“Priend, there is this girl you have to meet. Her name is Aggie, kind of like Maggie, without the ‘M’. She’s going to America to study, but she is really interested in who God is!” Jimmy said with a smile. That night, I invited Aggie to our Christmas party we were having the next day.

In walked this petite girl, standing at just 5 feet, dressed in a black, a red scarf draped around her neck, and short hair flaring out behind her ears.  I approached her and asked, “Are you Aggie?!”

“Yes, Hi, It’s nice to meet you, Jimmy told me a lot about you and said you can tell me more about Jesus!” She exclaimed. At that moment I could tell a lot of spunk and drive dwelled inside of her.

A few days passed and I met with her a second time. Again, she immediately brought up the topic of God, and asked if I could tell her more about his love, and what he is about. I spent three hours that day, telling her my story, answering her questions as best I could, asking her about her life, and just being in awe of the fact that God loves us so much.

A week passed and we met up for dinner. Aggie started the conversation by saying “Today, I want to talk about American culture, but also more about God.”

Mid- meeting, we got on the topic of sin. I reminded her of our conversation last time and that the only thing that can save us from death is believing in Jesus’ sacrifice. She was full of questions…”what do I need to do to believe? How do I show my love to him? How does he love us so much? I can feel him sometimes, but how do I know if it’s really him?” I expressed as best I could what the Bible says, what I’ve experienced, and tried to say it as simply as possible, all the while quietly asking the Holy Spirit to make it clear to her, to be the one to speak to her not me.

She admitted that her problem is truly believing that God can really accept her and forgive her for everything. At that point, I identified so much and I said that it’s a step of faith to believe. I have moments when I ask Him “How is it that you love me so much?” I ask Him to show me more of His love in those times that I doubt, and try to work for it.

So then Aggie said “ok, I want to hear a story not from the Bible, but from what is happening now, can you tell me what He is doing in you now?” At that moment the Holy Spirit led me to share in a vulnerable way how I can never fully comprehend his grace and acceptance, and I fall weak in so many areas, but He is so faithful to keep showing me that He’s taken care of my sin. He sent his Son to cover it all, and in turn I want to live my life believing that, and loving him because he loves me first! It’s a life long process of realizing that.

The rest of the night was surreal. We walked out from the restaurant, I was about to catch a taxi home and I told her to think and pray about it, but it comes down to a decision to believe and let him be the Lord of your life.

We stood on the corner, freezing our toes off, and she said “ok, I want to pray. I know he loves me, I can feel it. Can I pray in my language?” “Sure!” I exclaimed.

She prayed, then I prayed, and then after I asked her what she said to God.

She asked God to forgive her for her sins, to make her clean, and asked Him to be his follower.

I screeched in excitement and said, “Aggie, you are promised eternal life with him! He’s saved you! You are my sister!” She started hugging me, she probably hugged me 7 times and cried tears of joy. She exclaimed, “I’m really clean, He’s made me clean?!” “I really feel his love! I’m not even cold anymore!”

We both stood on the corner that night rejoicing in his presence and thanking Him for bringing a lost soul home!

Picture 60 people crowded in my medium sized living room, standing shoulder to shoulder, eating mini sandwiches and celery sticks with peanut butter. I found myself squeezing by each body transporting bags and coats and throwing them on my bed.

“Hey, did you get something to drink?”

“Hey, welcome! Glad you could come!”

I exclaimed my enthusiasm as people continued to come through the door for an hour. Two hours passed by the time we started our first game, and at this point, all of my team was curious of how it was really going to come together with so many people. Then, my leader Sonny stood up on a chair and began.

There was only room enough for 60 butt-sized spots on the floor where each young person sat. I, being one of them, scanned my eyes through the crowd sitting down and saw curious eyes gazing up at a man standing 6 feet tall. Sonny began to share the tradition of Christmas and why it’s so important, which led into the entire gospel message. Soon after, Jimmy shared his heartfelt testimony of what God has done in his life. The whole time everyone was quiet, intently listening and fully engaged to the emotion and importance of the story. I was in awe of the crowd’s attention level. In the past, it’s been hard to engage that many people’s attention at our Christmas parties, but I witnessed the Holy Spirit move in such a way that captured people’s hearts by the truth and weight of the story.

I’ve met with a couple this past week that were at the party and they have each said that to hear Sonny and Jimmy sharing was moving and they were touched by what they said.

