Planting... watering... cultivating

As our time serving in Southeast Asia comes to an end, I can rest in the fact that our hearts will be full with memories we have made & friends we have grown to love. The Father will continue to work through the seeds we have planted. We are assured that He will water & cultivate faith through our ongoing prayers for these we have worked with this summer.

One unique opportunity we were given during our time here, was through our visits each Wednesday to a women’s prison. On our very first visit, we began by introducing ourselves and sharing with them about our family’s, where we lived and grew up, our schooling and the careers we were studying for. These ladies enjoyed getting to know us through our weekly visits and wanted us to come back again and again. We began planning specific activities that we would do with them. Some of these activities included using Mad Lib stories, specifically planned questions to encourage discussions and some modern day parables we could examine. In order to help develop relationships with each other, when we would begin our visitation sessions we asked how their week had gone and tried to encourage them to share about themselves on a more personal level. They all seemed to have wonderful attitudes about participating and they got along with each other quite well. As we prepared our questions beforehand, we wanted to try to get the women who are followers of Christ to open up about their experiences as to how He has changed their lives and in what ways He had worked in their hearts during that particular week. This was one effective way we were able to bring the ladies who are not followers into the discussions and communicate just how Christ can become a helpmate to them all. The ladies that we worked with at the prison always seemed to be able to show joy in such a meaningful way regardless of the circumstances face daily. 

At our last meeting as a team with them, we read a modern parable and one of the followers said that she remembered a similar story she heard from the Good Book! WOW!! They were making connections & growing in their knowledge of Him simply through our weekly discussions. Several of the ladies made bracelets that spelled out our names and headbands for each of us. These small gestures mean so much to us! Even though these ladies are in prison and have little to nothing, they took the time to make something special that we can take home with us. I know I will miss them so very much and will continue to pray that they stay strong in their new knowledge of Him.


Our final get-together with all our friends at the “Center” was Saturday night. We celebrated Anna’s, Michael’s and A’s birthdays from this past week. One of our new friends, T, cooked dinner for all of us so we decided he needed to become a chef! I had a very special conversation with a friend who told me that he can see a difference between us and other Americans he has known. I shared with him that it is because we want to spread the love we have in our hearts that comes from our relationship with C and the Holy Spirit. Another seed was planted……

-Great Commission English Center

On the Streets of Southeast Asia

In our city, there are a variety of ways to get from one place to another. Walking, driving cars and riding motorbikes seem to be the most popular. People are everywhere. Whether they are busy heading to meetings, food breaks or work, busyness is all around us. The local people enjoy seeing us because we definitely stand out and they can obviously assume we are foreigners. Sometimes they will stare at us so long that they come close to running into whatever is in front of them!

There are many, many businesses that are actually very small shops, but because of the way they are built, they appear squished together. Sometimes it is hard to tell when one shop ends and another begins. All in between the shops along the streets are houses that have been built with their walls actually being part of the shop next door. Most malls have been built with parking garages attached. They have many levels as well as parking on each level. There are specific places to park cars and specific places to park motorbikes. The malls are full of many different types of stores, in fact, some are American chain stores that have branched out into Southeastern Asia. Of course, there are Starbucks, Burger King, McDonalds and KFC. I think those fast food places are pretty much all over the world. It is probably a better question to ask where they are not a part of the culture? One additional observation, we got to experience going to the cinema where we were able to watch the new “Transformers” movie. Well, you can choose to see it in 2D, 3D and 4D. The 4D is quite unique. The seats move, water is sprayed on you, puffs of air shoot through the seats and you get little punching sensations on your back.

We have been so fortunate to get opportunities to experience this very diverse country and all that it has to offer. We have grown to love and enjoy the people that we work with and the new friends we have made. They are truly special and will now hold a very place in our hearts.

-Great Commission English Center

Uber opportunities

We have had some chances to venture out to see the city. Most transportation is by motorbike or Uber. The streets in the city are full of various carts overflowing with food to sell, motorbikes parked everywhere and lots of people walking to and fro. We have had opportunities to meet others in coffee shops and restaurants throughout the city where we can talk about their lives and their goals for the future. We are getting to know them better and better so that they become comfortable talking about religion and what it all means. The Father has used so many situations and conversations with those we meet that point to His glory in this region. It has been such an amazing experience for our team to work among some very special people and to see how our lives are being used by Him each day.

Pray for more opportunities for spiritual conversations with those we meet.

