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...

Change Your World View

This past week, we had our monthly meeting of the 14 we are training- a time of sharing and teaching. This meeting was probably the most meat-filled, solid life practical teaching we have had together since we have been meeting these last 6 months.

The first day, we always come together for relational time where the guys share their successes in church planting and ministry. We have seen some good growth from these guys- the kind of growth that has started from a good seed.

The second day, we taught on observing the Lord's Supper, and surprisingly many of them had some good questions- we were able to clear up their questions and confusions surrounding this sacred time that a body of believers does together. First, we asked the question of what does the Lord's Supper mean to us as believers. Then, we looked at what the Bible says about it. We all came away with a much deeper meaning of what the Lord's Supper is, and we remembered the Lord through Lord's Supper together. With this, they should be able to teach their churches the meaning of it and model it for them, so it does not lose its meaning.

We also taught on Tithing- reasons for giving, how much to give, how to give, etc. Again, many questions were raised, and we looked at scripture together to find the answers. Many times, it is easy to try to give our answers to these questions, but we forget that our authority in our lives is God and God's Word. It has been a critical time for us to instill this into these men of the importance of scripture and how it MUST guide their lives and ministry.

The last day, we brought up something we have noticed lately when spending time in the field with our guys. Our translator, who is one of the guys we are training, asked me a question about water and oil, and how many believers in this part of the world bring these things for the pastor or church leader to pray over and take them home and use them. He asked if I knew of anything in the Bible that taught on these subjects. I could only think of the passage in James 5 where it talks about the sick brother who should call the elders to pray over them, annoint them with oil in the name of the Lord for healing. I visited one of our guys soon after this, and to my surprise, while we were praying in a house, our church planter brought in a cup of water. After we prayed for the house, no one drank it and the church planter then handed the cup of water to the house owner and said something to him in the local language. It happened at another house soon after, to which I asked our translator about it. We decided to bring it up during our next meeting, because most likely there were others who were practicing this in their ministry. So, we brought it up. To our amazement, 90% said yes to the question about whether it is right to pray over water or oil for healing purposes. This led us to a discussion about worshiping or putting our faith in created things other than the creator. That when we do this, we are making the name of Jesus meaningless- we are taking the name of the Lord in vain. It is idolotry, and idolotry is a sin. The object does not have the power. God has the power to heal. The discussion opened up, and after an hour of back and forth discussion, all changed their yes's to no's- some more enthusiastically than others, but I think God's Word made its point. It is amazing what the Bible can teach us if we just open it up, read it and study it.

Like I said, this was a great time (probably one of our best) of teaching and learning together. And, even though we are teaching, we are learning right along with these guys. My team-mate and I looked at each other during many of these discussions and said-"This would never be an issue in the U.S." It is a different world we are viewing here. So much of the Bible is living itself out right in front of us here in South Asia- more so than I would ever have imagined it.

God's love and grace is enough to cover it all.

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.

Give Us Some Biblical Feedback!!!

We live in a place where festivals are plenty. These festivals honor false gods and idols. We have been invited to attend some of these religious ceremonies, and we kindly arrive as guests, but do not participate in the worhsip or ritual. Still, we are invited to most of them by our neighbors. This week, the Hindu festival called Chhath (pronounced chut) is taking place. This is a sun worship holiday, with the main rituals taking place this morning and evening. The women of the home fast from food and water for 2 days, and many parties are put on with guests showing up and food being cooked and given to the guests. The worship of the sun takes place at sunrise and sunset the chosen day. People buy food, like fruit, cookies and other things and offer them as sacrifice to the sun. The food is then eaten as the ladies break their fast, and the leftovers are offered to the neighbors - which is where we come in. Our good friends in our building brought us some food and actually said that this is the sacrifice food from today. We know that this is just food, and if they just gave us food, we would accept it and eat it. The Bible is clear in stating that you should eat what is put in front of you. But, when the unbeliever gives us food and they say this food has been sacrificed to an idol, then we should politely decline it. Not for our conscience, but for the unbeliever's, because when we witness to these people, they will wonder why we took part in food sacrificed to their idol when we proclaim to follow Jesus only. It is bad for our witness.

