Not Exactly Our Plan, But A Good One!

So, God called us to go to South Asia, to make His name known among a population of over a billion people- of which less than 1% claim to know the name of Christ, and an even smaller percentage of those claim to be evangelical Christian.

So, unless we went, those people will not be reached with the Gospel, right? The task and the burden is upon myself and my family- it is OUR responsibility to stay in this place, where God called us, until the task is finished, right?

How selfish and arrogant to think of ourselves as THAT important in the task God is doing in South Asia. It does not disqualify us and excuse us from going, however, but if we think we are leading God into those places, we are sadly mistaken, and we can easily be a failure.

We traveled to South Asia, pretty much knowing nothing other than God wanting us in a specific place for His glory. After learning a tremendous amount from our team members and the national brothers there, we felt like this was the place for us- until God called us away in the distant future of His perfect timing. The problem with that thinking is, God's timing is not perfect when we try to control it and put limits on it.

We loved our place of service even before we got there, and grew to love it even more as we stayed, but God had other plans. Our home church was putting a team together to go to Thailand with the task of multiplying disciples, leaders and churches. They asked us if we would consider joining the team and brining our 2 years of experience in church planting to it. WHAT? What about where we are? The ministry is going well. We are seeing a lot of fruit. Many volunteer teams have come through here and brought the vision back home to the U.S. AND, why would we give up being completely taken care of financially through the IMB to go an raise our own financial support to go somewhere else? It did not make any sense to me, and we struggled with the decision of what to do.

So, we prayed about it. We found that we were not sent to South Asia with the IMB just to reach the lost and equip church planters how to focus their ministry and reach the lost themselves. Those are important, but just as important was the valuable time we spent growing in the Lord, and learning how to live overseas, and what further purpose and plan He had for us in His master plan of reaching the unreached. God was equipping us for another purpose and another place of service for Him through our time in South Asia, and the more we prayed, the more we felt that it was time to step out of our new comfort zone we had made and get uncomfortable again in order to glorify God.

So, we said yes and left South Asia. We are now with a team of 11 adults and 5 children (2 of them ours) that are preparing to go to Bangkok, Thailand this year. We are growing as a team by attending a 5 month missionary training school in Atlanta, GA- Global Frontier Missions. By this summer, mostly all of the team will have moved to Bangkok. Since we have had a later start in raising our ministry partners, we will be joining the team later this year. We are excited to be heading out on our 2nd missionary journey as a family, knowing that what God wants is better than what we want. Jesus prayed, in Matthew 26:39 "Father, not my will, but yours be done." Father, no matter where your will takes us, not our will but yours be done.

I'll share more about our times here in Atlanta in future, and SOONER posts.

Healthy Church

The main thing we teach our CP's is about God's purpose and goal and how we can reach them. God's purpose comes from Habakkuk 2:14- "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." God's goal is seen in two places in Revelation- 5:9-"And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. " and 7:9- "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." So, in church planting, our purpose and goal needs to be the same as that of God. If they are different or they do not line up with God's, our plans will fail.
We teach them that the key to reaching God's ultimate goal is through healthy church. However, many church planters do not know what healthy church is, so we have to teach them and show them what healthy church is from the Bible.

1. 1 Goal and Purpose- God's Glory- The church has to have the same purpose as God- that his glory cover the earth; and same goal- that every person come to salvation. If the church's purpose and goal is not in line with God's, there is no health and the rest does not matter.
2. 2 Authorities- God's word and the Holy Spirit. This does not excuse us from other authorities as believers. In fact, we are directed by God's word to submit to authority, so we are not free from following the law. The Holy Spirit is given by God, and we know that the Holy Spirit will not do anything against God, so the church must be led by God to be healthy.
3. 3 Offices- Pastor, Deacon and Treasurer. We know from scripture- Ephesians 4:11-12- "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" The term used here is pastor, and is also seen in some translations as "shepherds." It means to give care to the believers in the church and to teach/equip them for works of service. The job of pastor is one who equips the body of believers. If 80% of the work in the church is done by 20% of the people, and much more done by the pastor, whose fault is it? It is the pastor's fault for not equipping God's people for works of service. He is to equip those to be apostles (missionaries), prophets, evangelists and even other pastors. Paul gives the qualifications for pastors in 1Timothy 3:1-7. Deacon is the second office that is needed in the healthy church. We see this modeled in Acts 6. The Apostles told the church to appoint deacons to take care of the needs of the believers. The deacons are the servants of the church, and are to take that responsibility. The qualifications for deacon are given by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:8-12. The third is a treasurer who takes care of the money taken in church as tithes and offerings. This keeps the pastor from accusation of dishonesty with the money. Also, his job is already busy enough equipping the believers; he really has no time to deal with the money. The same goes for deacons; they are busy serving the church. The church planter doesn't need to handle the money because he is probably working around other places and also might be seen as untrustworthy after handling the money. The treasurer, however, should be one who is trustworthy, but is given responsibility to hold the money. He is not the one who decides what to do with the money but only the one who holds it and gives it out at the decision of the church. We do not have any scripture references regarding the qualifications of a treasurer, but we know they are needed and we can assume that the qualifications are similar to that of deacons. Actually, we can follow Jesus' example of this. Jesus was accused of many things- being a drunkard, associating with sinners, breaking the Sabbath, being demon possessed, and even blasphemy. However, He was never accused of mishandling money. Why? He had a treasurer, though maybe not the best choice for the job in Judas! The treasurer's job is to protect church leadership from accusation. If any one of these three offices are not present, the church cannot be healthy.
4. 4 Marks of Maturity/Self Sufficiency- Self-Governing, Self-Supporting, Self-Reproducing and Self-Correcting. By Self Governing we mean that a healthy church can make decisions for itself without any outside influence, such as the church planter or missionary. Who was it that chose the first deacons in Acts 6:1-7? The church! The apostles instructed the church to appoint them, but there was no debate when the decision was made. The apostles trusted the leading of the Holy Spirit in the church to choose the right men and they left the decision to the church. They empowered them to govern themselves and it went well for them in the future when the church was scattered by persecution. A church dependent upon the apostles may have been destroyed by this troubled time. A Self Supporting church must have ownership of its function. It means that the ministry and outreach the church performs is fueled by its own resources. Acts 2:44-45, the believers had everything in common and gave to anyone as they had need. Acts 4:34-36, there was no needy person among them. People sold land and the money was distributed to any who had need. Other scripture regarding self-supporting is in Acts 11:29, 2 Cor. 9:10-15, and Philip. 4:14-19. If funds continually come from the outside, the church cannot be self-sufficient and becomes dependent upon others to provide. Also, the church never have to be taught about giving because of the support they receive. Until the church practices disciplined giving, dependence will keep the church from becoming healthy which limits the spread of the Gospel. Self-Reproducing means that the church is able to send apostles from its own body and plant other churches. The healthy church will take responsibility to evangelize its field and reproduce other churches. Paul talks about this in 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8; that they became a model to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia, and that their faith in God has become known everywhere. The church is called to be an example and multiply, and only by multiplication will the kingdom of God grow quickly. Healthy churches reproduce new believers and new churches. The last is self-correcting. A healthy church has a firm grip on scripture as its guide, and a proper use of scripture shows that health. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," Scripture must be the source of teaching and training and can be trusted for rebuking and correcting as well. Again, we can say that the two authorities of the healthy church are scripture and the Holy Spirit. Just like an infant is dependent in the early part of its life, so is the developing church. However, when the child is helped to grow correctly, it grows into a self dependent and self sufficient adult. If the early church is developed correctly and is encouraged and taught to be dependent upon itself, it can grow into a self-sufficient healthy body. On the other hand, an adult who is still dependent upon its parents to feed it and make decisions for it is silly. In the same way, an older church that is dependent upon a church planter for teaching and decision making or outside funds for support is just as silly.
5. 5 Functions of Healthy Church- Worship, Fellowship, Evangelism, Discipleship and Ministry/Service. We get these functions from two passages of scripture- In the Great Commandment, Matthew 22:37-39- "Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " From this we get three of the functions. Worship is the expression of love toward God. Anything that the church does as an expression of love toward God is worship. That could be singing, giving, praying and acts of obedience to His word. Fellowship is loving the body of Christ. Believers have two kinds of neighbors- lost people and believers. Loving our brothers and sisters in Christ is fellowship, and any act of love toward our spiritual family is fellowship- praying for one another, giving to those brothers/sisters who have needs, and carrying each others burdens are all acts of fellowship. Ministry- we are also to love our lost neighbors. Showing the love of Christ through our actions and attitudes is ministry. In order for the church to be healthy, it needs to consider these acts of love as a strategic aspect of its function. In other words- serving the sick and the needy but not sharing the Gospel with them while doing this is not the function of a healthy church. God wants to draw people to Himself through our actions, but those actions need to lead to an opportunity to share Christ with the lost. Serving people's earthly needs is important, but their eternal needs must also be addressed. The last two functions are found in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20- " Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Evangelism means to go and make disciples; share the Gospel with those who have not heard. It may also be called missions. According to Acts 1:8, this can be done locally and at great distances. For a healthy church, doing evangelism/missions should be a part of everyday life. Discipleship means to teach others to obey everything Jesus has commanded. A healthy church is actively focused on moving believers forward in their relationship with Christ. The church must plan to provide tools and accountability. The five functions of a healthy church can be seen in the 1st church in Acts 2:41-47. If you look at the passage of what this church was doing, you can find the five functions happening. All 5 functions of the church should be happening for the church to be healthy. If any one of them are missing, then the church is unable to be the key to reaching God's purpose and goal.

