I could hardly believe what I was hearing from the college-age girl who approached our display table! From the moment we arrived at this young adult meeting to share about Campus Target, I thought this was a great group of people. But I had no idea how great!  Sometimes it’s hard for young people to imagine themselves going halfway across the world, let alone going away for longer than 3 weeks.

I love challenging them to consider giving a year to missions because of the powerful ministry that can be done in that length of time, but I was amazed that the first girl who talked to me was already so willing! As other people came up to us, it got even better:

“Last summer I smuggled Bibles into Asia, and I’d love to go back there!”

“I can’t believe you’re here tonight. Just two days ago I was telling my friend I should do something like this while I’m young and single.”

“I was thinking about going on a mission trip for 2 weeks this August, but maybe I’ll come to Asia for 9 months instead!”

And they kept coming! By the time the night ended, we had talked with over 20 people, many of whom already love missions. It was so special for me to see such a large group of young people who were passionate about obeying Jesus and telling others about Him! A few people from that group are thinking about going to Asia this August, and we have many more contacts for the future.

———————————————————————————————————-

This was just one of several young adult groups that we visited to recruit for Campus Target last month. God has been answering our prayers for more workers to join the 2012-2013 team. In just the past three weeks we jumped from 7 applicants to 21 applicants!

And now our spring training event called MiniCamp is just two days away! Over 15 young adults will descend on little Lima, NY, for three days of awesome training and vision-casting to prepare a new team to go to Asia this August. Will you please pray for a few things?

1) For people who are still making the decision about going to Asia. This next 48 hours is a critical time, when a number of people who initially signed up feel afraid, or encounter opposition as they plan to attend MiniCamp. These are future laborers in Asia, and we don’t want anything to get in their way! Please pray that God will protect them from any opposition that will keep them from attending MiniCamp, and that He would bring peace to their hearts.

2) For MiniCamp itself. We have a lot of important events this weekend: teaching on support raising, encouraging them with faith for ministry in Asia, and even helping people who are still on the fence to decide if they should commit to this year’s Asia team. Please pray that the Lord will speak to people’s hearts, and that they will be filled with faith and boldness.

3) For our roles during MiniCamp. Ben will be teaching some of the training sessions – pray that he would communicate clearly and impart faith to the group. Buttercup will be leading a small team of new recruits for the weekend –pray that she would have specific words of encouragement for each member of her team as they take this big step in deciding to go to Asia.  Thank you for standing with us! We’re excited to see this new team mobilized to reach the Asian campuses this year!

But out of all these emails, I want to tell you about the best one I received all month.  It was from a girl named Linda.

Linda was my closest Asian friend two years ago in Asia. I had many great conversations with her about my faith in Jesus. She was moved by how much my faith meant to me, but she couldn’t quite believe in God for herself. I kept praying for her, believing that God would touch her heart.

I hadn’t heard from Linda in awhile, but last month, I got an unexpected email from her… with the news that she had just become a Christian!  While she was studying in Singapore, a Christian student befriended her, and after studying the Bible together for several months, Linda decided she was ready to believe in God!

Here’s a snippet from her email:

You are the first friend to let me know about God, although at that time I do not believe in… Although I have grown up without God for a long time, it seems like God always let me to meet something about him… and you impacted on me a lot. Thank you very much!

Linda’s story reminds me of the impact we can make in people’s lives, and the way God works in their hearts…even though it may take years to see.  Right now the team in Asia has lots of great stories about their friends receiving Christ right away.  But I know that’s not always how it works; sometimes it takes months or years of prayer and sharing before we see someone’s life change.

I want to encourage you with my story about Linda.  You might be hosting an international student for Thanksgiving dinner, and that meal could help you build a friendship with him or her.  You could get the chance to share your faith with that student while they’re here studying in America, and be like that girl in Singapore who led Linda to Christ.

Perhaps there’s a family member for whom you’ve been praying for a long time, and you’ll finally see their heart soften towards God. Maybe as you get together with relatives for the holidays, you’ll see God begin to heal family relationships that have been strained for years.

Even though we don’t always see our impact in someone’s life immediately, we can trust that God is faithful to answer our prayers.

We’re thankful that you are part of our lives, and we pray God blesses you in a special way this month.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Buttercup

No one was with her, and no one stopped to help her. I didn’t think she was drunk, but she didn’t seem to care if she lived or died. I couldn’t just watch her get hit by a car, so I caught up with her and tried to talk to her. She looked like a college student, but didn’t speak English, or at least was too disoriented to try. So I switched to her language, using whatever phrases I could think of: “Can I help you? Are you OK? What’s the matter?”

