INDIA - January 2013

John had the opportunity to sit down and discuss Jesus Christ with 9 Indian seekers. We spoke together for about 3.5 hours on everything from why we should forgive others that hurt us, what baptism is about, to dating relationships, and most importantly talking about trusting Jesus as Savior and having a personal relationship with him. The meeting went very well with great discussion. Pray that these young seekers will continue to seek after God and that he will draw them into faith.

 Several mornings our team worked with children at a slum school that has about 50-60 students in attendance. The ages of the children are from 3 to 10. Our team assists with teaching the alphabet, reading, and math skills. We also have individuals that help lead the chapel time and share Bible studies.  While here this week, our team has shared about Moses and stories from his life about times that he had to trust God. Pray that these children and their parents come to know God's love and that these families in this community, which totals about 2,000 people, will come to faith in Jesus and that this school ministry will help lead these families to the local Christian fellowship.

This weekend our team is traveling to lead a disciple now weekend with about 30-50 college-aged students. During this program we will discuss matters of Christian faith including what is sin, how can I be saved, and what is forgiveness and what does it look like. Pray that the Gospel is communicated clearly and that these seekers will come to know Jesus as the One truth living God.

The women on the team have also lead henna parties with women and attended a sewing clinic. The henna parties have provided opportunities to share Creation to Christ through Bible story-telling while using henna hand art. The sewing clinic allowed for a time that the Indian women were able to hear from one of our team members about their testimony and how they came into a relationship with Jesus as their personal savior. Pray over these women that through hearing Bible lessons and testimony that Jesus' name is glorified and that the Light of the world will touch darkened hearts.

SOUTHEAST ASIA Update (Days 8 & 9)

Day 8 - the group spent its first day out in a minority tribe's village and it was a day well spent. Met wonderful people, ate great food (and lots of it!, and even had the opportunity to share the Story with a local family in their home! Our plans were to stay overnight but we decided to return to town today and stay over tomorrow now that we understand the environment a little better. Accommodations might not be as primitive as initially thought since it appears the doors might close at night, which will be a tremendous blessing. Tomorrow's plans (Sunday) are for us to also participate in two services of another minority tribe. Our challenge for them will be to take up the responsibility of sharing the Story cross-culturally with other tribes in the area. We had, and will continue to travel with a guide who is a member of our "family" and has such a wonderful spirit about her. It has already been a joy to spend the first day with her and hearing her story as well. Next two days are extremely important so please ask Father for His favor! We'll be out of touch for the next couple of days but will update again once we return to the town nearby.
S.E. Asia Team

Days 8 & 9 - the past two days have been spent in the villages enjoying the company of many members of our "family." They have been most gracious to our group and we have indeed felt like family. It has been beautiful to see the countryside as well as the colorful dress of the minority tribes. We have actually interacted with three tribes and each have provided memorable experiences! We had lunch on day 8 at the house of our guide's cousin. It was a great meal, as all have been, but we were also welcomed by a family relative from Minnesota! She was able to speak the tribal language and she was a great help in interpreting for us. We visited a local church but the pastor was away at the time. This was a divine appointment in that we were able to share The Story with our guide's cousin. She expressed a desire to join our "family" but was very concerned at the cost it would have in terms of her biological family. On day 9, we were blessed to visit and participate in two worship services - one in a conventional church building and another in a house church. They were both wonderful services and we were welcomed with open arms. It was bittersweet to leave the villages. We will have people and experiences etched in our minds forever and hope we will have other opportunities to visit them. We look forward to returning and sharing much more than we can in these reports. We travel the 9 hours back to the Capitol city today and then have one more day there before returning to the States. Please pray for the last meetings we have that they will be productive and pleasing to the Father.
S.E. Asia Team

SOUTHEAST ASIA Updates (Day 4 - Day 7)

Day 4 - left a southern city and traveled to the Capitol city in the north of the country last evening.    We experienced about a 45 degree drop in temperature and felt like we were back home in Virginia!  Unable to get into our hotel due to construction issues so had to stay in a minus 1 star hotel - just kidding but it was significantly less quality than normal.  Couldn't get the heat to work properly so we were quite cold all night.