The excitement I get from this is that before the party, my team took some time to pray and we heard the Lord say to us that it doesn’t matter about the preparations, and how well we speak or even lead games, it’s about MY word, and what I AM going to do in people’s hearts. That is the very thing I saw that night! The games, the singing, the food, it all was fun, but nothing compared to His word being shared. The Lord revealed Himself to 60 people that night. 60 people got to hear the truth, and the power of His salvation. I trust that Holy Spirit is stirring in many people’s hearts at this very moment saying to them “seek and you will find!” I’m looking forward to setting up more Bible studies with those very people.

“Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.” Is.45:23-24

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I wanted to tell you that my team and I have been praying for our campus and the Lord has been speaking to us about investing in the few to reach the many. These past few months God has been making a way for that. He’s been placing specific people in our path who are hungry, curious, and wanting a deep understanding of truth. Looking back, I’m reminded of his faithfulness, and the privilege of being a worker for His kingdom in this way. So I just wanted to express my gratefulness to Him and to you for your support all these years to help continue that work. I’m excited for what he has for us next year! Love you all!

“Lord, thank you for Rachel, I thank for bringing her to us. I pray that she has a hunger to hear your truth,” I prayed.

Previous meetings with Rachel have always been so delightful. She’s a girl who is always enthusiastic, willing to share her life with us, and open to hearing all the stories we have to share.

I arrived on campus and we went to our favorite coffee shop. We got into a conversation about college and she asked me what it was like for me. I began to tell her that God did a lot in my heart during that time. I shared a bit of my testimony and how I struggled with anger and insecurities. I refused to believe anything good about myself, and continuously rejected the truth about God’s love for me. I thought I had to earn it, so I would be as perfect as I could be, but remain in guilt if I wasn’t. However, during college there was breakthrough in realizing His abundant unconditional love for me. I told her that I even began to appreciate strengths that he put inside me and believe that I am called to greatness. She exclaimed, “What a colorful college life!” I smiled with excitement and continued to share that, it really is all for God’s glory though, to see that I have potential in myself so that I can be used to show others how God created us, how he can use us to, and how I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I then asked her about what college is like for her and what she would want to do in the future. I sat watching her answer and I felt in my heart a genuine belief that Rachel is called to be a huge influencer. She told me that she wants to be a political leader for her country and I told her that she has a voice that could impact others and that she really can reach her goal if she wanted to. I felt like the Holy Spirit. was prompting me to empower her.

She asked what I wanted to do in the future and I told her that it’s my hearts desire to work with young college students, mentor them, and empower them to realize their potential, just like the conversation I was having with her. I want to encourage and empower others through things that I have dealt with in my own life, and help people realize that God has created them for great things.

It was Rachel’s turn to talk and the minutes that followed were moments of glorious blessing. We talked about God, how she knows He’s real because of the guilt she feels when she does something bad, we talked about sin, we talked about Jesus and how He came to save, she shared with me that she was drawn to pray ever since she was a little, but she didn’t really know who she was praying. I shared with her the whole gospel message, and what it means to be in relationship with God, and she ended up asking God to forgive her sins and being the Lord of her life!!!!

After I prayed that prayer with her, I saw joy, a joy that I haven’t seen in a long time! She expressed her delight that she found the one she had been looking for, and even said “I firmly believe that He is real and that He is God.” She exclaimed that it was a meaningful day and that she felt a burden lifted off her shoulders. She started crying and I started crying because of the joyous illumination of his saving grace.

I am blessed beyond measure to see how God had been preparing Rachel’s heart for years, and He wanted me to just be there to piece it all together for her. Thank God for our new sister Rachel!

Monday: Drops of gray infused the blue sky attempting to lower the temperature, but the heat fought to remain

Tuesday: The glimmering sun was but a soft hue in the sky

Wednesday: Winter hit! Not a drop of blue as the gray clouds made their comeback sending of shocking chill of wet coldness to our hands and feet.

It’s a new month, not only in regards to the weather, but also in regards to what God is going to do. Wednesday morning, Cherie and I woke up, thanking God for all he did last month, and asked him to do a new work in our hearts this month. Last month, our team’s sole focus was making new friends. We were successful, and I believe the Lord provided some amazing divine appointments.

These past few weeks, the Lord has been bringing each of us to a point where we realize that it truly is only Him the does the work. We’ve been asking God how he wants us to reach our friends, and the overall theme that He’s been challenging us with is to fall in more in love with Hi. We hear that a lot, but do we actually live it? I’ve been realizing how much I fall short when it comes to loving; loving him and loving others.

