We had been invited to a small church we had never visited before to present about the mission of AFM and the needs of the unreached. Don and I lined up 13 volunteers at the front of the small church. We began passing out props identifying individuals to represent each of the major reached and unreached people groups. When we reached the last three people in line, Don announced that the next two individuals would represent Hindu peoples, and I draped the two women in saris. As I did so, I noticed a bit of a strange look pass over the face of one of the women and some murmuring taking place in the congregation.

After our presentation, we took our places in the congregation for the lesson study. The young woman who stood up to teach was still wearing the red dot on her forehead that I had placed there as part of her Hindu costume. “My name is Vishnu,” she said. “I was raised Hindu, and my mother, who is visiting here with me today, still practices that faith.”

My heart raced! Had we offended these women? What should we say to this mother and daughter at the end of the service? You never know who you will meet in God-ordained appointments.

There was a potluck after church, and Vishnu invited Don and me to sit with her and her mother. We learned that Vishnu was a relatively recent convert and wanted help in answering the many questions her mother had about her new beliefs.

As we prepare to support missionaries on the front lines in predominantly Hindu countries, God has introduced us to some of the questions that will likely arise there and challenged us to understand this worldview. Vishnu is the name of the Hindu deity known as the Preserver. Please pray that God will preserve in the hearts of the Hindu people a desire for the freedom He longs to give all His children.

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