The Grand Tour Q&A
If you’re anything like us, you know it’s really important to pray for mission, but it just feels so hard to know what to pray about. You know God is doing amazing things all over the world, but you aren’t sure how to find out about it. You want to be part of the global church, but it’s hard to look beyond what’s right in front of you.
Thankfully, AsiaLink‘s prayer devotional helps us with exactly this!
In The Grand Tour, the AsiaLink team invite you to join them for an epic 90–day journey of discovery and prayer around the countries of Asia, visiting sites, experiencing cultures and meeting the locals! They write from personal experience, including biblical reflections to help you ponder each new discovery and guides to help you respond in prayer.
We asked Alex – one of The Grand Tour‘s authors – a few questions on the subjects of mission and prayer.
What is your role at AsiaLink?
I have worked with AsiaLink since 2017 and became a Director this year. I make sure our projects are well–supported and our staff team are equipped to bring great stories of God’s work in Asia to churches in the UK and beyond.
What’s your favourite Asian cuisine?
I don’t even know where to start with this one! I love Indian, Chinese, Thai and Malay food. The only place where I’ve not enjoyed the cuisine was in Mongolia… Thankfully I found a few foreign eateries to keep me going throughout that trip!
Tell us one encouraging thing about AsiaLink’s work right now, and one challenge.
We’ve been blown away by the support for some of our recent campaigns, which has led to hundreds of Mongolian children receiving winter kits and hearing the gospel, a number of South Asian villages receiving wells and meeting Christian pastors for the first time, and dozens of gospel workers across the continent being provided with motorbikes to expand the reach of their ministry.
The biggest challenge of late has been maintaining and reviving relationships with our Asian partners after the pandemic halted field visits for over two years.
Why is it so important to get younger generations interested in the work of mission organisations?
It’s easy to think of mission as something for a select few people who are older than me, more mature than me, and who have a clear call to ‘go’. But the modern world presents us all with opportunities to engage in mission, whether we are young or old, rich or poor, well–travelled or afraid to board a plane. Whether we go, give or pray, it’s an exciting journey of discovery, partnership and growth as we learn more about how God is at work! If we leave mission to the ‘chosen few’, we miss out on the privilege of working together as Christ’s body around the world and the joy this brings.
Why do you think it’s hard for us to pray for Christians in other countries?
As with many things, the hardest thing is to start and then persevere, perhaps because we feel uninformed or disconnected. But whilst I might not know what’s happening in Kazakhstan or Bhutan right now, a quick search will show me the news headlines. There are also lots of resources out there to help us understand what God is doing and what it’s like to be a Christian in these places. And don’t forget, we don’t need to know everything before we pray! If we simply call on God to bless Christians in Nepal and to help them reach out to their neighbours, that’s a great thing to ask!
What are you hoping will come of people reading The Grand Tour?
My greatest hope is that this book will help people feel inspired to connect with God’s work in Asia, and highlight the ways He is using Asian Christians to reach their own people. By sharing stories of real believers in real places, we are excited to bridge the gap between East and West and share some of the amazing things the Lord is doing. If people feel more confident praying for mission after reading this book, that will be amazing!
We hope with Alex that The Grand Tour will help you to feel excited about all the amazing ways that God is carrying out his work in Asia. Why not read through the prayer devotional as a family, a youth group or a church? We can join together with our Asian brothers and sisters in their times of sorrow and times of rejoicing, supporting them in prayer and community.
