Many years ago, someone placed a Bible in Barkhat’s father’s hands. The book stayed in the home. The hunger it stirred in a boy did not leave.
Barkhat is a Shina man in Pakistan. Like most of his people, he had followed Islam. Over time he grew disillusioned. He looked for truth in Buddhism. He tried atheism. Neither gave him peace. Still he carried a longing he later named plainly to two believers who came to his home: “I have wanted to understand the Bible since I was a child.”
They did not argue him into a corner. They opened the Book. Over the next few days they read together two or three times a day. Barkhat soaked in the Word.
Then came two nights he could not sleep.
On the second night, still wrestling with the gospel he had been hearing, he picked up the Bible himself. He read the parable of the sower — the seed and the soils in Luke 8:11–15. Something in him answered aloud: “I want to be the fertile soil!”
That same night he read the entire Book of Romans. The truth became clear. He put his faith in Jesus.
The next morning he told the believers without hedging: “I believe!” He went to his father and declared, “I have chosen to follow Jesus.” Amazingly, his father replied that he was an adult and could choose his own path.
Barkhat was baptized, celebrating his new life in Christ. In the days that followed he kept visiting with believers, kept reading the Word, and his faith grew stronger. Those who shared his story ask prayer that his transformation will stir friends and family to ask about the change — and that through his witness many others among the Shina will follow Jesus too.
Notice the pattern. A Bible given long ago. A childhood hunger that religions and unbelief could not quiet. Ordinary believers who sat in a home and read. A sleepless night. A parable that named the heart’s desire. Romans that made the gospel clear. A confession. A baptism. Jesus did not wait for a perfect platform. He used a house, open pages, and a man who refused to stay shallow soil.
If you have been searching — through religion, through doubt, through philosophies that leave you unrested — Barkhat’s night is not a script you must copy. It is a witness that Christ still meets seekers in the Word, still makes the truth clear, and still welcomes those who say, honestly, I believe. Ask Him. Open Luke. Open Romans. Stay with people who will read with you. And if He has already made you fertile ground, you are welcome to share your story.
Adapted from “A Shina man’s search for truth leads to Christ” by Josie Gabdon, International Mission Board (2 Oct 2025). Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Original article. Except where otherwise noted, IMB site content is CC BY-NC 4.0 (Legal Permissions).