It's a big, big world

Lord, help him make a difference!

Visiting Missions

Baby J playing with Doug Nichols- ACTION Int'l Ministries founder and getting his toes counted. :) (GFA friends- see the intro to No Longer A Slumdog.)

"We would have eaten them."

Childhood story from missions speaker...

So my friend and I had a magnifying glass and we were excited!  What do you think we did?  Ants.  We found and roasted ant after ant.  Now, we we weren't missionaries yet, so we didn't know to do with those roasted ants. If we would have had cross-cultural training that early, we would have eaten them.

Travel Update

Hi blog readers!
For those of you who know we're road, this an update!
For those of you who don't know we're on the road - guess what!?!  We're on the road!

Just before our trip, we had a great time fellowshipping with supporters who were traveling through Colorado Springs.

In reference to the trip, I told them, "It's just a short three week trip and we only have one major stop. So it's not that big of a deal."

I forget that when a trip includes driving 3,094 miles through 6 states over 3 weeks, most people don't define it as "not that big of a deal."

We camped in Idaho on our way out to Seattle and had a beautiful, full moon over Lake Walcott.

Then drove the rest of the way to Seattle.  We're here working on the Kardia software project for Action International Ministries.  (English for the newcomers: LightSys is creating financial software for ACTION.)  The last BIG piece is being put into place this week and Greg has been HARD at work.

We're seeing more computer screens these days than beautiful lakes.  And yes, Seattle has been giving us cloudy, rainy weather (with a couple sunny days tucked in!).

Pray:
* For strength and focus as we pour ourselves into this project for the next week.  Lots of things still to do.
* For God to go before us.
* For the database cutover to go smoothly.  (What?  Yes, I know you don't understand what that means. It's okay.  God does.)

Praise:
* Safe travels to Washington!
* Wonderful host home!
* Good work on the project so far!
* Good fellowship time with a missionary back from the Philippines.  I so enjoy hearing what God is doing on the field!  The Gospel is going forth -- and that's why we do what we do!

(Random note: When the missionary asked what our roles were, I said: "You know those reports you get each month that let you know how much financial support has come in?  And give you your donor updates?  We write the software that sends you those reports!"  We got a big thank you! after that. :)

Okay, a little, tiny, ultra-cute "thank you" in the form of a keychain. :)  A reminder to pray for those we serve.

Every Minute Counts!

"Do you have to be so intense?"

A friend of mine who works in missions was asked this question recently.  His reply: "A soul is perishing every second. Yes - we have to make every minute count!"

I had to ask myself how I'm supposed to make every minute count -- especially on those days when I'm not directly doing missions-support work.  What about cleaning the house and errands days?  Does the speed of which I do the dishes really affect eternity?   As I contemplated, a few thoughts wandered through... Haven't you been saying you don't have enough time to spend in prayer for missionaries and the mission field? That you would like to spend more time in prayer for the unreached? Using your time wisely gives you a few more minutes in the evening if you'll take advantage of them.

So I keep thinking about that.  How many minutes do I spend doing other things?  How can I use my time I do have to pray?  (I've hung a world map in my bathroom and started praying systematically for countries.  Then I look up that evening's country in my Operation World book.)  And sometimes I'm more successful than others at using my time wisely and praying.

What are some ways that you have found to pray during the day or to make your time count for eternity?

It's a Monday!

It's a Monday morning and I have so many things to be thankful for! I've got a snug little "home" that keeps me safe from thunderstorms and hail (like the stuff we got yesterday), a wonderful family (including a brother-in-law who is having his "39th" birthday today), errands to run (and God-provided finances to get needed supplies),  my Mr. Amazing (who loves me relentlessly and reminds me of God's truths), and the great privilege of helping reach the world for Christ (and LightSys on-line prayer meeting this afternoon)!

