Hey Family!
I am so full and so excited I don’t know what to do with my self! The Lord has been so good and so gracious over the past month and I am more excited than ever to be one of His children.
Visa
As you all know there were some complications with my visa. Thank you all for praying for the situation. The work visa and the English pronunciation both fell through. Around the same day I told the agent to cancel the process I received a letter from the university stating they could not allow me to teach because I did not have the credentials. Strangely enough I had a lot of peace when I got the letter. It was if the Lord was releasing me to fulfill my desire to primarily focus on sharing the Good News.
In the mean time I will receive a social visa which will allow me to stay in the country for an initial 60 days. After the 60 days I have the opportunity to extend it. This process is never easy as immigration officers ask a lot of questions especially because I’ve already been here for so long. So please continue to pray that I would find favor with the immigration officers whenever I walk into the office.
Ministry
Ministry wise I have been spending a lot of time in The Word, reading books, and studying different ways to share and foster spiritual conversations in my context. At first it was hard for me to come to the realization that I need to “learn how to share” with local friends. However, the more I read, write, and pray the more I understand why this is necessary. Every word I read and reflect not only gives me new insights on how to share in a Cousin context, but they are also strengthening my own faith and boldness.
This past week I had the opportunity to have a conversation with one of my boarding mates about the spiritual world. She spoke a lot about the darkness and shared some experiences she’s had with demonic spirits. I listened to her stories and at the end reminded her that if she is focusing on the darkness her attention is not on the Lord. I then encouraged her to try to pray when she has those encounters again. A few days later the same girl had to rush home because her father had suddenly fallen ill. While she was waiting for her uncle to come from the village (3 hours away) I spoke with her and made sure she was okay then asked if I could pray with her. She gladly allowed me to pray for her father. Afterwards, with tears in her eyes she said, “Thank you,” and left.
Why Am I So Excited?
As I mentioned earlier the Lord has been moving and I am so excited and humbled that He has chosen to use me for a small part of His big picture. After nearly a year and a half of learning the language and culture and building relationships, the time has come that I can look back and see how the Lord’s plan has been unfolding all along. The best part is that this is just the beginning!
One example is my relationship with my tutor, Jay. From day one I have felt that she is one the Lord put in my life for a reason. While I was still studying, the two of us had many great conversations about our worldviews and beliefs. She has had believing friends in the past so she has a good idea of what Followers of Christ believe. One of the early struggles in our relationship was that it was a tutor-to-student relationship and not really a friendship.
Well after I came back to SEA from the US that has drastically changed. In the past couple of weeks I have spent more time with her than I ever did in the past. Whenever there is an event she invites me to come along and we have thing to talk about outside of “How do you say this in your language.” Last night I got a message from her saying that she wants to take me out to dinner for my birthday so we can talk. I don’t know what she wants to talk about, but I have a message of love and hope to share with her!