Our ministry up North in Vietnam was worth the couple all night bus and train rides to get there because we brought hope to a youth group and joy to a congregation. Including two people excepting Christ with us after church! But once again God seemed to do his best work through me when I least expected it.

We left the church in a trearful goodbye around 9am on Monday morning and headed for the train. We entered the train with the understanding that we would not be stepping off it for at least 24 hours. The nice solid wooden benches and smell of smoke welcomed us to our new home. We were in the "Middle Class" coach. If we walked forward to the next coach it was nicer. It had the bus style padded seats and air conditioning. Continuing on you enter the 6 person a room sleeper car and finally the 4 person a room sleeper car (but that is not where missionaries get to sleep). Going the other direction it became more "economical" with the same wooden benches we had but no A/C and more smoke. As you went further back the amount of people seemed to become exponentially more. Where we were 4 to a bench it suddenly became 6 then 8+ with people sprawled all over the floor and below the benches. Then you hit the final car which is the food car.

On one visit to the bathroom I ran into a nice man holding his 9 month old baby whose name meant Revelation in English. The man turned out to be a very strong Christian. He was a Pastor of an underground church. His congregation has grown over the past year from 10 to 60 members. He was a man of God that had is priorities straight. He was a huge encouragement to me as he talked about his job. His wife desired him to go get a job for a company where he would make more money. His desire was to go "get better finances" as he said and work for a company too but he could not until God called him to. Until God rises up a new leader and tells him he can go he will stay and serve in this way.

He was standing there next to the bathroom holding his baby boy because they did not have enough seats for all the passengers on the train. He introduced me to his wife and 3 year old baby girl, who were sitting in the very small closet next to the bathroom.

I knew he wouldn't agree to it for long but I had to do something. I went back to my seat and talked to Melina. When I told her about the family I just met she was more than happy to give up her seat as well. We walked back and told the family that they had some new seats. It took some time to convince them but finally they agreed to sit and rest for a couple hours.

Since I no longer had a seat I headed for the food car. It took some time to traverse the 3 cars between ours and the food car, stepping over people and rocking back and forth as I walked. I sat down to eat and almost instantly a man approached me. He started a conversation asking where I was from and what I was doing. Conversations like this are extremely common on the Race but rarely last more than a couple minutes. This conversation was an exception. I felt God telling me to ask him about his religion and beliefs. He was Buddhist. I asked him what he thought happened after you died. He said he believed in a Heaven and Hell. Although this belief is not Buddhist it is not uncommon for the people in this area of the world to mix Buddhist beliefs with other religions. Most often people will worship both Buddhist and Hindu Gods.

I asked him if he believed he was going to Heaven. He got this worried look on his face and said "I don't know, you have to be pretty good to go to heaven. You have to go to the Pagoda a lot" and do something else that I couldn't understand. My response came subconsciously "Want to know something cool? I am sure I am going to Heaven. My God tells me so right here" pointing to the Bible I had set on the table. "My God says if you believe in heart and except me as God. Confess your sins to me I will forgive you and you will have eternal life in heaven." He was very excited. I continued on telling him about "My God" for about 4 hours. He was very curious and asked many questions. He asked about the book (The Bible) I had pointed to and asked where he could get one. I told him he could keep mine. He was so excited he opened it up right away. He read it slow, "The H-o-l-y Bib-al." What does it mean? I was able to explain what The Holy Bible meant and talked about what it was as a whole. I took him through some of my favorite verses and pointed to a couple good books to read first.

It was an incredible experience getting to introduce the Gospel to someone that has never heard it. It felt so good to give him hope for his life and beyond.

After several hours of talking I asked him if he would like to dedicate his life to "My God" Jesus Christ. He said "yes!" I was able to pray the prayer with him and he accepted Christ into his heart. After the prayer he asked me "So did you just introduce me to your God?" Yes, "My God" knows you, loves you, and wants to talk to you! You can talk to him anywhere! You can thank him for all he does for you! You can ask him for anything and he will provide! My God, Jesus Christ, is your God and HE LOVES YOU!