I’ll call her Wendy. At first she ignored me, and I felt really awkward to keep following a stranger and trying to pry into her personal life. But something wouldn’t let me leave her alone. About 50 yards up the street, Wendy collapsed on her knees, just inside the lane of oncoming traffic.

I knelt down next to Wendy, between her and the passing cars. Ben stood guard a little ways up the street to make sure cars would veer around us. All she had in her hands were her cell phone and keys. I have never seen anyone in Asia walking barefoot so it was obvious she had quickly fled some situation.

She kept telling me not to worry about her, and saying I could leave, but I didn’t think she should be left alone. I told her I thought she needed a friend, and asked if I could be her friend. Wendy could hardly speak through her sobbing, but she nodded. She let me give her tissues and I put my arm around her and just stayed with her. After 45 minutes, Wendy finally calmed down enough to let me walk her back to her dorm at the nearby campus.

I found out later what was going on. Her boyfriend had just beat her – he had never hit her before, and she was devastated. She left him, but had no close friends to turn to. Wendy felt so alone, hurt and hopeless that she was ready to die. So she walked up the street with the intention of killing herself. But I got in the way at just the right time and wouldn’t leave her alone.

Later, she thanked me for keeping her out of danger. She was so grateful I showed up right then. I’m amazed at God’s goodness to put Ben and me in her path just in time! (Wendy’s doing much better now, and I have a friend there who is going to stay in touch with her.) I pray she someday comes to know it was God who saved her life that night, not just some American girl who wouldn’t leave her alone. And I pray Wendy someday comes to know true life in God, where she will never have to be hopeless or alone again!

I feel like this is a beautiful picture of what God was doing through us all year – bringing students across our path who were without hope and stumbling along through the dark. In so many friends’ lives He used us to walk with them and show them the path of life, pointing them to safety. I’m amazed at His goodness!

December was a whirlwind of Christmas parties! We saw many seeds planted in our friends as we shared the Gospel every chance we got. Tom (a friend my teammates made last year) finally made the decision to join the family after one of those Christmas parties!

Right after a special Christmas with my city, I went home for 2 weeks to visit my family in NY. This was my first holiday at home in 4 years. It was fun to play in the snow and build a snowman, but I quickly remembered how COLD winter in NY is! I am so blessed that God has called me to serve Him in a beautiful city that has spring-like weather almost all year. =)

January flew by quickly as most college students headed home for their month-long holiday. I had our city spend the last 2 weeks of January doing a special time of fasting & prayer. While most of our friends were away, we took the extra time to seek God for vision for the remainder of our time here. It was powerful!

I was starting to feel the weariness of 3 ½ years of being here and going at a pretty non-stop pace. I was beginning to feel pretty drained, and not even sure if I had energy to lead for the final half of this year. God has been so faithful to refresh me and give me vision for being here! He has really been restoring my soul as I spend extra time alone with Him.

February was a time of refreshing and God pouring into me. The teams from all 3 cities we work in reunited in Thailand for a 10-day retreat, where powerful messages and times of w-rship impacted us in a really special way.

We came back to K-town and had 2 weeks of WinterSession to make the most of the final time friends were away. We had amazing guest speakers come to share with us and pr-y for each of us. Most special for me was getting to have Pastor Josh and Tim C. come from EGC, my home church.

March quickly arrived and things have started to accelerate. Two friends joined the family last week!! We now have 3 Evangelistic Bible Studies meeting weekly, with 2 more about to be started. Many friends are not yet Christians, but attend weekly because they are interested to learn more about G and the Bible. We are seeing more hunger in friends than ever before!

With only two months left here before I fly back to America, I feel excited about the greater things that God is doing. Pray that we will see more hunger and openness, and that friends will be ready to receive Jesus during these next two months.

Thanks for being a part of all God is doing here!

~ Buttercup

P.S. In addition to the great things G is doing in min*stry, there have been some cool things happening in my life personally. Send me an email if you want to hear more!

Michelle was so excited to see me again and share her news. I hadn’t seen her for a year and a half since I moved away. I was so happy to visit this last week and get to see her! She and her roommate, Ellen, met me for dinner, and as we laughed and talked over a spicy pot of chicken and peppers, it felt like we’d barely been apart.

