On October 1978, twenty-two years old I was sitting in a truck travelling from Europe overland to India. We were around forty-five young people, divided into three trucks and a couple of minibuses, and we had just started out on a short-term missions program.
I did not know much about missions or the Christian life at that time, but I had a desire to know God and be exposed to his work. Those two years have now become more than thirty-seven. That trip changed my life: God did something in my heart that would last for eternity.
Sometimes we were so physically exhausted after long days of ministry. (I still vividly remember a trek up into the mountains in northern Pakistan on the border to Afghanistan). But I also remember the satisfaction of knowing that the Gospel had been preached to those who had never before had the chance to hear the Good News of Jesus.
We ministered in villages, towns, cities and markets; we climbed mountains and crossed deserts. As I was exposed to different countries, ethnic groups, different types of food, cultures, religions and languages, and as I saw the need of the multitudes, I was changed.
God gave birth in my heart to a love for this vast continent and to its peoples. Multitudes have yet to hear about salvation – the Amazing Grace of our God – through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We have a debt to pay. Let us do our utmost to finish the task.
Håkan Gabrielsson