We had a comissioning service for our friends last night, sending them out to tell people the good news and be a light to their friends, family, and countrymen. It was amazing. We had communion together, and then Dublin, Enoch, Xena and I prayed for each friend, giving them words from God and just lifting them up. I’ve never felt so touched by God. He ministered to my friends through me, and He ministered to me through my friends. We are such a family!

I know my friends will change the world for Christ. My friend Qq is going to be a pastor. Kyle is like a Asian Paul, being sent out to the nations for Jesus. All of my friends are so key to the advancement of the Gospel, and I’m so glad to be part of their lives. I will miss them so much. I hope to visit them again someday.  

And as I’m turning this corner in my life, and returning home, I’m full of mixed emotions. I’m so happy to see my family and friends in America, but I feel sad to leave the family I have here. I will always be so grateful to God for this experience in Asia. Through the hard times, the harder times, and the good times, God never left me, and always loved me. He met my friends, He drew them to Himself, and He is continuing to do so, even as I leave. He moved mountains, opened doors, brought down strongholds. He lifted my eyes off my circumstances, and onto Himself. He is the most amazing Person I know, and I am so happy to continue to know Him, more and more every day.

Thank you so much for the support you have been to me over this past year. For your prayers, support, and emails, it all means so much to me. You are amazing!!

 See you in a few days!!

We started out the night by listening to some worship music. Then we sat quietly, listening to hear God speak to us. While we were sharing what we heard Him speak, our friend Jane told us what she had seen. She was standing in a field, and she saw Jesus standing across from her. He wasn’t speaking, but she could feel that He loved her, and she said no matter what she did she knew He would love her. She went on to say that Atlas, Dublin, Enoch, Xena and I were all beloved sons and daughters of God, and that we were sent here to tell her and others about Jesus! (Nothing like God blowing your cover ). Jane is so close to joining the family. Please pray for her, that she would trust in her experience with God and not in what she’s seen in movies or been told all her life.

I think it’s so cool how God speaks to us and our friends. Sometimes all He needs is for me to step out of the way so He can talk to my friends Himself! Also, it is such a testimony for my friends to the truth of God’s existence, and His love, when He speaks directly to them. Even though Jane is not a Christian (yet), she heard God speak to her clearly. She knows His love for her even though she did not grow up hearing about it! It’s an awesome thing to see

I know in my life, I’ve learned since I was a small child that God loves me, and has an awesome plan for my life. But there is nothing like hearing Him speak directly to me, telling me how much He loves me, and that He is with me all the time. I think being here in Asia away from family and friends is teaching me to draw nearer to God in everything. When I’m tired, lonely, thankful, angry, frustrated, sad. God really does want to hear it all, and He is all I need. He is my comfort, voice of reason, my friend, my Father, my confidant. He is totally trustworthy.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers as I learn these things, and minister here in Asia. I can’t wait to see you again!

Our friends have been back to school now for about two weeks, and we are getting back into the swing of things, meeting with friends and praying together and working as a team to reach people for Christ. Just the other night Xena and I had a group of friends
over. We had planned on playing a game, watching a movie, and discussing some themes from it that related to Jesus and His
sacrifice for us. We had all just gotten into our apartment, and I walked over to my bedroom door so I could bring my heater into the living room. I tried to open my door, and it was locked!! From the inside! I was so embarrassed, but it ended up being pretty funny. A bunch of the girls tried to unlock my bedroom door with cards, force, and picking the lock. My landlord didn’t have a key, so our very nice apartment complex security guard called a locksmith, who came and unlocked my door for me. All in all, it became a very funny unplanned event that broke the ice that night.

A few things I’ve been learning, even in the short time I’ve been back in the city, is that God’s way is a lot better than my way.
When my plans are wrecked, it’s the perfect opportunity for God to do what He’s been waiting to do the whole time! I’m still learning
so much here. I’m learning how to be a good friend, and how to minister to my friends. And I’m learning how to connect with God
more. My whole life is a learning process, and I’m so glad that no matter how good or bad I am at things, God comes through and does what He wants, which is the best way to go.

