Powerfully Passionate!

Last month we asked you to pray for one of our students named Hai Bing. He continues to come to our English Bible studies along with his wife and young daughter while expecting another child in a few months. We recently viewed the film “The Passion of the Christ” and many of the students were very moved by the pain and suffering Jesus endured at the hand of the Jews and found it difficult to watch. While Hai Bing’s wife shows much interest, he is skeptical. However, seeing the unjust treatment Jesus went through, had Hai Bing asking why did Jesus allow it if he was truly God. We never know how the Word of God moves in peoples hearts. One will be changed almost immediately while another takes time trying to reason it out and must have answers to all the difficult questions. Hai Bing thought it quite ridiculous for Jesus to have to go through the crucifixion if he had the power to stop it. His understanding does not yet comprehend the sacrifice the Messiah had to make on his behalf. In Romans 8:34, Paul writes, “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” We must not give up on those who tarry in their decision to become a believer. Like Christ, we must intercede before the throne for these precious souls who have been exposed to faith. Please continue to pray for our students and especially for Hai Bing and his wife. Thank you for the opportunity to share our faith with these students. You are making a difference.

Is the devil eternal?
What is a Pharisee?
Is Satan equal with God?
When were the angels created?
Why is Jesus called “the light”?
How does the truth set you free?
Why do the Jews want to kill Jesus?
What does it mean to be “born again”?
Are ghosts really the souls of our ancestors?
If God is all powerful, why can’t he make everyone believe?
What about the souls of those who have died without knowing Christ?

These are a few of the questions we get asked during our Bible studies each week with students from
Taiwan, Japan and China. It is encouraging to have them ask so many as it is further evidence that the Lord is moving in their hearts to desire to know the truth. What a leap it is for them to go from not knowing about God at all, to studying through the Book of John and discover the answers to life most important questions like “what happens after we die?”. How many of us take for granted the Bible’s answers to our own questions knowing we have help that not all have access to.

While most of our students are involved and asking questions and participating, there is one student
in particular that we would ask you to pray for. It is a couple that we picked up from the airport and invited them to our Bible studies. The wife is like a sponge, just soaking everything up and learning quickly about our Lord and his will for our lives. However, the husband seems distant and is having trouble believing there is a God in heaven who loves him. His name is Hai Bing and we ask that you would specifically lift him up in your prayers and ask God to soften his heart and help him be more curious about godly things.

As always, we are so thankful for your prayers and financial support. God is using you to bless us
and our ministry.

The Year of the Dragon!

This month millions of Chinese travel back to their family homes to celebrate their lunar New Year holiday. the time is traditionally celebrated as a time of happy homecomings. It is estimated that over 3 billion trips will be made during this month. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year. Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in dragon years are said to be innovative, brave, and passionate.
    Because of classes starting up for the semester, most of the Chinese students here can not travel back home for this festival. They still however take trips and during our first Bible study of the semester they shared where they went from anywhere to New York to Disney World exploring the United States.
    Our English Bible studies have started back up and we hope that more returning students will join as well as those we picked up from the airport over break. Please pray that hearts will be receptive and that the seeds planted will quickly grow. The Chinese bring their superstitions with them and we desire to help them see that every year is the year of our Lord and Savior and now is the time for salvation.
    We are so thankful that you who support our work are doing much more than simply financial support. You are committed to us and what God is doing through us. Your prayers for us are so very important and we always thank God for your encouragement and dedication towards our efforts.

