Interest Pays Dividends

Whenever I start any journey, I always start with prayer.

How did I come to know Jesus? I had a friend named Liton who owned a tailoring shop called Popular Tailors. The shop is located right beside the Seventh-day Adventist school campus in Dhaka.

I worked with Liton, who made the students’ uniforms for the Adventist school. Because of this, I often needed to go onto the campus. In the course of my work, I became acquainted with Mr. Shapon Halder, who was the secretary of the Bangladesh Union Mission. Mr. Halder was kind and took a real interest in me. One day he invited me to study the Bible with him, and I accepted. We studied together for some time and eventually I was baptized. After that my life completely changed, and I decided that I wanted to work for God and became a church planter.

What Is a Christian Like?

I live in a place called Kishoreganj. In this region, people are not familiar with Christians. When we first introduce ourselves as Christian or start preaching, people come just to see what a Christian looks like, or how we eat, or what our attitude is like. Sometimes life is difficult because we are constantly being watched.

But God is blessing us, and with his guidance we’ve been able to plant a church here. We now have regular church activities, many people have been baptized, and more are preparing for baptism. A lot of people are responding to the Adventist message and joining the church. So if it’s God’s will, everything is possible!

My favorite Bible verse is Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV). This is my favorite verse because I believe that Jesus’ second coming is very near and we should bring all to Christ. So, I continue to preach. But sometimes it’s not always easy.

A Difficult Situation

One lady, Aroti Sarker, was recently married. I regularly go to her area to preach, and Aroti was one of the people who came to the meetings and was baptized. After hearing this news, her husband kicked her out of their home and told her to go to the house of the man who convinced her to be baptized. So she came to my house and with tears told me everything.

I tried to console her by assuring her that God was on her side and that she should never be afraid. I told her that I would do all I could to help her, but unfortunately the situation got worse. Nearly everyone in the village said that all responsibilities had to be borne by me, otherwise they would file a police report against me and have me removed from the area. During this time I spent the whole night in prayer, seeking God’s wisdom and power.

By the blessing of God, the next day I and one of my friends went to her husband’s house and discussed everything with him. He calmed down and took his wife back. Wonderfully, after a while the husband was also baptized!

Kindness Opens Doors

One month ago I was waiting for my wife at the hospital where she works. Suddenly I noticed one couple crying as they left the hospital. I went to them to find out what was wrong. The man explained that his wife was pregnant and that they came to the hospital to admit her. However, they were told that no bed was available, so the doctor sent them out.

I felt very sorry for them and by God’s grace, I found a place for them. They were so grateful, and later I was able to share the gospel with them. Following Bible studies, this couple was baptized and today they are very happy.

Kept Safely

Whenever I start any journey, I always start with prayer. Two months ago, I was riding on a bus to Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. As usual, I prayed on the bus for a safe journey. At 9:00 a.m. the bus started the journey, but after a while, the driver lost control and the bus ended up in the low land beside the main road. It was a miracle that none of the passengers were severely hurt. I received a small injury on my forehead, but that was all. I have strong faith in God and believe that He answered my prayer and kept me alive in what could have been a deadly accident.