What language barrier?!

Our students got to share the good news in languages other than English and bridge the gap with people we might not otherwise reach. Two of our team members talked with a man who spoke only Spanish, and learned that his hands were swollen and painful from arthritis. As our Spanish-speaking student held his hands and prayed, she felt his fingers soften, and much of the pain left. When the pair prayed again all the pain left, and they told him how much Jesus loved him. While this was happening, it looked like the cataract in his eye was clearing. The man was so thankful!

A Russian Jewish woman we met in a park talked with some of our group over a couple consecutive days. On the second day, our student who speaks Russian was able to connect with her in a special way. The woman’s heart has been turned against God, skeptical because of her political worldview, but the student encouraged the woman to look for spiritual truth and to ask God to reveal Himself to her.

This Saturday before everyone officially gathered for evangelism, a team member struck up a conversation with a lady in the park. Her intention was just to say “hi,” but the conversation eventually turned toward Jesus. She shared the Gospel and asked the woman if she would want to make Jesus her Lord and Savior. The woman prayed and was saved right on the spot! Such amazing fruit from a short conversation. It’s easy to see that L.A. has been soaked in prayer and intercession leading up to this event.

We invited the entire community to a block party this weekend to dance, hear the gospel, and have free tacos and coffee. We loved sharing the Good News and praying for healing with those who came!

On Saturday, another one of our groups approached three young men in an apartment stairwell to invite them to our block party. The guys began to ask our team loaded questions about what happens when people die. As our group responded, one of the men had tears forming as he heard the truth of the simple gospel. It was even clearer that they were impacted when they gave the group heart-felt thanks for stopping to share with them.

During neighborhood evangelism, some of our team found a girl on crutches who lost the use of her leg in a car accident. She had accepted the fact that the only option doctors have given her is amputation. The team prayed for her leg and saw an increase in mobility! They shared with her that the Lord’s heart was for complete healing. The girl was so touched that she promised to bring friends to the block party.

Praise Jesus for all that has happened and for more to come!

Please pray for our team as some staff and students have been fighting respiratory infections and asthma complications. Also pray for God’s power and love to move on the hearts of the people we encounter on the streets; for revival to break out in L.A., with salvations, signs and wonders. Blessings!

Things went great in South East Asia. We encountered a few set-backs along the way including some items being stolen from a team member and sickness affecting many in our group during the last weeks. But we are happy to tell you we made it through with flying colors and smiles on our faces! 

Week Four

Despite what the enemy used for harm, we dug our heels in and prayed our way through it. During one evangelism time on Week Four, God opened up the door and we ended up meeting a great couple from Canada who were eager to do ministry with us. We were so excited about it!

Our community ministry time was limited that week, but we were able to go on a two-day trip and visit a children’s camp. We ministered to the children and were able to share our testimonies, disciple them and encourage them in their faith. This was a good opportunity and many of the children were encouraged and challenged to evangelize and to not to be afraid of talking to Muslims about Jesus.

Week Five

This week went off with a bang, and our new Canadian friends joined us for evangelism. They have lived in Indonesia for eight years and have set up some great ministries. The wife is actually a local-born Southeast Asian, and on week five they took us to the village she grew up in. There we were able to set up the Jesus film twice.

We showed the Jesus film with a solar-powered backpack containing a projector, screen, and speakers. That portable backpack includes the full movie from creation to Jesus dying on the cross. Showing this film opens some great ministry opportunities. The Jesus film is in over 1400 different languages, so we had no problem targeting our audience.
The village was small enough that we were able to invite everyone to come watch, and the crowd grew as we watched the movie. The film clearly communicates the message of the gospel and gives an invitation to them to receive Christ into their heart. At first we found it a bit difficult not speaking the local language and it didn’t look like many people were responding. But the following day our host came and told us that many people had started asking her questions and were showing much interest in Jesus. Hallelujah! His word never returns void!

Many had heard of Christ but did not have much knowledge or understanding of Christ as their Savior, so we spent two days in the village ministering and discipling people. It was a fun and challenging experience, considering this village had no toilets and the nearest store is a long bus ride away on a bumpy dirt road. It was an honor to bring the whole gospel to this village. When we left, they had a much better understanding of who Christ is and the price He paid for them at the cross.  

We wrapped it up in that village and then ventured on the last days of our trek. We wrapped things up with a two day crusade in villages with a high concentration of Muslim people. God moved those nights and we were able to reach many people with the Gospel. 

Thank you for all your prayers. They have been such an encouragement during this journey.

Taking a look at the past 10 weeks we have ministered to over 5,000 people, seen people give their hearts to Jesus, and many have been touched by God’s love. Please pray that the the seed of the Gospel will continue to grow deep within the hearts of each person.

Blessings from team Southeast Asia! 

Last week we spent a few days up in the mountains with a remote people group. They are one of the indigenous people groups in Southeast Asia that typically live so far up in the mountains that they have very few visitors. The village we visited is mostly Christian, and our job there was to encourage them as much as possible because they are under pressure to convert to Islam. The people were excited to see us and very shy. But the more time we spent with them the more they would open up and show how kind and friendly they truly are.

Healing in the Village

There are very few visitors to this village and it is almost impossible to get healthcare up there, so a lot of what we did was pray for the sick. The villagers gathered in one of the houses, and our team split into groups and prayed for healing. So many people got healed, but I think my favorite healing was when we prayed for a man who was blind in one eye. He said that when he was hunting something had bounced back and hit his eye and he hadn’t been able to see out of it since then. 

We prayed for him, and when we asked him if there was a change he had a shy smile on his face as he said that he could see a bit of light out of his eye. We prayed again and again. The man told us that he could see, but it was blurry so we prayed again. His sight was restored! I can only imagine the joy he must have been feeling, because I was psyched!

On our first night in the mountains our team stayed together in one house, but the other villagers wanted a share in us, so we split up into multiple houses the next night.

On our second evening in the mountains, the village held a church service so that we could participate. It was fun to worship God alongside them even though we couldn’t understand each other’s language. However, our team was able to share stories and experiences through interpreters, and some of the stories the villagers told us had me laughing harder than I have in a long time. I’m really hoping to go back and spend more time with them.

Growing in Courage

This past week our group leaders headed off to prepare for our arrival in another Southeast Asian nation. Two people from our group stepped up and displayed some awesome leadership skills in the face of some resistance we faced in openly sharing the gospel here.

Instead of shying away, some of our group members actually became more courageous, and as God moved them they preached on trains to large groups of people. After those times of open sharing, people from the crowds approached us wanting to know more; other Christians who heard us seemed encouraged by our openness.

In the middle of this surprising turn of events, the time came for us to move on to the next outreach location. The culture feels very different here, and we are all excited to try the new foods, transportation and traditions. At first we stayed with a pastor’s family, who were very kind and cooked us some traditional food. It was delicious!

We will soon travel around the country and do crusades in villages and small towns. We have been told that there is a large amount of animism and witchcraft in these areas, so we appreciate all the people who are praying for us. Please pray particularly that we would see many people come to Christ during this time. Blessings!