Southeast Asia: Day 12-13

Southeast Asia: Day 12 - 13

Yesterday we rested and took a day trip down to the coast of the country where we spent the afternoon on a big boat exploring beautiful islands and caves. Father blessed us with gorgeous, sunny weather and safe travels along slender unpaved roads between our city and the bay. We thank Him for a restful day.

Today, we went to service at the HC from a few days ago. What a joy it was to sing, pray and study with Brothers and Sisters from around the world. We learned about how Father equips each of us for the work He sets before us. He calls and He equips, we just need to obey His Voice. Even then, He gives us grace for when we don't obey. It was a very humbling message. The Shepherd of the group is leaving the country for a while to better perfect his English and to study the Word with other Shepherds from around the world. Please pray for him as he travels and begins a long period of study, following Father's Call for his life. Please also pray from his family back home who have experienced much persecution in the past. His mother and sister are believers but his father has fallen away. 

One of our nonbelieving friends joined us for group this morning. She received the message willingly and is planning to meet with the Shepherd's sister next week and attend another group meeting. Our team has shared the Good News with her several times over the past few days and Father allowed her heart to open a little more each time. Please pray for her to continue asking questions and reading the Word given to her this morning.

Tonight we're taking an overnight train to a city up north where we'll be interacting with some ethnic minority groups over the next few days. Please pray for safe travels, understanding and miraculous ease of communication. The Word is Living and Breathing and we're excited to go with It wherever it leads.

Southeast Asia Team

Southeast Asia: Day 10-11

Southeast Asia-Day 10

Today was full of one-on-one conversations with students who've been most inclined towards Upward focused conversations. We had lunch with a medical student we met who made a Decision back in 2012. We've followed up with him as often as we've been back in the country, as well as over Facebook, and we are excited to report that his Beliefs are still growing despite the rigors of hospital life and the restrictions faced by local believers. He has been meeting with one of our Ms here in the city but hasn't been able to connect with a HC quite yet.

Please pray that our doctor friend will experience incredible growth in the near future and that he will find a HC to plug into, to be fed, and to be equipped to help others.

This evening we experienced unworldly hospitality as we dined with 5 university students in one of their parents' homes. We got there and they quickly assigned us duties to help finish preparing the meal of fresh and fried spring rolls and something similar to crab cakes, except with chicken. We all gathered on a rice mat on their living room floor and dove into what our leader said was "one of his favorite meals in [this country]," and that's no small praise! After finishing the meal up with fresh mango and guava, we spread out and started talking more about school, football, and their "stories." There's always a disconnect between the importance of the Good News and good deeds, but we've found that every conversation, no matter how "insignificant" is worth having. It's not our responsibility to "make" things make sense. The Word is Living! Please continue to pray for open hearts, ears, and eyes.

Day 11

We had the supreme joy today to visit a HC led by a student-turned-teacher we met almost 6 years ago. He comes from a family of Brothers and Sisters who have been treated very severely for their beliefs. Thankfully he and his sister were able to graduate university and are working as Shepherds of other university students and community members. Our friend shared a Song he had written and we all sang a Song together in each of our own languages. Please pray that the Brothers and Sisters in his Community would desire to grow with Father and tell others about His Story, and not just be satisfied with being fed each week. Please also pray for the Community as our friend travels abroad to learn from another Shepherd that he might return to his country and better teach and share the Good News.

Later this evening we got to share the Good News with over 40 university students during a student organization meeting one of our friends invited us to. We shared about the differences in our respective country's education systems and found many opportunities to steer conversations Upwards. We got to continue these conversations with 2 of the friends from the meal the night before over dinner. Even though there is still misunderstanding and miscommunication on everyone's part, we have confidence that Father is working and that He will continue to guide our words, and hopefully replace them with His Word.

Please continue to pray for healing - the team is feeling a little better every day, but sleeping through the night has still been difficult for some of us. Please pray that He will be our strength as the days are heating up quickly!

