I had never heard of this place — couldn’t even pronounce it. Yet, it’s a city the size of Denver and appears to be thriving.

A former student was showing us his pictures. After graduating from engineering school he gave the first two years of his career to God, signing up for a building project in Central Asia. Now, two years later he’s showing us pictures and there’s one of a bunch of men leaping and dancing in an empty room. Since prancing men is not something you see every day, we all blurted out, “what’s with those guys?”

Guess what? They just came to Christ and were ecstatic.

We asked our former student how it happened. Apparently just normal life. Living together, working together, watching one another, talking of life, family, beliefs, concerns, and so on. And telling Bible stories. They’d never heard any Bible stories, so our guy and one other Christian told them about Daniel, and all the rest. Gradually the shades went up and the Light poured in.

The fragrance of Christ can work itself into all sorts of unexpected places. Even places you can’t pronounce.