I have read this passage in 1 Corinthians 10 many times, but this is the first time I was confronted with it. My first thought was not to be rude. We accepted the food with thanks, but we have not eaten, and will not. The couple left, and then we looked at the passage in scripture again. We discussed and came to the conclusion that we should tell them that we did not eat their gift, though we are thankful for them thinking of us and bringing us food. We must also explain why. They know that we are followers of Christ, but they do not know why we do some things, and refrain from others. This will be an opportunity to witness and share our faith. Another reason we did not eat the food is because the girl who comes and cooks and cleans for us everyday is a believer, and we do not want to be a stumbling block to her walk, as it also says at the end of 1 Cor 10.

Anyways, let me know what you would do/would have done in this situation. Anything different? Give me some feedback.

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?

Meeting of the 14

We have been teaching our 14 CPs about having a goal, or end vision for their ministry. We know that God's purpose is that His glory would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Hab 2:14. God's goal, or end vision is in Revelation 5:9 and 7:9- for every nation, tribe, people and language to receive and worship Him at the throne in heaven. They voiced their goals for certain people groups and languages they are already working with. We have taught them that they must have a plan- steps working toward the completion of their end vision. For, example, if we have even a simple goal of buying vegetables, we have specific steps we have to accomplish in order to get to that goal. First you must get dressed, put your shoes on, get your money, then go out the door, walk to the rickshaw, take a ride to the market, arrive at the market, and then accomplish your goal of buying what you need. Each step must take place in order to get to your goal efficiently. Putting on your clothes in the rickshaw is possible, but not practical. Walking around your house 2, 5, 10 times before getting in the rickshaw is possible, but wastes time. In the same way, we must put together steps in our ministry toward accomplishing our goal. The first step we are teaching them is how to find where your minsitry should start. We should have an entry plan for the first of 5 parts (Entry, Gospel, Discipleship, Church Formation, and Leadership Multiplication) of our CPM master plan. There are many ways of doing a certain thing, and while all those things are possible, doing many of them is not always practical, and we can easiliy lose our focus. Each step in a CPM must be thought out, and then each step must also be done well in order for the CPM to grow and grow quickly. Choosing one thing and doing is well is much better than trying to do many things and doing them just OK. Their entry strategy we have been teaching them to use, comes from Luke 10:1-11. We call it our HOP (House of Peace) strategy for Entry. Pray and go- let God lead you to the place he wants you to be. Jesus told them not to take extra things (bag or sandals) because we need to rely totally on Him to provide for us, and to allow someone in the place God is leading you to be able to show mercy on you. For blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy. Jesus also said, don't greet anyone on the road. When God has revealed to you the place you should go and bring the Good News, you should go directly to that place. Don't stop. Would a farmer who has precious seed to be planted in the field he has prepared stop on the way to that field? He has a task, and he knows how important and urgent it is that seed needs to be sown, and in that specific field. Once in the village, prayerwalk, and let God lead you to the person of peace. As we learn in Acts 17:26-27, God has determinied the times set for them and the places they should live, and that they should seek God. They are ready for the Good News. Or, they have a need that can be met through prayer, so that the power of God can be revealed to them, and then the salvation can be shared with them. But most important, get into the house. Let the person of peace invite you in and display his mercy upon you. Eat and drink what is put in front of you. Begin to develop the relationship, and then share the Gospel. Stay in the house! Once the Gospel is shared, and they decide to accept the salvation Jesus has offered to all people, stay with them. This is where discipleship starts, as well as church formation and leadership multiplication. From the very beginning, they are modeling how to reach others with the gospel.

This week, my team member and I were able to bring our 14 disciples/CPs in to our city, as we have scheduled every month for the next year. We have visited all of them over the past month in their homes, and given them action items to complete. The meeting is an iron on iron session, where we come together for more teaching as well as sharing praises and prayers about what is going on. Many of the brothers in this meeting were excited to share what has been happening in their ministry since the last meeting. Many of them have toiled many years in ministry and have struggled to see fruit. Since sharing with them the Luke 10:1-11 strategy, they have put it into practice already. Some have prayed for family members of people, and God has shown great healing in order to open doors for them. Others have simply prayed for God to lead them to a POP, and have been invited into the house and shared the Gospel. The 14 are so excited to see something working so quickly, it is going to be incredible to be visiting them in the next month to see what kind of impact God is making through these obedient 14 men.

