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North America Diaspora to South Asia
109 Plays9 months ago
In this episode of the "Let's Talk Diaspora" podcast, hosts Rebecca and Bud welcomes special guest Blair. Blair shares her story of being called into cross-cultural work and being equipped in Houston, TX and shares how she has been able to translate the skills learned working among the diaspora to her new context in a large unreached South Asian country.
Learn more about Pathways at GlobalGates.info/pathways
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Transcript
Opportunities in North America
00:00:02
Speaker
Are you a pastor, ministry leader, or volunteer? Perhaps a stay-at-home parent, business executive, or college student. Do you desire to see the nations come to faith in Jesus Christ? Let me tell you something fascinating. Something that is happening in our lives that's never happened before. The nations are coming to us.
Global Gates Introduction
00:00:23
Speaker
Yes, where we once had to travel across the world to share the gospel, the nations are now coming to North America through means of business, tourism, university study, and more. The world's most unreached people groups are coming to us. The next best question to ask?
00:00:42
Speaker
How do we reach them with the gospel? I want to introduce you to a missions organization called Global Gates. Global Gates exists to reach the ends of the earth through Global Gateway Cities. You too can be involved in this mission from wherever you are. Simply go to globalgates.info for more information.
Podcast Introduction and Guest Feature
00:01:12
Speaker
Welcome to the Let's Talk diaspora podcast where we're exploring all things diaspora. We're in season three where we're talking about what is this global and local perspective or local where we're seeing not just the unreached migrating, but we're also seeing people who are working for the glory of God going from different points in the world. And so we have a special guest with us.
00:01:36
Speaker
Today, Blair is joining us from South Asia, but that's not where her work among the unreached started. So we're going to just hear her story, and Rebecca is going to help us in that conversation.
Blair's Mission Journey Begins
00:01:48
Speaker
And we're going to hear, and we're going to learn, and we're going to be challenged. So welcome, Blair. Well, thank you for having me. Whenever I was finishing college, I felt like the word was calling me to go overseas.
00:02:05
Speaker
Yeah, so I was going to go for six months, but then the world shut down. COVID happened and I had kind of decided, like I knew that God was calling me to still share with South Asians, with unreached people.
00:02:26
Speaker
I heard about a training team in Houston and getting to share with people from South Asia, from Hindu backgrounds and Muslim backgrounds and just in Texas. And so I decided that that's what I should do. And before I moved to Houston, I didn't really
00:02:51
Speaker
I think this was a long-term call, honestly. I thought it was a short-term call. I thought I was going to, you know, go to South Asia, share the gospel, and maybe go back every other year or something. But when I was living in Houston, I learned so much, and God really, I felt like was sharing with me this is a long-term call, so.
00:03:19
Speaker
That's kind of the start of how I moved to Houston.
Blair's Early Faith and Calling
00:03:25
Speaker
So if we go back before your your move to Houston, you're a college student. Tell us as much as you're comfortable, just a little bit of your background, because I think a lot of people are going to have a similar story to you, like, where did you grow up? Did you grow up in church? You know, tell us just a little bit of like what brought you to that point prior to. Yeah, so I grew up in
00:03:50
Speaker
relatively small town in East Texas actually and so around me there was not a whole lot of not a whole lot of I guess like diversity of culture and it was I guess that's how you would describe it sorry oh I'm not doing very good okay so I grew up in a smaller town in East Texas and like
00:04:21
Speaker
I grew up going to church and heard the gospel at a young age, believed at a young age and was baptized young. I genuinely believed and started to read the Bible and grow in my faith when I was really young. And I remember, honestly, when I was young,
00:04:47
Speaker
feeling like God was calling me to do something, but I had no idea what it was. I did not know any missionaries and so I think that maybe that's why I had no idea what I was supposed to do and so I I really I was praying one day and I felt like the Lord was telling me just serve me now like right where you are and so
00:05:17
Speaker
It gave me more peace and I just started to just serve where I could.
College Years and Mission Training
00:05:23
Speaker
And then whenever I was 18, I was reading a book. It was just a book about fasting and praying. And it brought up South Asia and the lost for one page. It was only one page.
