When I heard this story I was blown away. It is the first time that I have seen multiplication first hand. No missionary would probably ever be able to reach out to Shane’s mother and sister. No missionary would have the time or care to pray every night for his mother and sister. Yet out of the work that God has done through us to help Shane, and through Shane’s belief in prayer, the Lord has preformed yet another miracle. It is unbelievable how Dad is using all of us kids who are just out of college to bring His Kingdom to a land where most people will not acknowledge that he exists. It’s not like we are really good at what we do. Half of the time I witness to one of my friends it gets awkward and I stumble through what I am trying to say. But Jesus does a work in their hearts and many of them believe when they hear the truth, no matter how it is delivered. Our work here is bigger then us, and is impacting eternity. Thanks for being a part of my personal team.

All of Heaven rejoiced for Allen on October 7th at 8:30pm! It was so amazing to see someone that we have poured so much time into accept Jesus Christ into his heart. It made everything that has happened so far on this trip worthwhile. Knowing that someone’s eternity is set in place is the most settling feeling a person can have. The weight of our purpose here seems that much more valuable now, and the expectation to keep plowing for God’s Kingdom is now much more clearer. Our actions here in Asia in the year of 2008 will echo for all of eternity. This year has already blown my mind so much more than I could ever have imagined.

Life here in C-town is actually starting to be somewhat normal if that is even possible. The food is starting to sit ok with my stomach, imagine if you can eating spicy food everyday and how your stomach would react to that. I am sure that you can picture the depths of what I am trying to say. I am learning so much more about the culture, norms, and social expectations of the Chinese people. I am also becoming an expert on the Chinese language. Well actually not quite, but my language skills are improving quite a bit. I will be starting a tutor next week, and we have already started taking Chinese classes!

This is the beginning of the beginning, are you guys starting to feel the expectation that the scale of what we are doing here is so much more than we could possibly imagine? We can affect a whole entire city and nation in a matter of 5-10 years. The whole entire root and problem of communism could be plucked out of it’s strong roots in this nation. The best part is that all of us get to be part of it!

Please pray for Ben, he is the next friend of mine that is on the verge of getting saved. We met last week and ate dinner together, I had a chance to pour into him some things about God. He was really receptive although he said that “he wants to be sincere” he doesn’t want to just do it because he knows that he has too. He even told me that eventually he would become a Christian! So I know that it is only a matter of time that the Lord works that sincerity into his heart that he feels that he needs. Please pray that he will get the sincerity that he needs, and that his heart would have a sense of urgency that he wouldn’t wait for his timing, but rather just step out and accept Jesus into his heart!

The conversation began to pick up as Tim and I began to explain the whole story. He was fascinated by the idea that maybe he could find true hope in his life. After slowly working through many different questions I asked Allen if he believed this story. “Yes, sometimes I feel that there is something not right in my heart. I feel that this will bring me peace.” I told Allen we could go pray about it up in our apartment after dinner. It seemed like an hour before we finally got the bill.

We arrived at our apartment and I read him John 3:16. After this we prayed with him and Allen joined the family of God!!! Allen said he wants to begin studying and learning the Bible with Tim and I as well as go to our party on Sunday!

It's hard to describe the joy that I feel knowing that God used me to turn Allen’s life from no hope, to an everlasting hope. God continues to use me in ways that I never thought I was capable of. All of you can be excited with me knowing you played a crucial roll in Allen's life.

Over the last two weeks we have been making more friends and getting into deeper conversations with some of the friends we met in the first week. It is awesome to see God already give us chances to pour his words into their life's.

As the Lord continues to work in our friends he is slowly ironing out many wrinkles in my personal life, some of which I did not even know were there. As I strive to submit to His will in my life He continues to give me amounts of peace and joy that I have never felt. Our teams saying for the year is “faithful in the small things, believing for the big.” God is looking first and foremost to spend time with his children. Everything else then seems to fall into place. Please continue to pray for us that we will be able to share Jesus' truth with our friends in a very natural way.

The students all seem to have this desire to enjoy life more so then college students back home. There is a heightened sense of community and social harmony that is shared among all the students. Many of them enjoy staying active in group activities as the basketball, volleyball, and badminton courts are packed with students almost all evening long. And yet beneath this layer of community is the individual student coping with enormous pressure from family who is looking to him/her to achieve a high paying job to support the parents in old age. Often a job that often has hundreds or thousands of applicants.

Many of the students are intrigued when we talk about God and the fact that there is more to our lives then money, school, family, or success. This weekend we get to attend our first “family party”. This is a group of students that was saved last year and now hold their own church. We will eventually be inviting our new friends to these “parties” if they have the desire to attend.

I spotted the Starbucks and told him to pull over. Unfortunately he did not have change for my 100 yuan and had to go get some. We sped off again as he miraculously performed two U turns in the middle of rush hour traffic. Finally we got off and walked to the hotel.

The first few days here have been an exhilarating experience. We have explored the town, eaten amazing food, and most importantly gotten familiar with the college campus we will be doing our work on. My roommate Tim and I met a young man named Allen our first day on the campus. Allen is a graduate student who speaks fluent English. We called him later and asked him out to dinner. We talked about movies, sports, girlfriends etc. He also seemed interested in learning more about Jesus Christ. He, like many of the students here is tied down with pressure from school, teachers, and parents. Allen is looking for answers. I ask you all to keep Allen in your prayers.

This weekend we get to attend our first “family party”. This is a group of students that was saved last year and now hold their own churches. We will eventually be inviting our new friends to these “parties” if they have the desire to attend. Please continue to keep our team in your prayers.