Dear Friend of Rosedale International:

Nadir grew up as a Muslim in the southeast of Asia. An intelligent and thoughtful young man, he had the opportunity to travel as an international student. In his program, he met people from around the world, including a student from central Africa. This young man impressed Nadir because he seemed to have a different attitude towards life and money.

Nadir admired his friend’s contentment, and noticed that he often read his Bible in the study room. Pandemic restrictions forced Nadir to return home, but he never forgot his African friend or the Bible he read—and he decided to search for some Christians to see if he could learn more.

Before long, Nadir ended up at a church led by Elias, a member of RI’s team of disciple makers in Asia. He gave his life to Jesus, was discipled, and later baptized. Today, he lives at the RI-sponsored boys’ hostel, joining in their prayer and Bible study and volunteering his time to tutor and mentor the younger students. Last week, four of these boys were baptized. Praise God!

Very recently, Nadir got a visa to return to the country where he lived as an international student. This time he will go as a witness of Jesus, and will share with others what he has learned. Let’s pray that God will use him powerfully!

Stories like this demonstrate Jesus’ strategy for transforming the world from a place of darkness and despair to a place of light and hope. A young man from central Africa leaves his home and lives his faith in the presence of a young man from Asia; this student notices something desirable about his friend, and seeks until he finds the answer in Jesus.

Faithful, genuine relationship with Jesus affects how we live life, how we handle money, how we respond to suffering and injustice. We never quite know how others will experience the presence of Jesus in us. But again and again, we hear stories of lives transformed through simple witness!

I’m writing to invite you to be part of this joyous harvest through a year-end gift to RI. We desire to see everyone in reach of a vibrant Jesus community—but there are still too many places in the world where this is far from reality. “How can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” (Romans 10:14, 15). The fields are white, ready for harvest!