Many of them have developed a master plan, and they have very specific strategies in each of their 5 parts in order to move toward their goal. They are thrilled to put these things we are learning together into practice, and see fruit like they have never seen it before in their ministry. Next is discipleship and church formation. I will cover this in more detail in future posts, as well as how it is happening among the 14.

Field Time!

No, I'm not talking about football- but I am looking forward to listening to some over the Internet. There is only so much cricket a good old American sports fanatic can take!

Anyways, I just returned from the field spending time with 'Mark' (pseudonym) one of our 14 CP's. Normally, we are to spend time with them 1 on 1 when we come to them, but he had brought 8 of his CP's that he is training to for me to teach some things to them. I really had planned on meeting with 'Mark' only, and had nothing prepared. So, I winged it. I asked them questions. I needed to know what kind of training they have had, where their ministry is, how many churches they oversee, are the leaders they are discipling also discipling others to become leaders- basically interviewing them to measure maturity and get a feel for their theology. The first issue that came up which seems to come up a lot here among believers- what is a disciple? So I ask the question to the group- is there a difference between disciple and believer? All said yes. They told me that they believe a true committed follower of Jesus and His teachings is a disciple. A believer is one who only believes but does not follow. So, we looked in the bible at the requirements to be a believer. I ask them to read Romans 10:9 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." All agreed that to be a believer is to do these things. When you confess that Jesus is Lord, what are you committing to do? You are committing to following Jesus only. When you commit to follow a lord, what does that make you? His disciple. AH-HA! They solved the problem themselves, by looking at God's Word. I think I saw light bulbs blink on, I'm not exactly sure. I could tell they all understood though. I restated that we should always look at the Bible for answers to our questions and not rely on another man's word if it is not Biblically based. This passage of scripture does not give levels of becoming a disciple, and does not recommend a good theologically sound bible college before you truly become a disciple of Christ- you confess and believe, and it is by grace you are saved, not works or knowledge.

Another question I asked them was if they were performing baptisms. They said yes. I asked if their CP's they were training were performing these things too. Most said no, that they themselves were doing the baptisms, Lord's Supper, etc. I asked them why, and they said that some were not ready, that maturity was not there yet from some of them, and they were waiting. I told them it was OK if their CPs personally were not ready to do these things yet, but the CPs should be told by their leaders (them) that they (the CPs) have the authority to do these things. We then read 1 Peter 2:9- "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." In most religions, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, I asked them who were the people who perform the rituals and ceremonies? Priests was the answer. I then asked, "in this passage, what does it say that all believers/followers of Christ are?" Priests came the answer. So, who can do the ceremonies like baptism, Lord's supper, etc.? All believers. Again, we looked at scripture together to get our answer, and they found the solution themselves. I told them that they were doing good work, but growth would never really take off the way they want it to unless they allow their leaders to take responsibilities. They need to let them loose to do the things God has given them the authority to do. I will be most interested in our next meeting to find how much they have moved forward in these two areas.

There is much potential in this small group, and all have had many trainings, but we stressed to them that we need to focus on one thing and do it well rather than try many different things and do them so-so. We shared end visions together, and I told them that if we are to reach the end visions they wanted, they needed to focus their strategy and stick to one thing. 'Mark' is obviously our point man in this group, and I stressed to him how important it was to model for these guys and teach them the things we will be teaching him over the next year.

There are some other things that happened in our meeting- one young man just happened to be brought in by 'Mark' as he met him on the street and rented him a room. He is 18, not a believer, and we got to talking about his future. God really hit a home run on this one, because the young man started by saying he knew all religions and respected them, but they were not for him. I began to share the Gospel with him, using the method we use and teach, in front of all we were meeting with that evening. After sharing, he accepted Christ, and is now a new creation! Not only that, but every one of these CP's got to see how to we share the Gospel- the way we teach it. That could not have gone better. Praise the Lord!

Before leaving, we gave 'Mark' some action items to complete before we meet again in one month. Pray for 'Mark' over the next few weeks as he is putting the strategy we are teaching into action- a strategy that is new to him. We studied Luke 10:1-10, by praying and going to find the person/house of peace God has put into place already, according to Acts 17:26-27. He will do this to some of the places he has been as well as one new place. He is also going to take a couple of his guys with him to model it and have them do the same while he watches. This is called our HOP House Of Peace strategy (more details on this later).

