Puerto Rico

Jesus was proclaimed in Arecibo, Puerto Rico this past week. Thank you all for your prayers over the trip. It was such a blessing to serve alongside believers at Primera Iglesia Bautista de Arecibo. We loved on children at the local school through songs and games and most importantly by sharing the Gospel with them. We were allowed to go in to classrooms to share the Truth and pray with students, declare Jesus as healer to some adults in the community who were suffering the aftermath of shootings in the area, help build a physical education classroom, and bless the teachers at the school with lunch and encouragement. I believe the Spirit is at work in Arecibo and I ask that you join me in prayer for the Church there.

"For by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Water Festival

The Myanmar New Year is celebrated in April. With Myanmar/Burmese culture being deeply entrenched in Buddhism, there is a heavy Buddhist influence on their celebrations. "Water Festival" is the celebration of the new year. Water Festival is right after the hottest season(March) in Myanmar when everything is hot and dry. Traditionally, the Buddhist Burmsese would ask one of their gods to bring water to the land. Each household had a ceremony and there was also a parade of young people that would toss/throw water EVERYWHERE and on EVERYONE. The ceremony symbolized "cleansing" from the old year to prepare for the new year.

Water Festival is still a big part of Burmese culture today, for Buddhists and non-Buddhists. It is still a huge celebration of water. There is also dancing, singing, and traditional deserts. This weekend, we were invited to Water Festival at our Burmese friends' church. This was quite the experience! First, we had a worship service. The festival was held at the church, so the Christian Burmese used it to invite their lost (mostly Buddhist) friends who would want to celebrate the new year. They had their normal church service with a time of worship and a message from their pastor.
                                 

We enjoyed worshipping with the believers there and seeing their hearts for not only their people group, but for the Lord. I love experiencing and remembering that Jesus does not speak English, but speaks the universal language of Love; our heart language.

After the worship service was the Festival! We were able to visit with many of our friends who we had not seen in a while and catch up with them. (as best we could in our broken languages) And we also learned a great deal more about Burmese culture.

We had desert..

    Coconut balls with brown sugar, toasted coconut
     with rice, pounded sweet rice in seaweed, and
       mon phe to (bananas and sticky rice in seaweed- my
 favorite Burmese dish) 

 I'm not sure what this dish is called, and I
  can't say that I tried it, but they love it!
It's coconut milk, green jelly, bread, and ice :) 

We watched some traditional dancing...and I was asked to participate in some dancing as well. I'll spare you the videos of that and just put a pic :)

We were also "blessed" with splashes of water and sweet smiles. Overall, it was such a fun time with them. I really enjoy learning more about their culture and just getting to know them more. The Lord is definitely at work among the Burmese community in Nashville and we are so blessed to be a part of it.

Sweet Blessings...

Last week while I was home for Spring Break, I was blessed in so many ways. I was able to spend sweet time with my family, had a surprise birthday party, and some time to just relax and rest in the Lord. But there was one moment of blessing that I wanted to share with you..
I went to visit my mom at school and got to go to chapel with the students. Afterwards, I had the privilege of sharing with the 2nd grade class about Trek-X and being a missionary. I was able to share with them that they are missionaries too (Matthew 28:18-20). But in sharing with them, my heart was so blessed. The class shared with me how they had been praying for me daily as they prayed for the nations/missionaries. They directed me to a picture they had drawn of me on their board to remind them to pray. I was so blessed by their faithfulness. Before I left, a couple of them actually prayed for me. Leaving the school, I was reminded of the power of prayer and how vital it is that we pray for one another. I have no doubt that many days I experience the blessing of these sweet kids' prayers.

Note the picture under the orange fish behind them...that's me :) 

"You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:11 

Refugee Beads

Ok..I mentioned Refugee Beads in the last post as one of Ian and Ruthie's ministries. I got a little long-winded with the previous post so I decided to give Refugee Beads a post of its own :)

"Refugee Beads exists to provide hope, a sense of community, and much needed income to refugees living in the Atlanta area." There are many refugees (just like our Burmese friends in Nashville) in Atlanta. Refugees flee persecution of all sorts in their native countries. However, many of them arrive in America to find new and threatening challenges to survive.

