Blessings and troubles on the field

This past trip has shown me that not all that is done for Jesus' fame happens just perfectly. I led a team of 4 to South Asia last week, and boy was I taught some important lessons.

One of our team members was ill with bronchitis before we left, but doctors said she was ok to travel. She really was a trooper, after the long flight we reached our temporary destination before flying out to it the next day. She really struggled with the medication, jet-lag, high temperatures as well as labored breathing. As we flew to our final destination, she became worse. She still wanted to go on, despite our cautions to stay with our partners on the field to rest. She accompanied us to a village, and we preached, prayed and worshiped, as well as accepted the local hospitality of sitting in the main room of a small house and being served whatever food they could scratch up for us. We were all blessed and then made our way back to the city to prepare for our introductions to the training conference that evening.

As we sat to relax and eat lunch, our sick team member took a bad turn, and I told her to lay down in a room with air-conditioning. We then asked our company partners to take her to the local clinic just in case. While we began our training conference, bad news came. Her heart rate was off, her kidneys were in bad shape and her breathing very labored. The doctor at the clinic said that she should be taken to better facilities in a larger city. After cutting our evening session short, we decided to call her husband, and send her and one other team member back with her to a good hospital in the main city. We prayed and sent them off, myself and one other team member to finish our commitment to our partner who had brought about 60 people from as far as 12 hour journey away. This was the best decision, as the person I sent is one of our ministers on staff at church. So our worship pastor went back with her, and more company personnel helped them straight to the airport. She was put into ICU with a possible blood clot and high blood pressure. Her status began to improve immediately. The conference went on as planned, while she was taken care of by the best doctors in the country.

It was a difficult decision as leader of the team to send her off and go on with our commitment. Another difficult decision was to leave them both there to come home. It was decided that the church staff member be the one to stay with her, which is where they still are. She is improving every day, and out of ICU. The rest of the team may be able to come home by Tuesday. I have spoken to her husband, who is doing fine and has spoken to her by phone and has been kept informed about every decision. His company has agreed to pay to get his passport, visa and pay for all travel should she need to stay longer than a few more days. What support. How many companies would do that?

I know that God has had this entire situation in His hands. He is the one glorified in all of this. For what purpose, He only knows and will reveal itself in His time. This was the troubles of our journey. The blessings? We had an incredible time of worship and teaching, which I will post about later. Bittersweet blessings, considering the situation. Oh, and by the way, we received and accepted a good offer for the house to close on June 1. God is in control. Blessings come at the strangest times. I have mixed emotions, but there will be time for celebrating soon enough. Thank you for all your prayers concerning all these matters. Continue to pray for our two remaining team members as they prepare to travel home, hopefully soon.

Back Home!!

Whew! I am back home from an incredible trip to South Asia. Thank you for all your prayers during the trip. I had hoped to blog from there, but was unable to access Internet for enough time to write. This was a quick trip, and as I will write in the next couple of days, a very crazy one. The Lord had us in His hands the whole time. God is doing amazing things among the people of South Asia, and I have had the privilege to see Him work among a very lost people. I return jet-lagged and tired, but my spirit has been renewed again for the task that God has allowed me and my family to be a part of. So, thank you for checking on me here, sorry I was not able to post, but I will gear up and write many stories about our trip from here on. Pray for me and my wife tomorrow, as we will be speaking at an SBC service around our area to gather prayer support by letting them know that God is as good on the other side of the world as He is here. Bless all of you!!

In Christ,

SAM

When all things go crazy, trust in the Lord

I've been preparing for this next short term trip to South Asia for quite some time. I will be leading a team of 4 from our church to do leadership training and encouragement to indigenous church planters there. Last year, when I agreed to obey God's call and take my first m trip to this area, my pastor told me that everything would go crazy before I left. Work, family, everything. And it did. This trip is no different. Myself and one other team member have been battling sickness the last couple weeks. We are now pretty much over it. One of the other team members got a viral infection this week. She should be ok to travel by Saturday. The last team member's visa has hit an enormous snag, but it should be here by tomorrow; 1 day before we travel. My daughter has had terrible pain in her leg for a couple days. My wife took her to the doctor today to have it checked out. What else?! What else does the enemy have to throw at us to discourage us from this trip? God must be ready to do an incredible thing where we are going, because the enemy does not want us there, and he will try everything to discourage us from going. All I know to do is to trust in the One who has power over all of it.



“I am the Lord, the God of every person on the earth. Nothing is impossible for me.” (Jeremiah 32:27)



I came across this verse in my quiet time this morning, and it spoke to me, strengthened and encouraged me. NOTHING is impossible for Him! God is the God of all, even to those in South Asia, South America, North America, Africa, Europe and all the ends of the earth. He is the same God that delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. The same one! What an incredible God we serve. I am humbled to know that He is looking after me. I am humbled to be chosen by Him to do His work. He doesn't need me to accomplish it, but He chose me anyway. Thank you Lord for who You are and how You bless us. Continue to strengthen and encourage us when we need it. Amen.

Bind Satan!

After the terrible tragedy yesterday at Virginia Tech, we direct prayers to the families of the victims. We pray for God to comfort them in this time of sorrow, to be their strong tower and present help in this time of need. I know that satan tries to get some type of foothold regarding this tragedy. We must also pray to bind satan from the hearts of those who need to turn to the Lord for His grace. Though there is terrible sorrow, we can rest assured that the real spritual battle has been won by God through Jesus. Thank you for your grace, Lord. Cover our hurting brothers and sisters with your love. Amen.

