As I mentioned in part one I was beginning to experience things beyond me, beyond what I can do or plan, or even desire. My schedule that I shared in my last newsletter began to fall apart, but not in a bad way but in the way that God was providing the appointments and opportunities to share Him with others.

            Our Christian gathering was Saturday, if you remember Saturday is when we have our Bible study.  Since we started it has been amazing, as the Lord consistently shows up.  This past Saturday, the day began with our “walk and talk” which is where our team walks and prays over a campus each week. That afternoon we had a meeting planned which seemed quite random. The friend named LG contacted my partner Shamgar to meet, this was random because he met him close to the first week of being here and they have not talked since, either way LG wanted to introduce a friend to us. Both of us were quite tired going into this meeting not knowing what to expect. We met the two kids and invited them to out apartment. There I can not even recall how but we began to talk about the Bible. As Shamgar talked to his friend LG I talked to the new kid and answered his questions. At one point I thought to myself I do not even know this kids name, but I did not let it distract me as I knew God knew all about Him and He had a plan. I can not say I said anything different this time sharing but there was a difference in his response, he began to ask deep questions and understood that he needed forgiveness. At one point he shared “if you accept Jesus you go to heaven and if you do not accept Him you go to hell- why would not everyone accept Him?” I shared with him the parable of the sower, and I can see that he was affected by the message. Before he left he asked for an English name so I recommended Timothy which he gladly accepted- after denying the name Philip. Well as I could tell he believed I asked him if he wanted to pray and accept Christ and he did, though he repeated after me I know God knows his heart and I gladly share we have a new brother in the Lord.

            Eventually time to study the Bible came along. As I mentioned before God has faithfully showed up every time, still though we lifted it up to Him in prayer as we knew we needed Him. We began to talk about the story of Cain and Abel, but once again I can not explain how but we ended up on the fullness of the Gospel message. In my spirit I felt some people believed, so as I felt led I asked everyone to close their eyes and the ones that felt something within them to believe or learn more to raise their hands- three people raised their hands (one was already a believer that we currently meet with). After the meeting I asked Gundy, the kid that raised his hand if he wanted to talk in my room, Jackie who sat next to him followed. In my room I explained the message again and asked them if they believed-both of them responded yes and expressed desire to pray and receive forgiveness and Jesus Christ as their Lord.  That night they both accepted the Lord and His gracious forgiveness. Also the other girl that lifted up her hand, well she also accepted as a fellow teammate led her to the Lord. Four new family members in one day!!! People that truly believe and allow God to work in their lives will never be the same. I must say it is not a religion we encourage people to but simply a relationship with Jesus, it is amazing to see people not only become aware of their NEED of a Saviour but also willingly accept Him. Praise be to God!

            Lastly was the friend Chandler that I mentioned in the first part. From studying with him we could tell he already believed – from our previous meeting we gave him some questions such as: what separates you from God? What did He do to help you? And what will you do about it? When he came again to the study he was so excited once again, halfway through the meeting he stated he wanted to pray and proceeded to pray asking God to forgive him. It was a very powerful time as it can be clearly seen of his appreciation of all God has done.

            Once again I truly believe your prayers have made a difference, as I titled this newsletter “Open Heaven” that is what I have been experiencing as God has been opening up hearts, providing divine opportunities and leading others and myself to go after Him.  This past week I have felt prompting after prompting to seek Him, and in so doing I have been so encouraged and uplifted.  So now at the close of this newsletter I encourage you to rejoice for what has taken place, and I urge you to pray for some people by name if you can: for the new believers- Peter, Gundy, Chandler, Jackie, Ann, and Timothy. Also for some I have not yet shared about and have not yet accepted Jesus – Stone, Rocky, and Nate.  One last request is to pray that I would have wisdom to disciple the new believers, after all I know I am called to not only share the Good News but to make disciples, for this I greatly need His guidance and help. 

            As always feel free to share any request that you may have, or just share some news, I love to hear from you back home as I think of you all often.  We serve an Amazing God!  May His name be forever praised and exalted in not only our lives but those that have not yet accepted

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” 2 Peter 3:9

To God be all the glory! 

                                   In Christ,

                                                   Deshi

            Well in my last update I mentioned my schedule. Since then I have thought of what a schedule should look like for a C-tian. I believe that no matter where we are at in life, that life does not have to be mundane and boring, but rather exciting and joyful as we serve an Awesome Loving God who willingly leads us in His purposes for the glory of His name. I experienced this recently as I witnessed things so beyond my own control that with each day I could only thank Him and acknowledge that He wants to reach people even more than I do. 

            So let me begin.  It all began last Sunday – a week ago that is. After returning home from a long day in which we went to a Church, we had a meeting planned for 9:15pm, our latest meeting yet.  Little did me and my partner know what the night had in store.  As I walked across the street I ran into two friends (Bin and Figo) – both of them I have not had a chance to explain the Good News. After I went shopping with them we made plans to meet my partner for dinner.  On our way the conservation turned to the Father, I was amazed at their curiosity and interest I did not know was there before.  We continued to talk and plant seeds – last I heard one of them is trying to buy a Bible and the other one is interested to learn more.  Meeting with these two greatly encouraged me, because I must admit I was discouraged with how difficult it was to share with them before, but I learned a valuable lesson and that is – it’s all in His hands.

            In the course of a night my roommate’s friend Michael contacted him and asked if we could meet up with him. We agreed and after dinner we set out. This kid was a believer from last year. As we talked he explained how he has been having a hard time – we encouraged him to turn to God and by the end he expressed eagerness to give it a try more often.  Please pray that God builds within him confidence in belief in Jesus Christ and a solid foundation.

            Soon it was 9:15, and time for the only meeting we thought we had, and only one that was previously planned. We met Chandler and walked around a campus. The conversation was not on God, but as I had joy in my heart over the previous two meetings I was eager to see where this one would go – so I threw out a line and said “Me and Drew (my partner) love Jesus Christ” to this he responded “I do too!” and this made us both curious as we were not aware he was a believer. So we asked him what Jesus Christ meant to him and he said every time he hears about Jesus he feels peace in his heart. We proceeded to explain the Good News and if you could only imagine his excitement, with everything that he grasped he exclaimed “So good! So good!”, by the end of the night he asked to set up a meeting to study the Bible everyday, though we only ended up establishing two days a week which he has been faithfully coming to. 

            Well that was the first night of so many amazing things that have been happening. This past Friday we had a party for Christians, with the intention to let them meet each other and even express the possibility of them starting a meeting together in the future.  One thing about that night was the Worship. I must say it was one of the most powerful times that I have experienced, I can not entirely say why but two things come to mind: 1. It was the first time I heard praising God in Chinese and 2. As I listened to the words I thought of the history of believers in Asia despite all the persecution of the past, people have and still do believe and hold onto the hope that is in our Lord.  The first week was incredible and by the end I was not only thankful but eager to see what God had in store, if you read the 2^nd part you will see that God not only watered the seeds but brought in the harvest. 

                                In Him,

                                                  Deshi