2013.02.06 11:24
Jesse Newsletter (2-5-13)
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Prayer requests: His will in Noah's Ark, Tokyo Vision Church, all the people I'm reaching out to here, my decisions, and personal breakthroughs in my walk with Him. There are other requests scattered throughout the letter.
There are still no more students that have signed up, or even come in for a free class here, although one called today interested. Things look pretty bleak on that end, but we wonder why God sent a full time student at just the right time, and have a part time student coming from about 2 hours away a couple times a week if it's not from Him.
Recently it's been a little troubling around here, because for the past week Mrs. Kang's sister, who was supposed to have a simple gall bladder surgery, had complications, and has had all sorts of deteriorating health issues. This ministry is very small, and there is very little money, yet the situation is so bad that she felt called to go back and be with them now. So please pray! She is in critical condition. We don't always see what God is doing, but we know in every single thing He is trying to draw us closer.
This means that for over a week, I will have all the responsibilities of running the preschool and teaching. Now since we have such few students, it's not like it will be burdensome, but I want to be excellent in everything with this opportunity I've been given. I also have to lead saturday school, and some of you that know me well will get a kick out of this: I will be leading the Sunday praise as well! She usually plays guitar and I drum.
I was asked if I could stay another 3 months until they could find another teacher. I've been praying about it, and didn't feel any particular message, but feel good and peaceful about continuing to develop the relationships I have here and furthering what God's been doing in me in this place. So please pray for this as well. I told the Pastor, please pray for me this week until Sunday, and if you feel it's supposed to be me, and neither of us get any revelation otherwise, I will stay another 3 months. That means I would be finishing up in late June.
I recently saw a film I want to recommend to everyone. It's a Christian documentary, called Nefarious: Merchant of Souls. It's all about modern day slavery, as experienced by those in the sex trade. It mostly involves eastern European countries and south-east Asia, but every country has some sort of involvement. The slavery can be psychological, physical, or because of family (yes there is a growing epidemic of families deliberately doing this to their daughters). I met some people, and one asked if I could join and help them with the next screening in Hong Kong! I don't want to hold my breath as it might not be possible, but it would be amazing to help in something like this. The NPO is called Notforsale.
As for an update with my JW friend, he met with me, by himself, for another 2 hours at McDonalds! I read in this great book Kingdom of the Cults, that one thing they do in cults is indoctrinate people to believe that the person they are speaking to is faulty, along with their theology. When you are intelligibly prepared, and really love them, they find a contradiction in how a person could be so attractive and agreeable without sharing their same beliefs. I saw these walls start to break down with this meeting. We talked about theology for quite a bit, both of us quoting often from the scriptures. I referred to God as Jehovah in front of him, and tried as much as I could to get on his level. To show him that it wasn't him I was disagreeing with, but the Watch Tower. 'To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.' At the end I asked to pray for him, and he responded that they know how to pray and that he was quite all right. But I insisted, and he reluctantly agreed. I also bought him an ice cream. So God had helped me manage to break three of their customary rules for witnessing. When I prayed with my heart, God touched him. He said he didn't feel anything, but his face said differently. Then he said , 'it is cool though, to meet someone so keen on God and prayer.' When we said goodbye, he looked a little disillusioned, and hasn't gotten in touch with me in weeks. I need to call him again soon. No matter how out of touch or lost they seem, we can't give up on them.
I started teaching a woman with one on one lessons recently. Since I knew I would see her every week, I didn't push the Gospel, but waited for it to come up. Last week it did, as she told me her yoga class likes to pray before they start. I asked her some questions about it, and found out it's sort of to Shiva (the great hindu god) that they pray to. I got to share my testimony with her, and she was amazed! At first she was saying things like, yeah yeah, I get that feeling too, or that type of thing happened to me, but the more I described, the less she could relate. It's the most frustrating thing when you are describing your experience with God, and a non believer responds as if they know just what you're talking about. Inside you're screaming, it's nothing like you think! But of course, you have to remain calm and have your speech seasoned with salt. She was really thankful though, and I gave her a Bible. She emailed me this week asking where she should start reading it!
Almost every single older man I ask to pray for (usually because I see a crutch or something) says no, usually in a not very kind way. But God again showed me not to judge beforehand. I asked a man who not only let me pray for him, but then stood in complete complete attention as I told him God loved him and had a plan for his life. Just like the electrician that came to my apartment months ago, he stood totally in tune and willing to listen. I was the one who broke the eye contact and bid him farewell. Their are supple hearts in the most unlikely situations.
