Cultural learning: Lydia

I've learned that when sharing the Gospel in this country, you need to build a relationship with that person first. I may not be a really deep relationships, but you do need to have some connection to this person in order to level up to Gospel conversations. 

One of the ways we have built relationships is through games. :) It's so fun being able to learn the language through games like Spot It and Uno!

-Lydia

NT365 participant, Southeast Asia

Ministry update: Adrielle

Last week I was able to share my testimony & the Gospel with 5 people! It was cool because one person told me he wanted to hear my story, and as I started to share... more people join the conversation. Everyone was listening really intently, paying close attention to what I was saying.

I emphasized the fact God loves each & every person individually & that He wants a personal relationship with us.

When I finished, they all shared how they were encouraged by what I had said. I'm praying that even if we don't see anyone come to Christ while we're here, we won't get discouraged by it. But instead know that we are planting seeds that will hopefully continue to grow after we leave.

-Adrielle

NT365 participant, Southeast Asia

Cultural barriers: Daniel

The language barrier is probably the biggest hurdle for me. So far, most people I meet barely understand my English. I can barefly communicate much less share the Gospel. This, along with my shyness make it hard for me to approach people. The youth seem open to the Gospel however.

Please pray for me to have courage & speak out as plainly as I can.

-Daniel

International AOT, Philippines

Cultural learning: Andrew

Did you know they celebrate Father's Day in Thailand? I experienced this recently, although it isn't for the same reason we celebrate as Americans.

Father's Day in Thailand is celebrated on December 5th in honor of the late king. King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great is known as the Father of the Nation... so Thais celebrate Father's Day on his birthday. 

-Andrew

NT365 participant, Thailand

Ministry update: Cambree

I was able to share the Gospel with a really cool guy this week. He has the same name as my brother so that was a great way to start a conversation. We were talking about the differences in our religions. At one point, the topic was heaven & hell and what each of our religions believed about the topic.

He told me where he spends eternity depends on how much good vs. bad he does here on Earth. I asked him if this was scary to not know for sure & he said it was! This was a great opportunity for me to share about Jesus being the perfect sacrifice for our sins and that I can't do anything to save myself.

After I explained this freedom that is available through Christ, he looked at me with surprised eyes and said, "There's no burden!" He had never heard of a religion that is actually a relationship built on love, not on good works.

We got to the end of this conversation & he heard the truth. Leaving with a lot to think about.

I pray the Lord opens his heart to believe. I really hope to see him again soon to continue the conversation.

I'm so grateful for the opportunities our team has had to share & we continue to pray for many more over this last week of ministry.

-Cambree

NT365 participant, Southeast Asia

Cultural learning: Grace

Our culture is a night culture. This means our field work starts around 4PM and usually doesn't end until at least midnight. Many times, our team has the most meaningful conversations while also trying to keep from falling asleep! Even though our bodies have struggled to adjust sometimes, I find myself hoping for another late night so we can continue to build relationships with those who need Christ.

On the mornings after such late nights, when talking about it with our team the next day, we all agreed it was the best thing we could have done. Each night truly gave us an opportunity to connect that we didn't have before. So, although night culture is new to me, I have found it to be an amazing opportunity to build meaningful relationships.

-Grace

NT365 participant, Southeast Asia

Cultural learning: Cambree

Look how small the bananas are here!!!

-Cambree

NT365 participant, Southeast Asia