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”
Prov 16:9

We decided to meet with Tea during exam week. We met and got, you guessed it, tea. Then we went for a walk and found a nice sunny
spot to sit. Tea started talking about her friend who had come to the U.S., and become a Christian! This friend had told her all
about Jesus and his desire to now become a pastor. Tea looked thoughtful, and said, ‘One day I hope to become a Christian.’ We
were all so excited! We answered questions she had, and told her the amazing difference God had made in our lives personally. She
decided to become a Christian right then and there! So amazing. Tea, whom we had only met for the second time, is now a citizen of
Heaven!

I love how God is the One who really does the work. We had sown only a little seed in Tea, but it was her friend that really sowed
into her the truth of the Gospel and what it would mean for her. I thank God so much that we are able to reap where another has sown. It is never our efforts, but always God who gets the job done, and brings people into His kingdom!

 I have been learning in these past few weeks just how awesome friendship really is. To be able to connect and share friendship with someone from another culture is the most amazing thing to experience here in C-town. It’s not the food, or the sight-seeing, or the travel. It’s the opportunity, and the privilege, to be able to tell my friends about Jesus in a loving friendship. Something my friend Qq told me once was that I would always have a family here in Asia. I know thats true. And it is so good to experience!

Very recently, I lost a friend back home to leukemia. It was so hard to be away from friends and family during this time, as I grieved for losing him. But I know, and am refreshed by the thought of my spiritual friends and family here. To be loved and supported by these wonderful people leaves me speechless, and excited. And even more so, to experience the faithfulness of a loving God in the midst of pain and heartache, makes me desire Him even more. I am so glad I can offer my friends the sincere truth that God loves them and desires a deep relationship with them, that they haven’t known before.

I praise God for the opportunity and privilege to stay here, and I thank Him also for you, who stand with me in prayer and support. You are greatly missed and I can’t wait to see you again!

When I got home, I took a nap. When I woke up I watched a teaching from the International School of Ministry. The teacher was discussing the book of John and the book of Acts, just an introduction and summary of each one. After that, I went to go meet my friend Jacqueline. Xena met us there, and we had a very nice dinner. We also got to hear Jacqueline play a traditional Asian instrument. It was beautiful.

We talked about politics, and government, and the story of how Jesus died. It was very cool. Jacqueline wants to learn more about God, and about the Bible!

So, throughout the day, my thoughts were as follows: Wow. Am I allowed to have this much free time to myself? What am I supposed to do with it? Should I be doing something more spiritually productive? Am I supposed to rest? And every time I asked God what He was saying, He would say, ‘Peace.’ If I had a quarter for every time He said that to me, I think I would be a millionaire. You see, I think that in order to be a missionary, I have to do something remarkable, or extraordinary, like raise someone from the dead, in order for God to be glorified. But it turns out, God doesn’t need me to do anything to glorify Him! He is already glorified!

I have been learning so much about God, through ISOM teachings, through bible study, and through personal experience with Him. And I am learning that He is so big! And that He really is God. He is in control, and He can be trusted. He can be trusted with ministry and healing and miracles, but more importantly, He can also be trusted with everyday life.

So that is my life as of late. I cannot say thank you enough times for your love and support and prayers. I pray that God will bless you and open your eyes to the newness of His love!

 While we were there, we had a ‘foreign fellowship’, a sort of church service for us missionaries. I was asked to lead worship for the meeting. As I didn’t have a guitar, I led with just my voice. Can I just say, that was terrifying, lol. I’m glad I was so tired, I didn’t have the energy to get super nervous, though I was still pretty scared. But I did it. And the Lord was there, and it went just fine.

When I was done and sat down, the Lord flooded me with His presence, and brought to my mind an event that happened when I was in middle school, in 7th grade. My math teacher asked us to choose a career, something we wanted to be when we grew up. Then she was going to tell us how much money we would make a year. (Kind of heavy for a 7th grader ). So I was thinking about what to write, and was stuck between two things I wanted to be. One was being a missionary, and the other was being a singer. I decided to be both. So I wrote down, missionary singer. When my teacher got around to me, she said, well, that won’t make any money. And I was confused. Was it still ok for me to want to be a missionary singer, even if doing so wouldn’t  make any money?