I told 'Mark' that we were not doing this to shame him or tell him he is doing anything wrong, but we simply want to help him and equip him to be able to see progress to his end vision for his district. He understood completely. Pray for his continued obedience and that he can really pour into the 10 CP's he is working with to all become great builders of the Kingdom. God's endvision- "For the earth will be covered by the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14.

BPI- A Must for CPM Training

Well I and the family have been doing our best to survive the rains, floods, start of homeschooling BOTH kids- one in 6th and one starting Kindergarten. Tough enough on its own, but in a foriegn country, I have to admit, is a monumental task. My wife has done a great job juggling the 2 kids schooling, and my daughter has really toughed it up by being self starting- mostly. She is doing well, and getting used to doing things on her own, and then my wife checks all her work and helps her understand what she just finished. I have been home preparing for upcoming trainings, so have been able to help with some of the schooling.

We went to another city for BPI- Best Practice Institute, training Strategy Coordinators in CPM work. It was an 8 day course that our company puts on and any GCC, national CPM partner and company personnell can attend. Company personnel are required to take the course. For someone who has trouble organizing thoughts and plans of action, this gave me real tools to use in the upcoming work we are going to be doing the next year. It also gave me much clearer vision to do what God is calling us to do here, and with the daunting task of reaching 90 million strategically through our focus people group, I have a much better understanding about how CPM should work through the biblical model given by God. I am way fired up to really pour these best practices into our 14 CP's in the coming year, and as the bible says in Mark 4:26-29, God will cause the growth of the CPM whether we sleep or get up. That gives us an enormous responsibility to have faith and trust that God will bless the sowing that we do. It is an exciting time, and the BPI was just what I needed at this time. Once training starts, I and my partner will be splitting and going separate ways to meet with our CP's to train and equip them to train others to also become trainers of others (2 Timothy 2:2). I cannot wait to give updates on progress. Anyone who still reads this blog, I apologize for the lack of updates lately. Just not much going on, but when it does, you will have much to read. I promise to keep updates frequent. All I need is a promise that you would pray for us, and the task we are trying to accomplish for God.

Much Needed Break- Now, The Task Begins

Well, while the rain has finally stopped long enough for things to dry out here, and for the road crews to repair all the giant craters that opened up from the water, we have still been in a holding pattern for a bit. My wife and our supervisor's wife went to another city to take a week of intensive language training. It has been good for her, since she has not had much language training that she has been able to learn from since being here. She has been able to learn much, and will feel more comfortable communicating when ministry begins for me.

As far as ministry is concerned, we begin training our 14 CP's this week. We will be travelling together for the first couple times as a team, to get a feel for what needs to be done and how we will be interacting with these men. Most best laid plans here change within the hour. You have to be very fluid and flexible when it comes to following a plan most times, as we have found out while living here. So, in September, we will split into different directions to cover the state better and to spend an equal amount of time with each. We will be modeling, watching, assisting, and eventually leaving this area to them by August '09. It is a pretty rigorous schedule, but definitely needed because of our limited time here. We are excited, we are nervous, but we are asking our Heavenly Father for wisdom to be able to teach these men correctly, biblically and thoroughly so that the keys of the Kingdom can be handed to them on our departure. It will be up to them to carry out the practices we show them during the next year. Pray for these 14 men around our state, that have committed to seeing their people reached for Christ.

I will continue to update as the training goes on. Thanks for your prayers for this area.

Jesus Bring the Rain - OK, That's Enough!

Well, its monsoon season where we are, and the rain is hitting us, and hard. Every day we have rain, which turns our streets into a South Asian Venice. Here are some images of shop owners and others trying to get around in the flooded streets of our city.

Needless to say, things get very difficult for everyone here, and it will be this way for another month at least. That is when the snow melt hits, and then flooding gets worse. Those that live in village areas are hit the worst.
Pray for the people here that will be affected by the flooding. Many will no doubt be taken from their homes by the rising water. Pray that we as followers of Christ will be able to minister to as many people as we can- that this may bring us more opportunity to show Jesus to the people who need to know Him.

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.