A New Year And New Lives In Christ

We hope that you are enjoying the holidays with your family and friends! We are so thankful for your friendship with our family and your partnership in our ministry. As many of you are, we find ourselves running from one school event to another with our children during this time of year from band concerts to field trips. We get so busy that so many of us forget to breathe and take time to listen to the meaning of Christ coming into the world. It wasn’t to be born in a manger but to put his life up on a cross to die for the sins of the world and be raised in power to give us hope and peace with God. As we look forward to a new year, we can be confident in the new life that Jesus brings.
     Ian with his friend Dequan, immersed three of their friends into Christ this month during their weekly Bible study. We have quite the crowd invade our living room each Tuesday evening and we are so proud of him and his brothers who also participate. They each have  servant hearts who have courage to stand for their faith in their schools. The Lord is definitely blessing their efforts. Please pray for Chioke, Christian and Mario, three of your  new brothers in Christ!
    Our Chinese Bible studies are going well and are now on break until after the new year. Many of the students travel abroad during their winter break touring America or returning for quick visits home. Please continue to pray for them as we see their hearts not only being inquisitive but also softening to the fact that there is a God who loves them enough to send his Son to bring them peace.

Missionary Homecoming at Forum Christian Church

It is great to be a part of FCC’s Homecoming and be a part of such a wonderful church family. I grew up at Forum (what was then called Westside Christian Church) and consider myself a ‘Timothy’ of the congregation. Forum has been a supporting church now for over 20 years as we have gone from being missionaries in Taiwan for 14 years, to teaching missions at Central Christian College for 7 years, and now reaching out to the Chinese and Taiwanese students in Phoenix, AZ. Forum is also our sponsoring church being overseen and held accountable by the mission committee and elders.
This past January we joined Outreach International to help us facilitate our work among the Chinese on university campuses. Outreach International specializes in reaching college age students and have a number of missionaries doing this all over the world. It is based out of Bethel, Missouri. Al Hamilton is the founder and directed by his son-in-law Dale Hawkins along with his wife Sonja.   We just returned from a weekend retreat where we took 11 MBA students high up in the mountains to introduce the God who created the beautiful nature that surrounds us. Roger and Amy are expecting their first child and have many questions concerning Christians and why we believe. Getting them away helped us have intensive bible study where we were able to answer their questions and get them closer to believing. Please pray for the lost that live among us. And please reach out to the ones you meet every day. Foreign students usually never get invited into an American home.

English Bible Study Begins

There is nothing like teaching the very first Bible study to someone who has never heard of, read about, or knows anything about Jesus Christ. To see their inquisitiveness and their realization there is the remote possibility there is something out there bigger than ourselves. The Holy Spirit starts to work on their minds and hearts and you can see that their interest is genuine. Since most Chinese coming from the mainland profess no faith, are usually atheists and are only taught evolution, the task seems pretty daunting. The first obstacle is to invite them to a Bible study. I mean, after all, they are in intensive courses pursuing their degrees and have very little free time. The second hurdle is to help them see the potentiality that God exists. This is not hard to do as one might think once we begin talking with them about design in the world, in the variety of things that have been created, how there is design to the complexity of plants and animals and our very selves. Since there is design to everything, there must in fact be a designer. And their eyes start to open.
Such was the case during our first Friday night English Bible study with Hai Bing and his wife. Their first questions: “What was the difference between the Old and New Testament? How do you know that God exists today? Is Jesus a god?”.
 來 is the Chinese character for ‘come’. We read  John 12:32 which in the Chinese Bible it says “when Christ is lifted up, all men will ‘come’ to him”. Hai Bing put the two together by himself noticing that the character shows one man on a cross with two men on either side of him. His wife responded that it was deeply interesting that even their language points to God and Jesus.
Thank you for supporting our work. Without you we would not be having these great opportunities to bring Christ to the lost. Please pray for Hai Bing and his family as they begin their long journey in their spiritual life.

Three Trips, Three Faiths

Picking up students from the airport coming to study for their MBA's at Thunderbird University has turned out to be very interesting. This week on Monday I picked up Andy, a mainland Chinese atheist. On Tuesday I picked up a young man who was Muslim. On Wednesday a Hindu. All I had was a name on a card to pick them up with but the drive to their dorms you could tell what each one was really interested in, what they were open to, and how open their hearts were.