00:05:40
Speaker
that one page brought my stomach and knots and brought me to tears. And I went to my mentor at church and told her, I think I'm supposed to go to South Asia. Um, I don't know why, but some, I just feel like there's, I just feel uneasy. Like I just feel like, like this is, this is just different. Um, and so, um,
00:06:11
Speaker
Yeah, and so we prayed about it, and I did not want to tell my parents at first, because again, my parents are very, we're just, you know, a small town, and they're protective of me. I'm their daughter, and so I was a little nervous at first, and so my mentor told me, she's like, okay, you're 18, like, you know, just pray about it, and if the Lord, like, really wants you to go, like, over time, he will
00:06:40
Speaker
continue to show you. And so, you know, you're right. You're right. And throughout my time in college, I just continued to grow in my faith. And with like every single year without fail, something would come up, which is pointing me to like South Asia. And I got to know some
00:07:06
Speaker
students, international students from South Asia. I went to New York actually and for a week when I was in college and got to see like just more like South Asian diaspora groups there. And so yeah, it was a really like when looking back, I know that God was been preparing me for a while.
00:07:37
Speaker
And so I just continue to pray about it. But it's funny because I still did not think that I was supposed to be like a missionary. I still thought that I was supposed to just do ministry in a church setting, because that's what I've seen. And that's what I'm used to. And that's the kind of like, I don't know, what I just felt like I thought was what I was supposed to do.
00:08:07
Speaker
But I remember praying, and I said, OK, Lord, I'll go to South Asia after I graduate. And then I was planning for that. And then COVID happened, so I ended up in Houston. But it's just, I think, looking back at my life and looking at just lots of things I've walked through, just with my call.
00:08:37
Speaker
the Lord has just shown me just enough, not too much to scare me or overwhelm me, but just what I need for the next step of obedience. And so, um, yeah.
Gospel Sharing Experiences
00:08:51
Speaker
So you get, you get to Houston, you hear about this training, share a little bit about your experience in Houston, the training, the peoples that you met, what you saw God do. Just tell us some stories of your time in Houston. Yeah. So,
00:09:09
Speaker
When I first got to Houston, I honestly was kind of terrified. I was excited to do like ministry and to just get to know my neighbors. I moved into a Hindu like an apartment complex that was
00:09:28
Speaker
primarily Hindus. And so I was getting to know my neighbors, spending lots of time with them. But I was really nervous because this is all new for me.
00:09:43
Speaker
to be sharing with my neighbors and to be sharing with adult, like other women that have children, because I do not have children. And so I was nervous. How is this going to go? Are they going to want to be my friend? Are they going to listen to me? And also there's a big cultural difference. So how will this work? So I just began to pray.
00:10:12
Speaker
And in Houston, there's some great mentors there that really poured into me and really encouraged me. I think, yeah, they really pushed me in a lot of ways. Like we learned, we had training about like just how to share the gospel or maybe questions to ask. And then they had said, okay, now go and share it.
00:10:39
Speaker
or go and apply this and so I would try and apply it immediately and just out of faith trusting that something might happen because I did not, I was scared and this is all new for me and then the Lord would just, I would just be amazed by first off what the Lord is doing in my new friend's lives and yeah and it
00:11:09
Speaker
Through my time in Houston, my heart just began to break even more for the nations. And I got to learn more about this culture and these people that I did not know before.
00:11:22
Speaker
Wow, that's great. So in, in Houston, you started meeting people, you got trained, you had mentors, they, they equipped you, but they also challenged you to apply immediately. Um, I would say that's a, that's a best practice, but what are some very practical things that you learned or you were equipped in, in Houston, that's now helping you be
00:11:48
Speaker
be a better witness in South Asia. What are some of those things that it was just really helpful? So some of the tools that I learned from trainings were sharing the gospel contextually. Prior to moving to Houston, I had not been friends with
00:12:12
Speaker
a lot of Muslims or Hindus, so I wasn't sharing the gospel with them. And before I had been working with mainly Americans, so I only knew how to share with Americans. But whenever I learned how to share contextually with Hindus or Muslims, they're able to really connect to the gospel in a way, in a more personal way. And so I think that is really, really important
00:12:43
Speaker
Another thing I learned in Houston was, yeah, just like that it's okay to feel awkward when sharing the gospel. Like getting out of your comfort zone and just embracing the awkwardness, I think. Whenever I'm sharing with a Hindu or I'm sharing with a Muslim, I'm not Hindu background. I'm not Muslim background.
00:13:13
Speaker
there are a lot of things I don't know about their culture. And so it's, there are moments that are going to feel awkward. And so you just have to kind of embrace it and just still boldly share and boldly build this relationship with them. And I think that really helped because I was already sharing the gospel, learning about this culture, being okay with feeling awkward.
