Light Breaking Through
At 3:30 in the afternoon, the sun is relentless, and the temperature continues to climb. It’s taken the Frontline Experience (FX) interns nearly an hour to reach this park—a place that seems especially promising for Gospel conversations because of the steady stream of people and constant activity. It’s a scene full of life and motion—moms chasing toddlers, soccer balls whizzing across the field, and people coming and going in every direction.
Deciding who to approach first is often the hardest part. Two FX interns notice a small group of young men sitting on the ground, deep in conversation. They decide to begin there, asking a few simple questions about soccer—their favorite sport. What starts as a light, friendly chat soon opens the door to something deeper. The young men are curious and full of questions. “How do you know Jesus is God?” “Is the Bible really true?”
After several hours of conversation, one of the young men, Fadoul, prepares to leave. Before going, he asks to exchange phone numbers with the interns. He wants to learn more about the Bible, Christianity, and this Gospel of Jesus—all of which are so different from what he was taught as a child. A follow-up meeting is scheduled, but the interns have learned not to get their hopes up; many such meetings have fallen through before. As Fadoul walks away, the team gathers and quietly prays in the park. They pray that Fadoul will hear the Gospel again and accept the gift of salvation. They also pray for others they spoke with that day. Some were hostile. Others were open and curious, yet afraid of being overheard. Still, seeds were planted.
God is clearly at work. The work is slow, challenging, and often exhausting. The interns now face the hour-long journey back to their apartment, where they’ll prepare dinner using ingredients they haggled for at the market earlier in the day. It’s been another full day of watching God use them for His simple but powerful work of advancing the Gospel. With each passing day, their understanding of this place deepens—along with their awareness of what it means to proclaim the Gospel in a land where it has rarely been heard.
So, what’s it really like to advance the Gospel in a place that’s hostile to the name of Jesus? Frontline Experience interns have eight weeks to find out. While the wisdom and input offered by mentors are a vital source of insight, and language learning, international travel, and navigating local markets are all part of the experience, nothing compares to the power and privilege of sharing the Gospel here—where light is breaking into darkness, one conversation at a time.
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