The Power of One
Bobby Bowen

Faces – so many faces! Some of the cutest little faces I have ever seen. These kids can steal a heart with just a smile. Sometimes my camera just wouldn’t work fast enough. Some were distinctly oriental, others definitely European, but all just as cute as they could be!

God is so creative, isn’t He? As many people as there are in the world, there is only one exactly like me. But in the same light, the kids in Kazakhstan are not unlike any in America – some are shy, some are rambunctious, some are just downright ornery! The similarities don’t stop there, either—they all need Jesus, just like our kids.

I took tons of pictures. I love to take pictures. I love to have a visual record of all that we did and saw. But as I look at these pictures, I see a common theme. I took so many pictures of faces only. It was as if I didn’t want to forget what any of them look like. Each one of them is special to me, even though I don’t know any of their names.

Isn’t that like God? He formed each face. He knows what we all look like. But unlike me, He knows all of our names. He knows each need, each fear, each joy. 

We had the opportunity to visit the Bible Mission office in Germany on our way back to the states. While there, we were treated to a mini-sermon from Paul Hagelgans, the director of the office there. He told us that the key to reaching the Muslim world is through the “womans and the childrens.” He embedded in our minds that winning the world for Christ is not through grand crusades with thousands of people, but through one-to-one witnessing. There is power in one. We are to do what we can to win one more, and then another and another.   Big numbers are good in their own right, but God works in the hearts of individuals.  He saves souls one at a time.

Maybe the lens of my camera told me more than I had realized. Each picture, each face, represents a soul to which, for a short period of time, I was that witness. Did I do all that I could to reflect the love of our Saviour? Did they see Him in me? 
It’s a very humbling thought to consider—God wants to use me to win someone else. He chose for that particular time in January of 2007 to send a team of women to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to be His witnesses. He gave us the power—He promised in Acts 1:8 that we would receive it. Each of the faces that we saw, each of the special friends that we made, is important to God—so important, indeed, that He sent His only Son to die for that soul. The power of one—to help to win the Muslim world to Christ.

Thank you, Father, for choosing us and for giving us the power to be Your witnesses.