During a time when preaching the Gospel meant automatic imprisonment, he continued to proclaim Christ. Knowing the risks he refused to back down. This is part of the way that grace transforms us. His boldness was his ticket into the fellowship of those who have suffered for their faith. Three and half years in prison. While there, he continued to preach Christ and God saved some of the other inmates. Today he has been released and he continues to serve God, and God continues to use him to bring others into a relationship with Jesus. Meeting with him recently I felt very humbled. Humbled by my lack of faith and my concern for my own comforts. Humbled by his willingness to suffer and the fact that so many of our friends and supporters think that we sacrifice so much to be here. Humbled because I was visiting with someone whose very life and story reveals that faithful obedience to God is more valuable than comforts and freedoms and even life itself. This has helped spark a lot of other thoughts related to suffering for the Gospel that I will try to come back to soon.

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