In about 2 hours I will head out the door, my time here in C-town coming to an end, and a few hours later will touch down in my new home! Actually, I’m thankful I can “head out the door” at all. Today as I went out to run some errands, that panicky, “I didn’t just do what I think I just did!” feeling hit me. … I had left the key in another pair of shorts inside the apartment. Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never done this. 😉 To make matters worse, I am currently the only CTer in the city, as all others are out traveling or heading back to the States. All my luggage, money, passport is inside the apartment, which is our guys’ new one, and I have no idea who the landlord is or anything. So this is how you do it in Asia: you go outside and ask the gate guard, who says, “No problemo,” you just have to go find a locksmith. So I head out and find one in a matter of minutes. He packs up all his professional lock-picking tools, and we ride back to the apartment. But after a few minutes, his best attempts are failing, and my prayer intensity is increasing. … I gotta give it to the guy — he had perseverance. I had all but given up on him and was beginning to make other arrangements (don’t ask me what besides notifying some CTers in other cities to seek God for me ;)) when finally, after about an hour, he had it open! Whew!!
Our leadership reunion finished up magnificently. We all parted to head in different directions filled up with new vision, energy, skills, and expectation for the coming year! The time there was capped off by a young college graduate joining the family!!! A buddy and I went to buy some waters the night before we all left, and at the hostel desk, I called him “brother.” A worker at the desk corrected me. You see, what she didn’t know was that the way I was saying it is the Christian way to say it, the way the Bible says it. So of course I had to tell her why I was saying it that way, at which point the Holy Spirit showed up. The girl next to her, hearing this, told us she had just bought a Bible and wanted to learn more. I asked her when she got off work, and she said the next morning at 8am. So we planned to meet at 8:30. … The next morning, my old friend, our newest family member, and I began by praying, and then opened up the Word together. God blessed my language, and I was doing pretty good at sharing, when the secret weapon came. … The driver for the hostel, a sixty or so year old brother we had met on the way in, showed up and joined us. I invited him to share a testimony, and he said, “Woho! I have too many!” He proceeded to tell about four stories in a row about miracles God had done in his life including physical healing, buying a restaurant for far less than the asking price, and more! Our newest family member was moved big time, and then the brother tells me to lead her in the sinner’s prayer. I made sure she understood what she was choosing, and she was ready. She committed her life to Dad that morning, hallelujah!!! Please be lifting her up to find a fellowship and someone to disciple her…
One more quick one. 😉 You will love this! I was on the train that night, and all of a sudden, I hear some loud excited voices enter my car, and I could hardly believe my ears. They were proclaiming the gospel and giving out tracts and info about Jesus Christ!!! I didn’t feel led to talk to them, and they were gone the next minute, but I felt like the Lord just wanted me/us to know and to be encouraged. What we’re giving our lives for over here, it’s happening!