His faithful pursuit of a girl called K.

Sometimes a story comes along that is too good to not share with anyone and everyone. This weekend, one such story unfolded . I hope you will rejoice with me in what our God is doing among the nations. I also hope that as you read this you will be encouraged to ask God if he would have you go short-term, mid-term, or long-term to be apart of someone else's story.


In the summer of 2009 I was fortunate to spend 2 months teaching English to kiddos in Indonesia. During that time my team and I met a girl who worked at a store up the street - we'll call her K. She didn't speak English and we could hardly count to ten in bahasa. Nonetheless, we made initial contact and invested time hanging out with her to show her the love of Christ.
A year ago I heard from a couple who had labored in that city for 2 years. They briefly mentioned that K had become a Christ follower and her family was not happy with her new faith. They were persecuting K. I called on many of you to pray. I suspect that some of you who are reading this prayed for K to stand strong amidst persecution and for the Lord to give her favor in the eyes of her family. A few weeks later I heard K was safe but that was also the last I heard of/about K... 

...until this weekend. This past weekend I went to visit Allyson at SBTS in North Carolina. On my last night there, we went on what was supposed to be a quick trip to visit one of Allyson's friends from college - B. [B and I had met briefly almost 2 years ago and she had mentioned she was going to Indo for the summer of 2011.]  I asked how her time in Indonesia was. As she began to tell me about it, she began to unfold a story about their national partner - a girl who just  happened to be called K. B told me all about K - how she and her team had discipled K but that K had actually been the encouragement to them. B talked about how K's faith is strong. How K is filled with boldness. How she loves the Lord and loves his word and loves to tell about what He has done. Then, she began to tell me about how K's family persecuted her, how the situation ended, and how K is doing now. 

Yes! This K that B spent the summer discipling is the same K that my team met and watched a movie with.

I walked away praising the Lord for his grace in K's life and for giving the opportunity to talk to the person who discipled her.

This is not the end of the story. 

Tonight, as I was riding home from the airport, I got a call from Allyson and her friend Ashley. Ashley started out with "your never going to believe this..."
As it turns out, Ashley's friends from Auburn (who i briefly met this year) spent a little bit of time in Indo where they just happened to meet a girl called K. They poured into her, sharing the Good News of who Christ is and what He has done for us. During this time, K believed and became a Christ follower. 

There you have it - a beautifully woven story of the Lord's pursuit of a tiny Indonesian girl called K. 


There are so many things that I love about this story.

• First and foremost, I love that God is being glorified by K as she shares over and over of the Lord's saving grace in her life. She is multiplying the gospel through parts of Indo. Praise the Lord!
• Second, I love seeing the web of people who tilled the soil, sowed the seed, and continued to water it. So many different people (seemingly unconnected) were involved in K's story. It shows God's sovereignty that this web of people would actually be very connected.
• Third, I love how many different people were unknowingly praying for the same girl. 

This is what its about. Making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. 

All glory to the one who makes the seed grow.

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.                           -1 Corinthians 3:5-7

The last month...

We went to Hong Kong...

...and stumbled upon this artist. He has been on the travel channel! (or so the sign read...)

Ash and I took a ferry to Cheung Chau Island ...

...and found the Mini Great Wall.

I bought my first pair of converses (for $14 at a market in HK)

Ash realized her lifelong dream to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. I tagged along and spent the whole day regretting my decision. (History just isn't my thing) 

We FINALLY saw the first signs of spring in TS city...

...and then it snowed the next day!

We have also started classes, said goodbye to 2 close friends, made many new friends and even started an asian snowball fight! 

Life. Is. Good. 

Running by the River

In the past few weeks I have taken up running again. And by running, i mean slowly jogging. Running has brought a small bit of normalcy into my very foreign world. Those who know me well know that I love to run in beautiful places - through Waterfront and Battery parks in Charleston, around Mississippi State's campus, or along the trail at Jemison Park. East Asia has not disappointed me. The city itself sits in the valley of mountains on either side. Through the center runs a river. In the past few years they have built fancy stone walkways along the river banks. Just picture it - running along side a river, mountains in every direction, sun shining, Needtobreathe playing on the ipod...