I remember how Michelle became a Christian the first night I met her – she was with Ellen and another roommate the night all three girls decided to accept Jesus. Michelle dreams of someday studying in America and was so excited to meet foreigners. I didn’t know how serious she was about her new faith. But during the time my roommate and I discipled her during our last few months in that city, Michelle seemed genuine in her commitment to Christ. One of the final times we met with Michelle and Ellen, I remember talking to them about sharing their faith in Jesus with others.

After Michelle told me her news, it was Ellen’s turn. She had good news, too – she told her cousin about Jesus this year, and now her cousin believes! Ellen also told me how she studies the Bible with two girls from her campus – they meet regularly to share what they are reading and encourage each other!

It is so cool to see my old friends growing closer to Jesus and sharing their faith! I always pray that as students here find relationship with Jesus, they won’t just keep it to themselves. I know my team and I can only reach a handful of friends here, but we want to see the Gospel spread across every campus and see the number of Christians keep multiplying… It’s happening!

Thank you for your prayers! I am so thankful for you standing with me – together we are going to see His truth keep spreading across every campus in Asia! Pray with me that we would see a harvest among our friends this next month – December is always the best time to share the Gospel as we celebrate Christmas with our friends and tell them the reason we celebrate! We will be planning Christmas parties and taking every opportunity to share the story of Jesus with our friends. Pray that their hearts will be open, and that we will share with boldness!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

With love,

Buttercup

Hairy had chosen it because it sounded a lot like her Chinese name. Sydney had never before suggested that a friend change her English name – even with friends with names like Apple, Orange, and September — but this time she felt the need to intervene: “How about ‘Hailey’? It’s very similar, but it’s a much better name for a girl!”

Sydney, Cozy, and the newly-named Hailey sat down to play cards together. Out of nowhere, Hailey asked her new foreign friends, “Do you believe in God?” They soon discovered that their brand-new friend Hailey had just prayed to become a Christian a few days earlier! Sydney and Cozy were amazed! But then they found out HOW she had joined the family: another Chinese girl, Echo, had shared her faith with Hailey, and now she believed in Jesus!

Echo’s story was amazing – she had met a Christian girl at an English Corner who invited her to a Christmas party where Echo heard the Gospel for the first time. At first, she didn’t believe any of it. But a couple years later, Echo reached a point in her life where she begin to wonder what she believed, and she remembered what the girl had told her about Jesus.

This took Echo on a search where she soon came to believe in Jesus for herself! Not only did she become a Christian, she now has a passion to share her faith with as many people as she can! Echo is not a student any more, but she attends English Corners so she can meet students. If they seem interested in her faith, she meets with them later on during the week. It sounds exactly like what we do!

It was like God gave us a glimpse of the future – what could happen with our friends when they finally believe and then catch a passion to spread their faith to other students on their campus! We spend so much time meeting friends at English Corners and trying to meet with the ones who seem interested in Jesus. Every year we hold Christmas parties and share the Gospel with dozens of friends, but some just never seem interested. We don’t always get to see tangible results of our ministry, but we still have to trust that God is working in friends’ hearts.

I’m reminded that the seeds we sow are not in vain! Every English Corner, every Christmas party, and every meal with a friend is a chance to plant another seed. Even though I don’t always get to see fruit right away, I can trust He is doing a good work!

Thanks for sowing with me through your prayers and financial support. We don’t get to see all the results yet, but we really are making an impact on lives for eternity!

During training, we had tried to prepare our teams for what to expect. Now the night arrived when we would attend our very first real-life English corner. My team met beforehand to work out any nervousness, and pray for God to send us the right students.

I could sense a nervous excitement and anticipation. We showed up ten minutes late to the English Corner, but no one was there. Did we get the right time? Are we sure they meet in front of the Science building? At least 5 different students last week had told us it was held here.

After waiting a little while and asking every student nearby if they spoke English (they didn’t), we split up to find the real English corner. Maybe we just had the wrong location. Duke and Buckeye headed to the basketball courts. Sydney waited in case anyone showed up at the original location. Enrique, Cozy, and I started walking around the campus.

“See that gazebo full of people? Let’s check it out!” Enrique and Cozy followed me over to a group of about ten students crowded in a gazebo. “Hello, do you speak English?” I asked. “Do you know if there is an English Corner here?”