These are the things that compose a healthy church. The basic functions are all there for church health, and all backed by scripture and examples given by God. There are some things the church should do that are not mentioned here like baptizing new believers, taking the Lord's Supper and giving. However, if the basic functions of the church are addressed, then these other functions are realized through the leading of the two authorities- God's word and the Holy Spirit. Through these, the church will see them as necessary functions as well and will do them in submission to those authorities.
I realize this has been a long post, but I felt since we have been really stressing to our church planters the need for them to plant healthy churches, that I needed to share this. Test your own church in these and see if they are happening. I'm proud to be part of a church that is doing all the above mentioned things to grow God's kingdom not only locally but globally. I am also proud to be witness to national brothers here in South Asia who are catching this vision and working within the plan of God- that they see the key to realizing God's purpose and goal fulfilled in this place is through healthy church.

I'm Back!

I have to really apologize to any who check on this blog for not posting any updates or anything since May. On the other hand, thank you to those who have been checking in. Whether blog, facebook, or newsletter, I have tried to keep all of those who are praying for us and the work here informed about what God is doing. We have traveled and had much happen here during these last 2 months. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time of service here, and we have seen much fruit. Here are some updates on what has been going on:

The time with the group of 14 we have been teaching has come to an end. For the last year, we trained and equipped 14 church planters in best practices of CPM. We helped them focus their ministry on best things rather than a lot of good things. Some of the group moved slowly, while we saw several of the group catch on to the concepts, and their ministries are growing quickly. Rajesh, who was skeptical that this new teaching would actually work, was simply going to come to the meetings and hear the teaching, but continue to do what he had been doing. As time webt on, he became convicted, and felt God asking him why he was not willing to put the teachings into practice. At this point, he realized he should be doing the things we were teaching about. He decided to go find the man of peace, according to the entry strategy we had taught from Luke 10:1-11. He prayed for God to show him the place he was to start a new church, and when that place was revealed he went. As he went, he prayed to meet the person of peace that God had placed there. A man approached him and asked him why he was there. Rajesh responded that he was a follower of Christ, and he was there to share some good news. The man said to him that some time back he had received a tract talking about Jesus, and asked Rajesh if he could explain this. They went to his home, where the gospel was shared and the man accepted Christ, he and entire family! A church has started there, and people are coming to know Christ through the efforts of finding this man of peace. Rajesh has found 7 new places since February, and all are meeting for church. A couple of these new churches have already sent members out to new places and started their own churches, so we have seen growth to the 3rd generation through Rajesh's obedience! Others in the group had existing churches they have been trying to get to healthy status so that they could multiply and plant other churches. Some of those churches are responsible for sending out members of their own body and sharing Christ in a new village also. As we held our group of 14 accountable to applying the teaching to their ministry, they were also holding the leadership under them accountable to also doing the things they were taught. They were challenged to go into a new place and find a man of peace. They were also given the task of teaching all their believers how to share the gospel with others, and hold them accountable to actually share. We are proud of this group and the way they have taken the teaching and applied it to their ministry. We know that through these brothers that this place will begin to transform and that God's glory would cover this place like to waters cover the sea. So, as Paul did in Acts 20:32-38, we committed our brothers to God and the word of his grace, we prayed over them and wept together as we said goodbye, knowing fully that we had finished the task of equipping these apostles.

As we finished with this group, I have been able to take a new group of church planters, who already have existing churches, and have had multitudes of training in church planting. However, now having heard of the growth of the group we were training, one leader has brought together 16 church planters who are wanting to focus their ministry on best practices. I met with them back in June, and told them a little of what they could expect out of intense training like this. It has been modeled to me by my supervisor, and now I am equipped to do the same with a new group. I committed to teaching them the best practices of church planting, as it comes from God's word, and they committed to learn and apply these things to their ministry. We came together at the end of July in our second meeting. I asked them what is different about this training and what their expectations were of this time together. One brother said that the teaching he had heard in the initial meeting made more sense than any he had heard before. Another took what little teaching we gave and found 10 new believers, baptized them and has formed them into a church, and he has 12 more new believers ready for baptism! I am excited to see what he and the others will do with full teaching. The first 2 day meeting just ended, and they have been given tasks to do in the time between now and our next meeting and then come back and report. I will also go and visit with them in their places of ministry, to observe and encourage them in the things they are doing. Pray for this new group, that they will apply the things we are learning together so their ministry can grow and that through these brothers, like the last group, this place will be covered with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

We also said goodbye to our team members who lived in the city with us. Their 3 year term came to an end in mid-July. They will be in the U.S. for one year until their oldest is sent to college, and then return to South Asia to continue the work. We shed tears and prayed over each other as they headed back home.