I received a healthy rebuke from my sister in law Alexa in the beginning of this month. I wrote here an email explaining that I would have a couple days "off" ministry in the beginning of the month because of the Chinese New Year here. She reminded me that we never have days "off" in the kingdom because "You minister without knowing it, Josh! You never take a week off!" It was a much needed reminder that when we have Christ in our lives and people see us, they are getting a glimpse of Christ even without knowing it.

This month we were able to do a lot of really great ministries. Especially neat because Vietnam is a closed country so evangelism is illegal. God protected us, and our contacts, from harm as we did His work this month. We were able to speak in Churches, lead youth groups, visit several orphanages, pray for the sick, share testimonies and be an encouragement by just being present.

There was much fruit from the organized ministry this month but God seemed to work even more through our "Off" days.

We met one amazing lady, named Hun, during our first trip to a church down south. She was so impressed by what we did that she felt compelled to bless us on our "off" days.

We were supposed to have two days of rest in Siagon before heading on our second trip to a Church 20hrs north but instead we went half way with her to a beach town named Nah Chang. She paid for everything. We stayed in her families beautiful guesthouse next to the beach and her and her family cooked all of our meals (including an incredibly delicious fresh crab feast!).

We thought we were going to just relax there for two days, which we did, but God had so much more planned for us. Melina, one of my teammates, threw away her glasses upon God's command and is waiting in faith for God to heal her. So God provided her with a great chance to sow where she desires to reap as we were able to pray for Hun's aunt who is blind in one eye. We were then able to pray for there family as her aunt's deteriorating health has really affected everyone. Our prayers were an encouragement and testimony to God's unending love.

The coolest part though was that God used us, and our testimonies, to save several lives. We were able to pray for Hun's nephew and two nieces to except Christ while we were there. We were on a day "off" from ministry but God provided us a way to expand his kingdom by three. To pray for restoration of health and restoration of a family.

We were eating rice bread balls after church the first Sunday we were in the village in Cambodia when we first met Ho Hin. Ho Hin was sitting in an awkward way on the porch and looked to be in pain. Haley had felt compelled to pray for her so we asked the other ladies what was wrong with Ho Hin (as she doesn't speak English). They said that she has had pain in her knees and had trouble walking for the past 6 years. Her hands shake, she walks with a cane, takes medication to sleep every night and even has to take several rest breaks while walking the short distance from her house to the church. We decided to pray that she be healed in Jesus' name.

We prayed for her health right there after church and told her if she wanted us to pray for her more she could come every day and we would pray for her. Sure enough at 7:00am sharp the next day she was waiting outside to be prayed for. She had faith in God and his healing power. We prayed for her and asked God to reveal anything that is preventing her healing. We prayed that her body would be restored in Jesus' name and that she would be able to walk without her cane, and sleep without pain.

She showed up every morning at 7:00am. We would round the corner on our walk to breakfast and she would be waiting there with a big smile on her face. We would pray for her then she would talk to us in Camere (sp?) like we could understand her than she would laugh, we would say goodbye and go on with our day. This happened every day for 3 weeks. Slowly we began to notice a difference she did not shake as much. She would smile and point to her knees. She no long walked with the cane.

We finally asked our contact U Ee to translate her ramble one day and found out she no longer has pain in her knees, she no longer has to take pain medication to sleep, she doesn't need the cane, she no longer needs to take a break on the walk to the church and she is shaking much less. She was so excited to tell us that she was able to sweep her floor and help some around the house. Something she hasn't been able to do in six years. She felt alive!

Why did we pray for her health? What makes us think that we can heal? We are not physicians... Why then? Because God has given us the power.

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons."

Matthew 10:8

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:12-13

For the past 6 years she has been in so much pain that she couldn't even sweep the floor. It hurt to sit on the ground (which is the only way to sit in the village because few have chairs) and it hurt too much to sleep. But because she stepped out in faith and believed that God could heal her through us, he did.

The Bible says pick up your mat and go home. By your faith you are healed. Ho Hin has faith in God. Ho Hin believed in a healing God and so do I.

