AFGHANISTAN: "Once You Begin to See What God Can Do…"
VOMRadio
The Voice of the Martyrs
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 28 March 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Brother Matthew continues sharing stories of God's calling on his life to Afghanistan and how he came to know the beautiful, amazing people within that broken nation. As he saw God at work in Afghanistan, he says his faith and hope increased.
Afghanistan is a nation where many Christians have laid down their lives. With his long experience there, Matthew met, worked with and learned from these martyrs. Listen as he shares memories of several heroes of the faith that he knew as friends and colleagues in the gospel effort. One of those Brother Matthew will tell of is Werner Groenewald, who was martyred along with his son and daughter in Afghanistan in 2014. Hannelie, Werner's widow, shared her story on VOM Radio; you can hear it at www.vomradio.net/hannelie.
Matthew will also share how he met his wife and talk about raising children in Afghanistan. He says each time they left the country and came back, it was a sobering decision as they continued to trust God with their lives, and for the safety of their children.
Matthew will also talk about the church in other Central Asian nations, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Iran.
Finally, he shares advice and encouragement for Christians who may feel a sense of calling to global missions. He also speaks to churches in free nations: "I don't think the church has a lack of calling. We have a lack of response. We have to respond!"
Pray for the continued multiplication of the church and ask God for boldness for persecuted Christians in Central Asia—and Christians in your area.
The VOM App for your smartphone or tablet will help you pray daily for persecuted Christians in nations like North Korea, Nigeria, Iran, and India, as well as provide free access to e-books, audiobooks, video content, and feature films. Download the VOM App for your iOS or Android device today.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I don't think the church has a lack of calling. |
| 0:02.0 | We have a lack of response. |
| 0:04.0 | We have to respond. |
| 0:06.0 | And I want to invite you really to go to your knees. |
| 0:09.0 | Even right now, go to your knees and ask God. |
| 0:12.0 | God, where is it that you want me to go? |
| 0:15.0 | Jesus never promised his followers an easy path. |
| 0:19.0 | In fact, he told his disciples that the world would hate them. |
| 0:23.0 | He sent them out as sheep among wolves. Jesus' words came true in the life of the apostles, |
| 0:28.9 | and they're still coming true today in the lives of his followers around the world. Join host, |
| 0:33.8 | Todd Nettleton, as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help. Right now on the Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network. Hi, this is Todd Nettleton as we hear their inspiring stories and learn how we can help right now on the |
| 0:38.8 | Voice of the Martyrs Radio network. Hi, this is Todd Nettleton. Welcome again to the Voice of the Martyrs |
| 0:43.9 | Radio. Last week we heard part one of an interview with a guest that we're just calling |
| 0:49.4 | Brother Matthew. He is a gospel worker in Central Asia. And last week, Matthew told us what it was like to travel into remote parts of Afghanistan just a few years after Russia had withdrawn from the country and the Taliban had taken full control for the first time. It was a place where people often lacked infrastructure and |
| 1:12.7 | education, but people saw the power of God and the love of God through Matthew and his coworkers. |
| 1:21.2 | If you missed any of that program, you will want to listen to it. You can do that at our website, |
| 1:26.4 | v.omradio.net. |
| 1:28.6 | You can also find the Voice of the Martyrs Radio wherever you listen to podcasts. |
| 1:33.3 | While serving in Central Asia, Brother Matthew has been through a lot of loss. |
| 1:39.3 | Several of his fellow gospel workers, people he worked alongside, people he knew well, have been martyred |
| 1:47.0 | for their work and their faith in Jesus. |
| 1:50.0 | And I asked Matthew to just tell us about some of them. |
... |
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