00:13:41
Speaker
And so whenever I moved to South Asia, there's a lot of new things with culture and just embracing it and just going forward for the sake of the gospel and for, so giving opportunity for me to share.
Training in Spiritual Warfare
00:13:58
Speaker
Something else we really talked about with the training was kind of really just depending on the Holy Spirit and walking in the Holy Spirit.
00:14:06
Speaker
I think that's important for all believers, but especially people like people on the field overseas. When you are in the States, it's great to really develop a great quiet time and abiding time with the Lord. So whenever you're overseas and there's a lot of spiritual warfare, you can be prepared.
00:14:31
Speaker
spiritual warfare is also something and we got training in and I think that really helped me for here. There's been in South Asia, there's lots of kind of demonic possession and things. This is a normal conversation we have where they're either hearing evil spirits or they know someone that was and so having being prepared and praying and
00:15:00
Speaker
And getting some kind of spiritual warfare training I think is really helpful. Yeah. That's interesting that you, you talk about, um, just recapping in my mind, uh, contextualization, um, abiding spiritual warfare. And just from my observation from people in the United States, they're, they're not really well-equipped in spiritual warfare.
00:15:31
Speaker
Yeah, because they believe it doesn't exist in the United States. It just looks differently. Yeah. So can you maybe give just a story or an example of spiritual warfare that you maybe experienced in Houston that maybe at first look, you're like, I don't know if that's spiritual warfare, but just being equipped and being aware of what to look for because of the training, you were able to identify it. Do you have an example like that?
00:16:00
Speaker
I do.
Spiritual Experiences in Houston
00:16:01
Speaker
In our trainings, we went to a lot of temples. We went to like a Hindu temple, you know, a mosque, a Buddhist temple. And so I remember walking into the Hindu temple and just feeling like just this weight of just some kind of spiritual darkness. I could just sense it, which I know sounds weird, but
00:16:29
Speaker
You can just feel it there. And reading passages of scripture, talking about just putting on the armor of God or learning more about spiritual warfare really made me more aware of just the darkness that is in, I don't know, in these places of worship. One of my friends in Houston, it was like Independence Day.
00:16:59
Speaker
um, for like her country and for India. And so I went with her to her temple. I was kind of just curious. I had said, sure, I'll go with you. Like it's a holiday we can go and then I'll, um, you know, we can get lunch and we can spend some time together and just continue to grow our relationship. And then, um, as I'm sharing with her. And so I went with her into the temple.
00:17:24
Speaker
And I remember driving like home after like just feeling so like just sick. Like I, my stomach, I just was feeling sick just because of the just the darkness that I just had been feeling this around me.
00:17:43
Speaker
I mean, no one else probably felt sick, but and it's great and it was fine and food wasn't bad or anything like that. But just the spiritual darkness was really like I think it's just messing with me. And so I would when I reached home, I prayed and I. Yeah, I just remember really feeling like
00:18:07
Speaker
I need to draw near to God. I need to be praying for my friends and my neighbors because they don't even know this darkness is around them. Then another example, I have a friend that I'm still pretty close with in Houston. I talk to her fairly often even now.
00:18:31
Speaker
Yeah, she just has a really hard past and was very alone in Houston. So she is Muslim and she would call me all the time and she was having really bad dreams. Yeah, really bad dreams and then lots of just pain in her body.
00:18:56
Speaker
I think she was also having lots of like just anxiety and panic attacks and different things. But she always wanted me to pray for her, always. And so I would pray and normally after I would pray, she'd say, yes, I feel better.
00:19:18
Speaker
And so I think this was some kind of spiritual warfare too, but in a way for the Lord really to be glorified in this. And a few weeks after, I remember actually it was Halloween time. I went with her somewhere, the same woman, I went with her somewhere and I was driving her back to her house and we were talking
00:19:43
Speaker
And she had said, you know, I've had a dream about Jesus before. And I said, really? What happened in your dream? And she had said, oh, you know, like every dream, like you have dreams of Jesus too, right? And I said, no, like this is, this is unique. What happened in your dream?
00:20:00
Speaker
And she had said, well, he always just he always like sounding like she's had this dream many times. She said, he always just comes and he just touches me. And then I feel better. My body just feels better. Any pain I have goes away and I'm able to just rest.
00:20:20
Speaker
And I was just in shock. And so I've shared with my friend many times, um, the gospel, but, um, yeah, I think there's just a lot of things keeping her from accepting it, but, um, I think that's, um, just God was really moving there, um, kind of in her life. So. Wow. That's amazing. Yeah.