I've been a little scattered the last couple weeks and haven't been getting things done very well.  So hopefully we'll do a bit better this week.  :)  You can pray for focus and deliberateness and follow-through for me.  Oh, and wisdom!  Wisdom is a good thing

Fun picture for the day: Greg and I working "remotely" last Mon/Tues. :)

Keeping the Fire

Greg and I are in Ohio, spending some time in person with the other LightSys staff. Usually, we all connect remotely, so it's nice to have some time to connect in person -- especially since this is only the second time I've spent much time at all with them! The Lord has provided a host family here who is letting us use their extra bedroom suite and they even have a donkey in the barn that likes to bray HEE-HAW and provide our evening entertainment. Much fun!

We were visiting with our hosts (P&B) in the kitchen the other day and they asked (seeing my shirt), "What does GFA stand for?" P&B are quite missions-minded, so I began to share about the work of the national pastors and missionaries and the support that the Gospel for Asia staff provide from stateside. And before I knew it, the stories were flowing. Stories of Pastor S. from North India and stories of the missionaries who sell their belongings and live in the slums just to be able to share the love of Christ. Stories from my 2005 trip to India and the villages and the cities and the SEND! magazine . Stories of the children in the slums and the Bridge of Hope schools and Jesus wells. A story of a little boy in a slum who caught my sleeve and led me to his tent home so I could meet his mother and his 10 day old little brother (pic above). Stories of how those two little boys are growing up with a relationship with the Almighty God because of a national pastor who cared enough to start a school in a congested, dirty slum.

And stories of urgency. of Time is short. Every day, the enemy is using wars and famine and genocide and disease to take people to hell. Every day, people slip into eternity without ever hearing the name of Christ. And we - we have to do something! We know the truth. We know the message of salvation. We have to keep working, to keep praying, to keep our focus on what is most effective for the Kingdom.

Our hosts listened with interest, asking questions and prompting more stories. As we closed our conversation, P&B asked, "How long ago did you finish working with them?"

"Just last year."

"It shows," they said. "You haven't lost that fire."

"I know," I said, with a slightly sheepish smile on my face.

"And I don't want her to lose that fire," said Greg.

We gave them a free book. :)

War Games

The past couple weeks, I've been asking the Lord to break my heart afresh for the lost world.  But I certainly didn't expect Him to use tonight's "fun" movie to bring me to tears.

After an intense day of programming and LightSys work, Greg and I curled up to relax and watch War Games - a 1983 movie release about a boy computer hacker who taps into a government defense computer.  Almost before he realizes what his meddling has done, the US and Russia are preparing for WW III.  With 9 hours (and counting) before the dreaded nuclear warheads launch, the boy ends up on a search to find the one programmer who can help correct the computer program and avert the crisis.

Eventually, with no one who believes him and with this knowledge weighing heavily on him, he exclaims to his girlfriend, "I wish I didn't know about any of this.  I wish I was like everyone else in the world."

Those statements struck me hard.  His knowledge of what was going to happen was not simple knowledge.  It brought with it responsibility.  He knew that time was short and that lives would be lost and he couldn't just go back to his regular life.  He had to do something!

I have the same problem as the boy.  And you likely have the problem too.  We know the truth.  We know the way of salvation.  And we know that people are perishing without Christ.  Every day, 80,000 people die and plunge into hell without ever hearing the name of Jesus.  Time is short.  We can't just live our lives like the world around us.  We have to be deliberate in reaching out to our towns and our country and the world with the message of Christ.

I sat there on the couch with Greg after the movie ended and I couldn't keep from crying.  Crying over the millions that have never heard our Savior's name.  Crying over the wars and famines and genocides that the enemy uses to claim lives.  Crying over the Church that has the knowledge of salvation, but seems to be lulled into forgetting the urgency of the moment.  Where is our heart, Church?  Where is our passion?  Where is our desperation?

We do know the truth.  And we aren't like everyone else in the world.

We have to do something.

Escape to Escape

After supper with the J-Fam tonight, Greg and I took our laptops to Escape coffee house and worked on some schedule logistics for the next month or so. The barista on duty went beyond her duty - treating us to free day-old doughnut holes and custom mixing a drink for me. In fact, the evening was wonderful - a combination of logistics and smiles and fun and closing with a random, brief video skype call to my KS family!