-Great Commission English Center

New friends... new opportunities

Some of the events that we have held at the Guesthouse have been game nights, a karaoke night, worship nights and a very special Fourth of July celebration complete with American games, hot dogs, and red, white and blue decorations! Throughout these events, we were able to have conversations full of laughter and fun to build friendships that will, hopefully, draw others closer. 

On game nights we sometimes play “Spicy Uno.” It turns out that “Spicy Uno” is the same game we play at home except for having quite a few more rules. On karaoke night, we sang a lot of popular songs and sometimes our new friends would pick songs to sing that we could learn. We had a microphone set up and had a blast. It proved to be a great time to share, engage, and work on building those important relationships with others. These new friends of ours have come to know that the Guesthouse and English Center are safe places for them to talk about issues they may be going through at the time.

Pray for the relationships we are building through these events. Pray that we will have opportunities to talk about spiritual things.

-Great Commission English Center

New Relationships

The English Center where we are along with our Guesthouse has been a busy place since we arrived. When we first arrived, we began to hold meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays to engage in conversation with members and new friends. There are about 10-15 people that form a core group with which we work specifically on sharing conversations and building relationships with each other. Some of these are Christians and some are Muslims. We enjoy each other’s company and have found that these new friends of ours just love to be around us. 

There are a few of them who are interested in what type of relationship we have with Jesus Christ and they ask questions. I have developed close friendships with a few of the girls and a couple of the young men. They have asked me how I can be so happy all the time and wonder if I feel peace and love. I have been able to tell them a little bit about my testimony and they, in turn, have shared some of the things they struggle with. I can see that the Father is working in their hearts. Some of the girls that are Christians, are very passionate about growing and learning in their relationship with Christ. One young man in particular who has become a close friend of mine is a Christian, but doesn’t seem to have a very solid view of living and showing what life with Christ really looks like. He wants to spend time with us all, but does not have the eagerness to grow. I have asked him what he thinks blocks him from growing in his personal relationship with Christ and he says that anger and stubbornness have been hard to overcome. I have explained to him that this relationship requires giving it all to Christ. 

The other young man that I have befriended is Muslim. He does not have a strong tie to the Muslim religion, however, and appears to be searching for something to bring him peace. I will ask that you

Please pray for these newfound friendships and that Christ can work through me and our team as we reflect the power of the HS in our own lives.

-Emily
Great Commission English Center

Perseverance

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. 2 Thessalonians 3:13

Team of the Day: Great Commission English Center

Country of the Day: Southeast Asia

Team members are almost halfway through their ministry for the summer. Pray for them to persevere in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Great Commission English Center: First few days

Hello!
Some things we have been doing the last 12 days...

• First of all, we made it safe and sound (June 8th) without any problems to our destination and we were greeted with a friend singing Happy Birthday because Jessica's birthday was the 5th of June and Emily's was the 6th. That was fun!
• So far jet lag has not been bad and we have been getting good sleep.
• The next day, we had a game night at the guesthouse we're staying in. We were able to make friends and have a few good conversations about Jesus Christ. Oh, also before that, we went on a City Tour to walk around the city and see some sites. That was interesting and fun! 
• Monday we had Sports Day where we played volleyball and soccer with some of the English Center members. 
• Almost everyday we've been going out with the friends we've made to dinner to spend time with them and get into talking about our testimonies. 
• Monday and Wednesday we went and visited with younger girls at a Freedom House. They didn't know a lot of English so we colored with them and played music videos for them which they loved. There are three girls that live there. 
• On Tuesday and Thursday we went to the English Center to hang out with college students and get to know them. They pretty much all love playing Spicy Uno! There are about 30-40 members.
• Wednesday evening we all got together and got a group picture professionally taken. Such a blast seeing everyone together in one place.
• This past weekend we girls and two other volunteers at the English center went with S to a beach and to snorkel.  We had a national guide to take us to different spots to snorkel and different islands to look around and take pictures. What a weekend!

I can't believe we've been here for almost 2 weeks already and a lot has happened!! There will be more to come and more consistent blog posts.

-Emily

Meet the Team: Great Commission English Center

Anna, Emily & Jessica

We have three ladies on this team... Emily, Jessica and Anna.  

• Emily is from South Dakota and she is a student in a college in California working on finishing her Bachelor's in Intercultural Studies. 
• Jessica is from Tennessee and she is working on Master's in New Orleans, Louisiana. 
• Anna is from Mississippi and she finished her associates this past spring and will transfer to another college to finish her Bachelor's in Elementary Education. 

Something in common with us all is that we all love people and want to serve them in any way we can. We all also love coffee and spending time with people to make friendships blossom.