00:20:46
Speaker
I think I just want to maybe pull on a couple of things that you said and just thinking about specifically people who may be listening, who are preparing to go to South Asia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, places that are very spiritually oppressive.
00:21:05
Speaker
Like what I'm hearing you say is you were able in a city in the United States to get equipped by people who have lived in those places. You got to develop relationships with Muslims and Hindus.
00:21:22
Speaker
You got to share the gospel with Muslims and Hindus. You got to experience spiritual warfare. Like all of these things.
Diaspora Engagement Benefits
00:21:29
Speaker
And I'm just thinking if someone goes from East Texas to South Asia, like there's culture shock, there's food.
00:21:39
Speaker
But a lot of those things, not to negate actual culture shock of moving to that country, but you get to experience part of the culture, but you get to practice the skills and competencies that you're going to be applying in South Asia or wherever a person may be going.
00:21:59
Speaker
And I just I just think like, wow, man, it's such an opportunity. Obviously, you know, this podcast, we're talking about diaspora and we want to see more people engaging the diaspora. But really, our heart isn't more people engaging the diaspora for the diaspora's sake. It's it's for the glory of God in places like South Asia, like the Middle East, like Southeast Asia. It's the knowledge of the the glory of God does not cover the earth as the waters cover the sea in South Asia.
00:22:26
Speaker
So that is priority, but it's like, what if there was an actual strategy for people to spend time in a city engaging among a people before they go? They're contributing. And you may see someone come to faith who then connects you to their family in the home country. And then it's like, oh my goodness, it would have taken me years to get to this point in the ministry. And I'm already there before I get there.
00:22:55
Speaker
So I just want to make sure everyone was was hearing this opportunity. Yes, we advocate for diaspora, but really it's we want to point people to the greatest need. I just personally feel like there's there is a stewardship of our personnel who are going, that this is a really good thing to experience this. And so I don't want to put words into your mouth, Blair, but would you agree with that that summary?
Pathways Training Program
00:23:21
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. I think
00:23:25
Speaker
that, yeah, I think that people should, while they're in the States or while they're in, you know, not in South Asia, not in the Middle East, these things use their time to really, to learn, to grow and opportunities like in diaspora cities are an amazing opportunity to engage with Muslims, to engage with Hindus, to learn about culture, to learn about
00:23:52
Speaker
just so many things that they can better prepare for. Yeah. So we've talked about this training that you attended. You've not shared the name of it. And we want, if people are interested, we want to be able to point them in that direction. So how did you connect with this training? What was the name of it? We can put all the information in the show notes, but share just about how you got connected and yeah.
00:24:21
Speaker
Yeah, so it was Pathways Training with Global Gates. And I was in Houston. I know now there are lots of different Pathways groups in cities in the United States. So you can be sure to connect online and see where is a group near you. I highly recommend it. And it's a nine month training. It's very practical and hands on.
00:24:50
Speaker
Yeah, we'll put that information in the show notes about pathways. I'm actually helping lead some people through pathways now in my city, which is not in Houston. And just encourage people if you're looking to grow in your skills and competency and you're staying in North America, it's a great option if you're looking
00:25:11
Speaker
to mobilize overseas. It's also a great option. There's other organizations that provide things that are similar. I may be a little biased, but we just have some of the best personnel helping facilitate it who have seen thousands of Muslims come to faith, thousands of Hindus come to faith, and it's just a really good experience.
Mission Needs in South Asia
00:25:37
Speaker
But I want to pivot and just here, we've been talking about your journey, your time in Houston, but tell us just a little bit about your time in South Asia, what you're seeing God doing, and then really what is going to give you an opportunity also to cast vision for tell us the need in South Asia. I remember looking at a map of the world and it had just all these dots showing the level of engagement.
00:26:07
Speaker
And cities that had heard the gospel or had, or a majority of people had heard or had access to the gospel would be green in places that didn't, would be red. And I remember when I first looked at this map, South Asia, there was so many spots of red. This is an area that's just,
00:26:34
Speaker
a large concentration of lostness. And the birth rate is so high, and there's so many people. Over a billion people are here, and the majority have never heard the gospel.