I started helping a local ministry with an evangelistic bible study aimed at college students which have been coming out. That's been a lot of fun. I've also been able to continue meeting more and more missionaries around here, and people of God. One man was in China for a year before this, and made an interesting comment. He said, we went from a place where sharing the Gospel was totally illegal, but the people's hearts were totally open, to a place where it is totally legal, but the people's hearts are totally closed. In China God is moving in a way that I haven't heard of before. He said that one house church nearby was found out about, everyone dragged into the middle of the city and beaten, and the building bulldozed. He also said this: There was a Christian woman who's husband was not a believer. He caught her reading the Bible one day and said, keep reading that book. I hear that miracles happen to everyone who reads it. Wow!!
While on the subject, I just about finished reading another missionary book, this one called "Heavenly Man". It's a famous story about a still living Chinese missionary who suffered as much as anyone, saw as mighty of things, and has as amazing a story as any in the Bible by some degree. One great thing that impacted me through his message was that they never pray for persecution to end, or for suffering to be lifted. They don't pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back. They recognize what the scriptures mean to fill ourselves up with the sufferings of Christ, and that calling is fulfilled in being a part of what Jesus Himself went through. The Word says that anyone who follows Jesus will be persecuted. Yay! It's not a bad thing! God can give us a joy and peace that is far greater and more desirable than any avoidance of hardship. Brother Yun of this book says, out of all those years in prison and under persecution, we come out pressed like beautiful diamonds, consecrated to God.
The reason I tittled this 'From the outside looking in', is because of the severe emotional hardship that my friend from last month, and now Mrs. Kang is going through. There has been an almost tangible fear in the air, so thick that it jumps into my heart. I can't tell what it would be like to be losing a dearly loved family member, and it's left me without many words to comfort, or much knowledge of how to help. It's made me realize greiving with those who greive, as we are commanded, and being there for them, isn't so much about having answers to problems, or being well versed in what to say. It's much more about clinging to and proclaiming God's great promises, praying for and with them, and even if no words are said, being there for them like Job's friends were the first 7 days. I feel people need more and more to feel their father's love through others, when they are struggling with something that can make it hard for them to feel it directly from the Source Himself. GBY.
There are still no more students that have signed up, or even come in for a free class here, although one called today interested. Things look pretty bleak on that end, but we wonder why God sent a full time student at just the right time, and have a part time student coming from about 2 hours away a couple times a week if it's not from Him.
Recently it's been a little troubling around here, because for the past week Mrs. Kang's sister, who was supposed to have a simple gall bladder surgery, had complications, and has had all sorts of deteriorating health issues. This ministry is very small, and there is very little money, yet the situation is so bad that she felt called to go back and be with them now. So please pray! She is in critical condition. We don't always see what God is doing, but we know in every single thing He is trying to draw us closer.
This means that for over a week, I will have all the responsibilities of running the preschool and teaching. Now since we have such few students, it's not like it will be burdensome, but I want to be excellent in everything with this opportunity I've been given. I also have to lead saturday school, and some of you that know me well will get a kick out of this: I will be leading the Sunday praise as well! She usually plays guitar and I drum.
I was asked if I could stay another 3 months until they could find another teacher. I've been praying about it, and didn't feel any particular message, but feel good and peaceful about continuing to develop the relationships I have here and furthering what God's been doing in me in this place. So please pray for this as well. I told the Pastor, please pray for me this week until Sunday, and if you feel it's supposed to be me, and neither of us get any revelation otherwise, I will stay another 3 months. That means I would be finishing up in late June.
I recently saw a film I want to recommend to everyone. It's a Christian documentary, called Nefarious: Merchant of Souls. It's all about modern day slavery, as experienced by those in the sex trade. It mostly involves eastern European countries and south-east Asia, but every country has some sort of involvement. The slavery can be psychological, physical, or because of family (yes there is a growing epidemic of families deliberately doing this to their daughters). I met some people, and one asked if I could join and help them with the next screening in Hong Kong! I don't want to hold my breath as it might not be possible, but it would be amazing to help in something like this. The NPO is called Notforsale.
