When Oliver* stepped off the plane in South Asia in late 2024, he was welcomed by the sounds of motorbikes whizzing past him and by the smells of spices simmering in the pan.
“It was a shock to the senses when I first arrived, but I was welcomed by a team from all around the world, who like me, had come to this country because they were convinced that no one should live and die without hearing God’s good news,” he recalls.
This was exactly why Oliver had left his home in Northern Ireland after sensing God’s calling to serve in a place where Christians are in the minority.
“I wanted to share not only the gospel, but my very life, in discipling young people living in South Asia,” he explains.
By stepping into the opportunities God gives us, like Oliver, God can change neighbourhoods, cities, and nations. Yet to do that, Oliver needed to begin with the basics – learning the language, understanding the culture, and building relationships that open doors to gospel opportunities. So every day, he travelled to a teacher to learn the language within a small group.
“It was like being back at school again, learning to speak, learning to read and learning to write. Then learning memory verses, parables and miracles in the local language,” he says, “but I’m committed to speaking fluently so I can retell Bible stories and speak the good news of Jesus Christ to others.”
As Oliver slowly kept learning the language, it gave him the opportunity to build relationships with people in his neighbourhood – with the vegetable and fruit sellers and with the local grocery storekeepers. He’s also become a regular at his local chai shop.
In this part of the world, chai – the local word for tea – is more than a drink. With chai shops on nearly every street corner, they function as gathering places where friends and strangers naturally come together.
For Oliver, a stranger to the country, it was the perfect place to meet people, practise the language, and to share life with them.
“So much of life here is about sharing and some of my closer connections and deeper chats have been formed over a cup of chai,” he adds.
Through this whole process of learning the language and understanding the culture over cups of chai, Oliver continues to think through what it looks like to serve God in South Asia, admitting: “I’m not quite sure what the future holds, but I’m excited to disciple young people in churches, to share the gospel with them and to share life with them – probably over many cups of chai!”
*Pseudonym used
Please pray
- for Oliver to develop deeper language skills so he can fluently retell Bible stories;
- for discernment in the future to know where he’ll serve God and what that might look like;
- for young people’s lives to be transformed by the gospel through his ministry.
Browse opportunities to serve in South Asia.