"It is night. In the moonlight, two people, a man and his 12-year-old brother, are hurrying over the fields and hills in the shadow of the Tien Shan mountains near the Chinese border. For hours, they've been searching for their family's most valuable possession, a herd of 280 sheep," reports Andreas Wendel, German missionary in Central Asia. Nurlan, the 12-year-old, had left the herd alone for two hours on the previous day. When he returned, the herd was nowhere to be seen, and that in a region where wolves hunt. Nurlan was afraid of his mother, who would punish him harshly for losing just one sheep - and now the whole herd was missing! After hours of searching, they finally gave up. Nurlan's elder brother had heard the Gospel in jail, and become a Christian. He said "we must pray!" Nurlan was surprised. Pray? He had tried that once. While his brother was in jail, he stood in front of a statue of Stalin, crossed himself and prayed "Stalin, please help us, let my brother be released!" Now he heard his brother praying to Jesus. He too prayed a few words to Jesus, his failings now clearly before his eyes. He also prayed that they would find the herd. As they got up from their knees, Nurlan sensed a deep peace, and suddenly noticed a familiar smell - sheep! The whole herd lay only 150 metres (500 feet) away in a hidden side valley, complete and unharmed. Nurlan's heart leapt, Jesus had answered their prayers. Today, Nurlan is studying at a Bible school with other Kyrgyz youths and praying to find lost people, not sheep, who need to find their way back to their shepherd, Jesus.
Source: DMG Informiert (DMG newsletter), fax (+49) 7625 959109