Day 5 - we finally were able to get into the original hotel about mid-day and were treated to lunch by the general manager of the hotel chain as well as the first night room charges free. Having lunch with the GM and her staff helped continue the relationship building that has been taking place for several years.  It has been a great relationship for our groups during these years.

This was New Year's Eve so we had the opportunity to celebrate with a businessman and many of his friends.  They were most gracious and it was a wonderful evening as we strengthened older relationships and started new ones!  In this country, one of our primary ministry opportunities is through relational evangelism.

Days 6 and 7 - as "tourists" we have to intentionally plan for some tourism activities.  Each of these mornings and early afternoons were engaged in these activities.  We were also able to make time to meet with two of our American "workers."  This was very helpful in our strategic planning for not only this city but for time we were going to be spending connecting with the identified unreached/unengaged people group in the extreme north.

Each of these evenings were centered on connecting with university students we have met on previous trips as well as ones who are new this year.  These are wonderful times for our group to connect on a much more personal level with conversations ALWAYS moving to spiritual conversations.

One, new, student made a decision to become a "member of our club" on the first night!  Several other significant conversations took place and even continued late in the evening through e-mails and Facebook.  Two of our students, medical students in their final year of med school, were unable to join us due to commitments at their respective hospitals.  We will be back in this city the last night of our trip and hope we can meet them before we leave.  They became "members" previously and we wanted to spend some mentoring time with them.

Day 7- we travelled 9 hours even farther north on this day.  It was high in the mountains so it was very slow getting to our destination.  We were greeted by a local "guide" who helped us get settled in at our hotel where there was no heat in the building!  Was curious how we were going to stay warm during the evening so we inquired as to what our options were (it was raining and about 40 degrees).  Was told there were additional blankets in each room or we could rent a space-heater for about another dollar a day - well that didn't take long to decide, ha.  Heater didn't heat the rooms very well so we went to bed fully clothed and wool hats on.

Well this was probably better than we are going to experience tomorrow.  We will backpack another 5 1/2 hours deeper into the mountains to reach the village where this minority people live.  We will stay in a guest home where there will not be any source of heat and may not be completely enclosed.

Despite these challenges, our group is so excited to finally be able to reach this remote village and begin what could be an amazing partnership between our local body and this people group that so desperately needs to hear the Good News we have to share!  Please be in communication with our Father for the work that only He can do.

Other than nagging colds, we remain in pretty good health and great spirits!  We miss all of you but can't wait to share this wonderful adventure with you in the days ahead.

Southeast Asia Team

SOUTHEAST ASIA - UPDATE (Day 1 - Day 3)

Day 1 - we started our first day with key meetings with potential partners for future work.  Both meetings went well and we look forward to seeing how God uses these connections for kingdom growth both here and back home with this people group.

We used the late afternoon and evening to rest after our long journey over.  We know that we will need to be rested to be productive for the balance of this mission.

Day 2 - most of this morning was spent meeting with a local church pastor and his family.  The pastor is a medical doctor and his wife is a dentist.  We were most impressed with their hearts for evangelism and to hear how they have been engaged in church planting.  We made arrangements to attend their worship service tomorrow.

The balance of day 2 was directed at connecting with one of our team member's family with the hope of engaging in spiritual conversations.  We were hosted by four different families and were treated to amazing hospitality at each stop!

We also visited with the sister of our team member who had just been hospitalized the night before.  She had recently suffered a stroke and was not doing well.  We prayed for her and with other family members.  These are special opportunities to connect with those who are suffering.

Day 3- left early to make the long drive for Sunday worship service but it was definitely worth it.  These times just remind us that though our countries are so far apart, in miles and culture, we are strongly bonded as Christian brothers and sisters in Christ!

The church provided lunch for everyone and we had a wonderful time of fellowship.  We were also able to tour the building next door that is used by the church to provide free medical and dental care to their poor neighbors.  This pastor and this local church are making a significant impact in their community!

We are now waiting to make the trip to our next city, the Capitol of the country.  We will be there for the next four days before we travel to a remote part of the country.  Please continue to pray for safety and good health for our team as well as divine opportunities to share Jesus with the unsaved with whom we continue to meet.