Back to Wednesday’s weather: Cherie and I walked around campus exclaiming our surprise as made our way to meet a friend for dinner. It hit us unexpectedly, but walking around that day we had a sense of excitement knowing that there was something new in the air. After our dinner appointment we waited at the bus stop, and behind us sat a girl wearing a warm knit hat, wool jacket, and a face of curiosity. Her name was Dora. Cherie began a conversation by asking her if she was cold. The conversation between us three started out slow, but we all loaded the bus and started hearing more about her interests. She told us that she wants to study in Singapore and how she’s interested in the Middle East. Cherie expressed some of the same interest of going to the Middle East to tell people about God, and at that point she said that she believes in God but doesn’t know how to be a Christian. We then told Dora about Jesus and that to be a Christian is just to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. She started getting really excited about hearing this truth, and we told her that that very morning we were asking God to bring us friends who believe He is real. She responded saying that she wasn’t even going to ride the bus home that day, but she had a feeling to just do it. It was such a divine appointment!

Dora went on to share that she was feeling a little down that day and couldn’t explain why, and asked us if we ever felt that way. I explained to her that just the week before I was a bit discouraged and believing things that weren’t true. I told her that those times come, and we feel heavy things weighing us down, but it’s during those times that God can speak to us and tell us who we really are with him. She responded saying that Christians seem to be so kind and warmhearted, but I said to her that there is nothing in me that is good except God. It’s ONLY His love and his goodness that you see. Dora received everything with an open and excited heart. She exclaimed that her teachers never teach her these things, but what she was hearing from us sounded so fresh. Before we got of the bus she said she wanted to study the Bible and really dig into what it says!

I left that encounter with an overwhelming peace and enthusiasm knowing that it was ALL God. He gave us the words, showed her His love, and used us to just open our mouths and speak. We now have a new friend who is ready and willing to go deep into knowing who God is! More new things have yet to come! Praise the Lord!

A sudden lull in the conversation spurred Cherie to ask Alicia about the dream she had. She began to explain to all of us all that she told me the week before. After she expressed her feelings behind the dream, Cherie was able to explain the entire gospel message to her. She explained that God desires to be in relationship with us, but because of sin, we are separated from him. The fact the Jesus came and died for us is how we know that He loves us and wants to save us from the empty lives we have without him. She used the picture of Alicia’s dream to paint a picture of the gospel. Cherie boldly explained that we believe the dream came from God and desires for Alicia to follow him.

I looked at Alicia across the table, and saw a somber face of despair and longing. Cheddy then chimed in said “It’s a pity I didn’t have a dream.” At that point I said to her, “I believe that the dream is for both you.” I told them that even though it was only Alicia that dreamt it I believe that God’s using this dream to tell you He is real, and that there is more for you than what you know now.  Cheddy then said, “You know, my life right now is good. I have a good boyfriend, good family, it’s just good, but I know that there is still something more, I want something more.” It was Cher that explained what it means to make Jesus Lord over your life, and how it’s a decision. She encouraged her to take time to think about it and see if she truly believes that Jesus came to save her.

The incredible part of that afternoon is how the girls were receptive to hearing. Alicia and Cheddy did not become Christians that afternoon, they didn’t seem quite ready. However, their hunger and need for the Lord grew so much more. While Cherie, Cher and I each had a part in sharing our hearts with them, I felt like the Holy Spirit was stirring in their hearts in a way that no one, or nothing else could. Looking at Alicia’s face that day and seeing her a bit grave, and hearing Cheddy’s words of knowing that she cannot be her own god put a hope in me. I am hopeful and full of faith that these two girls are going to be radically changed. I believe that the Lord is forming them into good soil, and it’s in His timing they will make a decision to follow him. God is planting truth in them and forming their hearts to be passionate believers who bring glory to His name alone.

So at this point, the story continues, as so much has already begun. Thank you for your prayers and encouraging emails! I appreciate all of your support and your responses have been so helpful! They have encouraged me to continue believing for more, and show me that all of us out here in the Du are not in this alone. We have you, the body of Christ…we are all in this together! I will continue to update you as much as I can! Love you guys.

Please pray for Alicia that she has a revelation of God’s love for her, that she hungers to be in relationship with the Father, and that she understands that He is the only one that can save her.

Please pray for Cheddy that she draws near to God, and that God continues to speak clarity on what it means to believe in him.