Ruthie North gathers with refugee women in Atlanta who are married to pastors. These pastors are working long jobs to defeat poverty while they also strive to minister to their own people groups. Ruthie meets with the wives weekly as they encourage one another and share stories, all while making jewelry. The jewelry is sold in a few stores around the country and online. The profits go directly back to the refugee women to help support their families.

RefugeeArts.blogspot.com tells more about Ian and Ruthie's story and their ministries.
RefugeeBeads.com sells jewelry and a few other items that support the refugees.
CHECK OUT THESE WEBSITES! They are awesome :)

And buy some jewelry. Give it as gifts, wear it, tell others about it. Ladies, the jewelry is CUTE and Guys, the ladies in your life will like this jewelry :)

ATL

Last week we (the Trek-Xers and Chris) got to lead our first mission trip together. We had a team from Starkville, MS (Go Dawgs!) in Atlanta, GA. The trip was a blessing in so many ways. Like many other big cities, Atlanta has an enormous international population. Enormous. There are hundreds of people groups represented from all over the world. We spent our time in an area on Buford Highway. As we would drive down the road, the signs for stores and advertisements were in multiple languages, mostly not English. We were surrounded by people of many ethnicities. It was really like being in another country.

While in Atlanta, we partnered with Ian and Ruthie North, North American Mission Board missionaries. We helped further some of their work in the city and serve alongside them. Ian and Ruthie have two main ministries that they serve through: an after-school program in their home for the children in their neighborhood and a ministry called Refugee Beads that I will explain in detail later. In addition to getting involved in these ministries, we served in a local school- Sequoia Middle School. We did tasks that seem menial in our eyes, such as re-painting bathroom stalls, planting a tree, picking up trash, making copies, and organizing library books. However, the fruit of our labor is for the benefit of the missionaries in the area. By our serving in the school, they were able to build a relationship with the staff and faculty of the school where many of the students they minister to attend. This could be a huge avenue for them! And the school was so thankful for our work.  My group planted a tree in the front lawn of the school. We later learned that the tree was in memory of a 6th grade student who was murdered last year. Please pray for Sequoia Middle School, that the Spirit of Jesus will be alive and active in the Christians there.

After working in the school each day, our group would split in half for the afternoon. Half of the group went to a neighborhood ministry building where many children come after school. They played games, made crafts, sang songs, an most importantly shared the Gospel with the children. They displayed the love of Christ through their actions and words.

 

The other half of the group, whom I was with, went to Ian and Ruthie's neighborhood to help out with their after-school program. We did much of the same work- playing games, singing songs, making crafts, and sharing the Gospel through Bible story time and just talking with the children. 

My eyes were opened in a new way to what it means to give your life away for the advancement of God's Kingdom. I truly saw the Love of Jesus those few days in Atlanta. God called Ian and Ruthie to make disciples of the nations (like He does all of us at the point of salvation- we're all missionaries). He called them to the nations in Atlanta. Ian and Ruthie live in a small apartment in Huntingdon Creek. They don't live in a safe neighborhood in a nice home surrounded by people who live the same lives they do. They don't have the privacy and luxuries we think we "deserve". They live in an apartment much like our Burmese friends live in, among Latino families, surrounded by lots of uncared-for children, and crime. I walked in to Ian and Ruthie's apartment to help with the after-school program and I instantly felt the presence of God. Ruthie welcomed us with hugs and a huge smile as she stepped over children to get to us. There were about 35-40 kids in their 2-bedroom apartment. The extra bedroom had been made in to a room for the kids. There were puzzles, crayons, books, places to hang the pictures they had drawn, Bibles, toys, and so much more. There were kids at the kitchen table, kids in the living room floor, kids in the hallway, kids everywhere. Kids with dirty hands and runny noses. But Ian and Ruthie didn't seem to mind. They know their home is not their own- it's God's.  They also had snacks for the kids. And they feed them supper three times a week because they had begun to notice that many of the children weren't eating except for what they were fed at school, whether it be because their parents worked third shift to give them a place to live or because they just couldn't afford it. They discipline the kids and they praise the kids. They teach and disciple them and help them with their school work. But most of all, they show them Jesus. They speak Jesus' words, they act as Jesus would act, they love like Jesus. I left speechless that day. Tears fell down my face as I thought about how selfish my desires are. I want to be safe. I want to have alone time. I want a clean house. But do I want to experience the Glory of God? I had experienced firsthand a couple who had laid their lives down for His Glory. And I saw the JOY on their faces, flowing out of their hearts. This isn't to say it was easy for Ian and Ruthie. A teenage boy had recently written graffiti on the wall outside their door of racial slurs and curse words because Ian had told him the boy he wouldn't allow him to call a girl a slut. Ruthie and Ian went home each day to find what the boy had written so that they could paint over it once again. But they didn't retaliate, they prayed for him instead. It isn't easy to think about the violence around them and still feel safe in their home. But they do not live in fear, they know God is their Protector. It isn't easy to clean up after 35 kids, but it's worth it knowing that all 35 kids are Loved in Jesus' name. My story cannot explain to you the Glory of God that I saw in Ian and Ruthie's selfless life last week, but I pray that God will make it real to you. And I'm asking you to stop. Right now. And pray for Ian, Ruthie, their neighbors, the kids they love, the teenage boy, whoever God lays on your heart. Pray to the Father on their behalf. The enemy hates what Ian and Ruthie are doing and the only One strong enough to handle the enemy is our God. Please join me in prayer for them. 