Emotionally and Spiritually Drained

What a wild last few days it's been. Lots has happened. I continue to pray for those I have committed to pray for every morning. On the top of that list, and at the top of the one to the right, is Rachel Olerud. If you haven't visited her site, please do so here. Her story is one of such courage, and for such a young lady. Over the past year, she has battled cancer, something I know everyone fears. I have committed to pray that God heals her body, so that she can be a light for His world and bring glory to Him.

Yesterday, after hearing the news that Rachel may pass anytime due to her little body simply having no more fight left in her, my wife came home emotionally and spiritually drained. Many things were going through her mind. She broke down on the way home. I have hit that wall this morning regarding my prayers for this little warrior. I am emotionally and spiritually drained.

My prayers seem to be selfish sometimes, though. Does anyone ever feel that way? We try to tell God what to do in certain situations when we pray to Him, you know, to get our way, instead of submitting to His will. I forget, many times that His way is the best way, no matter what I may think should or shouldn't happen. I remember, however, that when Jesus prayed to God just hours before He was to be tortured and crucified, that He prayed selfishly as well. He asked His Father that if there was any other way than the way things were supposed to happen, then make it so. He did not want to suffer and die a brutal death. However He submitted to what God wanted for Him. "Not my will Father, but YOUR will be done." Submitting sure isn't easy, even to God, and things that happen don't usually reveal themselves as to why they happened until sometimes many years later. We can rest in that assurance!

I have many prayers on my list, and it seems to keep growing. Some prayers get answered in a short time, some do not get answered the way I want them to. I pray that God answers all prayers, all needs. "But not my will Father, but your will be done." Father renew my spirit and lift me up today. Help me to remember and rest in the assurance that You do all things to bring glory to Yourself. Amen.

Testimonies from South Asia

In my last post, two videos showed how much of a dark and lost place South Asia is, and why this region needs Jesus. One of our partners, who is an indigenous Pastor in the region, sends us reports, called Facts from the Field. It is about how God is working among the people. It's all for the fame of His name, is it not? Here are two testimonies to how Jesus changes people who have never heard of Him:

The testimony of the Medical Practitioner: Dr. _______ was a Hindu, worshiped idols of different kinds. He was also a drug addict. He had no hope and peace in his life. One of our pastors visited in his villager and shared the gospel with him. He also read a few booklets about Jesus, but he didn't believe in Christ. One day, while he was doing an operation with the help of another doctor, the patient lost his pulse and Dr._____ felt the patient die. He didn't know what to do. He knew that if the patient dies he will have to close down his clinic and it will be a great shame and problem for his career. He will have to go to jail. Suddenly he remembered about the Lord Jesus and he began to pray to Jesus to bring life back to the patient. As he finished his prayer, amazingly, the patient began to breathe again. The patient is still alive and has no problem. This helped him to put his faith in Jesus and he accepted Jesus and took water baptism. There is a prayer meeting going on in his house now. He made a decision in his life that he will share the gospel with the patients, whether they like it or not, who come to his clinic. He is taking time to visit other villages also to share the gospel. His wife and children are now Christians.

Testimony of an Idol Maker & worshipper: Mr. _____ used to make Hindu gods and goddesses of wood, cement and muds etc. Customers used to come from different parts of the area to buy the idols which he and his brother used to make. I have seen the idols he made while I visited his village. He used to worship them. He was also an alcoholic and wasted all the money he earned. His family was in great trouble as he used to fight with others after drinking and also he wasted all the money. One of our pastors visited his village and began to share the gospel with his villagers. His wife, after she heard about Jesus told him about the pastor and the gospel she heard. They had never ever heard about Jesus before. So this was new to them. However, he didn't listen to the gospel, in fact, he was very angry with the pastor for sharing the gospel. But the pastor began to pray for him and invited him to stop by the prayer meeting place whenever he liked to do so. One day, Mr. _____ was going to drink alcohol, and as he just passed the prayer meeting place, he felt the need to stop there and visit the pastor. Amazingly, the prayer meeting was going on there and he sat with them and listened the gospel. He got changed from there on. He didn't go to drink that day after he heard the gospel but he returned home. The gospel began to change him. He gave his life to Christ and peace and joy returned to his home. He witnessed the Lord in the water (baptism). Now, he is sharing the gospel not only with his villagers and friends, he is going to other villagers, even to his wife's villages. He is truly a changed person now. I met him and his family after he went home from the training. I was really happy to see a happy family in Christ. His father is against him for accepting Christ. Please pray for him to believe in Jesus. This is what Gospel can do with any one who believes in Christ. The gospel transformed him. (Names left blank for security reasons).

God is doing amazing things in a very dark and lost area of His world. Praise His Holy Name!

Why South Asia Needs Jesus

On a tip from a friend at church, I looked up the National Geographic website and looked at some amazing videos. Check them out and you will realize why this area of the world needs Jesus. (Caution: Some of this footage is quite graphic)

The Aghori People

Cremation

It breaks my heart to know that there are people in this world searching for something so badly, they resort to the types of things the Aghoris do, and the gods these people worship. South Asia is a dark and lost region. Please pray for this enormous population, the majority of which have never heard the name of Jesus. I can only imagine what a great and huge witness the large population of South Asia can be for our Lord Jesus when they come to know the truth of His word. Just the movement among the small amount of this poplulation that I have witnessed is like a spark among dead brush, and its resulting fire is spreading quickly. It's an exciting time for this region, but also a critical time. Spritual warfare is all around, and the enemy does not want these people to know the truth. Intentional prayer for this region is essential. Why? The videos speak for themselves.