"The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:24-27)

Divine Appointments... one out of two ain't bad, right?

http://youtu.be/MHfy6J7LEwc

One day Dezi and I went to pick up our van from being fixed and we saw this lady with hands full, dragging a bunch of moving boxes across the street. We didn’t even look at each other before Dezi was rolling down the window and I was pulling over so that we could help her. We loaded up the back of the car and took her almost a mile to her home. There. Our good deed for the day. We both felt pretty good so we stopped at the nearest Quick-Trip to get a drink. As I was coming out of the store I noticed a man sitting on the sidewalk, a little gruffy and very worn face. He asked me if I had some change and I said, “No, I use a debit card.” Then I walked away. Dezi saw the man too and asked what he wanted. It made sense to both of us since we normally don’t carry cash that we couldn’t help him. So we drove on. It’s been on my mind every since. Do we pick and choose who and how we help someone? Does God send people our way to see how far we will go to “feed the hungry, clothe the poor and needy, give drinks to those in thirst”? If it’s convenient to go to a convenience store for ourselves but not convenient on behalf of someone else, then all we have is a convenient faith.
    We are excited about the new group of Chinese students coming to study, most of them working on their M.B.A.’s. We joined a welcoming fellowship dinner for those are who are already here.  We met a young lady named “Hellen” and found out she lived in the same neighborhood when we lived in Taiwan. Always amazed at our small world. We are also picking up students from the airport and believe it is an excellent way to meet them as they first arrive. We are planning having English Bible studies on Thursday evenings and Chinese Bible studies on Fridays. Please keep these in your prayers.
    It’s been a really good transition for my mother to move in with us and it’s going well. Thank you for your prayers on this change in our family. I’ve been working on completing my Masters and took four courses in Ghana last month with only one more to go. Our lives are full and busy with kids back in school. Thank you so much for caring for us! We thank God for you daily…!!  

Accra, Ghana, West Africa From July 2011

Such a wealth of diversity in the courses I'm taking here in Accra. Taking the last four courses of Azusa Pacific University's Operation Impact program that offers a Global Organizational Leadership masters program, getting to know the students from many different cultures is at least half of the education being offered. This is our second course class that finished up today and we start in on two new classes on Monday. They provide us with outings on the weekends and we are taking off in the morning to visit what once was a slave castle. Tonight we were treated to an authentic Chinese restaurant and I ordered in Chinese so it's true, you can go anywhere in the world and eat Chinese. And did I mention there is no McDonalds here at all in the whole country? Yes, for me that designates it to be a third world country. However, the people are great, so friendly and so polite. Their views challenge us to think about our Christianity from a different lens

Class Diversity

As I've mentioned, we have a lot of diversity in the classes I'm taking now. From a policeman from Ghana, to an evangelist from Nigeria, a radio broadcaster from Slovenia and another evangelist from Ethiopia to me, an international student worker from Phoenix! We are learning a lot of things in the intensive courses but also from each other. For example, the Ethiopian student shared that China has reserved 7 trillion dollars, yes I said trillion, for the development of Africa. The Chinese are building roads and infrastructure here at a very rapid pace. Chinese automobiles are everywhere as well as heavy equipment. China is a rising power in the world. They have no national debt (despite what you may hear) and in fact they hold about 1.5 trillion of the U.S. national debt. China is the world’s biggest creditor. It has done this by providing cheap labor and products to more expensive markets. Despite the huge numbers of its population, the top market for China is not its own domestic consumers but the market of the United States. Better have your kids learning Chinese! However, the wealth is not distributed equally. There is the upper class and the lower class and very few in the middle. This is often seen in countries that have growing economies. It's here in Ghana. We went to a church that had the slum shacks next to it. However, the church members were all upper class. Not one homeless person could be found in the congregation. Is the church for everyone or just the upper class? Why doesn't the church have all classes of people? Does yours?

"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people that by all possible means I might save some." - I Corinthians 9:22

The Least of These

     About a year ago, I was standing in the middle of the Mathare Slum in Nairobi, Kenya and was overwhelmed with the poverty. People living in small shacks, no sanitation or clean water and the most horrid living conditions you can imagine with about a million people living on one square mile of land. 

