We have bought our tickets to head back to Asia Pacific, and are working on all the logistics of getting packed and ready and saying the many goodbyes.
Also, many of you prayed for the ladies mentioned in our previous email.
A Recap: Yichun is a non-believing Taiwanese lady, an old college friend of mine (Rachel), who had reached out to me asking for information on Christianity, as she was preparing a presentation on Christianity and the Bible for her PhD class. We exchanged lengthy emails talking about Christianity, and she ended up including in her presentation some slides purely devoted to showing several Bible verses and explanations that, while people of all religions generally agree that Jesus was a good man and a good teacher, Christians believe Jesus in His claims to be God himself, and His claims to be the only pathway to God. Her presentation included Bible verses pointing to the sinfulness of every human, and God's loving and substitutionary payment for that sin by Jesus' death on the cross. It also included explanation that Christians believe that anyone who puts their trust in Jesus will be saved from eternal torment, and instead get to enjoy eternal joy after this life.
I got chill-bumps reading her slides. Thank you for praying - I really believe God used Yichun's presentation in some classroom in Taiwan to plant seeds for eternity.
The other lady we mentioned was a Muslim lady named Vildan. She was a lady I had had the pleasure of hanging out with a few times here in College Station, and we had become quick friends. A couple of weeks ago, though, it had been several months since she and I had talked, and, recognizing that we are headed back to Asia Pacific in just a few short weeks, I was praying for her one afternoon. I had felt like God was working in her heart, and I wasn't satisfied with the surface-level conversations we had had. So I was praying that, if not through me, God would use others to clearly explain the good news of who Jesus is. About an hour later, I received a text from her inviting me to break the Ramadan fast with her the following day.
The next day, I arrived at her house with high expectations that a good opportunity for sharing would arise. And it did. Vildan had invited myself and a couple other sweet Christian ladies to be her guests that evening. We had opportunity to share our stories and share who Jesus is and what He did for us. Vildan soaked it all up and repeatedly said that evening that she is eager to hear more. God has placed several sweet Christian ladies in Vildan's life. It is such a great picture of how God uses one to plant a seed, another to water it, but that it is God who does the important work of making it grow (1 Cor. 3:6-9). I have ordered an excellent book for her in her native language and plan to visit with her again soon.
Please take a moment to write these ladies' names down and pray for them. Pray that their hearts would clearly understand God's Truth, and that they would each become powerful vessels in their respective communities. God truly does work powerfully through our prayers.
And while we're on the topic of God's beautiful saving work, our Noah was baptized this past Sunday as his public proclamation that he believes that Jesus lovingly paid for his sins on the cross, and that he is now a child of God.
Please also pray that all the logistics of international travel (timely covid-tests, quarantine, etc) would fall into place. There are several extra variables at play this go-round.
And do let us know how we can pray for you! We love hearing from you, and we are so thankful for each and every one of you.
In God's Loving Hands,
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