Inside Story for Friday 24th of October 2025
By Laurie Denski-Snyman
A missionary and his local partner were selling Christian books in a non-Christian neighborhood in a large city in southern Asia. They could see residents’ religious devotion by their clothing. Women wore scarves; men had long beards. Some people even had dark spots on their foreheads from bowing their faces to the floor for long prayers.
At one house, a man with an angry face came to the front gate. “What do you want?” he asked gruffly, without opening the gate.
“We are working on a project in your community and selling books,” said the missionary, David. “Would you be willing to take a few minutes to look at these books?”
“I’ll be back in just a minute,” the man said harshly and left.
The missionary’s local partner, Maria, was afraid. “Let’s pray,” she said. “He looks scary. I think he’s a fanatic, a radical member of his faith.“
“Maybe he’s just hungry,” David said. It was the time of the year when devout religious men fasted for a month during the daytime.
Then the man returned. “Why don’t you come in?” he said.
Inside the house, he spoke abruptly. “What do you want?” he said.
David pulled several health books from his bag.
The man looked intrigued. “My wife will be interested in these because she’s a nutritionist,” he said, and called her to come and look at the books.
As he and his wife thumbed through the books, he commented with enthusiasm, “Wow, this is really good,” and “This looks really helpful.”
Then he asked bluntly, “Who are you working for?“
“We are Seventh-day Adventists,” David replied.
Abruptly, the man stood up and walked away. Then he returned and sat down. He stared at the visitors. The silence grew uncomfortable.
His wife broke the silence. “You know, I have Adventist clients,” she said. “They are very good people. But I really don’t know much about them.”
The man started to pace. He seemed agitated. Then he sat down again.
“What are those other books that you have?” his wife asked.
David opened his bag and pulled out The Great Controversy. “This book is all about true love, true forgiveness, and true peace,” he said.
She looked through it excitedly. David also showed her Steps to Christ and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. The man stood up, stared at the visitors, and sat down. His wife asked, “What do you believe?”
The man stood up again and walked over. He seemed determined to hear every word. Pulling out his cell phone, he started to record the conversation.
Pray for missionaries as they seek to proclaim the gospel around the world. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offering that supports missionaries. Read the rest of this mission story next week.
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