Emma: Where is the fruit?

I've been reading through Matthew recently... the incredible stories of the life & ministry of Jesus. Matthew 5-6... I've read that passage before but it just hit me so hard as I read through it this time. 

We are supposed to live as the salt & light of the world. I want to live as a light so that others may see Christ and give all the glory to God, not me. Jesus teaches in this passage about sin, loving your enemies, living sacrifically, how to pray, serving God above all things, not being anxious, and building my life on the rock of Christ. 

The morning I read this, the Holy Spirit really convicted me! I was convicted about bearing fruit in my life. Jesus said, "You will recognize them by their fruit." (Matt 7:20)

What is the fruit of my life? I can be doing ministry, but still living selfishly or distracted. I realized this is why my relationship with God must to be number one! If i want to bear genuine, lasting fruit in my life, I need to daily spend time with God. 

We learned a lot about this in AOT (Advance Operations Training), but I think that when a slot of time isn't prepared for you to have a quiet time & it's up to your discipline to spend that time with God, it can be easy not to make it a priority or lose focus. However, I've been learning that my daily time with the Lord is crucial. I want to bear fruit in my life that comes out of the abundance of the love & joy i experience daily in my love relationship with God. I am grateful for my relationship with God and how He sustains me every single day.

-Emma

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Healthy Teaming: Julia

Ministering with longterm workers in my country has been such a blessing. I've been able to observe the aspects of everyday living while working as a team. Each family & individual is unique & essential. This team seems to be a healthy team & is a framework of what healthy teaming look like. They have become like family to me and for one another, pointing each other to Christ & loving the Kingdom work they are involved in.

-Julia

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Never a waste: Julia (NEEDS PICTURE)

For the past couple weeks, I have been attending English corners almost everyday. I am constantly sharing my story & who Jesus is. I have connected with many students about struggles I have experienced. The students can relate to my story, often feeling caught up right in the middle of their struggles. Through this, God has been showing me that the years of pain, loneliness and depression I experience were not a waste. The days where I felt like I couldn't live anymore, now are being used as a purpose in my life. For His glory!! I am able to point students to Christ and speak into their lives in a unique way. Sharing that God has a purpose for their lives and that He loves them so, so much! God doesn't waste anything. I am living in His grace in this present moment. 

-Julia

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

His Mercy & His Word: Jessica

Over the last couple weeks God has been teaching me more about His mercy & His word. I am in awe of how gracious God is. He has completely redeemed me though I do not deserve it. His mercy abounds deeper than I know & it is not dependent on me, but rather on His unchanging character. 

I have also been reminded that His word is not only trustworthy but also everlasting. In my quiet times I have been thinking a lot about how the things of this world are temporary. It is a blessing from God to have the relationships & possessions, but they do fade away. It is a comfort to me that the greatest thing I have will never fade away, because my God is everlasting & His word endures forever. (Isaiah 40:6-8)

-Jessica

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Part of the work: Adrielle

A passage that has stood out to me recently was Isaiah 42:5-8. It's incredible that the God who created everything and has dominion over all of it, allows me to be a a part of His work in spreading the Good News to the ends of the earth. He could definitely do it all on His own if He wanted, but He chooses to let us be a part of it so that He gets all the glory. 

I love the image of Him holding my hand. I know that He is always with me and will never leave or forsake me. He doesn't just send us out and say, "Good luck!" He sticks with us & guides us though every step. that is so encouraging!

-Adrielle

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Utilizing the gifts

During my current semester deployment, I have been able to see & experience many aspects of the organization we are serving with. One really cool thing I've noticed is how they find a way to use everyone's gifts & talents. Anyone who has a heart to serve & obey our Father can be used in a way that utilizes the gifts they have been given.

Please pray for my field supervisors to continue to abide deeply in their relationship with the Lord.

Pray for spiritual fruit in their lives as they walk in obedience with the Father.

-Grace

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Changes in normal life: Camille

Ministry has looked quite different during Ramadan. During the day, hardly anyone will be in the restaurants or shops. As you walk along the street, many places are closed. It's hard to do life as normal during the day.

Part of our ministry is following up with people that we've met, continuing to develop relationships. But that is so much harder during this time. The colleges are out of session & its just harder to spend time with people. No one is looking to hang out in the local coffee shop.

Where we live has more of a "night culture" anyway... and this is on another level during Ramadan as that's when they are "breaking their fast"... it's almost a party atmosphere. 

Pray for missionaries in our city. 

Pray for divine conversations during this days of Ramadan as many seem more open to spitirual things.

-Camille

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

God is good: Camille

The Lord has been growing my love for the city where I am & it's people. He has helped me be more faithful in praying for the city. He has helped me seek Him in prayer more & abide in Him through prayer. An ongoing prayer request of mine has been my prayer life... that is would be stronger. God is answering that prayer.

He's also been reminding me to praise His name. I have been filled with more joy lately because of praying and meditating through worship music that is full of praising Jesus. 

God is so good & may be be magnified & lifted high! Praise God for His word and the gift it is to praise Him, know Him, and have a relationship with Him!

