Souls Saved Through Social Media

Max + Melanie Patel submitted this animated film for The Go Fund’s film festival in 2019. This is a sneak peak at their digital talent and the kind of content God is using to make himself known across digital channels in the Middle East.

Introduction

This is Chat with a Missionary.

AIRO recently hosted a Q&A with the Patels, our missionary partners in Central Asia. Their work among the unreached revolves heavily around social media, a tool they’ve found effective in sharing the gospel.

Meet Max + Melanie Patel!

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Tell us about yourself! Is there a person or influence that contributed to you going abroad?

I (Melanie) started to follow Jesus when I was in college, and it was shortly after I gave my heart to Him when missionaries started sharing at my local church. Week after week, these global workers shared their hearts for the lost, shared about their work, and asked us to pray. And pray I did! I still have stickers and prayer cards from those times. I was amazed at their faith and in awe that the Lord was calling people to go. I longed to go, but I was such a new believer and I knew very little about the Bible.

But one week, a man came and shared about the work he did in Mexico, just across the border from where we lived. He shared his heart for the lost, he shared about the work, he asked us to pray…and then he asked if anyone wanted to go! I had an aunt sitting next to me that nudged me to talk to him, so I did. I ended up going on four trips with his group to do medical missions in Mexico. I was able to pray with people, help get them needed medicine, and play with the children. And it was there that I realized God could use me to reach other people groups, if only I were willing to go. 

So, my influences in starting global work was that one man, and my nudging aunt.

How were you moved to engage in global work?

When I (Max) was in high school, the world had changed and people in America were made aware for the first time of the threat of Islam. As I sat in class with everyone around me incredibly angry with the “enemy”, I realized that God was calling me to love and pray for them. It was a heavy burden, but I was willing to do it. When I met Melanie, she was heading to Central Asia to work with those same people, and I knew it was what the Lord was asking me to do as well. 

When I (Melanie) was about to finish college, I went on a summer mission trip to Central Asia. I had no idea where I was going, and I was a little terrified. But once I arrived, I again saw how much the Lord was able to use me if I only I was willing to step out of my comfort zone. That summer, I played baseball with kids who had never even heard of the sport, let alone seen a game played! We were able to talk to them about Christ, bring them to church, and even see students get baptized. While I was there, the Lord clearly spoke to me and said He was calling me back there. So I went back for two more years and worked in university ministry. 

When I met Max, I was heading back again, but this time for good! I didn’t have a plan to return to the states; the Lord was clearly saying “go”.

What barriers did you face getting to Central Asia?

When we applied with our sending organization, we were approved as workers, but we were not approved to go until we could pay down our student debt. So, we vowed to go when we were able to pay it off, but it seemed like an insurmountable mountain in front of us.

We figured we would go when we were retired, maybe around 80 years old. The thought left us grief-stricken, but we vowed to go when we could. 

One summer, we were invited to Central Asia to help with a short-term mission trip. As a teacher and freelance graphic designer, we happened to be free that summer to go. During that summer, the Lord made it so clear that He was still calling us, and we were so confused about how to go. 

We met someone that summer who told us about The Go Fund. We couldn’t believe such an organization existed, and we knew it was a long shot for us to be chosen. But we applied anyway. 

We didn’t hear back from them for a few weeks, so we finally reached out to ask if there was anything we needed to do. They replied that there was just a long line of people ahead of us, but we were in line! So, we waited.

Finally, we had an interview, where we shared our hearts for the lost, what our work would entail, and our huge barrier to go. That interview went so well, and we were passed along to the second stage, which was an interview with a panel. We again shared our hearts and the group seemed to understand our burden. 

A few weeks later, we hadn’t heard anything, so I figured we were not chosen. We knew it was a long shot. 

But then Max got a call, and he was told that they could either choose us, or they could choose two families that had half our debt. It would make sense that they chose two families – they could do more for the Kingdom!

But about a week later, Max got another call. The Go Fund had chosen us. They were sending us to Central Asia, to share the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, with the lost. We were so overwhelmed and surprised. 

The entire mountain before us had been moved, just as Scripture said it would be.

How are you strategically engaging with your regional people group?

The people group that we work with has a closed country. We cannot enter and do work there. But a nearby country is a bit more open and has hundreds of thousands of this people group living and working here and sending money home. So, our work consists of going out on the streets to find them, engage them in a conversation, and get Scripture into their hands. We get their phone numbers and continue to share with them via text and we meet up with them again when they are interested in talking about Jesus the Messiah.

Each time we meet with anyone, we bring the conversation to Jesus. While it pushes some away, we know that those who think of us will think of Jesus. 

Talk to us about social media. How are you using social media to engage with people in your region?

In addition to going out and sharing locally, we are also working on social media platforms to send Scripture and resources into the country where we cannot go. In just a few months, we’ve had hundreds of people from within that country reach out for prayer, wisdom, and Bibles! We have worked on translating Christian books into their language (which has very few resources) and we are seeing the people start to share, and there are believers starting house churches in their villages! They are sharing with family members and seeing people begin to follow Jesus!

How have you been encouraged to practice perseverance on the field? 

Our sending organization works very hard to make sure we are filled up. Twice a year we are able to gather in a country without the five-times-a-day call to prayer, worship the Lord with all of our hearts AND all of our voices, and hear wonderful teaching, as well as be encouraged by what the Lord is doing in other parts of the area. 

We do have moments of discouragement on the field: language fails, the harvest seems too small, and team conflicts. But we have time each week, our Sabbath, where we set time aside to remember our calling. We list all the ways we are thankful to be here, even in difficult circumstances. Taking a Sabbath each week to rest from the work and allow the Lord to refresh us proves week after week to be what drives us to keep going. 

When we remember our calling, The Go Fund is one of the biggest parts of our being here. We knew we had to go. We knew we had been called. But there was no way to go. Until The Go Fund chose us.

What are some of the things you have found most encouraging about your work?

A few weeks ago, Melanie was able to go out sharing the Gospel in the streets with a believer from our people group. We went looking for her people and we handed out Scriptures to them. She had never done that before, and was amazed at the simplicity and power in it! It was such an encouraging time for her and for Melanie, both seeing the potential and future of local people reaching their own people! 

What can we be lifting up for you?

Our biggest challenge right now is learning about communication across cultural divides. Even within our team of five people, we have many different cultures, which means many different ways of communicating. We know Satan would love to divide and cause confusion, so we ask for prayer to find common ground in communication. 

We also ask for prayer for our language skills. While we’ve spent time learning language, our target people group actually speaks a few different languages. We are never sure when we meet one which language they will speak!  We spent time learning the local language of our host country, but now we are learning more of some of our people group’s languages, with Max learning one and Melanie learning another (and the kids learning another!!). It seems messy, but we pray the Lord unclouds our minds and uses our passion to speak to His lost sheep.

Join us in praying for the Patels

1. Unity + Clarity in Communication
2. Minds to learn + retain language

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We send with great joy.

It’s our greatest privilege to help send missionary partners like Max + Melanie to the field and to keep them there long-term! We don’t want you to miss out on it.

When you give a gift today, at any amount,  you are helping get more missionary partners to the field and the gospel to the unreached in 2025.

Join us today!