Ex & Ev Update

All is well for us! We just got back from our first hike on one of the islands. Other than a little scrapes and bruises, we survived. The Father has really opened up some good opportunities for us and has always provided. We head back out on July 4th for another island for 2 weeks. Until then, we are staying with our supervisor.

 

The islands are a different world! They are beautiful in and of themselves, but so lost. We found a few good ones throughout the trip. Just be in prayer for all of the people that we have spoken with and with those in the future. Also, be praying for our health and stamina. 

Thanks for all your prayers and support!

In Him,

Britton

Open Opportunities

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Traffic in the city- part of daily life

Much of the time, I feel that I have no idea what I am doing here.  I am torn back and forth between excitement and sadness that our trip is almost half over.  We have struggled through many things, most of which have been minute-by-minute living to get through.  Obedience is key, and when we are obedient, God shows up.

 Both of us have overcome sickness in the past week, we have spent more time walking than I want to think about, and I am simply overwhelmed by the amount of people we have met and come into contact with.  Yet, I remember that when I am weak, maybe a bit discouraged, He is made perfect. Because of this, I am all that more willing to admit my weaknesses.

As we were out shopping earlier today, one of the vendors asked if we were participating in Ramadan. This brought up an awesome opportunity for a conversation, and we asked why he was participating. He told us that he knew that if he did enough good things to please God, then he would be allowed into heaven. We asked if he was sure that he was going to heaven when he died, and he said that he hoped that he had done enough good things. We told him that we knew for sure that we were going to heaven, and it was not because of any of the good things we had done. We could do nothing to please God. Please pray for this man as we plan to go back to talk with him again about the differences between his religion and our faith.

Several prayer requests:
–Pray for the discouragement on some days when we don’t feel productive in our work
–Pray for the 12+ teams we have encountered here (from several different organizations) to be faithful and strong in their work as well
–Pray for the millions of lost souls in this city to be open and have an opportunity to encounter the truth of the gospel
–During the month of Ramadan, people tend to be more vulnerable and even more open to talk about their faith. Even those who are not fasting understand it is happening which can lead to great conversations. Pray that we will be faithful in sharing when there are open opportunities.

Living Life While Loving Others

We have been living in the city for three weeks now, and some days it seems we are tourists wandering around aimlessly, with no goal.  Fortunately, God has provided many opportunities for interaction with other believers that are also living in the city, as well as many non- believers, including our new friends:

Though it does not look like (and it definitely doesn't feel like) hard work, we are working to meet our goals.  This summer, we are seeking to do four things:

1) Understand the gospel in light of the cultural context
2) Grow in our own personal relationship with Christ
3) Edify the local workers and believers
4) Develop relationships with the locals that will last far beyond this summer, with the goal to see them in heaven for eternity at Jesus' feet

We are simply here to live life while loving others.

This is not to say it has been easy or simple. There has been a fair share of culture shock and things we have had to come to terms with, but God has been teaching us.  There were three other Americans that were working with us for the first two weeks, but they left several days ago.  It has been an adjustment to learn to get along without them, but God has provided more short term American teams from several different organizations for us to work with for the rest of our time here.

Please pray:
--for the hearts of our friends to be open to the Truth
--for the locals we will encounter and the conversations we have to be spiritually guided
--for the direction of our team for the next five weeks as we seek to build relationships