     I was wondering why I haven't seen such a slum here in Accra. Then on the way home from a local church today, I figured it out. They weren't gathered all in one place. They were spread out all over town living in small shanty type houses along the major streets. At red lights they will walk down in between the cars selling all kinds of things while balancing their goods on top of their heads. Their lives aren't much different than Mathare. Yet, they show their willingness to work hard and having ingenious ways to do it.

     It was when I saw the face of a young boy begging without having something to sell that got to me today. He would tap on the glass and point to his mouth on every window that passed by. Knowing that he is 'sent' out there to do this and that he's really not able to keep the money prevents the 'Christians" here from giving to them. Then I began noticing more and more children. Their poor, so poor, living conditions as we drove by so many people living on such small donations. So many people. And this isn't counting the slums in Nairobi, or other parts of Africa, or Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines, or Bangkok or a thousand other places. I don't have an answer. I can define the problems and give some attention to the needs. But how to meet their physical needs much more their spiritual needs is truly overwhelming.  
     “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’   Matthew 25:40


    

How Slaves and the Church Come Together.

     Elmina Castle, Ghana was erected by Portugal in 1482. Originally called the Gold Coast,  it was the first trading post built on the Gulf of Guinea, so it is the oldest European building in existence below the Sahara. Trading post. Yeah, trading many things including slaves to the western colonies. Over 600 men and 300 women were packed into very small, windowless dungeons waiting for months before they were sent through the infamous door called the Point of No Return directly on to ships that carried them to the new world. The more incorrigible slaves were put in a cell to die then their bodies would be thrown into the ocean. What upset me is on the second floor above the dungeons and specifically right above the "door", was the Portuguese chapel. So during their songs of worship and sermons of the Gospel, slaves were being loaded like cargo onto awaiting boats. At first I was thinking that 'words cannot express' but I'm wrong. Words can be expressed for the horrid treatment and suffering of these human beings under the same people bowing to God. At first there was much sympathy as we toured the lower dungeons, then as we ascended the floors and entered the chapel, anger presented itself. Then, we saw the Governor's quarters where he would stand above the female slaves and 'pick' a mistress whenever the desire came. Of course we have heard of slavery before and the evils that have taken place in our history's past. However, our guide said something that was very interesting. He explicitly mentioned that they held no animosity toward Americans and that they knew we, ourselves could not take responsibility for what was done in the past. Wow. What a loaded statement. God holds no animosity for us either for what we have done in the past. As long we become his slaves, that is.

Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. I Peter 2:16,17

Chinese in Accra, Ghana, West Africa

Such a wealth of diversity in the courses I'm taking here in Accra. Taking the last four courses of Azusa Pacific University's Operation Impact program that offers a Global Organizational Leadership masters program, getting to know the students from many different cultures is at least half of the education being offered. This is our second course class that finished up today and we start in on two new classes on Monday. They provide us with outings on the weekends and we are taking off in the morning to visit what once was a slave castle. Tonight we were treated to an authentic Chinese restaurant and I ordered in Chinese so it's true, you can go anywhere in the world and eat Chinese. And did I mention there is no McDonalds here at all in the whole country? Yes, for me that designates it to be a third world country. However, the people are great, so friendly and so polite. Their views challenge us to think about our Christianity from a completely different lens. As one Ghanian told us, "the need in the Church today is leadership that is not self-serving, but a leadership that desires to serve others." He said "we need creativity and innovation rather than accepting the status- quo." We need to think globally and stay ahead of rapidly changing cultures. If the Chinese can accept innovation and stay ahead from a business perspective, can't the Church do it even better? 