They giggled nervously, “No, this is a Chinese corner!” One guy with excellent English stepped forward to help us. It suddenly didn’t matter if we found the real English corner or not; God had planned something better. We spent the next hour talking with this group – most were philosophy majors, and 4 of them spoke great English. As I connected with one of the girls, I looked over to see Enrique and Cozy excitedly talking with their new friends and exchanging phone numbers. They still have not attended a real English Corner, but I decided they are pretty amazing at creating their own!

There was only one problem – the price. The apartment was not furnished, and for the landlord to buy everything we needed, there was no way we could afford it. The landlord wouldn’t budge on her asking price, and I really couldn’t blame her.

I knew it was the apartment I wanted for my girls, so we all prayed for a miracle. In the morning I went back to the real estate agent, and made my ridiculously low offer again. The agent called the landlord, and gave her the list of all the furniture I was requesting, along with my final offer. Miraculously, this time she agreed!!

Turns out, we were prematurely excited. By dinnertime that night, the agent called back to apologize. The landlord had changed her mind and would not rent the apartment after all. I got my deposit back but was frustrated and confused. Wasn’t this the right apartment? It seemed like God had answered our prayers, so why the change of heart?

I didn’t mention this earlier, but we had already experienced a similar let-down two days before. I had a different apartment lined up for my girls, and we were all set to sign the contract when the landlord showed up at the realtor’s office to tell us she couldn’t rent it to us after all because her mother was moving in! There are some things about the apartment-renting process here I just don’t understand, and a fickle landlord is definitely one of them!

The next morning I was waiting at the bus stop across the street from the realtor’s office. He spotted me, and waved me over. Without much explanation, he said the landlord had changed her mind AGAIN, and was willing to rent it, for the same terms we had agreed upon. I was bewildered and grateful, but not sure whether we should get our hopes up this time. My city team took time that day to pray that God would have His way with the apartment and that the landlord’s heart would be kept soft toward us.

He answers prayer!! This morning we walked into the newly-furnished apartment, signed the contract and my girls got the keys to their new home!! Landlords may be fickle, but my Father can handle them! Prov 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” My Father is able to change the hearts of kings…and landlords! =)

We were going to meet to read the Bible together, and at the last minute my roommate Dove brought a new friend. Lily was also a believer, and though she couldn’t speak much English, I could tell she was passionate about the Lord. She had a big smile on her face and glowed with joy as she talked.

As Lily & Margaret met for the first time, we had them share their stories with each other in Chinese. Margaret’s tired face started to brighten up as they talked, and every now and then she would exclaim something in English: “We are from the same hometown!” “She has been a Christian for 4 years!” “She really understands who Jesus is!”

We could see some of Lily’s enthusiasm rub off as we talked and read the Word together. The night ended with Dove & me waving good-bye as the two girls boarded the same bus together. Lily had been invited to stay overnight at Margaret’s dorm since it was too late for Lily to bus back to her own campus. Lily kept exclaiming how unusual it was to be invited for a sleepover when it was only their first time to meet, but she was so grateful. We smiled to see the quick connection the girls made. I hope to see them strengthen each other in their faith, and be encouraged to know they are not alone!

When the movie ended, Miranda again reached for my hand, and we just sat back in sober silence for a minute before she began to speak. She had felt His presence as we watched the story played out so vividly. His love for her was so clear – Jesus suffered so much so that she might know Him. Miranda could now see it so clearly. She seems really close to receiving Him! For the last 2 weeks, she has been reading her Bible, and every time she does, she feels peace fill her heart. It won’t be long before she decides to follow Him!

On the other side of the room, my roommates talked to their friends. Katherine, an antagonistic atheist, we had worried about inviting. She had been a distraction at our Christmas party when we had tried to share the Gospel with her. But we felt like we had to make one last effort to reach her. She was suddenly asking all the right questions, and was freshly open to the idea that maybe Jesus is real and maybe He really did die for us!

It was like the Holy Spirit dropped a bomb in the room that night. The whole atmosphere changed. All 5 girls stayed for over an hour after the movie ended, though it was getting late. They all left planning to read the Bible and search out for themselves if this is true, and how it will affect their lives. They know they have a decision to make. After all Jesus has done for them, will they choose to give their lives to Him?

My team and I were amazed. We are getting near the end of our time here, and with only 5 weeks left, we’re anxious to see things happen with friends. And now we feel encouraged that it is possible! God is still working on hearts, and drawing them closer to Himself. We are on the verge of breakthrough!