draw unbelievers to Himself.

*names have been changed