We sat there at Escape, close to each other and holding hands and Greg made the comment, "We sure weren't doing this last time we were here." No, we sure weren't! We had stopped by Escape in January when Greg was here and we were still seeking the Lord's direction on whether or not to enter a relationship. Wow! The memories associated with that Monday night... but that story will have to wait until we get our joint blog up. :)

My newsletter finally got printed today, so we're working on getting that sent out. I've been starting to make a list of things I need to document for my responsibilities at the office and setting aside time to work on those. But then we have a whole bunch of new people/volunteers /interns starting next week, so that's keeping me busy too!

Meanwhile, on the field, a missionary was arrested over a week ago and still remains in police custody. Pray for his release and pray for the boldness and safety of the church that he pastors!

Now? I'm off to bed... sleepy, sleepy...

Unrest in Sri Lanka

Twenty people have died from the monsoon rains in Sri Lanka so far and over 300,000 are homeless. Then just caught this news of a bombing in Colombo with 21+ people dead and dozens injured. I know that's a small number compared to some things, but still - they could use your prayers! Also, pray for the missionaries and pastors who are already involved in flood relief work here.

Sri Lanka country overview

Death toll hits 22,500+

Hurricane Katrina. We all remember that. Major hurricane hits major US city and, with complications, causes the loss of 1,800+ lives.

Meet Cyclone Nargis. Major cyclone (hurricane) hits major Myanmar city. Loss of lives so far? Upwards of 22,500. Still missing? 41,000.

Reports are suggesting it will be 3-4 months at least before electricity is restored to Yangon.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=myanmar
For first hand report and photos of the GFA Bible College there, visit http://www.gfa.org/cyclone

Kenya Update

No, I'm not moving to Kenya. :) I was at Rosalie's house on New Year's Eve this year when we saw the news coverage about rioting and violence in Kenya. The breaking news that day was that a mob had burned a church with over 50 people trapped inside. The tallys rose across the country: over a thousand dead, over 600,000 without homes, nearly 400 churches destroyed. The violence died down in the first three weeks of January, but thousands are still living in refugee camps.

I have a couple friends working in Kenya - a college friend and the Chris, the missions pastor of my local church. Both have been involved in various parts of the relief work and it has made the news a little closer to home. Do you ever notice that? News about places you have friends suddenly becomes much more interested. Big K in Afghanistan (welcome back to the US, by the way) or Meg in Morocco or friends in Kenya...

The April 6th edition of the Pentecostal Evangel magazine is entirely covering the Kenya situation. Chris (in the photo) had mentioned on his blog that the photo team had been there, so I was watching for that issue. They interviewed the native pastor of the church that had been burned -- he was rescuing children from the burning building, but then was attacked by the mob himself.

Here's a few links if you want more information:

• The magazine in PDF format: http://tpe.ag.org/2008PDFs/4900_Kenya.pdf
• More photos from the trip: http://world.ag.org

In a sense, the violence in Kenya is like the tsunami that struck Asia. The violence may be gone and the TV cameras with in, but there are still thousands of lives and homes to be rebuilt. I know they would appreciate you prayers.

Update on Mother

Mother was doing better this morning and actually walked for the first time since surgery. The day was complicated when fluid was found in one of her lungs. Then, during the broncoscope (to remove the fluid), Mother threw up and ended up aspirating some of the junk into her lungs. The doctors are now very concerned about potential infection. Please pray that there won't be any problems or infections from this.

Outside my little world - Bangladesh has been hit by the worst cyclone in a decade. The official death toll is over 3,000 already and they say it could reach over 10,000. Pray for the people of Bangladesh and for the pastors and churches ministering there.

Celebration List

Several things to celebrate:

• I'm getting better and was in the office working on Friday.
• Auntie Candy's poison ivy is dead - ending an eighteen month saga! (see picture)
• Cousin SS and his new wife Jen moved into their new apartment. I spent a brief five hours today assisting with the assembly of their new office desk.
• Awesome story on the GFA website about a family who found Jesus as the one true God.
• YOU - thanks for your constant prayers and support. I hope to see some of you in October.
  