Finally, as you may have read in my last post, we had originally extended our 2-year term all the way until the summer of 2010, and I had been taking seminary courses in order to apply for career IMB status. We talked with our church leadership early in the year, and they told us that they were putting together a team of families and college students and planned to send them to Bangkok, Thailand to start a missionary training school. They asked us if we would pray and consider being on the team as the ones who would focus on the church planting part of the school. The team's task is to start an international church, set up a training school that would train missionaries from anywhere in the world. We would focus them on Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim, and the training school would be a springboard for them to actually go and live in South Asia as missionaries. We would be equipping international missionaries to live overseas while training them overseas. We would also be training and equipping believers in Bangkok the principles of church planting. The students of the team would enroll in an international university and start a student ministry. We were definitely intrigued by the opportunity that our home church was offering. However, we would not be financially supported like we have been with the IMB. We would be raising our own support back home in order to live overseas. This is a huge step for us and a little out of our comfort zone! We prayed about the decision for a month. We knew we needed to make a decision fast, because the team was being assembled and will be going through their own training together starting in January 2010. We talked and we began to feel a peace about the decision. Our home church, the church God brought us to and the leadership we have been following for the last 10 years - leadership we are confident is led by God and His Word, needed our decision. We have decided to shorten our extension here in South Asia, and go home in December after I finish training the current group. We will catch up with our team in January and train together for 5 months in Atlanta. In June, the rest of the team will be sent off to Thailand, and we will go back home to TN raise support for living overseas - something our team members are doing now. We are excited about this new opportunity, and are blessed to be part of a healthy church who is setting apart and sending directly from its own body. We are confident in God's provision for our lives, and that we must simply say yes to whatever God has planned for us - because he has plans to prosper us and give us a hope and a future.

So, now I'll take a breath. We look forward to what God holds for our future. We will work hard these last 5 months before going home, so that we can say, like Paul, we have not hesitated to proclaim the whole will of God during our work here.

More updates to follow - stay tuned...

Holi, Holi....HOLY!!!

We were again blessed to have a team from our home church visit us here. This is the 3rd visit since we have been here, and some have been several times before. Normally, however, we try to discourage teams from coming during major festivals, simply because it is difficult to travel, and find people who are open to hearing the Gospel in the middle of all the visiting and cooking food, etc. Our church had two college students who wanted to come, but they could only come during their spring break, which just happened to fall on the festival of Holi.

Holi, in South Asia is the festival of colors, to celebrate the coming of the warm weather. Everyone travels back to their home place celebrate with their relatives, so much is closed down during this time. The first day, people celebrate on the eve of Holi by burning giant fires around the city. Many people get drunk and sometimes it is a dangerous time to be out and about. The next day, people celebrate in the morning by putting colored dye into water and have giant water fights with each other.

All the members of the team played, and got colored nicely by the neighborhood kids- which made us all feel like kids again!

Run Away!!

They waited for us to come out, then shot. We were sitting ducks!

Defend ourselves we tried, but there were just too many of them, and they were determined!

After the color ran out, we headed for safe ground inside the house of our host.

We watched as the boys downstairs threw each other into the mud puddles, threw mud on each other as well as passers-by, then progressed to throwing dirt and ash on each other.

That evening, after washing as much of the color off as we could, we went to visit some neighbors, and low and behold, we were greated with more colors- dry this time though. We had some appointments to see some specific people and perhaps share the Gospel, but we got re-directed to a large gathering of men from the community who were meeting and they asked us to come over and visit. As we sat, the men came with hands full of colored powder which they proceeded to smear on our faces and hair.

This was a fun time, and though we weren't able to share the Gospel exactly like we expected to, we were able to pray for a household that day, and the team came away from this trip with a different perspective on life in South Asia.

We were, however, able to spend time in a house near-by that was really friendly- a perfect house of peace situation, which is what we teach our 14 (Luke 10:1-11). We sat, ate and drank what was put in front of us, which was ALOT! They were very friendly and open. The daughter of the house did mehindi on all the ladies hands.

After all the relational time we spent, we were totally comfortable sharing the Gospel. They were completely receptive, and when we asked if they wanted to accept the salvation of Jesus, they said yes. Praise the Lord! Husband, wife and son all prayed for forgiveness and accepted that Jesus died to take the punishment for their sins, and they committed to follow Jesus only. A house of peace that God can use to grow His kingdom on earth in that village. Pray for this family, as the local church planters continue to follow up with them in discipleship in order to harvest the local area and form into a healthy church. If the team just came out to share with that one family and give them the chance to accept salvation, the trip was a success.

In South Asia, we need to be careful not to knowingly participate in the worship of any other gods. A scripture that came to my mind was when Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews, I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings." The "throwing of colors" is not a type of worship for the locals so the team that came had a great opportunity to be part of the local celebration, and be one of the locals and do what they do for the sake of Christ.

It wasn't a typical trip, but we may never know how many lives were affected for the sake of the Gospel- but God knows. He was glorified, and during Holi, the team was able to put a little Holy into it!

Greatful, Thankful, and Humble

We are in Thailand on a visa run during the holidays, and I am studying different articles on missions for a Seminary class I am taking while we are here. I just wanted to share what God just laid on my heart while reading an article by Tracy K. Jones.

I am greatful for the Southern Baptist Church that is our family back home, from whom we have come overseas to do God's work. I love the staff, and I feel they are led by the two authorities in any Christ-follower's life- God and His word.

I am thankful for the IMB, through whom we have come to do God's work overseas. I believe the leadership to be fully led by Godly men who are also led by God and His word.

But, I am humble to think that a mere simple man can be used by God, who has called us out. We will not do the work, but through us He will do His work.

God calls, the church sends, the agency facilitates. At the front of all this, it is God who calls us. He calls all of us in His time, when He has equipped us in His own way for the task.

Is God calling you? How will you know if you aren't talking to Him? How will you know unless someone explains it to you, like your church staff? Ask God, ask Godly leadership.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Every 2.5 seconds, someone dies in South Asia, 99% of those do not know the salvation that has been offered to them. How can they ask for salvation if they don't believe? How will they believe unless they hear? How can they hear unless someone tells them? How can someone tell them unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15)

God is calling. He has been calling since He gave us the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). That we will be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

It's not too late. After 16 years of professing that I was a Christ follower, He called my family and I to "pick up and move to the land I will show you." Many times, I wish I had heard that call earlier in my life, but God knew He had to do some pruning in my life. In 2005, it was time. I submitted. In His time. It wasn't too late for me, it's not too late for you. He may call you specifically one day. Just be ready to go where He asks you, with hands and a heart open to His will.

One Year On The Field!!

