When Love is the Best Teacher

Faisal is a 9-year-old boy who used to spend his days sitting silently in the corner of a park. He didn’t go to school or talk to many people. This is because Faisal has autism, and in Tajikistan, families often believe it's not worth teaching someone with a disability. That’s why Samira, Faisal’s mother, chose to work at a kiosk instead of helping him.

One day, Marisa met Faisal at the park. She was just beginning to learn the local language but tried hard to communicate with the few words she knew. Faisal watched her in silence for a while, confused, and then began to smile as he saw her struggling to form sentences. When Samira arrived, she told Marisa that her son had a learning disability. After that encounter, Marisa felt like she wanted to give Faisal a gift, so she bought him a soccer ball and asked his mother if she could take him to the park to play.

Faisal’s mother happily agreed, and so those playtime afternoons also became moments where Marisa taught him what she was learning in her language classes. She went every week to spend time teaching Faisal while his mother watched. Faisal began to make progress, and Samira saw that he could learn. After a while, she decided to get involved in teaching him also — and today, Faisal knows how to read and write!

Thanks to Marisa’s help, there were several opportunities to share the Gospel with Faisal’s family. Samira opened her heart when she saw how Marisa loved her son and made an effort to help him without expecting anything in return. For the past year, Marisa has been telling them Bible stories. She is the first person who has ever told them about Jesus and how He transformed her life.

Marisa never imagined that her simple attempt to speak another language would lead to a friendship that would change an entire family.

What if the little you have —your time, your story, your effort— is exactly what God wants to use?

The ordinary becomes eternal when it's placed in Jesus' hands.

*Pseudonyms used to protect the identity of the missionaries and local people.