I texted my teammate Duke: “Where are you? Come back to class. It won’t be that bad, I promise…stop hiding!!”

I knew where she was. Probably pretending to be sick and hiding back at the apartment. I should have known. She hates public speaking.

While our friends are away for the New Year holiday, we are making good use of the extra time to spend 2 weeks in day-long classes. Today’s class was on evangelism, and just before lunch our teacher had us practice sharing the Gospel as simply as possible. “After you come back from lunch,” he told us, “I want you to get up and share this in front of the whole group.”

Duke is my most timid team member. She has never felt super confident in sharing the Gospel. And big groups intimidate her. I could picture her leaving for lunch with the plan to never come back to class that afternoon….

My phone beeped with her response. “Actually, I am down by the park. I made 2 friends over lunch break and just did this for real! What a rush…I will be back ASAP.”

I was speechless! That was the last thing I thought she would be doing over her lunch break!!

One of the best things about being a leader is getting to see people grow during their time here! Young people who’ve never shared their faith before come to Asia, catch a passion for the lost that motivates them to boldly share with strangers! Ones who’ve never discipled anyone before are here pouring their lives into their Asian friends. My team is seeing college students changed, and in the process, they are getting changed too! I love seeing the transformation!