Islam, Hate and Love

   Today we heard another unique testimony from Emanuel, a Nigerian who reaches out to Muslims. Of course he must be very careful and his ministry team have just narrowly escaped persecution several times. He has his team always ready to 'move' if situations get bad and he has them make emergency bags that they can grab and leave with. They also have to have their cell phones fully charged at all times and escape routes planned out.
   He has found Christian policemen that help him stay informed and he scouts out an area to live in that are not fundamentalist Muslim. He explained that all their evangelism takes place on a one to one basis and never in a group. He believes that many Muslim are having dreams that point to Jesus and the cross. He also sees that often Muslims can 'convert' to Christianity but return home Islamic.
   Emanuel explained that while some believe there are peaceful Muslims, that to believe in the Koran is the only way to have peace and you can choose or be forced to believe regardless if they are fundamentalist or not. What draws Muslims into unity is any presumed attack on the Koran or Allah. Many of his friends and acquaintances have been killed by sharing Christianity.
    One church was attacked by Muslims because they believed some Christian had torn a Koran and flushed it down the toilet. It turned out after an investigation, a Muslim actually did this as a way to gather support to destroy that church.
   Emanuel explained that no matter what they do, how much harm they cause, how many are attacked or killed we must love them. Love shown is what he testifies to be the one and only way to convert them.
       "Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death." I John 3:13,14

Out of Hell and in to Heaven

One distinct advantage of having a cross-cultural degree is having people in your class that come from all over the world. From Uganda, to Ethiopia, Slovakia, Canada and from different states in the U.S. all coming together sharing their stories. Let me share one story with you told by a brother from Ethiopia named Damtew.

He was second in command of the lawless mafia faction that constantly rebelled against the government and other authority. They craved power and controlled the people by charging them tax on their businesses and beating them up whether they paid or not. Their joy was to see others bleed. Murder was common place. They thought all Americans were colonialists and shouldn’t be in their country. The ruling regime had ‘red marked’ him meaning anyone could shoot him on sight. He went in to the bush to hide for two months and then the current government was overthrown and he was forgotten.
One day, a white missionary came to talk to them and Damtew wasn’t listening to a word the missionary said. He was only trying to decide how to hurt the missionary. He hit the missionary in the head and the missionary dropped his Bible and ran away. Damtew picked up the Bible and put it in his pocket as a trophy. Later he put it in a box that contained other things that had meaning for him. It wasn’t until 9 months later when he opened his box and saw the Bible. He picked it up and it opened to the Gospel of Mark. He ended up reading it three times and in tears asked God to forgive him. He said an unimaginable weight was lifted from his shoulders.
However, in time, his becoming a Christian made him fall out of grace with the mafia that he was so high up in. Again he had to hide and not let the mafia see him as someone who betrayed them by seeking Christianity. Over time, his mother and brothers and sisters all became Christians. This is an amazing testimony.

“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.” – Hebrews 12:3,4

Accra, Ghana, West Africa

After a very long flight I have arrived in Ghana! I'm taking my last four courses for my master degree and there are about 20 other nationals who are students with a couple of us "foreigners". The courses are 4 hours from 8am to 12am and then 1pm to 5pm for two weeks. They are very intensive and compacted yet we have the weekend off. My goal is a  masters in Social Science specifically in Organizational Leadership. It has a cross cultural element thus why I'm in Ghana. I have taken courses in Taiwan, Azusa California, and Alaska plus numerous online courses. Please pray for Dezi as she holds down the fort back in Phoenix!
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June Update On Our Family

One year ago, our family moved down to Phoenix to start a new endeavor that is now reaching out to Chinese international students. We are settled in and at the end of the month, Mike’s mother will be moving into our home. She’s becoming unable to completely take care of herself and we are glad we can open up a room to her.  Please join us in praying for her especially at this time. It’s hard to make these kind of life changes. We definitely have a house full right now! We don’t often tell you about our kids so we thought you might enjoy getting to know them a little more. 
    Ian, now a Senior has excelled in music and was awarded Outstanding Junior Musician. He can play the drums, bassoon, french  horn, trumpet, violin and piano. He’s turning out to be a leader and has future hopes of being a missionary.
    Talon, a Junior, is very interested in culinary arts and is blessed with his high school offering special courses for this. He cooks quite a bit at home and is definitely gifted at it. He wants to be a chef and he believes that can also be used on the mission field some day.
    Colan, a Freshman, practices on the clarinet and can’t wait to be in high school. He’s made some friends in the neighborhood and volunteers at the local library. 
    Devin is in 6th grade and he plays the trombone. He enjoys swimming and you can usually find him playing games on the computer. He’s taller than Colan and is proud of it.
     Raena has many little girlfriends on our cul-de-sac and loves riding her bike. She got straight A’s all year and she’s in 3rd grade already. 
    We really do appreciate the support you give to our family and our kids fully realize what our purpose is. We thank God daily for your generosity! We also
 want to remind everyone to make checks out to Outreach International.  

