Ben and Sarah worked with international students at universities in Southeast Asia. Students come from all over the world to study in this region, and many come from countries in the 10/40 Window.
Also known as the “Resistance Belt,” the 10/40 Window is the region that makes up most of the world’s Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus. When international students from this region meet Christians like Ben and Sarah, they may hear the gospel for the first time.
Sarah recently became friends with a Hindu woman named Laila. Sarah and Laila formed a friendship by talking about their backgrounds and cultures. As their friendship grew, a door opened to share the hope of the gospel.
One day, Laila opened up to Sarah with a question bothering her.
“In Hinduism, we’re taught that when something bad happens, it’s because you did something wrong. It’s called karma,” Laila said. “Well, that doesn’t make any sense to me. Why is there no justice in the world? So many innocent people suffer, and so many bad people never get caught.”
“That’s a great question,” Sarah said. “Have you heard the story of the Bible?”
Laila had never heard the gospel and wanted to know more.
“There is suffering in the world because of real evil. God loves us so much that He actually came and entered into our suffering and died for us to redeem us,” Sarah said. “He doesn’t want to leave it this way. God didn’t create the world this way, and this is not His ultimate plan for the world. He’s coming back, and there’s going to be a new world.”
For the first time, Laila encountered a God who cares about suffering and justice; for the first time, she encountered a God who has answers to her questions.