A young Salvationist from India no longer fears living and ministering in an urban American neighborhood.
Ashish Pawar is a “Fire-crest missioner” (evangelist) assigned to the Magness–Potter Community Center in downtown Nashville, Tenn. Ashish, a Salvation Army soldier (member), is the son of Army officers in its India Western Territory. There was a time, he says, when he never would have guessed that following Christ could take him half a world away, far from his loving family.
But that is exactly what happened. Before he arrived here nearly three years ago, he knew two things: he would be assigned to some type of urban ministry, and the neighborhood would most likely be very dangerous.
“I was right on both counts,” Ashish says with a nervous laugh. “But it wasn’t long until I realized that I had to surrender my fear to the Lord Jesus, who promised to protect me if I just trusted in Him.”
Ratcheting up prayer life
Ashish says his prayer life was always “good,” but he had to “ratchet it up a few notches” from the first day he arrived. Since that time, prayer has delivered him over and over, he added.
“I simply reasoned that if God wanted me here, He was going to have to protect me—or if something bad happened to me, then that would be OK too because then I’d be at Home with Him,” Ashish says.
On the day he moved into his apartment about three blocks from The Salvation Army, Ashish saw a group of seven men hanging around in front of the house.
“They were glaring at me and obviously wondering what I was doing there,” he says.
Ashish simply smiled at the men and said hello; for the next three weeks, he kept doing that each time he left for the day and came home. And he prayed that the Lord would not only protect him but also help him establish relationships so he could spread the Gospel.
After three weeks, Ashish said he felt the Lord encouraging him to stop and speak to the young men. “So I walked up to them and tried to be cool, talking to them like I belonged to their group!” he says.
The men asked Ashish what he was doing in the neighborhood, and he explained that he was a Salvationist there to tell others about Christ. He also said he would be available for them should they need him to pray for specific needs.
“That seemed to impress them,” Ashish says, with relief still apparent on his face. “One of the men has come to me for prayer, and another told me that if I was ever in trouble that ‘they’ve got my back!’ ”
Ashish forged another relationship with the owner of a corner store. The man, also from India, had little to say until one morning Ashish spoke to him in Hindi.
“Do you think this neighborhood need improvements?” Ashish asked the man. He nodded, and Ashish said, “That’s why I am praying for this neighborhood!”
“Now we are great friends and he has become something of an ally to me in my work,” Ashish says.
Joining ‘Prayer Walkers’
As a Firecrest missioner, Pawar participates in various Salvation Army outreach ministries conducted by the Magness–Potter center. For instance, he joins a group of teens learning basic repair skills on the job as they help fix up homes for neighborhood seniors and handicapped residents. He also participates in Prayer Walkers. They walk around the neighborhood, singing hymns and stopping, as the Holy Spirit leads, to pray and witness.
“Prayer Walkers [has] become something of a fixture to people around here,” Ashish says. “At first they were curious about what we were doing, and about the Salvation Army flag we take with us. But most are not so curious anymore … they know who and what we are!”
He learned about that firsthand one day in a local convenience store. “I overheard one man say to another about me, ‘That’s one of the guys who walks through the streets with that prayer group.’ I know he didn’t intend for me to hear that, but it made me feel good and added to my conviction that I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be right now,” Ashish says.
Ashish says his prayer life has sustained him through several tense encounters in the crime–ridden community. Prayer has also provided comfort and solace as he has adjusted to a new culture and language. Ashish says his prayers have been answered many times over.
“Not only my prayers, but those of my parents—especially my mother!” he says.
Ashish keeps in contact with his parents through frequent phone calls and e–mails. He says hearing and speaking his native Hindi tongue provides a welcome touch of home.
Meanwhile, every day that goes by brings at least one opportunity for Ashish to witness to someone about the Lord. He doesn’t feel “out of place” and believes that his distinctive accent and Salvation Army uniform actually open doors for him to be a Christlike influence among the people, including drug dealers and prostitutes.
“My dad often reminds me that he held me when I was a baby and gave me back to the Lord for His service,” Ashish says. “That’s why today I can walk down any of these streets and actually feel God’s presence all around me, protecting me!”
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