INDIA:
Shambhu drives an auto-rickshaw—a three-wheeled, ubiquitous, yellow and black, easily-crushed mode of public transportation. He earns slightly more than $1,000 per year to support his wife and three children. Along with the element of danger that comes with the fast-paced life of a rickshaw driver, Shambhu faces an even bigger danger—the spiritual danger of living a life without Christ.

Family history
India has the third largest Muslim population in the world. According to the CIA World Factbook, only 2.3 percent of India’s 1 billion-plus population is Christian. Shambhu and his family were living life the only way they knew—centered on the Muslim religious beliefs and traditions passed down to them from their families.

However, when a Bible League-trained Christian became a regular passenger on Shambhu’s daily rickshaw route, the Lord opened Shambhu’s heart to the Gospel message of salvation.

The passenger
The Christian passenger had arranged for Shambhu to ferry his children to school each morning. He would often ride along—escorting his children, and faithfully sharing God’s Word with Shambhu.

Eventually, Shambhu accepted an invitation to attend a Bible study. It was there that God revealed the truth to him through the pages of the Bible. Today, his passion is to share the message of salvation with all his riders, and he currently leads a Bible study group of 20-30 of his fellow rickshaw drivers.

Kingdom purpose
In Colossians 4:5 (NIV), God tells us, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” The passenger who shared Christ with Shambhu made the most of his opportunity, and now Shambhu is a Christian with a kingdom purpose.