“B14…” “G26…” “O73…”

“….BINGO!” Alicia yelled as the caller called the last number on her card. She had been waiting all night to win, after Cher, Cherie, her friends, and I had all won at least one round each. We all cheered in triumph as we watched her receive her prize.

A few weeks ago Alicia and two of her friends had dinner with us and played bingo at a local coffee shop. It was a night of laughter, sharing, and connecting on a deeper level. During dinner we started talking about our belief in God and Alicia and her friends respectfully listened. Afterwards we started walking the girls back to their bus stop.

I was walking with Alicia, Cher walked with her friend May and Cherie was walking behind me with Alicia’s friend Cheddy. The whole night Cheddy asked so many questions about the Father, and by the end she said, “I want to know him…I don’t want to believe in Him just because I need him, but because I know him.” Along with that Alicia just shared with me how she feels lonely and empty at times, and realizes that there’s a longing in her for a change or something more. Incredible!

When the girls left Cher, Cherie and I stood on the corner of the street that night and prayed; we prayed that God would water the seeds that were planted that night.

We asked him to give the girls dreams about Him, dreams that give them a clear picture of the good news.

Last week Cherie and I went out to visit Alicia and Cheddy at their school. Alicia and I were walking together and I asked her what she did in the morning. She said that she went to the library to journal about a dream she had. I said with excitement “can I hear about it?!”

In the dream she saw this house that had no support underneath. It was her house and it felt dark, empty and lonely inside. Then she saw a bridge over an ocean that connected her house to a cliff on the other side. She saw herself walking with a friend from the cliff, over the bridge, to her house. The ocean below made her afraid, but she felt comfort from the friend that she was with. Alicia then showed her friend the inside of the house and explained that this was her life, a little lonely and without much excitement inside.

She started to say to me that she knows there is meaning behind this dream, because it is what she is feeling in her life right now. She knows that she has to make a change in her life to find excitement and joy.

I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “I gave Alicia this dream!” It was a picture of the bridge that Jesus is to God. A picture of why He died on the cross–so that we could be in relationship with God, how He loves us unconditionally, takes away our loneliness, and fills and satisfies us like no one else can. I was so excited and knew that it was the Lord answering our prayer.  I just had an overwhelming awe towards the Lord. He’s preparing Alicia to understand the sacrifice he made for her because of His love for her, and I have no doubt that she will radically be transformed by God’s saving grace.

He cares for us and loves us soooo much, and He is in control!

I didn’t get to explain the interpretation right then, but there is more to this story….

To be continued!

My roommate Cherie, my leader Cher, and I met Alicia while walking around the new campus. We were looking for a bus to take us home and Cherie approached Alicia to ask for directions. She wore green cross earrings, glasses, and had an inviting face.

“Do you go to school here?” Cherie Asked.

“Yes, I’m a senior and my major is English.”

“Oh today we were just walking around campus exploring the place and also looking to meet some friends. We live near the old campus.” Cher explained.

“Oh, really? How long have you lived in C-town?” Alicia asked

“Well this is our fourth time coming back to the C-town, and we’ve all lived here for a few years, we study the language and like to learn about the culture,” I said.

From that interaction we got Alicia’s number and met for lunch the next week. During lunch we got learn about her interests, what she likes to do in her spare time, and why she chose to study English. We then got into a conversation about our faith. We shared with her the love we experience with Christ and how that draws us to believe in him.

“Before I knew the Lord, I struggled with finding my identity; I was angry, insecure, and lonely. Then I started to get why Jesus died. He came to earth so that I could be rescued from that sin, from all the bad stuff inside of me.” I told Alicia that God’s love is so redeeming. I recognized that being saved by his grace and forgiveness is what I really needed. It’s what brought me life and true fulfillment. I had so much inside of me that was not good, but being in relationship with God doesn’t make me subject to living in that emptiness and sin any longer.

Her eyes just lit up with curiosity as Cherie and I went deeper and expressed our gratefulness for the Lord. She then said to both of us “I see your face when you talk about other things like movies and sports verses your face when you talk about God. It’s like your face is so bright and it lights up. I will never forget your face when you talk about God. I can tell you really love him.”

I was blown away! The Holy Spirit used us so mightily that day. It wasn’t by the amazing words that we practiced to say, or by a planned outline of the gospel message that captured her heart. It was by simple stories of what God has done in our lives.