Recent Stuff

We've been in a holding pattern with ministry recently, which has been nice. After our meeting with the ones we will be training for CP work here, we have been able to relax and spend time as a family. I had planned to do some follow-up CP training with some brothers, but train tickets were difficult to secure, and my interpreter's father had an accident and he was not available to travel with me. It is not wise for Americans to travel the trains alone here, and my wife was not keen on me going on the train by myself. The next day there was a report of 5 people who had some tea laced with a drug. After they passed out, they were robbed by the people who drugged their drinks, and are in the hospital recovering, one of them died. So, I am rescheduling my training for a time when I have someone to travel with me. I know that God protects me as I travel, but I also know that I must be smart about my decisions. Anyways, it was good to be home for an extended period.

Though there is not much going on as far as official ministry, we did attend our first Hindu wedding. Our neighbors, who we have built a good relationship with, invited us to their son's wedding. My wife was excited, as many women get about weddings, to dress up fancy and see all the other fancy outfits. The event was a 3 day process. The first part was an evening get together in our apartment complex where the two families come together and give their official blessing to the marriage. The attendees sat around a circle, where in the middle there were many gifts set on a blanket. The groom and the bride's older brother sat in the middle of the crowd while the 4 Hindu priests told them what to do for the ceremony. This basically gave full agreement from the entire crowd that the wedding could take place. Then we ate a huge meal. The next event was the wedding, and it actually took place 2 nights later, and we got dressed up again and went to a reception hall. The bride and groom came in, all the while people are snapping pictures and walking around, yelling. Very chaotic! They each put a garland around each other's neck to symbolize the beginning of the ceremony. More pictures, more chaos, and then everyone went out to the terrace for dinner, a huge buffet of food that was incredible. Many people asked us how we like being here, is this your first Hindu wedding, how do you find the heat, etc. As we thought this was pretty much all that the ceremony was, one of the family came to us and said-"You are staying for the ceremony, right?" We thought it was over, but we were informed that when the priest was ready, he would begin it, which could be hours from then. We noticed some of our neighbors heading out after eating, which we thought was rude not to stay, but my wife began feeling ill, so we saw our escape. We were told that mostly only family stayed for the entire ceremony, but we were allowed to witness also. We graciously bowed out and came home (fortunately because my wife had a fever of 102.9). The next day, I saw the father of the groom and I asked him when the wedding ended. He said they came home about 5AM! I felt bad for my wife being sick, but thank the Lord that we had an excuse to leave and did not have to stay the entire time. The third event was the reception, two days later, where again, we ate a lot of food while people greeted the new couple, brought gifts, gave blessings and took pictures. It was a very interesting event to be part of, and we are blessed that our neighbors thought to include us in this special time. The groom is from here, but he has been living in America for his job the past 10 months, and he will move back there with his new bride (who has never been out of the country) on July 2. Pray for this couple as they not only are going to experience life together, but they will do it in a totally different culture than they are used to, more so for the bride. Marriage is tough enough, but they are really going to have it tough from the start. We watched a movie called "The Namesake."
It is a great movie about a man from South Asia who works in America, gets married back home and takes his new bride to America to start life. This made us think of this new couple and the challenges they will face in America. We will continue our relationship with our neighbors while we are here. Pray for us as we seek a good time to share more of the Gospel with them.

There are also many other political things happening here in the region. Nepal's political environment has changed from a Monarchy to a Republic. Pray for peace in the region and also for the units that are there for their continued safety during this time. Some of this political unrest from Maoists is spilling into neighboring countries. Also, there is much unrest in parts of India, as the Gujars are planning road closures around the capital. Sometimes this can become violent. There was also a recent terrorist bombing in Jaipur, India that killed 60+ and injured many more. Another terrorist bombing happened in Sri Lanka, killng some and injuring others. Pray for peace for the many people of the South Asia region, that they will hear the truth of the Gospel and come to know the peace that lies in Jesus. People cry out every day for God to save them, heal them, give them peace. However, they do not cry out to the One True God who can do all these things. Pray for the name of Jesus to be proclaimed among this nation and region.

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.

Lord I'll Put It Down If You Keep It Down!

All right, a little humor in the midst of our lives is a good thing. If we didn't laugh at some of the stuff here, we would go crazy pretty quick. All cultures are different, and we just happen to be on the other side of the world from our own. That being said, there are many times we are challenged in our patience and taste buds by being offered something to eat or drink by the people of the house we are visiting. We have tried to coach the kids to eat what is put in front of them without making faces or saying stuff like "EEEEEWWW, that's NAAAASTY!" (Easier said than done with a 5 year old independent thinker!) We have eaten a lot of things that are delicious while here, all the while trying to practice what we preach. But there are a few things that have made the list of stuff I would not want to experience again. Some of this stuff looks appetizing, until it hits your tongue! Hence forth the prayer (in the title) before we taste something new in front of a host.

