Oct. 16-18. Early Thursday morning, we were picked up at the hotel by the faithful three. We dropped Tim off at the airport for his flight to Chiang Mai. These are always difficult moments for me as I feel so inadequate on my own. No one will ever understand what a “brother” I have in Tim. This is a proof of why God has created the church, the Body of Christ as He has so that there is interdependence, yet uniqueness. I will see him again on the 26th in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma).
I was taken to a different location in this big city which was some distance to the west. We passed through what they call the Chinese section which is very evident by the signs on stores and buildings. We stopped on a small side-street and waited for several men with motor cycles to pick us up. I wondered why this extra step since we went from the van only a short distance, but then we turned down a very narrow alley unable to hold a vehicle. At the end we drove right into the first level of a home. Again, I figured this was a security move. As the tradition is, we took off our shoes and went up to the second floor where they had a room set aside for the local church. The room was crowded with about 30 chairs, a table at the front and a white board. Worship began and was led using music on a computer. Brother B. introduced me and I had T. at my side for translation for the next three day. I must interject at this point a very personal note about B., T. and their families. There have been many special people God has put into our lives through our ministry. But these two are rare. I have never felt such love and personal care for all my needs and even those I didn’t think I had. I was never allowed to carry my bags. Coffee, tea, meals and many other things were provided at no cost! I was so humbled by their sacrificial love and their oneness with the Spirit in the teaching throughout this week. May their tribe multiply around the world! By noon on the first day, I sensed the Holy Spirit moving among the twenty six who were present. As we were finishing the first day, some were convinced that what they were seeing in Acts was what was needed in the church today. The evidence of their conviction was manifested by many tears and a prayer time at the end which I have never experienced before. Such openness of heart continued for the second and third day. Doing the lessons in Chapter Six was welcomed and when they shared their observations, it was clear that the Scriptures were becoming clearer in meaning, power and application. Several freely confessed sins that had hindered them from making progress in spreading the gospel like it did in Acts. At the end of day three, I saw something that had never happened quite like what was taking place with this group. Many said they did not want to leave though they had to travel long distances to their homes. They stood around discussing how soon they could complete the lessons and gather again to do the project and build a strategy for quickly spreading these principles throughout all of Vietnam. We must have stayed another hour or more talking to individuals and answering many questions that arose from the three days. As we left, there was a spirit of exhilaration and thanksgiving in the car as we drove over an hour to my hotel.
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"The highest of missionary motives is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God), but rather - burning and passionate zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ."
By: John Stott, Romans: God's Good News for the World, (Downers Grover, IL.: Inter-Varsity, 1994, pg. 53). This was the first introduction to God's Plan for His Church for this visit:
Oct. 13-15. Because the hotel did not serve breakfast, we were given a voucher to a restaurant down this narrow street where Tim and I went at 6:30 a.m. since B., H. and T. would pick us up at 7:30. Sitting outside in a garden-like setting, we enjoyed coffee, fried eggs, sausage and a few vegetables. Each of these three days was sweet fellowship as we were driven to and from the training location by H. to the place where about twenty-four gathered to start working in the manual. I got the sense throughout this week at both locations that security conditions of the immediate vicinity were such that we were dropped at the front door and quickly entered the building (a house church) and went to the fourth floor. The age range was amazing with the youngest at 15 and the oldest well over 70. Exuberant worship began each day. Since Tim and I were together, we shared the teaching sessions, which is always a great joy. There are always indicators at these training sessions that we watch to see if the principles of Scripture are being clearly communicated and understood. We were much blessed to have T. as our translator. Because she worked with B. in translating the manual into Vietnamese, she had a handle on the teaching already that grew over the six days together. There were times when T. would explain in greater detail the principles so those present would truly capture the concepts. On Tuesday afternoon we assigned the lessons in Chapter Six, one to each person, so they could study them overnight and share what they observed from Scripture on Wednesday. After Tim and I spoke on God’s order in the church, beginning with our personal relationship with Christ and how that affects our marriage, family and the church, we began hearing from each person on the lessons. At first, it seemed that the presentations were more preaching and storytelling. But with the help of T., the observations became Scripture/Christ centered. As so often is the case when the Holy Spirit begins to work and bring conviction through the Word, there are a few who have difficulty holding back the tears of conviction. There is no question in or minds that most in this group will complete the lessons and prepare for our return so that together they can work on the projects and form their own strategy for reaching the unreached and planting strong churches in their culture and beyond. I must add a note regarding the young man (15 years old). He was a proof that the younger generation is the key to grasping these principles and implementing them. As we always do in these sessions, we often ask them to summarize what they have learned on the white board. He was one that always got the answer right on the first chapter – “Return to the Scriptures”. Our hearts are overflowing with joy and excitement with what the Lord has been doing, both on the mission field and in our hearts. As you have seen from the last newsletters, God is doing a mighty work in S. E. Asia and other parts of the world. For this we give Him great praise! We are also conscious that He is working in our hearts in a very special way to strengthen and clarify our mission; “To glorify God by partnering with indigenous leaders…so that all people groups will hear the gospel…and then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14).
With that in mind, we want to give an outline of events that are taking place in the next two or three months. Your prayers are urgently needed; both for ourselves and those we seek to serve. If you feel the Lord leading you to support any of the needs or events below, we would be deeply grateful. We sense the Lord adding effective opportunities as you see below. · Dec. 2-4: Tim and Randy will attend Finishing the Task Conference in California meeting with all the major mission agencies to jointly seek ways with others to reach the unreached and unengaged people groups of the world. · Jan. 12 to 16, 2015: Tim and Sherman, along with a Karen leader and a Chin leader from Myanmar are speaking at a conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand, aimed at increasing our effectiveness in spreading the gospel to the Buddhist world. Pray for all four of us as we present God’s Plan for His Church. · Feb. 7-9: Randy is going to Malaysia to work with a church and its leadership team in Kuala Lumpur and also making contacts with others to open doors for future training. Please pray that the Lord will be with Randy and guide this visit. · Jan. 19 to 23: Randy and Sherman with the Karen Bible College for follow-up GPHC training. Pray that the students will have completed lesson preparation work. · Jan. 19 to Feb. 9: Tim and Terry will be in HCMC, Vietnam introducing GPHC to two groups and doing follow-up training with two other groups. o 1,000 new manuals are being printed - $2,400 plus $250 for a registration fee. o Pray for preparedness with these groups and for Tim and Terry as they lead them. · Jan. 26 to 30: Randy and Sherman introducing GPHC to Karen leaders from each district in Thailand. A local Karen leader will share in the teaching. Pray for a divine impact on these leaders that will reverberate throughout the Karen population. We also ask you to pray for other opportunities that are being planned for the near future: · Introducing GPHC to leaders from every state in India. They have the manual and have been asked to do the pre-work. Transportation and accommodation cost is our responsibility, so please pray for God’s provision and wisdom because we do not want to have this strategic meeting until they have completed the preparation work. · The date for launching the new manual in Zambia is still undecided. Please pray for wisdom and the Lord’s guidance. · Translations that are either in progress or being printed. These present wonderful opportunities. o Mandarin (China) o Vietnamese (Vietnam) o Khmer (Cambodia) o Chin (Myanmar/Burma) o Creole (Haiti) We are indebted to your prayer and financial support. We are continually confirmed in God sending us to equip God’s people so they can reach the unreached and unengaged. With the message of the gospel, we ask that you send us so that indigenous churches will become strong and equipped so they also become sending churches like Antioch (Acts 13:1-3). |
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