Brent Deffenbacher

Principal Amy Deffenbacher had the opportunity to show love to many of the people they visited but especially loved holding babies.

As a Ministry family, we have grown accustomed to being stretched, saying yes to God, going where He wants us to go. After 29 years of being married to a pastor and living this life, I thought maybe there wouldn’t be any surprises left. But who am I to underestimate God? We received a call in August that, once again, pulled us out of our comfort zone and deeper into understanding God’s love for the world.

“Would you two like to go to Bangladesh?” Bangla-what? Where is that? And probably no?

A ministry organization that our family and our church supports, one that has a vision of finding unreached people groups around the world and sharing the gospel with them, asked if we wanted to travel with them to visit some of their partners in Bangladesh and to see their work in real time.

I’ll be honest – we had to pull up a map to see where Bangladesh even is. Bangladesh is an Asian country that is surrounded by India on the west, north and east, shares a border with Myanmar on the southeast, and has a southern coastline on the Bay of Bengal. A bit about Bangladesh… It is the most densely populated large country in the world. About the size of Wisconsin with about half the total population of the United States. Average daily wage is roughly $4. The main industry is garment production, second only to China in exports of clothing to the world. I highly advise not looking up photos of Bangladesh before traveling there; you will not find anything enticing. Bangladesh was certainly not on our bucket list.

With all of that said, when God says GO you do! We have been so impressed by the work of this ministry, and the opportunity to witness their efforts was definitely going to be a privilege. For the security of their ministry workers around the world, many of them in places where it is dangerous to be a Christ-follower, I will not put the organization name in print – but I look forward to sharing with you in an upcoming chapel about their work and how FCS is going to be partnering with them and their ACHIEVE initiative (A Church In Every Village Everywhere – ACHIEVE).

We packed our bags and headed out. 32 hours and 12,680 miles later we arrived. Applying for visas and preparing for the trip was an adventure of its own. Bangladesh is not known for being a tourist attraction. Additionally, as a country that is 91% Muslim, 8% Hindu and 1% “other” (including Christian), it was not safe for there to be any faith-based reason for our visit. We were instructed to spread out to different lines at the immigration check-point and to state tourism as our reason to visit. I had not done my homework on must-see sites in Bangladesh and fervently prayed I would not be asked a follow up question of “What are you planning to see while you are here?”

Our visit was short – five days in the country. Traffic is unreal. Rain causes flash flooding on a moment’s notice. Our longest drive was 25 miles and it took us 3.5 hours. Water is unclean. Food outside of the hotel is discouraged. Restrooms were holes in the ground to squat over. We passed through two metal detectors to enter our hotel and weren’t allowed to leave on our own without guides. It would be easy to say that this was a difficult trip. But I won’t.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Amy Deffenbacher

The group traveled through the slums, including this flooded ally by foot, to reach a local church.

In those five short days I witnessed, firsthand, the hope that only Jesus can bring to the darkest of places. I visited churches in living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, jungles, and, in a couple of exceptional locations, church buildings. I met members of my family, the family of God, who literally live on the other side of the world. Their lives look nothing like mine yet we have everything in common, the hope of our salvation through Christ. I was struck by the simplicity of their faith. I once was blind but now I see. I once was lost but now I am found.

While it is not required to go to another country to share the gospel (there are people next to us every single day who don’t know Jesus), I was grateful for the reminders and reset afforded to me by saying yes to this opportunity.

You’ll hear more in coming months, not just about Bangladesh but about the opportunity to partner with a really great ministry that is affordably doing incredible work sharing the good news with those who have never heard the name of Jesus.

In the meantime, how are you being stretched? How is God asking you to say yes to Him? Who in your life doesn’t know Jesus? What needs around you can you meet while pointing back to Him? Go for it! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain when you step out in faith and go where He leads. 

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