 God took that moment during the meeting to assure me that it really was ok. In fact, it was more than ok. He was the One who actually put that dream inside my heart! This dream that I had when I was in 7th grade, was truly something He wanted to fulfill in my life. In fact, the meeting in that town was the first time I had ever done just that, sing as a missionary. People talk about those ‘a ha!’ moments, when they realize what they really want to do with their lives. This was the first time I really felt that way. It was a wonderful gift from God

 Not to sound like the esteemed Dr. King, but do you have a dream? Is there something God put in your heart that you’ve always wanted to do but have forgotten all about it? Or maybe let discouragement and shame bury it in your heart? I pray that God would open up your eyes and heart anew to the joy He would have for you in this life. To fulfill a life dream has to be one of the most amazing things to experience on this earth. I pray that you, my friends, would experience that joy

Eph 2:10- For I am God’s masterpiece. He has created me anew in Christ Jesus to do the good things He planned for me long ago. (NLT)

The day dawned sunny with blue skies. (First miracle of the day). My roomie Xena and I were getting ready to go to a prayer walk on
campus. On the way we both felt really attacked in our emotions, even with the glorious sunshine. We prayed and thanked God for the amazing day we knew was coming. We met up with our team and got our prayer on, lifting up the campus and our friends. Afterward, we met four new friends randomly on the basketball court!

We met up with our friend QQ later. She took us to an amazing cheap place for lunch. We had a great time just talking, laughing, and
getting to know each other better. We also talked about starting a bible study together soon, as she is already a christian! After that, we went to meet our team leader, Atlas, for coffee. We talked about some really important things that I needed to hear,
and it helped me to talk some things out.

Later, we planned on meeting our new friend J for some dinner. She brought three of her friends, a girl and two boys, and they all
spoke amazing english! All six of us really connected, over music and hobbies and things like that. At the meal, both Xena and I
prayed before we started to eat, and then all four of our friends wanted to pray too! I know God will answer their prayers. One of
these friends has been to church once before, and has an english Bible! He had a difficult time understanding it though. The others
know a lot about american culture, including Christianity.

After dinner, we went to meet our team mates Enoch and Dublin, to introduce them to the guys we had just met. They were out with one of their friends nearby. We got there and everyone hit it off! It was amazing. These friends are interested in the Good news and they know enough english so we can tell them about it. That day, my friends, was an incredible day.

To put things into perspective, this kind of day does not happen often. When these days happen I really thank God for who He is, and
for the miracles He works every hour. This day was absolutely all God, and I thank Him for it!

Days like these also make me think of the bad ones. The days when no one is available to meet with us, or when our friends aren’t
open to the Gospel, or even when I am feeling down about missing home. It’s hard to thank God for days like those. Those are the
times when I think of days like this, to build myself up and to keep myself trusting. God really does love His children, and He
really does do the work He promised He would do!

Peace. Rest. Chill. These are the words I hear over and over from God and my friends, regardless of the agenda for the day, or the lesson being taught. Why am I here? I ask God. He says, rest. And I say, Are you crazy?! You sent me here to do a job, to win some for the Kingdom!  I have so much to do!  I have to meet people, I have to know how to tell them about You, I have to lead a prayer meeting, I have to, I have to, I have to, I, I, I. Hmmmm…

So the other day me and my roomie, Xena, were out on campus. We were there with the rest of our group, Atlas, Enoch, and Dublin. We were prayer walking, asking God to give us many friends on campus. At this point, we had very few. We walked around for a while, and then Atlas started talking to a friend he’d known for a couple years. He was setting up drums near the cafeteria. We decided to walk around a little more and then come back. (Keep in mind that that morning, I had really decided to give this task to God. I started to trust Him with the whole thing, instead of depending on myself to make friends). So when we walked back to the cafeteria, there was a duo playing guitar and drums. They asked us to play!  Me and Dublin said sure, and we ended up playing the worship song, ‘Let it Rain,’ over the campus. That and another spontaneous tune.

And thats not all, friends. After we were done, me and Xena met two friends that we’ve been in contact with over the last couple weeks.  Not only did we get to effect the atmosphere of our campus with prayer and worship, we also made some new friends! God is good!

I guess the point to this story is that God really does do the work.  He set up the opportunities, and the connections.  He orchestrated everything, without me having to break a sweat! (Well, figuratively speaking. It was super hot that day ).

I think that through all this God is teaching me to trust Him more. With everything. With the mission, with the work, and with me. That last one is the most difficult, of course. He has already taken me through so much personal healing here, and growth, that I don’t think I’ll be the same person come May!

So I will continue  to focus on, and practice rest. And stepping aside to let God do the work. As I told a fellow worker, that way ‘He gets all the credit, and I get all His love.’ It’s a work in progress, but it certainly is worth it.