It is really hard to believe it has been a year already! It still seems like we just arrived, though most of our time here has been a blurr. It feels like it took us about 4 to 6 months to really get our feet under us here, but in reality, this year anniversary has really brought about more comfort on our part. Comfort with our neighbors, local businessmen, hosting teams from our home churches- I feel more in control of things in the past couple months than I have the entire time I have been here. I have never felt the urge to go home, or asked the question "What were we thinking coming to this place?" Honestly, I have never felt better about being someplace than I do here. As tough as it is living here, I would not want to do anything else. It really is freeing when you totally submit to God's will and go where He tells you to go. Add to that the fact that we are just regular followers of Christ- not Bible college or Seminary trained ordained ministers. God chose us right out of our ordinary life to come and be part of a transformation right here in South Asia. That is a testimony to anyone who feels called, you do not have to be ordained or fully biblically educated to work for Him on the field. I am just finishing reading through the entire Old Testament for the first time. By the end of the year, I will have read through the entire bible. How's that for ordinary? God calls us to His will to glorify Him in many ways. I love the story about Gideon in Judges 6-8. God called Gideon to save Israel against an army whose camels numbered as many as were grains of sand on the sea shore. Gideon wondered why God was wanting to use him, as his tribe was the least of all tribes, and Gideon the least of his tribe. And even though Gideon tested God several times, God used Gideon and only 300 men to defeat an army of hundreds of thousands. God has given us many examples of how he uses the ordinary and overlooked to bring glory to himself. My family and I are living examples of this.

Over the past year, we have had joys- celebrating new life with national brothers and seeing the peace of Jesus come over them and their lives change has been awesome! Traveling to spend time with national brothers and sisters in their homes and receiving their gracious hospitality has been humbling to me. Having teams from our churches in the US come and spend time with us in the field is great. This is part of the mobilization we are here for. Showing how much fun it is to those who come, that they can be part of God's work here also. The full suitcases of American goodies they bring with them is like Christmas time for us also!
We have also experienced sadness here. My grandfather passed unexpectedly 6 months into our term. My wife's best friend, who battled cancer for a year with courage I could never imagine having, found out the cancer had come back. My daughter has had a tough time not seeing her friends and being homeschooled takes its toll. My son has no one his age to play with, so he does his best at getting attention where he can. Seeing people daily go to temples filled with false gods and idols is still devastating, and really hits home the fact that this place needs Jesus.

How can they know the One True God if they do not believe? How can they believe if they don't hear? How can they hear unless someone tells them? How can someone tell them if they are not sent? (Rom 10:14-15) God has equipped us- all of us who follow Him, to preach the Gospel. Not only has He equipped us, He has commanded us to go, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything Jesus has commanded. (Matt 28:18-20) And you know why we should take comfort and do what Jesus commands? Because he is with us to the very end of the age. He even says He will go before us! How comforting is that? God has given promise after promise to us that He will provide for us. All we have to do is believe, and submit.

Will you submit? Submit to going? And by going I mean even to your neighbor, your kids' football or soccer coach? Teachers? Parents? What about those people who are from another country living in the US? Maybe God is calling you to be hosts to them. We have been so blessed to have people take care of us here in South Asia, and they are not followers of Christ. Is there anyone you can think of who needs your hospitality? You don't have to move half way across the world to minister to people from another country or culture. They may be right there. God has put them there for you to be a neighbor to. As followers of Christ, it is our responsibility, each of us, to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Will you go?

What's the Difference?

Here are some more images of idol worship around our city this week. This is very different from the every day worship at the temples. People crowd around these temporary temples to give honor to and get blessings from a statue. In Acts, Paul was deeply distressed at the idol worship he witnessed. But he did realize one thing- that the people were spiritual and were searching for ways to connect with God. They even went so far as to put a statue up to the "unkown god". It distresses us to see all the idol worship around us. We kind of get numb to it, since it is so heavily surrounding us. I even toy with the idea not to post about this, since it would be giving some publicity to this type of worship. However, when I was in America, I was fully unaware of how much idol worship there was here, so I talk myself into publishing these things because it brings awareness to those who pray for us and the people here. The people are trying to connect with God. They don't know any other way of doing it. They've done it this way for centuries. Some people have even told me that they do it because no one has ever told them anything different.

On Average, $15,000 US dollars are spent on each temporary temple during Durga Puja.
On one 5 mile drive from our house, we counted 13 of these huge temples.

Each one of these temples will be dismantled next week and cast into the river.

But, I need to ask the question- what is the difference between this and what we in America do with what we have grown up knowing? Our tradition tells us to celebrate at Christmas and Easter, the birth of Christ and the death and resurrection of Christ. Yet, most times, other things replace the one true God in our hearts. It may be money, house, career, alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, sports (fill in the blank here). I would say, that many of these things if not all are not spiritual in nature. Are we seeking God when we chase after these things? It is not an idol we can worship, but we chase after these things with a passion- a passion we should have for the one who has given himself as a sacrifice for us and our eternal souls. He has given us given us the opportunity to accept eternal salvation, but we throw that aside for things that will fade away in days, months or years. Americans reject what they know for things that will not last. People here do not know about Christ, so they are not really rejecting Him. But, they are trying to connect with what they think is god the only way they know how.

Can you imagine what kind of passion the people of South Asia would have when they learn the truth of the One True God? That Jesus died and took punishment for the judgement that awaits every person? What kind of passion would we as Americans have if we focused ourselves on the one who has given himself for us and saved us for all eternity?

More Volunteers

Yes, again we are blessed to have a team come visit us here. This time, a team of 3 college students who signed up for the SA101 (South Asia 101) branch of our region. It gives college students an opportunity to visit our region and work with the particular units that request them. They raise their own funds for travel and orientation as well as meals and hotel stays. They stay with us for 8 weeks and help with that unit's strategy. The three that have come to us - 1 male and 2 females - have shown themselves to be very mature and outgoing for their age. It is remarkable to see young men and women broken for the lost of the world, and not only that, but being obedient to do something about it.

They came in and spent 4 days with us in our town as we taught them about our strategy and how they were going to fit in with it. We then drove them 3 hours away to a place where we have seen much fruit in the last few years, so that they could share the Gospel with those that still have not heard, build relationships with those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and also begin to give them some bible teaching. We have CP's in this area that will help them with translation and to bring them to the people they need to encounter. We worked with them in this area for about 3 days, modeling how we are sharing and what we are teaching to new believers. They were set up in a hotel, given their last minute instructions, and we left to come back home. We were nervous about leaving them there, but we know that they are being led by the Spirit. They'll come back in a few days to meet with their team leaders, and de-brief their first short term on their own. They will then go back for 20 straight days to continue what they started, maybe even with a fresh set of eyes. We are only 3 hours away, and if any issues come up, we can always go there. Both of our families, however, leave the country for our Annual General Meeting/visa run at the end of the month, right in the middle of their stay. We have planned to send our driver with our car there to take them about, and our driver is very protective, as well as our CP's they will be working with. We know that they will be safe, with God's protection as well as our national partners taking care of them while we are gone, but there is a sense that since we are not going to be near, we may worry a little bit.