During one of our prayer times with my team, God reminded me about the power of our testimonies. He told me to not forget what He’s done in our lives and to be open and bold to share that more. We don’t have to be trained preachers or ministers to share the gospel. He can use the very things he’s done in our lives to bring many into his kingdom. The words that we speak about God, we just have to speak them, and it’s his Spirit that makes it powerful, it’s His Spirit that touches peoples hearts.

This is an encouragement not just for me but for you; let God captivate you with his love and salvation every day. Then what comes out of you will be an overflow of what God does in you.

Part II about Alicia Keys: Coming Soon J.

We spent four days traveling from campus to campus, praying about strongholds, asking the Lord for laborers, and asking Him for divine appointments. Oh, how he answered us! I believe God definitely used us to change the spiritual atmosphere on some of the campuses and he also gave us insight into a city that he may send us to in the near future.

During our time there, my team of three met a local girl who is also a missionary. She shared with us how God has called her and her passion for sharing the gospel to her own people. It was the most incredible meeting I have experienced! The Holy Spirit blessed that time by unifying our hearts and having a passion for His name. As she was sharing I felt her burden for her country. She expressed that she’s experienced the Lord’s faithfulness in miraculous ways, and knows that He’s doing a mighty work in Asia. At one point in the meeting she said “There is a reason why we are so populated in this country!” Once she said that, I got a picture of multitudes of people here being used to show God’s glory to other nations. The picture was overwhelming! By the end of the meeting we were all crying as we prayed for each other, thanking the Lord for the meeting and as we encouraged one another to keep trusting him.

God used that meeting to refresh my vision for students in Asia being changed and used by Him. He enthused my heart to believe that he can use Asians to reach many other nations.
I left the city more encouraged than ever knowing that God did a mighty work through us and in us. I’ve learned so much about God’s heart and love for the lost, and that helps me remember I am part of something eternal. In that, I pray each day that I remember that it is God who is in control!

The boys on my team, Lebron and Jimmy, have also been diligently pouring into their friend Ray, taking him through the same miracles in the Bible and Ray’s heart has become more hungry to know truth. At one point during one of their studies, Lebron felt led to ask Ray “What miracle would you want to see Jesus do in your life to believe that He is real?” Ray responded that he wants to see his girlfriends’ parents’ get enough money to buy a new house. So as a city we’ve been praying for God to answer Ray in that way.

Amidst all this, I’ve been learning so much about miracles and the person of Jesus Christ. I’ve been remembering how Jesus came to heal the sick and to do the work of His Father so that all might believe in Him. That’s the very thing God is doing, He’s taking our friends through a process of healing and opening their blind eyes to see who is truly is. With that said, God is a God of miracles, we can trust Him, he is who he says he is, and I truly believe that now more than ever before!

My roommates and I invited some girls over to watch Horton hears a Who, and the fort was our way of creating an atmosphere of fun and relaxation. I’m not sure if any of you have already seen the movie but it’s a good tool to use to bring up the topic of belief. The movie is about an elephant named Horton who believes that there are little people called Who’s living on a speck. Horton is the only one that can hear them, so his friends don’t believe that the Who’s exist. The kangaroo in the movie says “If you can’t, see, touch, or hear it, it doesn’t exist.” Sitting in the fort after the movie, we asked the girls what they thought about that line.

One girl named Rachel started the conversation by saying it’s sort of like God, how it’s hard to believe that he’s there because she can’t really see him. From that moment on our local friend Sherry, who is a believer, started talking for over an hour about the realness of God. She would go back and forth between her language and English, but she basically shared her entire testimony with the girls. She led the conversation by asking the girls tough questions like “how do you believe in yourself when you are powerless?” She mentioned she used to only believe in herself also, but now, even though her father doesn’t agree with her belief, she isn’t going to stop believing because of the faithfulness and power of God. It was incredible to watch Sherry step out in boldness and hear the words she was saying. She challenged the girls, spoke truth, and basically said that they are in need of a savior. She was fearless in sharing because of the love and forgiveness that she has experienced in her own life.

That was such an eye opener for me. It helped me remember the sharpness and the power of the Gospel, knowing that it’s not just a “cute” story of Jesus coming so that we can feel loved and hugged, but it is news that people are in dire need to hear. People are in need of a savior and Sherry was used that night to remind us all.

One more side note to this is that all girls responded quite well to the conversation as it got them thinking and wanting to know a little bit more about God, and the next day Rachel became a sister!