As for an update with my JW friend, he met with me, by himself, for another 2 hours at McDonalds! I read in this great book Kingdom of the Cults, that one thing they do in cults is indoctrinate people to believe that the person they are speaking to is faulty, along with their theology. When you are intelligibly prepared, and really love them, they find a contradiction in how a person could be so attractive and agreeable without sharing their same beliefs. I saw these walls start to break down with this meeting. We talked about theology for quite a bit, both of us quoting often from the scriptures. I referred to God as Jehovah in front of him, and tried as much as I could to get on his level. To show him that it wasn't him I was disagreeing with, but the Watch Tower. 'To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.' At the end I asked to pray for him, and he responded that they know how to pray and that he was quite all right. But I insisted, and he reluctantly agreed. I also bought him an ice cream. So God had helped me manage to break three of their customary rules for witnessing. When I prayed with my heart, God touched him. He said he didn't feel anything, but his face said differently. Then he said , 'it is cool though, to meet someone so keen on God and prayer.' When we said goodbye, he looked a little disillusioned, and hasn't gotten in touch with me in weeks. I need to call him again soon. No matter how out of touch or lost they seem, we can't give up on them.
I started teaching a woman with one on one lessons recently. Since I knew I would see her every week, I didn't push the Gospel, but waited for it to come up. Last week it did, as she told me her yoga class likes to pray before they start. I asked her some questions about it, and found out it's sort of to Shiva (the great hindu god) that they pray to. I got to share my testimony with her, and she was amazed! At first she was saying things like, yeah yeah, I get that feeling too, or that type of thing happened to me, but the more I described, the less she could relate. It's the most frustrating thing when you are describing your experience with God, and a non believer responds as if they know just what you're talking about. Inside you're screaming, it's nothing like you think! But of course, you have to remain calm and have your speech seasoned with salt. She was really thankful though, and I gave her a Bible. She emailed me this week asking where she should start reading it!
Almost every single older man I ask to pray for (usually because I see a crutch or something) says no, usually in a not very kind way. But God again showed me not to judge beforehand. I asked a man who not only let me pray for him, but then stood in complete complete attention as I told him God loved him and had a plan for his life. Just like the electrician that came to my apartment months ago, he stood totally in tune and willing to listen. I was the one who broke the eye contact and bid him farewell. Their are supple hearts in the most unlikely situations.
I started helping a local ministry with an evangelistic bible study aimed at college students which have been coming out. That's been a lot of fun. I've also been able to continue meeting more and more missionaries around here, and people of God. One man was in China for a year before this, and made an interesting comment. He said, we went from a place where sharing the Gospel was totally illegal, but the people's hearts were totally open, to a place where it is totally legal, but the people's hearts are totally closed. In China God is moving in a way that I haven't heard of before. He said that one house church nearby was found out about, everyone dragged into the middle of the city and beaten, and the building bulldozed. He also said this: There was a Christian woman who's husband was not a believer. He caught her reading the Bible one day and said, keep reading that book. I hear that miracles happen to everyone who reads it. Wow!!
While on the subject, I just about finished reading another missionary book, this one called "Heavenly Man". It's a famous story about a still living Chinese missionary who suffered as much as anyone, saw as mighty of things, and has as amazing a story as any in the Bible by some degree. One great thing that impacted me through his message was that they never pray for persecution to end, or for suffering to be lifted. They don't pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back. They recognize what the scriptures mean to fill ourselves up with the sufferings of Christ, and that calling is fulfilled in being a part of what Jesus Himself went through. The Word says that anyone who follows Jesus will be persecuted. Yay! It's not a bad thing! God can give us a joy and peace that is far greater and more desirable than any avoidance of hardship. Brother Yun of this book says, out of all those years in prison and under persecution, we come out pressed like beautiful diamonds, consecrated to God.
The reason I tittled this 'From the outside looking in', is because of the severe emotional hardship that my friend from last month, and now Mrs. Kang is going through. There has been an almost tangible fear in the air, so thick that it jumps into my heart. I can't tell what it would be like to be losing a dearly loved family member, and it's left me without many words to comfort, or much knowledge of how to help. It's made me realize greiving with those who greive, as we are commanded, and being there for them, isn't so much about having answers to problems, or being well versed in what to say. It's much more about clinging to and proclaiming God's great promises, praying for and with them, and even if no words are said, being there for them like Job's friends were the first 7 days. I feel people need more and more to feel their father's love through others, when they are struggling with something that can make it hard for them to feel it directly from the Source Himself. GBY.
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