However, we are very proud of how these young adults have handled everything so far. While we were with them, we visited the home of some new believers. The guys sat outside the house talking, with our translator, while the women went in to spend time with the women - of whom none speak any English, nor do the girls speak the local language. We spent about an hour and a half comparing American culture with their culture. It was a lot of fun and interesting for both sides. As we left the home, the girls began weeping. We knew they felt frustrated because they couldn't talk to the women, but one of the girls told us the real reason she felt so bad. She said that she wanted so badly to be able to share the Gospel, but she realizes that she cannot because of the language barrier. On the other hand, she is able to speak to anyone and everyone in America, anytime she wants. But she doesn't share her faith enough. She felt very convicted. Wow. For a college student to feel this broken that she is not sharing enough really encourages me. It shows that not only do we have 3 very mature young people here to help us, but America is getting back 3 spiritually charged young followers of Christ after they are done. I am excited for what God will use them for here, but equally excited about what God is going to use them for in America after this experience.

Update- The First Meeting of the 14

14 men were at our first meeting, most of whom we know from the last year of training. My team member has been doing training all over our state to fish for obedient men and/or women to take on the task of reaching the lost peoples of the state and ultimately this country. As Jesus began His ministry, basically, His first year he spent speaking to the multitudes. In His second year, Jesus chose 12 to come and be with Him, where He also sent them out for training. The final year of Jesus' ministry was devoted completely to the 12 he chose. He poured Himself into these 12, knowing that He was leaving them soon, and that they needed to be ready to take over for Jesus after His death, resurrection and ascention.


In the same way, our strategy here has been very similar. For the first year and a half, we have held meetings with many believers to come and see. We then held training sessions in different districts of our state. This was not only to help people understand better the path they chose to follow, but also to fish for obedient men and women who would ultimately become a small group that we could train in our final year on this field. This would then free us up for God to use us elsewhere, and give final responsibility to the national believers to reach their brothers, sisters, parents, friends and everyone in their state.


The 14 assembled this weekend, where we basically told them who we are, what company we work for and how we can help them. We will be going to where they are, once a month, one at a time. We committed to having integrity in all things, providing them the best training in CPM from our company, equip them for the task ahead and ultimately leave them next summer, like Jesus left the 12. They committed to using the best practices of CPM, to being accountable to each other, to working with thier own hands to be self supportive and not coveting anyone else's money, and many other things. We had a covenant drawn up where both my team member and I signed as well as each of the men. 13 of the 14 have signed. The last needed time to think to commit to what we have proposed.

This is a great start. We know that God has chosen this place at this time to begin to reach people and turn them to follow Him. We have the vision that this place, which is the lowest of the low in our region, is going to be used by God in a mighty way. If this place begins to change for the better, many people will begin to wonder what is going on, and slowly they will begin to realize that God is working here and will want what this place has. We are witness to a beginning of a great change right here.

Pray for the14, that they will believe in the things we are doing and follow them. Pray for us, as we go to them that we go with wisdom given from God, and that we remain teachable by them as well. We know that tough times are coming for the entire group, including us. We have counted the cost together, and the eternal reward greatly outweighs the troubles we will all face in the coming year. But we have the promise from our Heavenly Father- "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." ~Matthew 28:20(b)

First Meeting of The 12

We actually will be meeting with between 12 and 15 obedient followers of Christ. We will be spending Friday and Saturday with these CP's from all over our state to map out the next year of ministry together. My team member and I along with this evangelistic force will go over a covenant and then commit to to co-labor together to have the Gospel, as well as teachings of Jesus reach an enormous population. Just as Jesus chose to pour into just a small group of disciples for the last year or so of His ministry, so we have also found an obedient group of men and women to lead out for God and reach this place for Him. Pray for these two days coming up this weekend, that we speak with wisdom and are able to explain, with God's Word, the task that is ahead of us. I will update after the weekend on how the meeting goes.

Bad Water or Bad Manners?

Yesterday, my team member, our driver, our translator and two CP's went to a village for a short visit to help with their water problem. The only source of water this poor farming village has is an open well that is probably 50 to 100 years old. This is a common problem in the villages here. The water is OK for washing, but it is also their source of drinking water, which is not OK. Many more wealthy villages have hand pumps for each home. Last year, a church team came through and did some surveying of villages that they could help with their water problem. They donated money and told us to handle putting the hand pump in for this village. This helps them, and also opens a door for the local CP to visit frequently and share the Gospel with the people.

We wanted to meet the village leader, but he was not there. As we waited, we were all offered some home-made lemonade to cool off. 1st warning- One of the ladies comes in with a well bucket full of water. She then goes and begins to mix fresh lemons and sugar with the water for us to drink. (little voice is saying "caution") 2ND WARNING- She brings out a couple glasses for us, and we are to drink and give back so it can be refilled for the next person. The glasses were not clear, probably to hide the fact that the water was not all that clear. (little voice getting louder - "politely refuse it if offered") They offered, which I politely refused. One refusal is not enough here. You must say no 3 times for them to leave you be. I looked at our driver, who calmly gulped the water down. (little voice is saying "he's from here, you're not. Just say NO"). The little voice lost. I couldn't turn it down. I gulped it down, (Lord I'll put it down if you keep it down -or IN) as did the wife of my team member and the CP's and our translator. (little voice says "I warned ya! You're on your own dude!")

Then we walked out to take a look at where would be a good place to put the hand pump in the village. As we walked, we saw the open well they used. We looked down inside. A nice film covered the water. WARNING 3- My team member leans over to me (who, by the way has learned listen to his little voice and did not partake) and says "Dude, you probably didn't want to see that is what you drank." I'm a little nervous now. 4th AND FINAL WARNING- Our translator walks up beside me, looks in the well and says to me in a shocked/concerned voice, "We drank this water?" UH-OH. Out came a nervous laugh. After we got in the car, we prayed that none of us would get sick. Well, live and learn. Pray with us that we don't get too sick!

This whole journey is an adventure. If you can't have fun on an adventure, it gets boring or you get bitter.

Sowing the Seed- Part II

So, getting back to the team that visited us from our home church-

Previously, I had been part of and lead a couple teams here on short term trips to teach new believers and encourage them as they go out to plant churches and proclaim God's kingdom on Earth. Important, but our strategy for volunteer teams when they come is for Gospel saturation. Nothing draws a crowd here quicker than a few foreign faces and some stories to share. The team did a great job the first two days, sharing with close to 400-some people who had never heard before. It was good for them to see how they fit into our strategy of reaching an unimaginable population who have never heard of Jesus. They said it would be much more of a draw for people to come on a trip to be sharing their testimony and the Gospel of Jesus rather than try to teach at a conference or seminar. Some of the members of this team have been on other international trips, and one of them said that this was the best one they had been on. They got to see fruit, and life change in front of their eyes. I thank God for their obedience to come and be part of our work here, and know much more about how to partner with us.