-Southeast Asia Team

Southeast Asia: Day 9

Southeast Asia-Day 9

If you've ever doubted the impact that one simple invitation can make in a friend or family member's life, please read on! If you've ever doubted the impact that one simple prayer of faith can make in a friend or family member's life, please read on! If you're like me, and you've ever doubted the relevance of the Good News in this enormous, pain-filled world of ours, please read on!

Today we got to sit down and catch up with another one of our M couples living in this city. They are both English teachers at a local university and are carefully navigating the odd teacher-student barrier in hopes of building friendships with their students and sharing the Good News. Please pray for historically dead-bolted doors to be crashed open so that this couple can freely invest in their students. Please pray for travel safety as this couple returns to the States for the summer to rest and fund raise before returning back to Asia to continue Father's work.

This evening, we invited some of the university students we've met over the past 6 or 7 years to a coffee shop "English Club". Last evening, only 2 or 3 of our contacts had responded that they were going to attend, so we prayed that more would come. This morning, a few more confirmed, and we prayed that the hearts of those attending would be opened to the Good News, but personally, I was satisfied with that small handful of students, afraid that if too many students came, it would be too difficult to effectively communicate and keep order in the coffee shop. Thankfully, Father had different plans...

Over 20 students came to the coffee shop last night, many of whom we'd never met before, but who were invited by their friends. Several of those students we'd never met actually invited their own friends from university to come to the coffee shop! We all broke up into small conversation groups and got to know the students individually before forming a large group of all the students. Then our leader and another team member shared more about our reasons for traveling to Southeast Asia and shared their stories about how the Good News has changed their lives. Afterwards, one of the Asian students actually shared his own story about how he became a Brother and one of his friends translated for us. 

The Good News is spreading on its own! We are not responsible for its movement. It is Living and True and Powerful. All we can do is plant, water and obey! And that's all He asks us to do!

Please pray that we will have many opportunities over the next week to meet with individual students to talk more about each of our stories and the greatest Story of them all. Please continue to pray for the health of our team and for travel safety as we travel tomorrow to the home of one of these students and his friends for a home cooked meal and more conversation. We're also lunching with a medical student who made a Decision on one of our past trips, hoping to continue Upward focused conversations.

We love you all! Thank you for all your love and support!

Southeast Asia Team

Southeast Asia: Day 5-8

Southeast Asia-Day 5

Thank you for your prayers for the Easter party! It's never too late to celebrate the incredible culmination of the Good News, is it? After a bitter-sweet goodbye to one of the students we met in Virginia Beach last summer, we joined our M Friends as they welcomed over fifty university students into their home for fun Easter activities. The students really enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs outside (we really enjoyed helping the M's young children hide the eggs!), raced to wrap each other up in toilet paper ("reenacting" Christ's resurrection, which they learned about from our M's Good News presentation at the beginning of the party), and had several intense games of capture the flag. We were able to connect with a few inquisitive students and have since continued conversing with them over social media. Our M's will be following up with these students in order to best care for them as they continue their university work.

After saying our goodbyes to the M family, we headed back to our hotel to continue upward-focused conversations with our friends who are asking fantastic, in-depth questions and who are on the brink of making the best decision they could possibly make. 

Day 6-7

We flew back east to one of the country's major cities (much earlier in the day than we would've liked) and really felt the loss of our university friends we'd left that morning who'd been extremely helpful translators the past few days. Despite a few scary taxi rides and some interesting meals, we successfully navigated our way around this city of over 24 million people. It's daunting to think about the enormous task at hand. Thankfully, we've been constantly reminded that His Hands are in control, and that we just need to obey His Voice.

We headed back to the airport in style aboard a high-speed magnet train. We bid farewell to one of our team members who needed to head back to the States, and flew internationally into Southeast Asia. Our team has been building relationships with the manager of a successful hotel chain and her crew for almost a decade, and it was a joy to see some more familiar faces. Most of our team hit the sack quite early in order to rest up for the beginning of a very eventful and exciting two weeks.

