Super Encouraging

I had a really neat experience the other night. We went to the mall (just the 5 of us bule bule...no translator) to do a little shopping and get some dinner. We also decided to see the new batman movie and so we had like an hour to kill before the movie started and so I was just chilling outside the theater in the mall and this indonesian guy comes up next to me and starts talking to me. At first I can't understand what he is saying because it is super loud, but eventually we get to talking and I can understand most of what he is saying (he spoke pretty good english). We first just kinda made small talk about school and stuff and then out of no where he asks me if I am a christian which was funny because I was going to ask him the same thing in a minute. Well, I say yes, and then I asked him if he was and he said yes. Then he asked me my testimony and I shared that with him and then he shared his with me. Then we started talking about sin and being what they call a KTP (Kaw-Tay-Pay) christian, which is someone who professes Christ but has no fruit and doesn't live like a christian. He asked me if I thought such a person was a christian and stuff. Then he told me he was at the mall with some other people from his church witnessing. It was really neat and really encouraging to get to talk with him about that stuff and it was also great to know that the local people are doing evangelism as well. So, the Lord is at work here in Indonesia and it is SO COOL to have been able to see that!

Fishers of Men

So, I hope you can all appreciate the cleverness of my blog title by the end of this blog. On tuesday we went to a city on the coast and did some "street witnessing." We traveled most of the day and arrived at the beach at about 4pm. We broke into 3 groups and walked along the beach talking with people we ran into and making conversation with them and then directing that conversation to a presentation of the gospel. It is pretty easy to get people to talk with us here because I'm pretty sure about 90% of the people here have never seen a white person. They always stare at us where ever we go. It is kinda funny. Anyways, tuesday brandon and I and our translator were able to talk with a couple of university students who were muslim and a lady and her son who were both muslim and were able to share the gospel with them.

Wednesday we did the same thing. We went to 3 different beaches and broke into 3 groups again and just walked up and down the beaches talking with people and sharing the gospel with them. Tuesday and Wednesday were both neat experiences. It was a little stretching for me beacuse that isn't my personality to just talk to people and share the gospel and then leave never to see them again, but I'm also really glad that people who have never heard the gospel have now heard it. God's Word does not return void. Oh, and just in case anyone was wondering, the Indian Ocean is cold even though we are in the tropics. Go figure.

The next couple of days we are going to be teaching english at a local school and doing who knows what else. Saying plans are tentative here in Indonesia is being pretty generous I think. Please continue to pray for my team and me as we finish out our last few days here. We are leaving thrusday morning. Pray that we would finish strong and stay focused on our tasks here.

The Beat Down

Craziest morning ever! Ok, so here's what went down. We are doing VBS with this church and we pull up to the church and we all pile out of the van and there is this guy sitting on the sidewalk outside the church. He seems harmless enough. We all go inside and are just saying hi to the kids and stuff when the guy outside starts throwing rocks at the church. At first he was like out on the street throwing them but then he got a lot closer. Well, he ended up throwing one through the window and so we get all the kids away from the windows and they are all like huddling in the corner of the room and the rest of us are kinda just sitting there while the pastor is calling the police. The pastor's wife also locks the front door in two places. Well, next thing we know the guy has kicked in the front door and is standing there with a crazy look in his eyes. The pastor's wife runs and slams the door shut and anthony helps her hold it shut against this guy and I go and grab a couple of pieces of PVC pipe to hit the guy with in case he gets in. Meanwhile Brandon takes the girls and all the kids upstairs and Becca and Andrea sing with them and get them calmed down. Well, after a couple of minutes of banging on the door the guy stops and apparently wanders back out to the street, but by this time all the neighbors realize what is going on and they take this guy out. Anthony and I look out the window and we see people throwing rocks at this guy and one guy has a board in his hand and starts beating the guy with it. Next thing we know the dude is unconscious on the street with like 30 people around him waiting for the police to show up and take him away. Talk about a sense of community man. Apparently though that is how they roll here. The people we are staying with said that they had a pair of jeans stolen and the people in the community found out who it was and almost beat the guy to death over a pair of jeans. It seems to keep the crime level down pretty well. Anyway, back to the guy. Anthony and I both think the man was demon possessed because he was way stronger than he should have been. He was about 5'2" and half starved and yet he managed to kick the door in when it was locked and he just looked crazy and he attacked us and the church for no reason, so there is definitely spiritual warfare going on here. Good did come of it though because all the neighbors were hanging around the church and heard us singing and talking about God and stuff, so that was awesome. What seemed bad may really have been a huge blessing. So, just keep us in your prayers as we do not struggle against just flesh and blood.

Tomorrow we are going to be traveling again to another city and doing some street witnessing. We are all excited about this opportunity, but please be praying for the Lord to open the hearts of the people that we talk to and for the preaching of His Word to change their lives.

