Meet two passionate cross-cultural Indian missionaries whose journey spans decades, nations, and whose ministry has impacted countless lives.

In this episode, Chella and Newton share about:

• Their personal stories of hearing and responding to God’s call as young people in southern Tamil Nadu, India.
• Starting ministry among unreached and remote tribal groups, and the struggles, surprises, and joys of entering a world so different from their own.
• Transforming hardship into fruitfulness: how loneliness, rejection, and even midlife crises led to deeper faith and new methods for multiplying disciples.
• Adapting to the digital age—using social media and digital “filters” to bring the gospel to Muslim communities.
• Lessons learned from real-life breakthrough stories: mentoring future missionaries, combating deep-rooted social barriers like caste, and raising up healthy, multiplying churches.
• Practical advice and heartfelt wisdom for anyone stepping into full-time ministry or seeking to obey God’s call in everyday life.

Listeners will be encouraged by Chella and Newton’s honesty about setbacks and doubts, moved by their joy in seeing lives transformed, and equipped with proven principles for mission.

Whether you’re considering full-time ministry, serving in your local church, or simply looking for inspiration to follow God’s lead, this conversation—rooted in lived experience and biblical truth—will deepen your faith and broaden your vision.

Tune in to discover how, no matter the obstacles, faithfulness in the small things and reliance on God brings a harvest.

Upcoming Episodes: January 7th: A Bangladeshi’s Journey of Faith, Family, and Mission January 14th: From Hospitality to Hope: Afghan Refugees and the Power of Ordinary Welcome

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Our guest today, Colorado native Jen Oshman, grew up in a broken and chaotic home. During her college years she discovered God’s healing as he walked with her in a very dark season of life. Jen surrendered her heart completely to him, happily accepting his call to serve overseas.

The Lord led Jen and her husband first to Japan and then to the Czech Republic, raising four daughters along the way. Their long-term church planting dreams were undone, however, when they made the difficult decision to return to Colorado to care for Jen’s ailing father.

There, in the suburbs of Denver– the last place Jen wanted to be– her family applied their overseas methods of relational church planting to their new stateside ministry: invite people to dinner and ask them if they’d like to study the bible. People said yes, and a church was planted!

Jen’s ministry has expanded over the years through her writing and speaking gifts. She is the author of several books, including Welcome: Loving Your Church and Making Space for Everyone. She has also written about the good and necessary role that women have as co-laborers with their brothers on mission together. She encourages all to fully participate in his kingdom plans because all are welcome and needed.

jenoshman.com

Books by Jen Oshman

redemptionparker.org

Our guest for this episode is Nigerian missionary theologian Uchenna Anyanwu. His story is one of God being faithful as he followed the Spirit’s leading – a journey that took him to graduate studies in the US, and to the writing of his book arguing for a cross-centered approach to peace building.

We hear about Uchenna’s call from West Africa to North Africa, and then of the change that led to seminary studies in the States, and of his development of a theology of the cross as the basis for peacemaking amidst the Islamist violence in Nigeria. He challenges the global church to follow the example of Jesus’ response to suffering, evil, and violence as a model for Christians today.

Uchenna shares how God has provided for himself and his family as he continues to die daily to himself, live by faith, and choose the way of the kingdom of heaven.

Uchenna’s enthusiasm and joy in trusting God are an inspiration for us as we seek to reach the unreached.

Get his book here: Pathways to Peacebuilding by Uchenna Anyanwu

Upcoming Episodes: December 3rd: A Hard Obedience in Different Directions December 17th: Indian Missionaries Experience Unexpected Changes

Make sure to subscribe and give us a 5-star rating on your favorite podcasting platform. Sign up for our newsletter at reflexio.org/subscribe to receive an email when new episodes drop.