Anyways, the last day our team was in the field we planned to walk through a village area. On the way, we were invited into the house of one of the neighbors of our local CP. We shared who we were and we all drank tea (in 100+ degree heat mind you). One of our team shared his story with the whole family, and then we shared the Gospel of Jesus. The leader of the family said that this was a big decision and to ask him to make this decision now is difficult. He said that what we shared was good, but for him to make a decision would not only affect him but the entire family would be affected also. We told him that it was ok that he thinks about these things. It is better than him saying flat out "no". He is a wise man and a good family leader. Our local CP is going to continue to build this relationship further to be available for any questions that might come up.

We then left and walked through a local village, again drawing quite the excitement. A young man asked us to sit down under his small covering for shade and he offered us water. We offered to share a story. We actually acted out a skit about 3 people on their way to heaven- A priest who talks to God for the people; A person whose parents were religious; and a person who gives much time and money helping the poor. All these people thought that they would go to heaven and have no problem. On the way, they come across a man who wants to go with them. They ask what he does, and he tells them that he is just a man with sin in his life. The three tell him that he will probably not get into heaven, but he can come along only if he walks behind them a ways. When they get to the door of heaven (another of the team stands there as Jesus) all try to get in by knocking, but there is no answer, even when all three bang and yell. Just as the three are discussing why the door won't open, the sinner gets on his knees before the door, confesses that he is a sinner and asks Jesus for forgiveness. Jesus opens the door and welcomes him in with a hug, to the astonishment of the three (and many of the audience). We then explain to them about each person and then give the Gospel. There were people everywhere, about 200, and we were in the middle of the village road. People were climbing onto walls, into trees and pushing in close to see us and hear what we had to say. The young man who first invited us to sit accepted the salvation as did about 4 others- right in front of the entire village!! Our CP said that many times people are too shy to come forward in front of large amount of people as that, so the ones that did must have really been feeling the call from Jesus. We asked them how they all felt, and they said they felt peace. What a blessing to see eternal life change right in front of us like that! We moved on after some time and were invited into a house that was newly built and they were celebrating the opening. They counted it good luck for foreigners to come in to the house. When a house is new, before Hindus move in they have the local pundit come and do puja (hindu worship) in the house for a whole day while neighbors and family and friends come by. We were able to come in and witness some of this. We know that when they do this, they are inviting many kinds of evil into their home. This day, however, the Lord had us there. They actually asked us to pray a special blessing on the house! We all did, so Jesus' name has been proclaimed in this house. We prayed that they find peace when hearing the name of Jesus and that prosperity will come to this family and house in His name!

All in all, the trip was great! Thank you FBC for a great visit and for proclaiming the name of the Lord to the ends of the Earth! You may never know how many lives you actually affected, but the results and the glory belong to the One True God, and He will bless you for your obedience and faithful service!

Sowing the Seed- Part I

Over a week ago we had a team of 6 from our home church come and visit us. My team member and I took them into an area of villages for Gospel sharing. We split up into two teams, 3 with me and 3 with him, each team with a translator and driver. Over all, both teams shared in different village areas to over 600 people - most of whom had never heard the Gospel of Jesus before!

The first day, my team went to an area of low caste villagers in the morning. A crowd gathered, as most times happens when lighter skin people show up here. One of the team shared thier story and then we shared the Salvation of Jesus by telling His story. Some of the villagers accepted, along with a couple of guys who had just stopped by to see what was going on, they weren't even part of the village! These two guys, who ran a local business, were in the front listening to the Gospel presentation with wide eyes. Even our driver was intently listening. About 8 people accepted Jesus, including the businessmen and our taxi driver! The businessman said that his sister was a Christian and had shared Jesus with him before several times, but gave up finally and told him to find some other Christians he could listen to. When he heard the words we spoke, he felt that this was the day he needed to surrender his life. Praise the Lord for this Divine Appointment! The ones who were living in the village who accepted Jesus will be followed up on by our CP's in that area.

The next place we went, there were existing believers, but some that had not accepted yet. Unfortunately, most of the ones who had not heard were gone to the doctor due to illness. As we sat on the porch of this house, about 50 children came around us and listened to one of our team tell the story of David and Goliath. I played Goliath and one of the small boys played David. I gave it my best Hollywood try. Amazingly, when we got to the point in the story where David takes 3 smooth stones from the river, the boy had 3 marbles in his hand! Needless to say, David slew me and when I fell, all the children laughed and cheered, and David commenced to beating on me for more effect. We then went to another family of believers to pray over their household and encourage them.

After lunch and some rest, we went to another village to share with about 80 people. Many were women, so the one lady on our team shared her story and then we shared the Gospel. About 25 accepted, even some of the men who showed up after we started. We went a little further to another area in this village and shared out in the open, with about 100 people. About 30 accepted. The local CP in this area was with us and will be gathering many of these new believers together for prayer meetings. He also invited those who were interested to attend.

That night, both teams came together and rejoiced in the Lord with our stories of the day, of how God used us all to share with many people.

The next day, our team set out to another village area. After we visited a school that is being run by a local CP, we went for a walk by the river to see where many baptisms have taken place. Again, we drew a crowd. There were fishermen in boats casting fishing nets, and I joked that the team should go on a boat ride. Our translator then arranged a short boat ride for two of our team, which again drew much attention. The crowd followed us back to the school, where we shared the story about the miraculous catch of fish, and then shared the Gospel with the crowd, which was about 150 people. There was a young drunk man who was disturbing our sharing, and when he could not get anywhere, he told the crowd he was leaving and that everyone should follow him. No one did, and they even told him to be quiet and listen or go away. He walked away, but then came back to listen since no one followed. We prayed for the crowd, since no one accepted right there, however the Gospel was shared with many who had never heard before.

We then went to an area where many people gathered again, about 100, and we shared the Gospel. No one accepted, but again the seed was planted in many people's hearts. We moved on to share to another low caste village, and about 8 people accepted Christ. Again our two teams came together that night to rejoice in what the Lord had allowed us to do.

There is one more day to tell about, but since this post is so long, I'll leave it and the wrap up for the next post. Thanks again to our team who shared the Gospel with so many. You were the hands and feet of Jesus during your trip.

Updates

What a crazy time it has been since I last updated. Here is what's been happening-

Our prayer meeting at the house went very well. It was an incredible time to come together and receive prayer over our house. About 15 people came and we lifted our house to the Lord. One incredible thing happened- we began to pray for the people who would soon be living in our house! I began to realize that we have been limiting our prayer to only ourselves. We prayed not only for the house to sell, but we prayed that the family that would soon occupy this house would be blessed as we have been these last 8 years. I have been praying this, as well as for the people on the street to be blessed by God as well. I have really begun to see that there is a much larger picture and plan that God has in store for the house that belongs to Him anyway. Thank you to all who came that night, and to those who prayed from afar.