That is more than enough to keep me happy for a few miles, but it is only the beginning of this story.

On a gorgeous day like today the entire city flocks to the riverwalk. There are parents playing with their toddlers, children flying kites, teenagers hanging out, people walking their minidogs, elderly people walking backwards. Yes, elderly men and women walking backwards, hitting themselves (maybe its good for circulation?), and jumping into trees. I wish I had a video so that ya'll would believe me! As strange as this is, it gets funnier. When they see me running, more than a few people will literally stop in their tracks, and turn to watch me run by. The looks on their faces speak their thoughts clearly. "What is that crazy white girl doing? Why is she running?". I guess running isn't he preferred form of exercise in this city. I can't help but smile and say hello in their language. Their response to that is the same every time, smiles and laughter. They are tickled that the white girl is running AND speaking their language! A minute later, it happens all over again. They are my entertainment while I run. I am their entertainment while they walk backwards. I guess it is only fair.  

 

We went for a walk last week and stumbled upon this temple in the outskirts of our city. 

 

'He who made the world and everything in it does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.'

culture shock...

There are some things i definitely took for granted in the good ole U. S. of A. It seems like everything is about 10 time harder in East Asia. Oh, and it takes 3 times as long to do anything! 

Washing a cup takes FOREVER, b/c you have to wash it with soap and tap water, rinse it with boiled water, and then let it dry completely (b/c its not safe to drink from unless its completely dry). So, what's the solution? paper cups :) 

And then there is the process of setting up our apartment. We needed a shelf to put food on in our kitchen (b/c there aren't any counters). So, today we had to take a bus downtown, go through the fruit - veggie -  meat market, down a side alley, and into a shop where the price of the shelf we want depends on how much the owner likes us. Once we had the prized shelf (and veggies, paper towels, a chopping knife, cutting board, etc...) we had to lug it through the market maze, play 'frogger' to cross the busy street (no such thing as pedestrian right of way, they WILL run you over!), wait in the freezing cold for 10 minutes til the bus comes, then shove our way onto the bus (b/c in east asia, shoving is not rude at all) where people stare at us the entire way home (b/c we are foreigners). Since we can only buy as much as we can carry, we keep repeating this over and over.  Some days (like today) it is just draining. The buses, freezing cold, trying to communicate, etc... 

But, there are comforting things. There is a bakery/coffee shop in town that reminds me of home (although the coffee is not nearly as good as o'henry's). There is a river walk that will be gorgeous in the spring and summer. There are locals who are incredibly kind and helpful (when they aren't shoving you out of the way to get on the bus). And when all else fails, there is KFC (dont judge, its the only western restaurant within a 5 hour bus ride). 

hope this gives ya'll a picture of life on the other side of the world :)

In the past 13 days I...

left America...

met Ash in Seoul and just happened to sit next to her on the plane to TP

made some new friends

tried some new foods (caramelized strawberries)

got a cell phone charm to fit in with the East Asians

 carried a lot of luggage through a lot of airports. (and we only missed 1 flight!)

took a few scenic pictures...

saw lots of Spring Festival decorations

took one last flight through northern East Asia to our new city

went to the market

had a chicken thrown in my face

saw our first snow day at the university

Today we got clean drinking water, an electric kettle, wireless internet, bus passes and sim cards for our cell phones. We also had dinner with a new friend! And in the next few days Ash and I will be cleaning our apartment and hopefully making even more East Asia friends.

Seoul

We just made it to Seoul a little while ago. Everyone from the team has met up in the airport (all 11 of us) and we are waiting on the next flight (it leaves in a little over an hour). The next time ya'll hear from me I will be in "east asia!" Love and miss you all!