Unreached Nations in the Heart of Vancouver

By Courtney Eastabrook, Go Now missionary

“This is very hard because we’ve never thought about God before.” 

These words resound in my mind as I think about my time in Vancouver so far. Faith, my teammate and now close friend, and I have become close with three sweet girls from Japan: Rachel, Natalie and Sara. Last Tuesday we invited all of them to an event called Alpha. The church we partner with here in Vancouver hosts a five-week series that answers the big questions in the Christian worldview. 

Rachel and Natalie came to this event and heard about Jesus for the first time in their lives. Rachel had heard about God banishing a man and woman from a garden because they ate an apple, but I was able to tell the full story of the Garden of Eden. The man and woman did eat the fruit in disobedience, but God had a plan to rescue them from the very beginning. He promised to send someone who would save them and would come to make all things new.

Rachel’s eyes lit up as we explained the sacrifice of Jesus. What a surreal moment to be used by the Holy Spirit to tell the story of Jesus to friends who’d never heard it before. Can you imagine never having heard about Jesus? It’s such a privilege to share stories of the King with friends from all around the world.

This moment of sharing with our friends was incredibly humbling. I had a hard day leading up to this night, but in spite of me, God used the Holy Spirit in me to share the Good News with people who had never heard it. What a beautiful reminder that God is the one working in people’s hearts and minds. 

My team is hoping and praying that as we share with people from around the world in Vancouver that they will take the story of Jesus back with them to their home countries…that the Gospel may continue to reach the nations…that fewer and fewer people would say “this is very hard because we’ve never thought about God before.”

**names changed to protect privacy**