Also while in Atlanta, we got to visit a Hindu temple, eat at a delicious Vietnamese shop, and climb Stone Mountain for our last morning. 

Saturday with Burmese Friends

A few Saturdays ago, we were able to spend most of the day with some of our Burmese friends. Our normal English class had been cancelled and Lulu asked if we would join her, Mun, and Jacienda in going to visit 'the sick and the lost.' We didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but it was such a great time!
We started the morning at Lulu's house. She, Mun, and Jacienda live together in an apartment. You haven't heard much of Jacienda (because we just now finally learned her name!) but she also lives with Lulu and Mun. She has only been in America for a few months so she cannot speak much English yet, but we are able to communicate with her through the others and through laughter. She has the sweetest smile. So we went to their apartment for a couple of hours. It was such a sweet time. We sat on the floor and on the couch and hung out just like we would with any of our best friends. We talked about what all had been going on with each other since we were last together and encouraged one another with struggles we were facing. We also shared with the ladies about discipleship and encouraged them to pray for God to lead them to someone in their own circle of influence to personally disciple. I was able to share about girls who have invested in me and also to share Biblical references of Paul discipling Timothy and Joshua following Moses. Join us in prayer for these Burmese ladies to have the wisdom and courage as they begin to invest the life of another believer. Also, if you are not discipling someone yourself, pray that the Lord will lead you to someone spiritually younger than you are. See where the Holy Spirit is already at work and pour into them. It is biblically clear that we are to disciple, and the reward is immeasurable. Before we left our friends' home, we spent time together in prayer and they also shared some jalebi (a famous Indian dessert) with us.

Jalebi 

Jacienda, Mun, and Lulu praying together

We then left their apartment to go visit a small family of four. They had been in America for about 3 months. Their youngest child had been in the hospital for a few days (hence 'the sick') so we went to visit them and pray for him and the family. The children and mother are pictured below. Lulu shared with us that she remembered her first few months in America and the loneliness she endured, so she tried to visit as many new refugees as she could to share the love of Christ with them. My heart was so blessed by her compassion.

Jacienda, Mun, and Monica on our way to visit the family

Our last stop was to visit a couple of men who had been at the birthday party we we went to back in December. They had not been able to come to English class but wanted to have us over for lunch. We learned that they were Buddhist (hence 'the lost') and were able to share a meal with them and pray with them. These men were so kind. They shared about their families back home and even showed us some photos. They were so gracious and fed us a HUGE lunch of Mayanmar food. Please pray for their salvation.

Lunch of rice, tilapia, chicken, fried eggs, greens, fish paste, oranges, and juice 

Praise God for these sweet sisters in Christ. We loved spending the day with them. Please continue or begin to pray for them as they reach their own people group in Nashville.