-Camille
NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Breaking the Fast: Cambree

Being in this Muslim-majority country during Ramadan has been an experience. I was shocked to go out during the first day & find the whole city looking like a ghost town. Everyone was either working or sleeping to pass the time. At night thought... the party starts! Shops start opening around 3PM. We walk around & smell a billion different types of food all around us. There are huge buckets of drinks, lots of barbeque, fruit, and lots of interesting looking meat things.

Around 5PM, everyone starts ordering food & carrying it around with them until 6:30... then it's time for breaking fast... everyone eats & it's like the happiness is restored to the city. Everyone is smiling & yelling & talking... amazing to watch!

At the end of Ramadan is the Hari Raya celebration. We're looking forward to that. We've been invited to celebrate with one of our friends & her family.

Please pray for us as we spend time with our friend's family. 

Pray for opportunities to share spiritual truths during this time while they are seeking spiritual insight.

-Cambree

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim 

Endurance for Cambree

My personal time with the Lord lately has left me with one word in mind: endurance. It seems like every scripture I read talks about making it through hard time and for this I am so grateful. This season has been tough but the Lord has been so kind to teach me how to remain steadfast through it all.

One particular verse has stayed with me: Hebrews 12:2. 

My first thought was "Okay... keep your eyes on Jesus!" My second thought was "hmmmm... for the joy that lay before Him..." I have thought about this a lot. 

What was the joy laid before Him? 

What was the thing that got Jesus through the hard times & gave Him endurance?  

I truly, truly believe that WE are the joy that lay before Him. It is no secret that Jesus came to Earth to save us, but this verse puts it in a whole new perspective! Thinking about knowing us personally & saving us brought Jesus enough joy to make it through the worst death in the world. He just loves us so much. This is so sweet and encouraging to my heart. If Jesus can endure hard things for me, surely I can for Him, right??!!

I am determined to fix my eyes on Jesus and not on whatever trial I am facing. I will focus on the joy of being able to share His name with the people here... That is definitely worth every hard moment. And if I have any strength to serve, or any strength to ensure, it is from the strength that God provides. May He be glorified in everything. (I Peter 4:11)

-Cambree

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Month of Fasting

As you may know, during this month, close to 25% of the world population has come together for a time of fasting called Ramadan. This is a fast all Muslims are required to participate in, lasting the entire month of March. Starting at sunrise & going til sunset, Muslims will not drink or eat anything... this includes water. 

I recently had the opportunity to "brea fast" with one of my friends who celebrates this time. We went to the Ramadan Bazaar, a large area with dozens of food trucks. Everyone gets their food & finds a place to sit where they can break fast with their friends & family. As we were looking for a place to sit, we noticed it was about to rain. this led to our friend bringing us right outside the mosque. As we walked through the gate, we quickly doned a headscarf & sat down to prepare to break fast. Being right by the mosque provided an amazing way to experience the culture & religion of the people we are living among during this semester.

Pray for our friends as they participate in this celebration. 

Pray for eyes & hearts to be opened that only Jesus is the true Bread of Life.

-Grace

NT365 participant, Asia Pacific Rim

Friendships in ministry: Jules & Em

Our ministry is focused on partnering with local churches and university ministry. We are praying for friendships with unbelievers that will lead to their salvation! We have been blessed with an apartment that is a great place for hosting & inviting people in. We're hoping that we can become closer with a lot of the students. We are also so thankful for our whole team here. We have already received so much wisdom & encouragement from them! We are also so grateful to be here together and the Lord has been truly evident in our friendship. 

Continued prayers for the relationships we're building and the local churches we're serving would be so appreciated.

-Jules & Em

He is good & He is working: Julia

God has been teaching me patience over this past month. The country I am living in has strong Buddhist & Taoist beliefs. People are reserved & it takes time to build relationships. I struggled with this our first few weeks in country. We were meeting new people & not growing close as quickly as I hoped. 

I thought I was failing. God was not failing, in fact, He is always working. Regardless of what I counted as success. 

Through my quiet times, God has reminded me that He is good & He is working in people's hearts. I surrendered my definition of success to God. 

I decided to jump in where I saw God working... and wouldn't you know?? We have met people ready to hear the Gospel! Whether it's walking down the street, seeing a regular worker at a tea shop or youth at church. We have been so blessed to begin building relationships where people are open to the Gospel. As we continue to steadily build out friendships, I pray for continued patience and an ear to hear God's voice.

-Julia

True joy in Jesus: Cambree

The Lord has been teaching me to live Romans 12:9-16. How to love & love genuinely. How to take the lead in honoring others & be patient when things are hard & pray always. To rejoice with those who rejoice and help carry the burdens of those who weep. 

He is teaching me that to truly live a selfless life is to think of others as more important than myself. (Philippians 2:3). I know that verse, but do I live it?? 

This past month has been a month of realizing that the Lord still wants to teach me SO much, and i'm grateful for that. I am learning how to really be a doer of the Word, especially when it's hard. 

It's easy to read the Bible and only listen to the verses I like, but that's not the way God has called me to live. I have found true joy in reading the Word daily and actually LOOKING for ways I need to grow- so I can become more like Jesus. 