U Ee our contact took a simple idea and created huge results. There is one high school for Ampil and surrounding villages this side of the river. That means if you are on one side of the land you will travel up to 20+ km each way to school each day. This isn't done in your brand new Accord driving highway speeds but rather on a run down bicycle with no brakes on a dirt road. This can take several hours. For example it took U-ee and I 30 minutes on a motorbike to go just the 10km from his house to the school.

The high school breaks for 3 hours in the middle of the day for children to go home for lunch. This only works if you live close to the school but what do you do if it took you 3 hours to get to school in the morning? U-ee decided to change this. He got some funds together and rented a house near the school. He welcomed in the students that had nowhere else to go and would teach them English and how to type during lunch. As the students would ask and wonder he would tell them about Jesus.

The first year went well but when it came time to renew the lease the owner would not let them renew it because he didn't like the noise that the students made while coming and going. This left U-ee with no place to rent. This did not discourage him though. He just thought outside the box. He raised some more money and bought a very small piece of property literally in the middle of a sugarcane field. There was nothing there but dirt when he bought it. The first class of students worked really hard to build a shack, water well and bathroom so the property would be useable. The first 15 students are all Christians now and have graduated from high school. Every one of them moved on to higher education, 10 of which are in Bible school! The coolest part is that the ministry continues to renew itself every year. There is a new class of 12 students. Only two of which are currently Christians.  I had the opportunity to go and teach these students during their lunch and I have faith that through the love from U Ee they too will see Jesus' love.

Simple idea, huge results!

I was reading a book the other day "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day". It is an incredible book talking about perspective on obstacles in life and being able to face your fears. It talks about not running from lions but rather chasing them. I highly recommend reading it.

What I want to talk about though is a line that says "God is in the resume-building business.  He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities." God has uses past struggles I have gone through to give testimonies of hope to others that are currently struggling. I know that God doesn't cause me to fall but he sure doesn't waist the opportunity to use those failures for good.

I think he does the same thing with good things in our lives as well. He uses past and current desires and experiences to relate to people and ultimately to further the kingdom.

This is what God did this past week.

After our several hour van ride to Hua Hin, Thailand I was very anxious to be active and go for a run. I grabbed a map from the front desk and checked out the route to the beach. Within minutes of getting out of the van I was changed and ready for my run. I took off and of coarse missed the very first turn sending me on an hour detour to the beach. After running along the beach for about 20 minutes a soldier stopped me and said "NO" that was the only English word he knew so it didn't give me much for information on what he wanted me to do. He eventually pointed toward the road and gave me a stern look that said "Get the heck out of here". I later found out that the open beach where I was running was the beach access to the King's palace... woops!

The fact I missed my turn and got kicked off the beach onto the road was no coincidence though. God was directing me back on the road. He wanted to use a past experience for good and develop another experience for the future.

That road lead straight to a fire station. My past and current desire to become a fire fighter told me to stop in and say hello and my past experiences with ride alongs provided me with knowledge to be able to talk to the firefighters. They loved talking with me. They loved to practice their English and talk about America. We talked about their department, their families, their religion and our different countries. I was able to tell them about the shift schedule back in the states, the different ranks in the departments, generally what the calls were, equipment that is used in the states and other things I had picked up over the 6 months of applying to be a firefighter. But the coolest thing of all is I got to talk to them about Jesus.

God used my past experiences for the future opportunity of telling these firefighters about Jesus. I also believe that he will use this experience as a past experience to get me closer to my future opportunity of full time firefighting.

If it was any other member of my team that got lost and kicked off the beach that day, they would have walked right past that fire station probably with out even noticing it was there. But it wasn't someone else, it was me. It was me because when we truly surrender our lives, our will, to God He uses every part of our past experience for his glory. He even uses the bad things we have done. When we surrender our lives to Christ those things are forgiven. We are washed clean. We no longer live in shame and guilt but rather walk in confidence that God has made us a new creation. He will give us opportunities to use those past experiences, those past struggles, to testify to God's mercy, God's glory, God's undying love for us.