00:26:57
Speaker
there is a big need for more people to go, for more people to come here to share, to build relationships with others because they just simply haven't heard. On my vision trip, I came and went to multiple villages and just shared
00:27:20
Speaker
And I remember my translator asking so many individuals, have you heard this story before? And they had said, no. And I
00:27:34
Speaker
again, just felt like a knot in my stomach. I like, felt tears in my eyes. Um, because I, you know, these stories, like the gospel and, um, just Bible stories, Jesus calling the storm. I had heard these stories since I was a child. I came to faith at a young age and hear these women in these villages that are older than me have never heard any of them. Um,
00:28:02
Speaker
It just, yeah, it really just makes me feel very blessed that I'm here and really want and feel, I really want more people to come and share the gospel with these people. This last week has, there's been lots of, just lots of things going on in the news in our country. And, and so.
00:28:31
Speaker
going in the streets and doing some things, it's a little bit more difficult this last week. But even now we've had a training with like six different like house church leaders, just really equipping them to share with their groups, with their groups of believers. We're seeing husbands sharing the gospel with their wives and many people coming to faith and being baptized.
00:29:00
Speaker
So there's lots of really exciting things going on here. Many people are believing that have never heard the gospel before, whether they're Muslim background, Hindu backgrounds. Some of them, they don't know how to read or write, but they hear the gospel and they're excited and they want to share and they want to learn these stories to share with their families.
00:29:26
Speaker
me and one of my friends we've been sharing the gospel with women through henna stories through kind of creating our own kind of henna stories also doing the major prophets and that's been sweet. We've also gone to big
00:29:42
Speaker
to some different festivals, our local believers have been going. Sometimes if I go, there's a really big crowd because I'm a foreigner, but our local believers, they go to all these big areas and really share boldly.
00:30:00
Speaker
many people, many men that were once imams and Muslim scholars and teachers, they are now believing and following Jesus. They're being baptized and they're sharing with other imams.
Listener Call to Action
00:30:17
Speaker
Wow. So one thing I'm hearing is the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.
00:30:26
Speaker
And so if you're listening and you've been praying, God, where would you want me to go? Pray about South Asia, because I want you to hear a few things that Blair pointed out as there's there's.
00:30:40
Speaker
You know, over a billion people, many of them have never heard the gospel. And if you're hearing this, you may not agree with this language, but I would say you have gospel privilege. You have had access and you have received the gospel.
00:30:58
Speaker
And it was never intended for you to hold on to it and make it personal. Yes, Jesus is our personal savior, but he's the savior of the world. It's actually what the scripture says. And remember, there's two billion people who have never heard the gospel. And so we have to let that weigh on us. Yes, this is the Let's Talk diaspora podcast. But again,
00:31:25
Speaker
We want to capitalize on the opportunity in our cities and saying, hey, we could see an imam in New York City come to faith and him actually influence imams in South Asia. But at the same time, we know God is calling people to the nations.
00:31:42
Speaker
At the same time, he's bringing the nations to his people, but it's a both and, and that's really what we want to emphasize in this season, and just hear stories of people who have done this on both sides, and they're just, they're following Jesus.
00:31:56
Speaker
And so my challenge to you, if you're listening, is ask Jesus where he's at and join him there. And I would say from personal experience of being in South Asia that God is at work in South Asia. The harvest is plentiful. The workers are few.
00:32:16
Speaker
So Blair, I think we're coming up to the end of our time, but I want to give you just maybe just an opportunity for any last word of encouragement to leave our listeners with a word of encouragement or a story or a challenge, but it's just your open mic for our listeners.
Conclusion and Invitation
00:32:38
Speaker
I encourage just that anyone listening would just be praying and seeking the Lord and just asking the Lord boldly if this like asking the Lord
00:32:51
Speaker
If you're listening to this podcast, the Lord has been probably been teaching you a lot about unreached. And so just continue to ask, what is the next step of obedience? Where am I supposed to go? Do I move to somewhere like Houston? Doesn't have to be Houston, but somewhere like Houston and engage with people from Muslim and Hindu backgrounds there and to just start this process of learning.
00:33:22
Speaker
Or is it, I've been in a city like this for a long time, but I've been scared to move overseas, is this what I am supposed to do? And begin to pray about that. Because I think that, I don't think you're ever gonna fully be prepared to move or to make those kind of steps, but the Lord is going to sustain you and help you and lead you if that is really what he's calling you to do, he is gonna provide you with
00:33:51
Speaker
and all that you need. Amen. Thanks, Blair, for joining us. If you're wondering where Rebecca is, Rebecca had some internet connectivity issues, so it was just me and Blair. Thanks for listening to the Let's Talk diaspora podcast. Please like, comment, rate, or share this. If it's been helpful for you, it helps others find this content, and we trust that it will help them continue to learn about, engage with the unreached for the glory of God.