SPICED BUTTERMILK-

Made with curd, salt and pepper, and served in a glass with an ice cube. (More ice, less drink, please!) This drink looks much like a yogurt drink served here called Lassi, which is very sweet/sour and cool to drink on a hot day. We were served this at a house where my wife has her outfits stitched, and imagine our surprise when the taste of it hit our tongues. We choked it down, with a smile, all except for our 5 year old who made faces like he was going to gag and die- much to the amusement of the ladies of the house. I was also offered it by one of the local restaurant owners who I sit and talk with from time to time. I politely said no thank you, and was given the lassi drink instead.

DAHI VADA-

Served during some of the national festival celebrations here. Looks like a nice sweet cake in cream, right? Pretty much, spiced buttermilk with some soggy bread in a dish. Again, tastebuds expecting sweet, and we get EEEWWW! Our hosts realized that there was something wrong as we ate. Maybe we reverted back to being 5 years old with our own facial expression! We tried to finish, but just could not. There was too much, and no where to hide it. Our hosts were amused, and thankfully not offended. They told us they would protect us if served it again anywhere else, as it was too taxing on us!

THUMS UP COLA-

Yes, the spelling is right, just look at the bottle in the picture! Big Coca Cola product here, but nowhere near the taste of Coke or Pepsi, which we can get here also. I tasted this on one of my earlier trips here, and likened it to drinking Coke out of a dirty shoe, or filtered through a dirty smelly sock. Some have also called it Curry Coke. I try to avoid drinking it as much as possible, but when offered by a host... Our driver "N" doesn't like it either. He was visiting another house with my family and I, and were brought out glasses that looked like coke. As soon as I pulled the glass to my mouth, I knew it was Thums Up, and watched "N's" reaction when he tasted it, to which he looked over at me, smiled and then poured the drink into his friends glass. I followed his lead and poured mine into my wifes glass. Don't worry, she doesn't mind the taste. My new name for this drink is, you guessed it, Thums Down.

I know we'll have many many other opportunities to sample some more of the local tastes while here. So, in the mean time, we'll just have to learn by doing and keep uttering the prayer, "Lord I'll put it down if you keep it down!"

How can they?

One of my favorite scripture verses is Romans 10:13-15, and has been a word from God to me that has inspired our decision to go overseas. Here are some facts about South Asia:

1.4 billion people live in South Asia, 99% have never even heard the name of Jesus. How can they believe in the God that we know, if they have never heard of Him?

In the state we will live, 3600 people die every 36 hours- that's 1000 people an hour on average, and 990 will die every hour, and will spend eternity in a real place called hell. They will never know that they can call on the saving power and grace of Jesus. How can they call on the one they have not believed in?

The people group we will focus on when we get on the field number 14 million in the state. Every 10 minutes, 3 of them die never hearing the Gospel. How can they, unless someone is preaching to them?

There are approximately 240 IMB units in South Asia, which breaks down to 1 IMB unit for every 6 million lost persons in South Asia. How can they preach unless they are sent?

I try to quote the verse in Romans 10 every day. It is the one passage of scripture that, like I said, has inspired me to make my decision to follow Jesus into the mission field. Read the passage and meditate on it- committ to partner with a missionary or two in prayer. In this way, you are helping to mobilize those who are called to bring Jesus to those who have never heard, and cannot call on the One True God, the way the truth and the life. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The task sounds enormous, but God is a big God, capable of much more than we give Him credit. You may not be called to go, but you can partner with those going in prayer and be as much of an impact for the spread of the Word throughout the world. (Thank you to Alyce Faulkner, Debbie Kaufman and Milton and Nannette Lites for thier open support of and prayer for missionaries, and for praying for our family even though they have never met us!)

Here's a thought: one day, when we get to heaven, someone will come up to you that you have never met, and tell you "I am here in heaven because you committed to pray for the missionary who brought God's word and helped me and my whole family to believe in Jesus and accept Him in our hearts. Thank you."

How can they? Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.

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.