The firefighters didn't fall down on their knees and accept Christ right then and there. But they did get to talk to a stranger that truly cared about them, a stranger willing to come back day after day to see them, a stranger that brought them gifts and taught them English. A stranger that called himself a "Christian" (a word they had never heard before). A stranger that told them about another God besides Budda, a loving, living God named Jesus.

This is the best safety equipment they had. He was embarrassed to even show it to me because he knew it wasn't  good. The needs of departments like this around the world has been something God has been laying on my heart. It has been something that he has been speaking to me about doing something about in the future. Only time will tell what role I can play in helping to solve this problem in departments around the world.

What is in a name? A name holds a lot of power. Throughout the Bible God gives many people new names. I believe he does this because he sees something in these people, something that they might not be able to see in themselves. I took some time last month and just prayed for God to show me some new names for each of my teammates and this is what I received. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about what God thinks of my teammates!

Melina- Lioness: Lioness ready to Charge. Definition of lion: The male has a flowing shaggy mane and takes little part in hunting, which is done cooperatively by the females or lionesses.  There have been many prophetic things spoken over you involving a lion. Although I believe that all these things are true I think that there is one thing wrong, I see you as a lioness not a lion. The lion has a flowing shaggy mane to show off, to show dominance. It seems to spend a lot of its day sitting in the shade being lazy. Fighting every once and a while for control of its territory. He is considered brave and courageous. He does all these things while the lioness is being bold, working hard, hunting its prey. That is where the true boldness is, that is where the true courage is, it is in the lioness. We have all come into the race with a purpose a strength something we can bring that no one else can. These last two months there has been a language barrier for most of our team. An excuse we have all too often used as an "inability" to step up and pray for people. We have looked to you to step up. At first you were unsure of yourself and your Spanish ability but over the past two months I have seen you truly step into the confidence you are meant to have. I have seen you be willing to pray for the people in the barriers, the people on the streets, willing to translate our testimonies and church services. I have seen you step up and lead a bible study for woman of the barriers, which in turn led to a woman accepting Christ. That is true bravery and courage. Your willingness to go and hunt, to go and serve in the field and courageously spread the good news of the Lord. I am grateful for the changes I have already seen in you and excited to see more confidence, boldness and courage as the year goes on.

Kelsi- Gleam- As in from Polished Metal: Definition is shine brightly, with reflective light. Another definition is reflects light because it is well polished. Origin is from Old English glǣm which means brilliant light! Kelsi you are a brilliant light for this team and the people we work with. I feel like you have gone through a transformation, as metal being polished, over the past couple months. Before you have allowed your brilliant qualities to just blend in and not stick out as unpolished metal does. You were not living fully, not showing your personality to many. But these last couple months have polished out that "reserved' from the "reserved ridiculous" that you were described as, polished the ordinary out of you and made you extraordinary. You have stepped out of your comfort zone and let us in. You have allowed yourself to be vulnerable you have allowed yourself to try new things and not know the answers. You have stepped out in faith and believed the promises of God. You have been bold in crafting prayers and reading them to us, in believing that God speaks to you and telling us what he spoke to you. As a polished piece of metal you have allowed God's light to shine off you. You have allowed the brilliant qualities that God has bestowed you with to be seen to the world. I look forward to the rest of the year as God continues to polish you and make the light that shines off you even brighter!

Justine- Zeal- Definition is to bring great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. The energy and enthusiasm you bring to our group is incredible. I love the enthusiasm you bring to worship and to prayer. You strive to bring the best out of each and every one of us and you desire the same out of yourself. You "Push in to us" as we say and go after things below the surface. Things that we don't want to show. Areas that we can improve in.  Justine you have been through a lot in your life. You have struggled through some strong spirits, spirit of rejection, self condemnation, but you do not go down without a fight. Your zeal, or energy and enthusiasm towards refining yourself and removing any spirits in your life that don't belong is an admirable trait. I admire your ability to introspect, or look inside yourself. You have done an incredible job of identifying areas God desires to work in you. Then pushing after them with much energy. I am excited to see the progress you have made so far in these areas and see what else God reveals to you in the future. Thank for you pouring into each of us, prophesying over us and continuing to pray on our behalf.