May Update - INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MINISTRY!

    Over a year ago we made the decision to move to Phoenix and work with Christ’s Church of the Valley in developing their mission department. Over time, we felt our particular gifts were not being used and we prayed and fasted and asked God to put us in a place where we could be. Even when we first came to Phoenix, we met a Taiwanese lady named Grace Ou-Yang who encouraged us to help her in reaching out to many of the Chinese students that are here. So, in January we chose to pursue that ministry. In the last few months, we have dissolved Harvesters International and joined up with Outreach International who have a primary focus on international student ministries.   
    As we develop relationships with the Chinese students we have found that more than what we teach, what we are seen doing makes the greater impression. On a recent outing up one of the many mountain ranges in our area with a group of Chinese students, I was having a hard time keeping up since my leg is still weak from the motor cycle accident (actually I’m just out of shape but the other sounds better). Coming down was very hot and difficult and we had already run out of water. Our oldest son, Ian, saw I and the others could use some so he ran down the mountain and then came back up and met us half way with more water.  The students were amazed at this act of compassion and often talk about it and use it in examples during our Bible studies.
    Most of the students we are in contact with are from mainland China and know nothing of Jesus, the Bible or Christianity. They are most certainly a mission field in our own back yard. Part of our ministry includes picking them up from the airport as they come here to study and we are literally the first Americans they have ever met. That first impression means a lot.
    We thank you so much for your continued support and want to remind you to please make all checks out to OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL with “COC2001” in the memo line. And please continue to pray for our family. Mike’s mother will be moving in with us so she can have better care. It has been a difficult transition this past year. Without God’s faithfulness and your partnership we could never have made it through. And pray for open doors among the international students we are now working with.

   Pictured here is Leo-Ning who was baptized on Easter Sunday. She’s just one of many students who come here without knowing anything about Jesus until someone teaches them.

April Update

The young lady had just come from China into the U.S. and had come down with the flu. With no car and very little understanding of our culture with insurance and what doctor to go to, she was getting worse and worse. That is, until a Chinese Christian found out about her need and helped her go to the doctor and get the prescribed medicine. This young lady is now attending a local Chinese church. When we reach out to people in need, we can change their lives for all of eternity. Romans 15:20 says “It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known…” Romans 15:20
    We usually think of that in going overseas, yet many foreign un-reached groups are right here at our doorstep studying in our universities.  We have discovered the Lord leading us into that direction more and more and have recently partnered with OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL to take advantage of this new opportunity. We are merging Harvesters International with Outreach International.
    Al Hamilton, the founder of O.I. is someone who has great charisma in recruiting and was responsible for our decision back in 1990 to return to Taiwan to help start a new church work in the capital city. We believe in O.I.’s mission and are excited to have this new level of accountability as we step out into reaching the many Chinese students from Taiwan and China here in Phoenix. The change includes writing the checks out to Outreach International  and putting in the memo line, COC2001. Please continue to send your checks to our forwarding agent. And continue to pray for opportunities to reach the Chinese students and families.
    Thank you for your confidence and support and we thank God for you every single day as we could not accomplish anything without your partnership!
    Be sure to check out Outreach International's website at www.oionline.org! 

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Our growing family! Devin 11, Talon 15, Ian 17, Mike 47, Colan 13, Dezi 46, and Raena 8!