6 months of traveling, 8 countries, 2 continents...
This year has been filled with different cultures, colourful people, beautiful landscapes, laughter and tears, interesting food, fellowship, family and valuable lessons that could never be bought but only come from a journey with Jesus.
We have seen prayers answered, bodies healed, hearts that have encountered Jesus and seen Jesus working in our own hearts.
Here is a reflection of our time up until now:
China: Here we built relationship with students that attend university through teaching them English. When words were not allowed Jesus taught us the power of sharing Him through our actions and the way we live.
Nepal: Jesus taught us how to put words to the way we live. We entered the homes of the church members and sang together, preached from the word and gave testimonies. At the end we prayed for each family and shared a meal with them. We also went to an unreached people group in the mountains and saw how there is no place too difficult for Jesus to make Himself known.
India:Our ministry point was at an orphanage. We hosted a children's program where we spent time with the children in singing and sharing on the fruits of the Spirit. In between our children's program the guys assisted in adding new mosquito nets to the windows of the orphanage. Here a journey of dependence on Jesus and obedience started. Each team member had the opportunity to present a devotion every morning and we grew by learning from each other.
Thailand: LUKE 10! Jesus proved faithful and provided for each smaller team. Our journey on obedience and dependency was tested - some more than others. Our experiences added to our personal journeys with Jesus and we became steadfast in dependency and obedience.
Vietnam: Arriving in Vietnam we were physically tired from being so active in the last 2 countries with little time to rest Some were overwhelmed by all the lessons learnt and things experienced. We needed time to recharge and reflect. What better way to do this than in a beautiful country in the home of our team members from Vietnam. We were blessed to become part of the family and to have the opportunity to experience life in their culture.
Cambodia: 4 of our team members felt it on their hearts to go to Cambodia for a few days while the rest of the team remained in Vietnam. Through their obedience in going they became an answered prayer to a christian family desperately needing a few extra hands in completing a project.
Malaysia: We stayed in a beautiful historic town that is marked as a heritage site. This town is flooded with creativity expressed in the form of street art against the worn down buildings. Here amongst the creativity of the artworks on the walls, we discovered our own creativity through self-reflection with Jesus: how to process what is happening in our lives without the assistance of debrief questions.
Australia: A country so far from home yet the closest to home we have felt this year. Here lives a lovely family who welcomed us in with open arms. We became part of their own family life. We all become better aquatinted with sheep as we became part of the family business and assisted in lamb marking. We were all a witness of Jesus changing our hearts through fellowship with this amazing family.
A summary as this one is only but a glimpse of what we saw, experienced and learned. We were witnesses of Jesus working in the nations...collecting His bride. And us...mere vessels and laborers in His Kingdom.
Each one of us in the team - a collection of stories....
His stories.
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