Dear Members of PNME:
Thank you again for the 2011 grant you gifted to me and my work with Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship (PFF). Your grant was a huge help in supporting my visit earlier this year to Asia and Israel. As a new staff member with PFF, it is important for me to see first hand what God is doing in different parts of the world today. My position with PFF allows me to spend the bulk of my time educating Christians in America, and helping build bridges between our churches here and the work of God around the world. This trip was full of learning opportunities. Since my return, I’ve had a chance to share about my experiences in several different Bay Area and Seattle churches. I’ve preached, shared in home groups, led Sunday School classes, spoke at a women’s retreat and offered a night of prayer and worship for the nations. It has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to this on-going work.
For now, I want to share a few of the lessons I learned during my time in Asia and Israel: God is more interested in relationships than in statistics. I’ve been on a number of outreach trips in my life, and have witnessed many different approaches to sharing the love of Christ with those who don’t know Jesus. Sadly, many Western models of evangelism focus heavily on numbers – saving as many souls as possible during a “crusade,” but without much attention on discipleship and follow-up. On this trip, I encountered many Christians focused on building relationships, and settling down into communities for the long haul – engaging in acts of love and service as a way to model the love of God.
God loves all people and has a unique way of expressing that love in culturally relevant ways. I had the opportunity to share many meals and cups of tea with Muslim and Buddhist families – a great opportunity to learn about cultural practice and faith. The biggest question I returned home with was, “Lord, how would you choose to communicate your love to a Muslim person, or to a Buddhist person?”
The ways I have encountered God in my life are hugely influenced by my Western culture. It is the same for people of other cultural and religious backgrounds. How might we, as Christians, grow in our ability to see how God might uniquely speak to someone that is different than us?
God cares about the whole person. I was amazed to witness firsthand a Muslim woman’s blind eyes being completely healed as a small group of Christians prayed for her in Jesus’ name. I heard many more stories of God’s love being expressed through physical healing, something the workers I met in Asia are seeing on a regular basis these days. I also talked to a couple who helps coordinate relief efforts for a community that was leveled by an earthquake over a year ago. They are putting hands and
Your commitment to mission education is a blessing to me and the work I am doing in churches on the West Coast.
Blessings and thanks in Christ.