The Far East..

Ni Hao! (That's hello in "C-ese"!) :)

First of all, I have to apologize for the lack of updates I provided for this last outreach. It was partially due to security reasons since this is a closed nation, but also it is partially due to my personal neglect to maintain this blog, which I am so embarrassed about -- I am so sorry!!!

However, my excitement has not worn off even after being home from "C" for over 2 months now! This nation has absolutely captured my entire heart and it still grips it so strongly that it brings me to the point of tears in longing to be back there.

I was blessed with the opportunity to lead a team of 7 students with my Co-leader Andi through this amazing adventure. The Lord doubly blessed me by allowing me to not only see lives in a foreign country be touched, but I also was able to journey alongside 7 young adults as their lives got radically transformed by the power of Jesus Christ! If you would have asked me a few years ago if I could see myself fit to do this, you would have heard a firm "No, never." - without hesistation. However, the Lord has poured His grace to the point of overflowing in my life these past few years and has allowed me to find my identity in Him, finding that I am capable of anything that He calls me to do, by His strength, --through Him! :) This has been such an incredible growing experience for me as well as I sought total dependance on the Lord daily under the realization that I am responsible for leading 7 young adults through an intense spiritual battle in a nation so highly oppressed. -- Not to mention, neither my co-leader or I have ever been in this country before.. However, the Lord saw it fit and had the confidence in us to handle the task placed in front of us!

I want to take you all back through the indescribably amazing 3 month adventure the Lord took my team and I through back in April. We began our journey spending a week in Hong Kong, going through culture orientation which allowed our team to get adjusted a little better before heading out into the countryside. My goodness.. I wish I could describe our next venture well enough to make you feel like you were actually there with me. Unfortunately, I know I will fall short at that... I think most of you could just about fall over laughing if you could see some of the things I experienced -- (knowing how I was before, you could almost be in total disbelief that this is the same girl you knew just years previous.) haha Moving on.. Our team traveled by a rickety, smelly, packed out local village bus for about 6 hours into the middle of nowhere "C". So let me explain a little shift in culture here -- the "C-ese" have no regard for personal space...at all. Haha. Needless to say, our team had to adjust rather quickly as we had dirty, wrinkly (but oh so cute) old "C-ese" farmers practically sitting on our laps, shamelessly staring us down. :) Once we arrived at the village bus stop, we had to hike up and over mountains for 3 hours to get to our first location. My goodness, was I not physically prepared for this trek...but by the grace of God I made it! Haha. Let me tell you, this temporary pain was more than worth it as my eyes gazed over the beauty of this village. I cannot express the joy in my heart as I witnessed the most precious kids running out into the streets to greet and welcome us as we made our entrance into their village. During our 3 week stay, we taught at a middle and grade school. We were called here to love on the children whose parents are forced to leave them in order to find work in the cities. Most of the children are left with their grandparents who are generally very old and feeble. Needless to say, these children lacked the love and attention that they deserve. Our ministry restricted us from sharing the Gospel as we needed to protect our contacts and future ministry in this village. There are no believers in this village currently, but I'm optimistic that this is sure to change very soon! We were blessed with the opportunity to spend time with the teachers here and you could evidently see the curiousity burning inside of them. Though the Lord is not outwardly receiving all the glory and praise He is due in this place, the Holy Spirit is actively stirring in the hearts of these people! We actually had a teacher make the comment - "I don't think it is by accident that of all the people in the world, I am here and you are here at the same time. It must be, (pointing upward) ...God. Hallelujah!!! :) Praise God for this awareness and acknowledgement of His sovereign power! Our team was so encouraged by this! We prepped the team ahead of time that our ministry has the potential to cause discouragement if you lose perspective... eternal perspective! It was vital for our team to trust that more was going on under the surface that we can see. Thank the Lord that He works in ways we cannot see and operates in depths we cannot fathom! We just need to trust!!!

We then hiked to and stayed at a very primitive village en route to our next location which was the most physically challenging for our team. There was no shower and our squatty toilet was simply two boards we had to balance on... next to a pig sty! I personally enjoyed this place so much and I was able to have some pretty amazing experiences here. I woke up early one morning and went out on a walk to have a quiet time with Jesus. Along a path I was walking down, I ran into a feeble old woman who smiled and started speaking to me in "C-ese" without a care that I didn't understand a word she was saying. :) She grabbed my hand and walked with me and she eventually led me to her humble little home where she introduced me to her grandchildren. She had me sit down and asked me if I had eaten yet (I could actually understand that... haha) I saw what she was intending to feed me as she pointed at dead snakes hanging up to dry and I quickly informed her that I had already eaten breakfast! I really enjoyed just sitting in their company conversing to each other in totally different languages, not understanding a word, but loving it! On my way back from this visit, I came across an old woman whose eyes were full of tears of pain. She pointed to her back where there was a massive tumor and she took my hand and laid it upon it, and folded her hands together. I took advantage of this opportunity to pray healing over her back and asked the Holy Spirit to bring revelation to this woman. I only hope that I can travel back to this place someday and find that the Lord has completely healed this woman!

We travelled to village number 3 where we spent 3 more weeks teaching at a school and forming friendships. After this, we left the villages and faced culture shock as we headed into the big city. Our ministry switched up a bit as we were able to be a bit more open with friendship evangelism. We held English corners, Bible studies, Cultural Exchange nights and we attended the underground churches, which was absolutely heartbreaking. Our team was able to see much breakthrough as we established awesome friendships in just 4 short weeks. Several young "C-ese" lives were introduced to the love of Jesus Christ and we trust that He will finish the good work that has begun in these lives!

I could go on and on.. I know this is incredibly long already and I have tried to sum it up as much as possible! haha. Thank you dedicated readers for sticking with me thus far! I hope you feel encouraged as you read about the countless ways that the Lord is moving in the Far East. Please keep this nation in your prayers as the number of conversions here are at a record high!!! Praise God!!!! :)