As a poor farmer in Central Asia, Fahim* had never encountered the living God of the Bible. For him, Christianity had always been a distant phenomenon—a minority religion in his homeland. But on a day that started out like any other, Fahim’s life changed forever.

Fahim was out in the fields watering his crops when a strange man approached. “God appeared to me,” recounts Fahim. “I have never met a man like him in my whole life.” The stranger struck up a conversation about the afterlife, telling Fahim that although he believed in a god, he needed to seek the true God if he wanted to enter heaven.

“I was so encouraged listening to this man,” recalls Fahim. “I felt the power of God on my body.” Eventually, the stranger invited Fahim to his home for tea. Fahim gratefully accepted.

Over tea, Fahim’s new companion did something rather strange. “He brought a small card and put it into a player,” says Fahim. The stranger pressed play and Fahim sat listening to the words of an audio Bible—a Scripture Resource provided with support from American Bible Society’s financial partners.

“I had not heard these words in all my life,” says Fahim, remembering those precious moments when he first heard the story of Jesus. “After tea, I asked if I could take this card to my family.” The stranger agreed. Over the course of four cold nights, Fahim gathered his wife and daughter around a blazing fire and they excitedly listened to the Gospel story together.

“Jesus is talking to me,” exclaimed Fahim’s wife after listening to the Scriptures. The entire family agreed; they could feel the Spirit of Jesus filling them. Their minds were also filled with questions, so they decided to journey back to the home of the man who had given Fahim the audio Bible. When their fellow villagers asked Fahim where he and his family were going, Fahim gave them an honest answer: “We are going to search for the true God…the loving God…for peace.”

The Christian believer happily greeted the pilgrims with food and drink. They talked for hours, discussing Jesus and the Christian faith. At the end of their conversation, Fahim and his entire family decided that they would follow Jesus as well.

Through the power of God’s Word, Fahim’s family will never be the same. “I’m thankful for the Lord Jesus, who changed my life,” says Fahim. And like the faithful evangelist who approached him in the fields, Fahim is eager to share God’s Word with others, “I have already begun to share with my villagers about Jesus,” says Fahim. “Please pray for my villagers, that Jesus opens their hearts to listen to the good news.”

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of our beneficiaries.