Stories from our field
Azaad finds a wife
One of our most faithful co-workers is Azaad Johnny from India. He leads the Telugu team (Telugu is a language in India that is spoken by at least 90 million people). To his great joy, he was married on February 9, 2023. The prelude to such a wedding goes a bit differently than we might be used to.
Azaad says that he had been praying for a few years for the right partner for his life and ministry. A pastor who is well-known in India suggested Asha. She would be a good match for him! “I went to her home to visit “, tells Azaad. “During our first meeting, we had a good talk and shared our testimonies with each other. I was very impressed by her family’s salvation story. Her mother is a Christian and her father is a Muslim. Her mother is so faithful and she prayed earnestly for her family. After 30 years of praying, her whole family came to know Jesus as their Savior.”
Fervent heart
“During the second meeting, Asha told me that she had been praying for five years for the right life’s partner. She expressed her love to me and was ready to work with me in the Kingdom of God.” Azaad was struck by her fervor. Asha quoted Leviticus 6:13, “Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.” She ignited me with the Word of God. I sensed that God prepared the right partner for me. Through this beautiful Godly discussion, I could clearly sense that God was speaking to me and preparing me more for His work with a lot of passion along with her. I committed to this bond and accepted her proposal.”
Resistance
Azaad and Asha set the date for their wedding, 9 February, 2023. The coming marriage was met with much resistance from the Muslims in Asha’s family. They tried to stop the wedding. “We wanted a Holy Christian celebration of marriage instead of following Islamic rituals. God stood for us and shut down the plans to cancel our wedding. Miraculously, there were three thousand guests at our wedding! It was a glorious moment. Hallelujah, all glory to God alone.”
Great peace
Asha grew up as the oldest daughter in a family with a Muslim father. Her mother was a Christian and prayed faithfully for her husband and children. From a young age, Asha was religious and loved God very much. Every day she prayed the Islamic prayers five times. “One day, I went with my mother to a prayer meeting. The pastor asked me to kneel down. He laid his hands on my head and prayed for me. I don’t know what happened to me at that particular moment, but I cried loudly for an hour as they prayed. Then I had great peace in my heart. After that, I read the New Testament and felt even more peace. I started reading the Bible every day and literally fell in love with the Holy Bible. Before that, I never had peace in my heart. I was very desperate to know more about Jesus. Later, I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior and was baptized in 2012. After that I moved to another city for my education and continued to read the Bible.
I have gone through spiritual experiences many times. I began to fast and pray, and preach the Gospel to my family, especially my father. It’s only because of God’s grace that my family received His salvation. I have a great burden in my heart to serve the Lord.”
"Pray for us"
At this time, Azaad has ten people on his team. He has an office in Hyderabad, India where he trains mentors and puts them to work. They also translate articles into Telugu and make videos. The team prays for the needs of the world and for the work in the Kingdom of God. There is a lot that happens in this simple office! Azaad ends his email with, “Please pray for more mentors for the Telugu team. Pray also for Asha and me.” Will you pray?