Bule Bule

That’s what they call us here: bule (boo-lay). It means white man. Our time here has been very eventful already. Dain had to go home because of an infection, Andrea had to go to the hospital a couple of days ago (but is out of the hospital now and is doing much better now), my stomach is torn up, and Anthony’s stomach is beginning to bother him as well. All in less than a week. Despite all this though, we are loving it here. The people are wonderful. They are very very kind.

The past 2 days we have been on a retreat up in the mountains with a church here. It was a really good time. It was a little hard to determine the spiritual atmosphere there since we couldn’t really understand what was going on all that well all the time, but I do believe we were able to impact the kids. During the time there we were split into teams and did activities and went hiking and showed the kids how to play frisbee. We also introduced them to smore’s. They seemed to like them. I definitely ate like 3 and payed for it this morning. My stomach didn’t appreciate that much food with how it is feeling. Oh well...it was worth it. J

Tomorrow, we are going to be doing a vacation bible school for two days with a local church here. Pray that that goes well.

The people here definitely don’t see many white people. We get stared at all the time. Today I had some guy come up and get like 5 inches from my face and just stare at me for a few seconds and then walk away. It is pretty funny, but definitely testing my personal bubble. They don’t really have personal space here, so that is taking a little getting used to.

Prayer requests: Health. Our team is definitely not very healthy as I wrote earlier. Please pray for the Lord’s healing grace upon our bodies. We need it. Focus on God. We are really busy and I am having a hard time finding time to spend alone with Him which I desprately need and want. Pray that I will be able to find that time, and the time that I do have with Him will be blessed and fruitful. Terima Kasih (thank you).

We're Here

Well, I finally made it to SE Asia. We got in at like 6pm last night. I'll be happy not to see another plane for 3 weeks. :) Tomorrow we are going to church, and then after that we will be going to another city to do a youth retreat. Please pray that we will have fun with the kids and be able to show God's love to them. That's it for now...

It's been awile...

Well, seems like I have greatly neglected my blogging duties. I figure it's about time I blogged again for those of you who have been on pins and needles wondering what is going on with me. This weekend I went to Fresno for a Precept Ministries training workshop. I learned a lot. Friday I learned how to structure. This is basically a means to see the flow of thought in a verse, chapter, and book. You break the verse apart by main thought and supporting thoughts and basically diagram them out on a paper. You start with the main thought on the left and put supporting thoughts under the main thought and it flows across the page allowing you to easily see the flow of thought of the author. It also easily brings up questions from the text and easily provides answers to those questions.

Saturday I took a workshop on how to lead a Precept upon Precept course. We learned how to break the lesson apart and learned how to lead a discussion and to come up with questions from the text and the lesson. Then our trainer lead our class as if she was leading her bible study so that we could see first hand how someone would lead a study (for those of us like myself who have never seen a precept study lead before). It was a very educating weekend. I'm excited to see how God uses what I've learned. Well, that's all for now...Oh, and I leave for SE Asia in 8 days.

The Secret of Believing Prayer

Right now I am reading "Believing Prayer" by Andrew Murray and I want to share what He has to say.

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:22-24

The promise of answered prayer is preceded by "Have faith in God." This is where faith in answered prayer comes from. It is only when we enjoy a personal, loving relationship with God Himself that our whole being is opened up to the mighty influence of His holy presence and the capacity will be developed in us for believing that He gives whatever we ask. That is so cool! The better we come to know our Lord, the greater our capacity to believe that He gives us whatever we ask of Him.

When we enter into this living fellowship with God Himself, in the faith that sees and hears Him, it becomes natural to believe His promises regarding prayer. The prayer of faith is rooted in the life of faith. Surely for one who knows his Father well and lives in constant close fellowship with Him, it is a simple thing to believe the promise that He will do the will of His child. Once again we see that when we know our Lord well and live in fellowship with Him, deep abiding fellowship, it is simple to believe that He will answer our prayers.

Learn to believe God, to take hold of Him, to let Him take possession of your life; then it will be easy to take hold of the promise. He who knows and trusts God finds it easy to trust the promise as well. Trust in God, believe Him, offer yourself up to Him completely and it will be easy to believe all that He has said He will do.

O God, I do truly believe in You. I believe You are my Father; I believe in Your infinite love and power. I believe in Your Son, my Redeemer and my life. And I believe in Your Holy Spirit, my Comforter, Guide, and strength. Three-in-One God, I have faith in You. I know and am certain that all You are You are to me, that all You have promised You will perform. Lord Jesus, increase my faith. Teach me to take time to wait and worship in Your holy presence until my faith appropriates all there is in You for me. Let me see You as the strength to accomplish Your will in the world and in me. Let me see Your love that is longing to meet and fulfill all my desires. Let Your love so take possession of my heart and life that through faith I will know You dwelling in me. Lord Jesus, help me, that with my whole heart I might believe in You. Let my faith in You fill me every moment. My blessed Savior, how can Your church glorify you? How can it fulfill the work of intercession, through which Your kingdom must come, unless our whole life is filled with faith in God? Blessed Lord, speak Your Word, "Have faith in God," into the depths of my soul. Amen.