No Lack

And he said to them “When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.”  (Luke 22: 35) 

Mission Trip without lack

Peace be with you. We pray that you find strength in the Lord. We just returned from the Mid East leaders gatherings. This was a meeting we had been preparing for several months. It was our first overseas mission trip post Covid 19, so we checked and checked again how to travel internationally in this new paradigm.  However, our first flight was delayed due to the weather and we missed  all our connecting flights. Thousands of people missed their flights that day so the line at customer service to rebook their flights was very long. The end of the line was not visible, and there was no sign of it being shortened. We arrived at 9pm, but it wasn’t until 5am that we were able to rebook our flight. After rebooking, we looked for a hotel in the vicinity, but because so many missed their flights the nearby accommodations were already full.  We were barely able to find a hotel.  After arriving at the hotel, we contacted the missionaries who already arrived for the gathering and rearranged our event plans. Taking a flight the next day, we arrived at our destination however without any of our luggage. Not only our personal items but also all the “necessary” items for the gathering did not arrive.  We spent the week receiving laundry service or doing laundry by hand and using make shift items for the meetings. 

Despite the lack of all these "things" the gathering was abundantly full and served our missionaries well. We lacked nothing. Above all, we were all just so happy to see our brothers and sisters cheering and happy for each other in Christ Jesus. The day before the end of the gathering, we all had to test for Covid. Everyone was negative except for Jung Hye and although Damien was negative he had to be isolated from Jung Hye as we both quarantined for another week. Being exhausted both physically and mentally might have been expected, but surprisingly we were laughing and at peace. As in Luke 22:35, even though we were sent with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, we confessed and thanked God for providing us with all our needs.

We were thankful when we heard that God was working in the midst of difficult situations.  In one country a student came to a missionary’s house for the first time in years of knowing them to watch the Super Bowl.  Then stayed to hear a testimony and now that student is planning to come for future meetings. That is huge in their culture.  In anther country, the ministry focuses on building student led not missionary led movements. Student leaders are invited to two prayer meetings per week and strategic planning time. The student leaders are with the missionaries as much as possible so they can learn like the disciples did, side by side with Jesus. 

In other country, they are not allowed to be on campuses as a Christian organization so they create opportunities for students to come to them. One student met our missionaries and after a year shared she wanted to visit a church. This is big tabu in their country. Our missionaries got to share the gospel with her for the first time and a few months later after asking more questions she heard the gospel again. She didn’t receive Christ yet but has more questions so now she’s in bible study with our missionary.  Please pray for this student still seeking the truth. Please pray that God will provide all the needs of the missionaries who serve in the Middle East, keep them safe, and multiply their good fruits in their countries.  Thank you for your partnership with us in prayer, love, and financial gifts. We earnestly pray that God will provide your needs with no lack.

Prayer Requests

1. US Cru Missionaries Conference (Wisconsin,  July 14 -24): We will attend and serve the first face-to-face US Cru missionary conference after Covid19. Pray that all events proceed in a healthy and safe manner and that we are united in the Holy Spirit.

2. Conference Ministry Strategy: We will meeting with each of our Global VP teams in August to hear and plan our global conference and training needs. Pray that the Holy Spirit guides the meetings and that we will serve the conferences and trainings with God-given strategies