SEND magazine First Quarter 2007: Mechanical Missionary
Mechanical Missionary
"Perishing souls are more important than physical hardship," he says. "But often I was exhausted before I reached the village."
Prakash can still be seen traveling on hot days, but now he has a bicycle—an answer to his prayers.
He graduated from a Gospel for Asia Bible college in 2001 with a deep desire to reach as many people as possible.
"I wanted to go to villages where no one has shared the Good News," he remembers.
Prakash is living out that desire and has planted several churches with the help of his wife, Juni. They began doing outreach in neighboring villages—sometimes as far as 10 miles away. The lack of vehicles meant Prakash and Juni had to walk for hours in the hot sun.
Their willingness to sacrifice their bodies year after year produced great fruit. But much of their valuable ministry time was taken up with traveling.
"We realized that having a bicycle would make our work both easier and faster," Prakash explains. "My wife and I prayed that the Lord would provide a bicycle so we would be able to reach more villages in a shorter time."
The Lord answered their prayer through the gift of a GFA friend in the West. The distances that previously took three hours to walk, Prakash could now ride in half an hour. He could also bring Juni—a valuable part of his ministry—on longer trips that before would have exhausted her.
Prakash can also carry film equipment and literature much easier on his bicycle, and it provides a safer way to get home in the dark.
His bicycle has even brought opportunities to share the Gospel. On one occasion, Prakash's neighbor was injured and needed transportation to a hospital. Prakash not only loaned his bike, but also accompanied his neighbor. When the man later came to thank Prakash for his kindness, he listened eagerly as Prakash shared the Gospel.
"Now I am able to manage time more efficiently and visit many more villages with the Gospel," Prakash rejoices, "which would have been impossible otherwise."
More on the Web: Learn more about how a bicycle can multiply and extend a missionary's outreach capacity at www.gfa.org/bicycles.
