***I hadn’t seen Ali in nearly a decade, and he still remembered this American preacher.***

Nearly 20 years ago, I met two young Muslim men from Kashmir on the streets of Leh as Jamie and I were pushing Bethany in a stroller up the steep hill of Fort Road. I built a bit of a relationship with them over the ensuing weeks before they had to suddenly depart the area because of a death in the family. On October 11, 2006, I penned these words in my journal:

“Yesterday, I bade farewell to my two Muslim friends from Kashmir. I will not be going to Srinigar to visit these because there is much political unrest and rioting in this town at the present. Notwithstanding, the Lord gave me abundant time to reiterate and re-emphasize the Gospel to Khan and Ali. Sadly, these were forced to leave Leh early because of a death in the family. Both were visibly shaken by this tragedy, and therefore, there was a window to proclaim Jesus. God gave me very bold and blunt words to say, and in the end, Khan accepted a New Testament, giving me his word that he would read it from cover to cover. As we conversed about the Gospel as compared to Islam, I was astonished to hear Khan admit with certainty that he was on his way to hell. Even though he was observing Ramadan and doing all of his Muslim duties, he realized that hell would most likely be his destination. Again, he heard the Gospel of hope and peace as we sipped hot chai together. Please pray that Jesus will remove the scales of blindness and draw this sensitive young man unto himself. By the end of our time together, there was nothing more that I could say. I simply prayed for him and his family during this time of loss; and I laid hands upon him, speaking the blessing of Numbers 6:24-26 over him. He sauntered off into the night with the Bible in his hand.
As for Ali, Khan’s cousin, he was a little less open to the Gospel, but heard nonetheless. Recently, he had a bad toothache and refused to take any medicine during the day. To do this, he said, would be to break the fast of Ramadan. I then used the opportunity to go into the Ten Commandments and discuss how God judges the heart and not the outward appearance of ritual and ceremony. He seemed concerned about a ritualistic fast (i.e. to break this fast would be to sin against God) but not about things such as lust, swindling tourists out of money, and/or prejudice toward his fellow man. I gently rebuked such hypocrisy and urged Ali to come to Jesus. For, in Christ, one does not have to be in bondage to meaningless traditions and rituals. Salvation is a free gift, and the change comes in the heart. I went on to share how Christ has freed me from the bondage of religion. What I was offering was not religion but a relationship with the one true God by grace through faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ali, of course, got angry with me, but later, I discovered that Khan defended me to him. His attitude then changed and he was as nice as he could be until the day these departed.
We, as believers, should not be afraid to proclaim the truth, and certainly, we should never apologize for such. Truth is truth (John 17:17); and it can be a hard pill to swallow for those perishing in darkness. However, ‘When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him’ (Proverbs 16:7). Please pray for Khan and Ali; I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the time I spent with these Kashmiris was not in vain.”

***Hanging out with Ali & Khan in Leh back in 2006. Yes, a Blood Donor did save my life, and I told these guys about it.***

Eight years later, I ran into Ali again on Fort Road. He had since married and had a family of his own. We crossed paths a number of times from 2014-2016, and he received Gospel material from my hands in several occasions. Once, he even prepared a great Kashmiri meal for me and Jamie. That was nine years ago.

Tonight, I was walking up Fort Road alone. Ali came to my mind, and I wondered what ever happened to him. I’m not kidding, mere seconds after that thought ran through my head, a man literally pulled me off the street and into a shop and gave me a big hear hug. It was the same Ali who got angry with me 20 years ago when I got blunt with him about Jesus. How in the world does a Kashmiri man recognize a Christian preacher in a crowd nearly a decade after he saw me last, calling me by my name? Sheer profundity. My spirits were greatly lifted tonight in this very difficult place.

Ali was the icing on the cake of a very long and tiring day that involved 7 more Israeli encounters as well as witnessing opportunities with a couple from Taiwan, some Australians, and Ladakhis. It was also a blessing to distribute more Nepali Gospels of John and to speak about the Word of God in that language. The girls ran into 2 Israeli ladies they talked to extensively yesterday. Today, they accepted a Hebrew New Testament. Hallelujah!

Thanks for your continued prayers.