The Beauty of Creation

My friend and I were talking the other day about what a blessing it is that God made the world so beautiful and colorful...imagine the difference if everything was in black and white. I love the mountains and I love fall...so being at the mountains in the fall (with my family no less) was such a blessing! I hope as you experience the beauty and creativity in the world, it will remind you of how much God loves you! These are some of my favorite nature pictures from our trip.

From one set of mountains to another

Two days after I got back from India, we headed to the Smoky Mountains for a family vacation. It was the first time for my girls to go, so it was fun to show them the places I went a lot when I was a child. Thankfully, some people offered to take some family pictures for us.

Why Not Now?

We've been on vacation and our home computer has crashed, so I haven't started updates yet...but here is a story I sent to people on my blog distribution list. I'll post it here in case you're not on that list.

One thing I want to pass on about the trip now is from a situation one team experienced. They were talking with a lady that had heard the gospel from one of our translators at an earlier date. As they talked, the lady revealed that she believed that Christ was her Savior and wanted to be baptized. The team talked with her about ridding her home of idols and described different scenarios on how and when she could be baptized. The team said that they would talk to the translator, who could come and baptize her at a later date. One of the team members reported that after they had explained the gospel and situation for the fourth time (they wanted to make sure she understood what she was doing and was truly making this commitment), the lady responded with a question that I just can’t get out of my mind…”Why not now?”

Why not now?...so many times we come up with excuses on why not to go on a mission trip (too much money, too busy, kids too young, too scared of an area, too insecure to share our faith, too used to being comfortable, too addicted to creature comforts…). I know that there are legitimate reasons and excuses to not go…but they are normally valid for only a short season. Please pray about how and where you could go this upcoming year…it truly changes you in so many wonderful ways and allows you to see God at work and better understand how big He is and how much He loves the world.

Thankfully, the team did say, “Why not now?!” and they found (put together) a water spot and baptized her then and there. I happened to be on the prayer team that day. One of my team mates had prayed a prayer about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch situation repeating itself in this particular valley (see Acts 8:26-40 for the story). Although she prayed it because of a different situation a team encountered…how sweet it was to know that God answered with a resounding YES that very day and that we were able to experience it firsthand!

What a Great Day in Ministry

The first couple of days of ministry have gone well. The hiking the past couple of days have been very strenuous. There have been opportunities to share Christ with others. Today there was one lady who accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. One family that we shared with had a sick daughter that we prayed over for healing. Last year, this happened at a home and a couple of months later the Lord worked a healing. That family trusted the Lord as their Savior and started church. Please pray, that if it is the Lords will, that this will happen again.

Today, the long range trekking team went out. This is the first time that this has ever been done in this area. Nathan Mattingly, Nathan Fish, Bryan Keene, Matt Sheffield, Will, and Moses hiked 6 hours up the mountains. They are in uncharted territories – no one has heard the name of Jesus here. The first person they shared with accepted Christ. Pray for this new believer, that he might lead the area as the first pastor.

The team is having a great time. They are all healthy. Please pray for the team as they work through some jet lag…pray that they get some sleep.

More Travel

The team should be in the mountains. They hopefully got a good night sleep in the hotel and some in train. If I were to guess, I would say they have gone up the mountain and are very thankful to be in their new home.

Please pray that everyone settles in well. Pray that everyone's constitution will stay good for the week. Tomorrow, they will start their ministry. Pray for the people of this area to have open hearts to the Gospel.

30 Hours Later

Well, 30 hours later the team arrived in a very large city of South Asia. They are weary, travel worn, and ready for a good nights sleep in the hotel. They wake up tomorrow and back to travelling. They will have around 6 hours of train travel to get up into the mountains.

Please pray that they will get some good sleep and be ready to hit the ground running.

Departure Day has arrived!

I'm so excited about leaving in just a bit to head out!

God has brought an illustration into my path two times this week that I want to share with you to help give you a visual of something that we hope to accomplish with our trip:

Hearts without Christ are cold and hard like a piece of ice. The gospel is like hot (even warm) water that when poured over the ice, transforms it and melts it. Our team will encounter many hard hearts in the coming days (won’t everyone no matter where you are?!?!). Please pray that we are Spirit filled and Spirit lead as we pour out the warmth of the gospel in this dark land. Please pray that the hearts that are exposed are transformed…that the process of thawing will at least begin….

As you fill glasses with ice this week, I hope that this illustration will come to mind and that you will take a moment to pray for the lost of South Asia.

My theme verse this year is Psalm 105:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."

What a great to-do list to fulfill while I'm gone! For all of us to fulfill daily...maybe I should make it my life verse!

My sincere thanks and gratitude who go "along the way" with me through this blog and with your prayers. You are definitely an important part of the team! Be watching for updates when I get back!