Photo courtesy of: World Bank

Personal details of the people in this story have been changed.

I remember vividly the day, just 18 months ago, when my heart started beating for the Loosh.

For ten years, I had been serving as a Bible teacher for tribal children in the desert. The time had come for me to hand over that ministry to the local people and I had no idea what God wanted me to do when I returned from visiting family and churches back in my passport country. The one thing that I did know was that if I wanted to come back to this country that I love – my home for the past 15 years – then I needed to have some sort of visa arrangement in place.

But what should I do? How did God want to use me? How could I be most useful? There were so many possibilities.

The time for my departure was drawing near, and I still had no arrangements for the future.

“Lord, I trust you with all this,” I prayed. “I really want to see what you want. Do you want me to come back here? Then you will make a way.

Just before I left, a friend mentioned the Loosh people to me. I hadn’t heard very much about them before.

“Did you know that they are almost 100% Muslim?” she said.

That was the moment. Something stirred in my spirit. My heart was beating faster and faster.

Almost one hundred percent! Imagine that – seven million people spread over hundreds of miles of mountains and desert. And barely a believer among them, let alone a church. I felt such compassion for them. Who would tell these men and women the wonderful news that God sent a rescuer to save us from our sins

“Lord, will you send me? If so – how?”

As I returned to my passport country a few days later, my desire to work among the Loosh only grew, but it seemed like an impossible task. How could I, a single woman in a conservative country, find a way to reach out to people in this distant tribe?

God’s answer was ingenious. As I shared my heart with our team leaders, they told me about a women’s hospital run by Christians tucked away in a historic city further north. The hospital is near the Loosh heartlands, and by God’s grace, many Loosh women come to the hospital for treatment. It is known as a place that truly cares, a place where lives are saved, a place of hope.

I was amazed how God made the connection, and thrilled when the hospital agreed to invite me on to their ministry team, welcoming and getting alongside the women who come. Now, just 9 months later, I am settled here and starting to make connections with Loosh communities in the city and beyond. Please pray for me, and pray for the Loosh, that God will cause many stony hearts to beat for him.

Today, Eunice is settled into her new life with the Loosh people in South Asia. She travels to visit the villages regularly, and has shared that she is thankful to God that many Loosh people are open to relationships with her and her teammates. She asks for prayer for wisdom to know how to share the Gospel with Loosh women, and that God would open a way to do outreach in a Loosh girls’ hostel.