Like Sheep Among Wolves*

I N S I D E Story
by JEANE ZACHARY
The Waldensian Christians suffered persecution and death at the hands of the religious majority in Europe, beginning in the thirteenth century. They lived in secluded regions and dedicated themselves to sharing the truths of God with their neighbors in spite of the dangers they faced. Many became door-to-door salespersons in order to search for honest-hearted people with whom to share their beliefs. When they discovered someone who was open to God's message, they shared precious portions of Scripture with them.
Today modern Adventists are using similar techniques to bring Christ to unentered areas of Southeast Asia where few Christians live. These Adventists volunteer to live and work in unentered communities where they daily face the threat of persecution. For this reason we will not reveal their location.
The work is rigorous, and most of the volunteers are young people. So, the program's leaders were surprised when Jaibi, well beyond her youth, volunteered to go to a distant unentered community to work. She knew that she would receive housing but would have to earn her income by selling health books. She was so determined to go that she shared her excitement with friends. By the time she left, she had recruited 40 other volunteers to go with her.
Jaibi was asked to supervise her large team. As the group prayed and worked together, the Holy Spirit opened door after door. They found the community happy to learn the health principles the volunteers taught. Friendships developed, and soon small groups formed. It was not long before the volunteers called a pastor to prepare their interests for baptism.
Jaibi continued working in the village far beyond her one-year contract. In three years she and her team had planted five new congregations, a feat that could never have happened through public evangelism.
The strength of the Waldensian-style program lies in three things: Door-to-door visits, offering people valuable health materials; developing friendships that open the way for small groups to study the Bible; and the power of the Holy Spirit to open doors and bring conviction to people.
Some volunteers who came with Jaibi have returned to their homes, but others have joined her in this work. So far Jaibi and her team of volunteers have just witnessed an additional 105 persons baptized as the result of the blessing of the Lord on their work.
The inspiring example of the ancient Waldensian volunteers who spread the gospel through Europe as merchant-evangelists lives on today in Southeast Asia.
* See Matthew 10:16.