Quiet Day

It was a quieter day in the office - I was actually working on getting past projects completed. My teenage helper and I actually worked on a couple tasks that had not been touched since May! Prayer: I have a meeting tomorrow to train some staff on software that I'm not sure I understand. Pray for wisdom and vision for me and clear communication.

Field - Several of our students in India were beaten this weekend. You can read their story and pray for them here.

Home - continue to pray for God's strength and direction to finish the year well. We've had quite a few situations this year that make us ask, "Why, God? Why is this happening?" Pray that we'll continue to have perseverance and His joy and peace in the midst of it.

Randomness - I came across a computer file today labeled "blog ideas." Many of them are quotes from various teaching times. I'll try to share a few over the next few blogs.

Today's quote from Brother K.P.: When you don't feel like praying, pray anyway. That's when you pray by faith.

Floods and Faithfulness

Thanks to all who have been praying for the parts of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh that have been devasted by the monsoon flooding over the past four weeks. Millions of people have been displaced, thousands have died, and GFA missionaries are working to address both physical and spiritual needs.

One field correspondent wrote: "Thousands of people dead, families rendered homeless as their houses were swept away, cattle drowned, crops totally rooted out, villages submerged under the flood waters-and electricity, drinking water and communications systems totally failed."

Check out the photo show with pictures of the damage and the work.

On a personal note: Congrats to co-workers Jen and Stephen on their marriage tomorrow! Jen was my roommate for six months and Stephen is my second cousin, so tomorrow is all the more special for me. Oh, and my parents, grandmother, and sister came down for the wedding! Hurrah for family!

Jesus, I surrender

Lolita was a young Bible college student I met in central India during my trip two and a half years ago. She sang a song for us that has been haunting me today.

Jesus, I surrender
Jesus, my life to you.
Jesus, I surrender
Jesus, my life to you.

Lord, come inside
This my request
Lord, I love you
and I wait for you.

Prayer requests for the week

Just a few prayer requests for you:

• Bhutan is experiencing another wave of persecution. You can see a recent story here.
• I'm continually seeking the Lord on what it means to be a leader. I'd appreciate your prayers.
• My intern girls and I have been talking about living out the lessons we are learning both here at GFA and when we are with friends/family. It's hard, sometimes, to take the lessons from one "world" and live them out in another "world."
• We want to glorify God and work in unity at our house.
• And...my newsletter needs sent out. You're probably anxiously waiting on it, aren't you? Yes, well, you can pray for that.

Your prayers truly make a difference. I'll have praise reports for you at the end of the week.

Quotes, prayers, and plans

It's been a slow, but busy week at home and at the ministry. I'm continuing to train new staff at the helpdesk at the ministry -- growing experience for me and them. I'm no longer just responsible for myself, but also responsible in some ways for the work of others.

Prayer request for the field: One of our missionaries was burned when some spilled kerosene ignited. He's in the hospital with burns on over 40% of his body -- read his story here.

Prayer request for my house: All three of my intern girls will be spending time with their families over the next few days. Pray that the time would be a blessing and an encouragement to them and their families.

Plans for this weekend: Represent GFA at Celebrate Freedom -- the largest free outdoor Christian concert in America. It should be fun! Pray that there isn't rain and for lots of missionaries to be sponsored!

Good quote: It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. -C. S. Lewis

Death threats result in Gospel preached

One of our missionaries received death threats last week -- anti-Christian extremists threatened to kill him if he did not leave the area he was ministering in. An email went out to the GFA prayer team and people began to pray.

Monday, we received this update:

When word of the death threats spread throughout the village, the people became curious about Daya and the church he had started. That Sunday, nearly every person in the village attended the worship service at Daya's church. These people who heard the Gospel preached are now defending the missionary against the extremists. Daya is greatly encouraged by the turn of events and looks forward to seeing what God will do next...

Stop by and read the entire story at the website. Or sign up for the prayer team.