We received an offer last weekend from a couple from Las Vegas, who are moving here with new careers. Great news! Only problem was that they were moving here in August and wanted to close August 15. We will leave for FPO in Richmond August 5. They gave a full price offer with us paying 4% closing cost. We agreed to all, and put in the stipulation that they have their financing finalized 15 days after the contract is signed. They agreed to everything except for the financing part. They could not come up with all the financing. The reason we put a financial contingency of 15 days is because we did not want to find out their financing fell through on the day of closing, after having the house off the market. Turns out, their financing would not have been there. Praise the Lord for protecting us there. One door closed, the Lord opens another- possibly. This past Saturday a couple looked and immediately called to say they were interested, and to expect an offer on Tuesday the 19th. We'll wait to see. We know that no matter what happens, we are going to follow the Lord's call and go in service for Him in South Asia. God will provide, somehow.

My wife has put in her notice at work for the first week in July. My last day will be middle July. We have received our flight plans for entrance into the field. We leave for South Asia on October 17. We have the kids' passports and are soon to apply for their Visas. We have rented a storage unit to store stuff we can't sell or don't want to throw away. We have already sold much furniture we do not want to store. We have been preparing our field for rain, and will continue to do so. Our thought was that the house would be sold by now, but God has a greater plan in mind. As a good friend and church staff member looked me in the eyes yesterday and said-"stay faithful, God is going to provide!" Thanks, KG! We are staying faithful with a great church family behind us, and strong influential leaders encouraging us, and many prayers from family and brothers and sisters in Christ. God has placed many blessings around us, and we praise Him for that.

We will give God all the glory for this time in our lives. As a wise leader recently learned, confessed and submitted to- this is not about us, not about the people of South Asia. It is for the Glory of the One True God of the universe! Nothing more. Would I be thinking this had our house sold soon after we put it on the market? Doubtful. God knows our hearts. He is in control. He is teaching us every day to be faithful; to submit to Him in everything. Most likely because we will need to rely on Him completely where He is sending us.

Well, that's it for the ramblings. We are 1-1/2 months from going to Richmond for our orientation and very excited that it will be here soon. Thank you again to all who have been lifting us up in prayer during this time. I hope to soon post a gigantic SOLD across my blog!

Following Him-
SAM

Observations from recent trip

So much happens on volunteer mission trips, sometimes its hard to put into words right away. Returning from one of these trips, your mind tends to be a little foggy and its hard to process what you've just gone through. One remedy to remember is to journal every day's events in the evening while winding down. I began to write things down, but the trip went by so fast and so many things happened that I did not get a chance to journal. Here are some general observations that came to me today as my mind begins to get clearer and further recovers from jet-lag.

1. Culture shock- This happens in phases. The first phase is the 14 hour plane ride with the nationals to the country to which you are going. Slowly you are initiated into the culture you will experience with the sights, sounds and yes- smells. The second phase is the airport. You quickly realize that personal space is something you have left at home, and standing in lines is a whole different story- because there are none that make any sense! The third and final phase of your culture shock is when you emerge from the airport with your taxi driver that speaks little English if any, and he leads you across the most treacherous and crowded and confusing road you have ever seen. 5 or 6 men come to help you with your bags, and at first you think that they are with your driver. But soon you realize that your car has only six seats, not enough for the team and them. They are just porters that help you in order to make money. I forgot this and had to pay 5 men for helping us. While I paid them, the rest of my team watched, and suddenly I realized I needed to just get in the car. Like a parent coming out of the grocery store with his kids, I told my 3 other team members- "Get in the car!" Not that we were in danger, but we needed to move on.

2. Realization of where you are- When we arrived at a guest house where personnel for the company stay on their way to their final destination on the field, we met a new M family just in from the US ready to head to their city. We were excited to talk with them, and fellowship with them for a while. A family of 5 on an amazing journey and eager to share. I looked at my watch and realized that back home, it was Sunday morning, and our church family was worshipping at this very moment. We all took some time to pray for our church and their worship. It's an incredibly powerful and emotional thing to be able to pray for your church while they are worshipping half-way around the world. I can't do it without tearing up. You then realize where you are, and that God is with you here as well. You begin to realize that God is a lot larger than you ever thought.

3. Mosquito protection- They tell you to protect yourself from mosquitoes with some sort of bug spray. Something with at least 30% deet is sufficient for South Asia. Before my first trip, I went to Wal-Mart, into the camping section and started reading labels of the different sprays. One spray had only 10%, one had 20%, one had 30%. Look further, and there is 45%! But, there was one last one- 100% deet!! Better to have more than enough protection, right? I heard all the objections, even from my wife, that too much of anything is not good. I brought it anyway. One night, while there, we were stuck outside at dusk, and not only did the mosquitoes come out, but every other flying insect seemed to be attracted to us. Out came the 100%. Who else wanted to use it? Everyone! All those who thought it would be too much. Who's got too much of a good thing now? My 100% deet has come back with me the last two times also, and everyone uses it. If I spray it on, however, there is a 5-10 foot deet radius that if we all huddle into, we are safe from all mosquitoes! HA! The 100% deet bubble!

4. The moon- This may sound a little cheesy, but here goes. We fly domestic to our destination city, and when we get off the plane, we walk outside, usually at night, to the terminal. My first trip I looked up to the sky, and noticed the moon. I said to myself, "The moon looks the same here on the other side of the world." And I thanked God for placing me there at that time, and allowing me to be there. My last two trips, I got off the plane looking for the moon, and I point it out to the other team members that it looks the same way over here. Like I said, kind of cheesy, but I try to experience and notice everything I can, and share with those who are seeing it for the first time.

5. Worship- Another moving, powerful and emotionally uplifting experience is worshipping The One True God with local believers in their own language. You really feel the Lord pouring out His Spirit on you and the group you are with. Words cannot describe the feeling, but I get choked up witnessing these Christ Followers sell out for Jesus. They are obeying the greatest commandment- Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength.

6. Realization of the harvest- It becomes vividly evident that there is a spiritual warfare going on in this place. People on the street, non-believers which 99% of South Asia is, seem very empty. Blank stares with seemingly no hope in their lives. People worshipping idols and gods that they only worship because that is all they know. They are spiritually blind. How can they call on the one they have not believed? How can they believe in the one they have not heard?Seeing the difference of the local Christ Followers and the local non-believers is like looking at night and day. The joy of the Lord is so obvious in their faces. They have found their hope. We need to share this hope with those who do not know that they have the gift of this hope. The harvest is plentiful.

These are just some things that I experience while on a short term volunteer trip. It is emotionally uplifting, and sometimes funny to experience these things. God calls all of us to go when we are ready. All He wants is a willingness to obey and a courage to step out of the boat and go. No matter how unworthy or unqualified you feel. The experience will change your life, guaranteed. Probably not as dramatic as going into full time mission work, but I promise you won't be the same. It's ok to support missions financially and prayerfully, but experience God's work overseas and it will change your perspective on many things. It will strengthen your walk with Jesus.

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

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.

My Call- Part 2: A Leading

The first part of this story, I had in mind that I would not be so detailed in the happenings that led me and my family to this point in our lives. I did not want to take so much of someone's time to read about our story. There are some things I have edited for boredom's sake, but once I got started, I just kept going. This next part is the part that gets even more emotional for me, and I hope that translates into the typed word. God is so good!

