Have you heard the expression “Boots on the Ground?” Well our Live Dead Missionaries are the boots on the Silk Road. Here we’d like to take a moment and allow one of them to share part of their life with you. Some names and details have been changed, but this is a true story from this colorful, vibrant, and sometimes surprising region and those who God has called to work here.

In our group of new believers, each individual was taking a turn sharing their testimony of coming to faith in Jesus Christ. This day was a day of celebration for us because this group of people, two sisters in Christ and one brother in Christ, decided to go further in their walk with the Lord and be baptized. My team and I had decided to record their testimonies for them so they could have it as a memory.

The first to share was a girl named Dawn who is a young medical student. To the camera she spoke, addressing her family, “Hello Mom and Dad, I am making this video now, but I think it will be a few years before I share it with you. I want you to know how Jesus is changing my life.

This is my story, I used to walk in darkness. I was so confused, I was so cynical, I thought no one cared about me. My friends would say that I had such a big ego. I was so proud and thought only of myself. I was always putting myself first. But then someone invited me to the Bible study group and I thought, ‘Why do these people need this book, if it is so stupid’

I started to try and catch the mistakes in this book but when I was trying to understand the logic of this book I realized that maybe I should instead read the book for what it is and then write questions. I was so thankful for the people who answered my silly questions. 

In this process I learned that Jesus came and lived for me. I realize that after I followed Jesus I began to stop wanting to talk about myself so much, I have changed, I began to pray for my family.  I stopped looking for religion, I left the old way. Now it is like the world isn’t dark like it was before, it’s more colorful, more beautiful, more alive. I am more alive.”   

Anastasia, an orphan who had been raised by her grandmother, told her story next.

“My soul is just singing because yesterday I was sitting up at night thinking about my past, and I realized the things that have happened in my life and to me two years ago are so different.

My story is that I remember that before I came to Jesus, I was very miserable, I was depressed and I didn’t even know why I had come to this earth. What was my purpose?”

A pause followed a choke in her throat as she fought back tears, and she continued, “I was searching, searching long and now I know that God was with me. Not just when I was searching, but for my entire life- since the day I was born He has been working in my life.

Two years ago, He provided for me a special family that I now call my family. Someone invited me to church (a bible study with 5 people) and then we studied and I remember that I was so confused and had so many questions. I went home and started to write down all these questions. God was speaking to my heart and knocking on my door. I remember the final thing was that I saw a YouTube video of someone who had been a devil worshiper who had seen a dream of Jesus and I thought, ‘If Jesus changed his life, he can surely change my life! My life is much better! I can trust him!’

I remember I felt so good. After all those years of depression, I felt like there was a fresh air and peace. It was so cool. And I wasn’t perfect from the first day, I was the same heartbroken girl, but He was moving in my heart, and I am another person! I am so excited and it’s just the beginning.” 

The last to share was Victor who is a recent graduate from an engineering program.

“First of all, I don’t trust fortune. One day I had just been fired from my job and while I was leaving I saw a group of my friends talking to a foreign guy. As I walked up he said, “Does anybody speak English?” and I said that I did. So he talked to me a little bit about English and then we decided to become friends.

He started talking to me about Jesus. Although I was an atheist at the time, I still had a lot of questions. This guy gave me a Bible, and I started to read from the beginning of Matthew.

When I read the verses, I started to feel something inside of me. One day I went to my Christian friend and told him, ‘Something is wrong, I think something is knocking on my door. I feel like Jesus wants to come to me and talk to me and take me with Himself.’ My friend showed me the verse, ‘Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.’

When he showed me this verse it was an unbelievable moment for me. But I was still thinking that maybe it was just a feeling. I started reading how God created the world. I remembered that the law of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. I started to realize that this is something that atheists and science cannot explain, but Jesus can explain it.

I said to myself that this was the time to know Jesus better. I even started having dreams. In my dream, a woman ran into a cave and I saw someone in my dream and said to him that he must go inside and check the cave.

When this man came back from inside the cave he was wearing a white outfit and I asked him if he had seen Jesus. He answered no, but then I saw myself on my knees praying.

I’ve had lots of dreams, some that I’ve forgotten, but when I look at myself now and who I was before, I now know I don’t have to trust chance or science. Instead, I can lean on God and walk with Him. He doesn’t want your money or anything, He just wants to be near you.

He did such a great thing for me, I have to trust him. No matter where I look, I see that Jesus is the truth.  I am so thankful for God’s family that I have. When I run to them, they take me to God. I trust that God will make me an example of a person that follows Jesus, and I will lead other people to him.” 

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20