Story number 3 for 14 May 2001

(Tajikistan) — Caring for physical needs is opening doors to share the Gospel in the predominately Muslim nation of Tajikistan. Medical Ambassadors International is helping a local community drain a canal. Medical Ambassador’s Glen Reeves explains why. “The local people in a small village in southwestern Tajikistan had a problem with water drainage. And, as a result they were getting malaria, the crops weren’t growing because the water table was so high and the floors in the houses were damp.” Reeves says indigenous Christians have been effective. He says the physical help goes a long way in opening doors of friendship, despite religious differences. “One lady, she was a Christian, who was working on the team. She’s ethnic Tajik. She was talking with a group of women teaching them on health education. She has won the respect of the people and now they will be more open in the future.”