Disciple LIFE Magazine
unity. Do you feel the magnitude of that?
We aren’t simply meeting the needs of
children and their communities; we are
participating in the transformation
of both body and soul.
Nothing showed this more beautifully
than seeing young girls dancing
at the Chosen party. As a dancer
myself, I have known the freedom,
dignity, community building, confidence,
and joy that dancing gives. I had the
biggest smile (and some tears) while watching
them dance. Their lives will be different and it is made
possible through World Vision & child sponsorship.
Dr. Jayakumar Christian, a pastor in India, shared with
us that we should pray for Bangladesh because we
are experiencing the fruits of sponsorship. While we
may not be physically in Bangladesh to experience
those fruits, we are playing an active role. Perhaps that
wasn’t the point Dr. Christian was making but I think
that is what God wanted me to take away from his
statement. God has connected Woodbury Lutheran,
World Vision, and Bangladesh for an intentional
purpose. Let’s pray for that!
I’m still processing (and will be for a while) all that
God showed me in Bangladesh, but here is what I
want to share with you: Woodbury Lutheran, let us
not underestimate the impact and importance our
generosity can have on what God has set on our
hearts to do for His kingdom. Behind everything He
asks of us is a beautiful person who will be welcomed
into His family.
Through the bustling city of Dhaka,
filled
with
around
24
million
people being transported by car,
motorcycle, rickshaws, the top
of a train, and by foot, you’ll
find a deep gaze in the eyes of
those you pass. Bengali people
are beautiful, intentional, and
kind, with a hospitality and
generosity deeper than I have
experienced before. There is a sense
of peace in this country, despite the
high level of poverty and chaos of getÝng
from here to there.
As we traveled through the city and the countryside
to see people, communities, and places, what
stood out to me the most is that very peace. Both
Muslim and Christian peoples are working together
for common good and doing it so peacefully. Not
only that, but several denominations of Christians
in Bangladesh put aside their theological differences
and opinions and work with one another to bring
Jesus to their people, the ones who do not yet
believe. They are working in a country where
less than one percent of the population is Christian.
Instead of being isolated from one another, they are
taking up the torch for progress TOGETHER.
There were rooms we walked into where leadership
and most participants were Muslim, and yet we
talked about the work they were doing to improve
their communities through World Vision, a Christian
organization. We were met with a decorated table,
snacks, and flowers. They took delight in being in
community with us, so much so that they put a lot of
work into preparing for that time.
God is working through this peace and unity,
through believers and unbelievers, to make His
name known in Bangladesh. I can’t help but sit with
this thought over and over — I am stopped in my
tracks by it. Not because I haven’t heard it before,
but because it is entirely different when you see it
in action. God works in big ways that we can’t even
comprehend. He is working in all of us, kids, families
and communities (of all different beliefs) through
World Vision and Chosen to bring hope, peace, and
BETHANY MEYER
[ L O C A L R E A C H C O O R D I N A T O R ]
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Disciple LIFE Magazine