The Most Precious Possession

“Get away!” the elderly man screams.

He thinks this younger man is there to steal it.

Vijay’s words rush together as he tries to explain who he is. "I’m not here to take your Proclaimer. I am a team leader for Faith Comes By Hearing. I work for the place that makes these Proclaimers."

"Where did you get this?"

As the man calms down, he explains that he had been part of a listening group. When hundreds of extremists attacked the village, killing Christians, he fled for his life, taking nothing but the Proclaimer with him. It was the only thing he saved.

Vijay explains that he and his family, too, fled from the mob. He was walking through the refugee camp when he heard the audio Word of God coming from somewhere. He followed this—the sweetest of all sounds—to the little makeshift lean-to where he found the elderly man sitting, listening to God’s Word.

For four days before fleeing for his life, Vijay received phone calls telling him that if he did not renounce Christianity, he would die. Then, hundreds of extremists flooded the village, beating and murdering people. One man was hacked to pieces, thrown into a church, and the church set on fire.

Now, as Vijay walks among the almost 5,000 people living in the refugee camp, the confusion, pain, fear, and loss are palpable around him—a woman staring blankly into space, a terrified child clutching a toy, an old man stumbling, crying for help, babies screaming incessantly. Then he hears God’s Word in his heart language being spoken—and follows this, the most beautiful and comforting of all sounds.

Life in the midst of death; light in the midst of darkness.
God’s Word, the most precious, valuable thing to possess.

Vijay broke down as he shared this story with us.

Vijay is currently working to start Faith Comes By Hearing listening groups in the six refugee camps. Pray for his safety as he does so, and for all of our brothers and sisters enduring persecution.