Day 8

Our first full day in Southeast Asia started off wonderfully as we met with another one of our M friends over breakfast. She works very closely with other national Ms as they reach out to and pour into university students in the area as well as persecuted minority groups further up north. It's been a very difficult year for our persecuted Brothers and Sisters, but our M told us that in the past, difficult years are most often followed by long spans of rich growth and strengthening of community. Later that evening, we attended a wedding celebration for two friends who work in our hotel. It was a great opportunity for us to strengthen our relationships with those people and their families. They could see that there was something different about us (other than our "odd" physical appearances), and we pray that future upward focused conversations will bud out of this experience.

Please pray for our Ms in Southeast Asia: for ease of communication, open access to dark areas, and physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Also, several of our team members are fighting against head colds and sore throats. Please pray for quick healing and restful nights as we open ourselves to Father's instructions. Tomorrow evening, we will be meeting with students that we've connected with on past "tours" to Southeast Asia. Please pray for safe travel for students coming from over an hour away and for Father to give us His Words to say, not our own.

Southeast Asia Team

East Asia: Day 4

East Asia-Day 4

In this city of 13 million, much time can be spent in just traveling to different parts to accomplish specific tasks.  Our first task of the day was to meet with our American "friends" for an orientation of their city and the work they have been assigned.  It took us over an hour to reach their home but the time was well spent as we got to know them and their passion for reaching the more than one million university students in this major city, known as an academic hub in the center of the country.

The task can seem to be overwhelming for one family and one additional young lady.  That is why it is so important for them to have strategic partners, like First Baptist Norfolk, to assist in this monumental task.  I trust we were as encouraging to them as they were to us.

In the early evening, we traveled to another part of the city for a coffee house gathering for mostly university students.  The coffee house is one of two owned by an American couple from Louisiana.  This Brother and Sister have devoted the past 11 years to reaching the university students with the Good News and are making a significant difference in their location among several key universities.

We had a great evening as we met new friends and began, what we hope will be meaningful relationships where lives will be transformed for eternity!  We exchanged contact information, took many photos, and began down the path of spiritual conversations.  We invited the students, and young professionals, to an Easter party at the home of our "M's" here.

Please pray that through this Easter party that the Gospel will be clearly presented and someone, or perhaps many, will decide to follow Jesus.  Pray that those who were invited will indeed join us for this evangelistic gathering.

The team continues to be in good health and good spirits.  We do need to find times where we can get rest and recharge for the work that remains here.  Everything happens at such a fast and busy pace that there seems to be very little time to rest.  We know that our time is limited and we can rest when we return to the States so please pray for strength and stamina to endure to the final moments in this hospitable city.

Pray for our family and friends at home.  I found out this morning that a dear friend from First lost her father yesterday and I'm sorry not to be there with her.  I know she understands the mission and its importance so that provides the peace that is needed at this challenging times.

We're looking forward to tomorrow's activities and trust it will be a productive day in Kingdom building! 

East Asia Team

East Asia: Day 1-3

East Asia: Day 1-3

The team spent the better part of two days traveling but on the third day arrived on our ministry site.  We arrived late in the day but spent several hours with students who attended First Baptist Norfolk while in Virginia Beach last summer.

It was great reconnecting and to continue the process of sharing spiritual truths with them.  Please join us in prayer that many university students will come to faith over the next few days and that we will be able to meet and build relationships with many other students as well.  In this central city, there are over a million university students and we have only one family responsible for reaching them for Christ!

We will meet this family tomorrow and receive an orientation on the work that is currently taking place as well as the need for strategic partners to aid them in this work.  Please join our team in praying that God will, through the Holy Spirit, draw many to Himself over the next few days.

The team is tired but excited to be fully engaged in the ministry here.  Pray for health, safety, and that God will break down the strongholds in this country.

For HIS Glory,

East Asia Team