When I returned from my first ever mission trip, I felt very uncomfortable, and it wasn't just jet lag! I had an empty feeling like there was something else I needed to do about my experience. I knew God was prompting me to do more, but I didn't know what. I had kept a journal of the trip, because I wanted to put it in print for my family and friends when I returned home. About 3 weeks later, I sent an e-mail to all those that contributed prayerfully and monetarily to me going. I got a lot of good feedback. I also stayed in contact with our missionary family, I'll call them the Jones'*, that was back in South Asia, and our partner who hosted us, I'll call him Thomas*. About a month after the trip, the Jones' came home for their stateside assignment, and Thomas* came to visit the U.S.

Our church was holding a reception for him Sunday and I introduced my wife to him. He greeted her with a big smile, and out of the blue, he asked her "How would you feel if the Lord called your husband to full time service in the country I live?" She said, she would have to obey. We had a wonderful time together at the reception. Thomas spoke to the group gathered and told his testimony of how he was called by the Lord out of a comfortable ministry to be a missionary in the poorest state in his country. His parents, who are Christ followers and in the ministry, told him that it was a mistake to go there. It was unsafe. Then one day during his quiet time, he read the passage of scripture that really touched his heart, and touched mine as well. "for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?" Romans 10:13-15. (I read that scripture still today, and it keeps me going toward the goal.) Then Mr Jones* spoke and talked about missions and all God needs is a willing heart to serve, and He will do the rest. I was hooked even more, but how was I to tell my wife? My stomach was in knots trying to tell her in a way that wouldn't freak her out that we are being called to full time missions in a specific area of South Asia. Silence filled the car, until it was broken by her. "You know, I'll go wherever God will lead us." Whew!! What a load off my mind. And what a woman God gave to me!

We decided to talk further of this with the Jones', since they lived where we were called to go. I also felt led to lead a team from our church on the next mission trip to the area, regardless of not having enough time. I decided I would not limit what God had planned in my life. I contacted the associate pastor, and we had lunch the next day, with the pastor as well. I told them I would lead the next team, and he told me there was space for one more lady to go. I immediately told them my wife would go, and I proceeded to tell them why. That she needed to see where we would live because we felt God leading us to full time mission service in South Asia. Both of them fell back in their chairs, mouths wide open, and tears began to form in all of our eyes. I could tell they were so proud of the fact that God was working in the lives of families for overseas service. We sat in silence for a short time, then did the guy thing- "How about that football game last night!" We then had the Jones' over for dinner to grill them about working for the IMB in this particular area, and what to expect. We are greatful for their leadership and guidance through this whole process. So we began our detailed process of applying to the IMB for full time service, as well as preparing for the next mission trip together with another team from our church.

We began our process by telling our parents, my mother first. Our parents do not live in the state we live, they all live 2000 mile west, and are not Christ followers. So, how could we explain to them we were moving half way around the world and bringing their grandchildren with us? That is going to be a problem. We began to pray, and our small group prayed for us. Telling them went the way we thought, they cried, they wondered if it was safe, if we would take the kids, etc. They still don't understand that God had placed this call on our lives, the only decision for us to make was to obey our Lord and Savior. Once we got that out of the way, we put our house on the market. It is still for sale, and for the last 9 months we have shown it. We know God has a plan and will sell it in His time, but we still stress about it!

In my next post, I will continue, as this one is getting looooooong!

My Call- Part 1: A Mission Trip

First, let me explain how I got to be going where I will be going in 8 months. I accepted Jesus as a young adult and have been blessed with the most loving and strong bride anyone could have asked for. My life as a Christ follower has not always bee filled with my obedience to Him. I have made some huge mistakes; ones that I would never repeat. However, I am thankful for those experiences, for through God's grace, those experiences have made me what I am today.

The last 6 years I have really become more of an active member in our home church. 4 years ago, our church held a sacred gathering where the entire membership fasted for 5 days and we met every night for prayer and worship. This was our church body asking the Lord to lead us. We became a globally minded church that spring. We began to reach out with missions overseas, as well as in the U.S. We developed partnerships in several countries and sent many church members who felt called to missions to these places. I had many friends go on these trips. I supported them with prayer, encouragement and monetarily. When some of them asked if I wanted to go, I said not only NO, but HECK NO! That is not my calling. I'm perfectly comfortable to pay, pray and stay out of the way. Missions was for other people, not me.

2 years later, our church sent a team on a vision trip to set up a partnership in the South Asia region, and it made sense, since a family that were members of our church were IMB missionaries in this area. They brought the trip up at church one night, to pray for the team and to give details about the people and the lostness of the land. I suddenly felt something tugging at my heart. I began to feel like I needed to go on a mission trip there. I let it go, however because I heard the enemy tell me I was not qualified or good enough to serve the Lord on a mission trip. When the team returned, they gave their report, and it hit me again. I told my wife, who couldn't believe me either. So the call was put on the shelf again. A couple of months later, the IMB couple who were members of our church came stateside, and talked one Sunday about where they were, the incredible population that didn't know Jesus, and the huge possibilities of working among this harvest. I was hooked. I told God, "I give up. I'll do it!" I wrote an e-mail to our associate pastor in charge of missions for guidance on this situation. I asked him to tell me to go, or talk me out of this. He told me that I needed to obey God's call. He also said not to worry about cost and time, that God would provide that. I agreed and we began, as a 5 member team, to prepare for our trip.

We sent letters to friends and family to raise the $1200 for the trip. In 3 weeks, God sent us $1900. This was enough for my trip, passport, visa and immunizations. I guess God really wants me to go on this thing. I knew He would do something incredible to change my life by me going. I just didn't know what. We were to speak and teach at two different conferences to new believers who were missionaries to their areas and villages around them. I had done no formal teaching and was not much of a speaker, especially not through an interpreter. So this made me nervous and apprehensive, but I trusted God. All our preparations went well, everyone had all their paperwork done, money turned in, shots taken and we were ready to go on this 11 day trip.

When we arrived at our first destination after 24 hours of travel, we were put up in missionary housing to recover and get our feet under us. I began to get a feel for the lostness in the area, though our associate pastor who led us told us that this was not the worst of it. After the ladies shopped for some customary clothing of the area, we flew domestically to our destination city. I got off the plane, and the emotions began to hit me. God had brought me to this place, a calling on my life more than a year ago. Our contact met us and took us to the place we would stay. When we dropped our things off and then were taken to a training center for local missionaries. This was where they did their training. We were treated to some worship music in the local language. My emotions were erupting. I sat there and cried, and thanked the Lord for bringing me here to show me this.

We worshipped with, prayed over and taught 30 men the first two days, and about 25 the next two days. I felt closer to God than I ever had. We were able to visit two villages and a sewing ministry to help the local ladies learn a trade. More worship and prayer in these areas with believers. I came home on a spiritual high, as I thought I would. I thought that God was finished with me, that I did my service project and now I was to get on with my life. I was quite wrong!

To be continued.....