I am not ashamed at all to admit that I am weak & being convicted for something new like every single day, because that means I have more opportunity to grow & become who God has created me to me. I could write a book at this point honestly... but probably the biggest thing i have learned is that I have to let Christ be my strength. Some days are super hard here & I cannot be independent or think I can do anything without Jesus, because I actually can't. I need Him more & more every day.

-Cambree

I sure do love Jesus: Lydia

The Lord has been teaching me that time is precious & so is everyone. 

Everyone is worthy & needs to hear the Gospel. 

Every single moment is spent making a decision. 

Every decision made will affect someone, somehow. 

Every word will mean something to someone. 

Every moment that is wasted because I was hesitant to talk to someone will never be able to be recovered.

I have been learning that Jesus does not care who I talk to as long as I am loving them & sharing with them His love & His life story.

Every sunrise & sunset counts.

Every person should hear.

Everyone should know.

There was once an older Christian man who told me I shouldn't look to share with drunkards, only peaceful people. I realize now how foolish it was for me to believe that. 

Everyone deserves to hear about Jesus!! They may not believer BUT they should know His name & His love.

I sure do love Jesus.

-Lydia

A day in the life: Lydia & Cambree

Ministry during this season of the Gap Year looks a lot different than it has until now. We are in charge of making our schedule & being intentional with our time. A typical day will see us getting out & exploring the city, trying to meeting people. We try to do this prayfully so we don't miss any opportunities God provides to share the Truth.

If we make friends, we try to go back & follow up within the week, inviting them to hang out. The Lord has opened so many doors & we have been able to have some amazing conversations with people. We currently are studying the book of Matthew with a girl who is interested in following Jesus. It has been a joy to watch her slowly understand that Jesus loves HER and died for HER so that she can live in freedom. Please pray for her to know the trust & be set free.

We usually end our days with watching the sunset by the ocean... isn't ministry life so hard??!! It's a great way to meet more people also. We live in the middle of the city so it's great to have tons of people walking around right outside our place. We are in awe of God's power & ability to guide conversations right into the Gospel. Super, super honored & blessed to be able to grow & serve Him.

-Lydia & Cambree

Bold prayer: Andrew

Prayer.

Praying bold, specific & consistent prayers out loud is something God has been teaching me lately.

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah comes against the prophets of Baal & challenges them to show the power of their god, and he would show the power of his God. After the prophets of Baal fail, Elijah prays to God (vs 36-37). There's no "if you want" or "only if it be your will" in that prayer. Rather Elijah has complete faith in God that He will do it.

How many times when asking God to heal another, or to bring our friends & family to Him, do we add in that "if it be your will" simply because we don't have the faith to believe He will actually do it? This isn't some prosperity gospel where you just have to believe hard enough & you'll get a brand new car. Maybe if more of us truly believed God would do what we pray for Him to do, then we might have a few more miracles and a few less lost friends in our lives, not for our glory, but His.

-Andrew 

All in good time: Addi

This past month, the Lord has been teaching me to trust in His timing. I also feel He's teaching me to grow in being intentional. It's been much harder to make friends & build close relationships with people than it was in the other places I've been so far this year.

In past places, it seemed so easy to find times to meet up with people. Sometimes it was hard not not double book our time! But here, we've met lots of people, but trying to find times to meet up with them again can be a struggle. 

I've been growing in being more intentional with initiating conversations and continually pushing to set up times to follow up with the contacts we make on campus. Even though it's been a little hard, i'm learning to trust that the Father's timing is perfect. We will make good friends in His time.

-Addi

The Lord is my strength: Grace

One day we visited a cave outside the city. Both inside & outside the caves are many Hindu temples. In preparation for an upcoming festival, we saw many people walking to the temples with their sacrifices. 

The main temple of worship was located in the caves. In order to reach it, you had to climb up 19 flights of stairs. Part of this festival required Hindus to bring their sacrifice up all 19 flights of stairs without wearing shoes. For most people, this was a fairly simple task, but for others this was very challenging.

I saw a woman crawling up the stairs on her hands & knees as she was too weak to walk. No one could help her either as the pilgrimage must be done from one's own strength.

This scene reminded me of the joy & freedom we have in the Jesus Christ. It also reminded me of the millions of people who live their lives everyday like this woman, believing that they can find their way in their own strength.

The Lord is using my time here to continue to open my eyes to His heart for all nations.

-Grace

Pray for open doors: Camille & Jessica

Our ministry over this past month has seen us visiting a couple colleges to meet people and prayer walk. Our daily activities consist of learning language and meeting new people. We also spend time following up with many people in the hopes of getting them connected with local believers. We are also sharing the Good News with them as we have open doors. We have spent time teaching English to high school students & are hoping to start an English club at one of the local colleges.

We've also traveled about 4 hours from our city to teach English at another school. It's our prayer these opportunities will open doors for our believing friends to follow up & connect with them in the future.

Pray for personal conversations which will lead to relationships which will lead to Gospel conversations. 

-Jessica & Camille