Belonging Opens Hearts

I met John* through an online English class I was teaching for visually impaired adults in West Asia. The students were from all over the country, but John and his family lived in the same city where my husband and I lived. When we first met him and his family in person, we quickly bonded with them. They always invited us for tea, for picnics, and gradually introduced us to their wider circle of friends, especially other families who had visually impaired children.  

John stood out for his heart to help people, but years of rejection had left him quietly insecure and cautious in trusting others. That same caution showed up in his spiritual questions. John was genuinely interested in learning about God and the Bible, but he was hesitant. He would ask sincere questions, then pause as if weighing whether even asking them was safe.  

We talked often about faith, doubt, and what it means to follow Jesus. We also connected him with other believers and invited him to holiday gatherings and church community events. What made the difference for John was that he felt belonging instead of pressure. 

John later told us about a Catholic family he had stayed with while studying abroad. They required him to attend mass every morning and expected him eventually to attend a Catholic university. At the time, he did not really understand the differences between religions, but the experience left him cautious toward anything that felt forced or pressured.  

He told us that we gave him room to be where he was without judgment, without pressure, and without conditions attached to his questions. That trust slowly rebuilt something in him.  

After a year of conversations and time spent together, one major barrier remained. John was afraid of committing to Christ because he feared failing afterward. He would say, in different ways, “What if I make a mistake? What if I disappoint God?” In those moments, we kept bringing him back to the simplicity of the gospel: that none of us are good enough on our own, but God meets people where they are and begins the work from there.  

This became the turning point for him. The pressure to be “good enough” began to loosen. Instead of seeing faith as something he had to earn, he began to see it as something he could receive.  

In May 2025, John made the decision to follow Jesus.  

He began meeting regularly with believers and went through baptism preparation classes at the local church. His questions did not disappear, but they became part of discipleship rather than obstacles to it. In September, he was baptized.  

John’s family, while not yet followers of Christ, softened their posture over time after seeing John’s relationships within the Christian community. In a context where being foreign and of a different faith could easily create distance, they told their community that we are trustworthy people. They even came to one of our family retreats where they participated in Bible lessons, and to our surprise, genuinely enjoyed the experience and remained open afterward.  

While John's story is an amazing transformation, it doesn't solve all of his earthly problems. Pray for John as he endures the challenges of studying abroad with his visual impairment and difficulties obtaining work. He also desires to live with a Christian host family, so that he can continue learning what it means to walk with the Lord more deeply each day. However, even in these challenges, he has the assurance that God is with him and will guide him every step of the way, and for that we join John in praise!

*Name has been changed