Team Thailand arrived!
Praise the Lord we got safe to Thailand! His hand was upon us the whole time we were in our flight. Security was no problem, customs didn’t ask a thing about our staying in Thailand and no baggage was lost. The flight was really long but the Lord provided strength but also rest when it was needed.
As a team, we did devotions on the first two chapters of John. In the first chapter, our leader, Lucy, reminded us of the light that God has called us to be: He wants us to shine. It also mentions how lightness will always cover darkness so we should have full trust in that. We talked about the city of Chiang Mai and how much darkness has invaded the city and how God has brought us to share His light.
In addition to the Bible, we brought the book Jesus Calling which in the first day of devotionals reminded us to trust Jesus. It specifically mentioned trusting the Lord in the midst of difficulty and that’s exactly what we’re striving for in our team. During the second day/flight (it’s a little confusing but it was the 5th of January) Brittany, our other leader led us into the second chapter of John and how we should look at what God has done in our past and be grateful for it. All of those struggles have brought us to grow closer to God. The book Jesus Calling reminded us that being victorious means so much more than just being successful. God takes delight in our mistakes, because we don’t have to be perfect to be victorious in Him.
…being victorious means so much more than just being successful.
After getting situated in Nice Mum Lodge, the hotel we’re are staying in, we went to eat Thailand food. It was the best food ever! We then served at Taw Saeng, which was also really good! We got to meet the kids, the director of the organization and the staff. They were all deeply in love with God and passionate about their calling. The kids were a huge blessing and we all can’t wait to build relationships with them.
Please pray that the hearts of these kids open to hear about God and that our team stays united. Also pray that we can constantly be reminded that this trip is for the Lord.
-Merari Aleman
Interterm Short Term Mission Teams 2012
The Went Book-Summer 2011 Reflections
Dear Readers,
When Jesus calls us to go somewhere and speak His name, often the first thing He breaks is our expectations. Maybe this is because He wants to remind us that our ministry is for His purposes and not our own. Maybe this is to realign our goals with His. Whatever the reason, we can take heart that if we are indeed pursuing His purposes in our ministry, then He will be glorified and we will be contributing to His kingdom.
I had the privilege to sit down with a member from each of the 2011 summer short-term mission trips and listen to their stories. I heard about these expectations that were broken, as well as relationships that were formed, people who were transformed and the work of the Holy Spirit throughout the nations. I pray that as you read each of their stories, you become empowered to share Jesus’ unconditional love with a world that is desperate for it, curious about it and waiting to hear it. I pray that these stories bless you, encourage you, break you and challenge you to go.
In Christ,
Lydia Ness
SMU Publications Editor 2011-2012
Check out The Went Book Summer 2011
Mongolia Documentary
This past summer, seven men took a trip to Eastern Asia to share the Gospel with the nomads of Mongolia. It was an amazing trip full of both mental and physical challenges. They hiked nearly 60 miles and shared the gospel with roughly 70 Mongolians. This is their story. Enjoy, and pray for Mongolia.
Mongolia from Frank Maldonado on Vimeo.
November Update
It has been a crazy busy and fun past few weeks in SMU.
Our Missions Conference directors have been leading the staff in dedicated prayer toward the theme of Missions Conference 2012, as well as the speakers. We are seeking the Lord’s guidance in every detail of the conference and praying that His provision is made known through the planning process.
The short term missions trips for interterm 2012 have sent support letters and are diligently raising money for their trips. The teams are busy not only with finances, but also training and preparing themselves emotionally, physically and spiritually for what the Lord has in store for them this January.
This week, our marketing and communications department completed The Went Book. The book is full of stories from those who went on mission trips over the summer. There are hundreds of these books and if you would like to read one, come pick one up at the office!
—
I would like to leave you with video that our staff talked about in our meeting last week. The video talks about what it means to create. God made us into creative creatures so that we can show the world a glimpse of who He is. Our staff spent time reflecting on this video and we hope you will too…
CREATE from ROCKHARBOR on Vimeo.
The Polyphonic Bride
Over the last month, I’ve begun digging through the library of A.W. Tozer – a giant of the faith and one of the most prolific Christian thinkers and writers of the last century.
A.W. Tozer, through his dedicated reading-life, learned at the feet of virtuous men and women who had developed lifestyles of true virtue and piety. While Tozer had only 5 years of formal education (that is, the equivalent of a third-grade education), his teachers included John Calvin, Augustine, Charles Spurgeon, Francis of Assissi, George Meuller, John Wesley, Madame Guyon, Martin Luther, among others.
Their writings have propelled me into a new season of my walk with Jesus. I feel like I am standing on the shoulders of giants. It was said once by another great theologian that
“A new book is still on its trial and the amateur is not in a position to judge it. It has to be tested against the great body of Christian thought down the ages.”
So, over the next few blogposts, I would like to treat you… to share the sweetness of thoughts and epiphanies more powerful and tried than my own. They have stood the test of time… they echo in the heavenlies… and they resound in the hearts of warriors of the faith – some of whom marched on to heaven over a millennia ago.
The first note I leave you with today is from Fredrick Faber, Jesus and Mary, 1849:
“Only to sit and think of God,
Oh what a joy it is!
To think the thought,
to breathe the Name;
Earth has no higher bliss.
Father of Jesus, love’s reward!
What rapture will it be!
Prostrate before Thy throne to lie,
and gaze and gaze on Thee!”
—–
In Christ,
Kyle Donn
Co-Missions Conference Director 2012
Day of Prayer
So, yesterday was the Day of Prayer. Months of preparation. Hours of work. And our pray for that day, when it came down to it, was that the Lord would have His way on that day. Lo and behold! The Lord hears our prayer, and what good father, when his child asks for bread, gives him stones?
The Lord worked on Wed, Oct 5. He ran that day.
But as I woke this morning, on Oct 6, I could not help but feel the incredible energy that I felt coming on my yesterday once again coming back! This, too, is a day that the Lord has made. Not only will I rejoice, and be glad in it, but my prayer is that the Lord run THIS day. And once again, I am giddy in excitement, for the Lord hears that prayer, and our Father in heaven knows how to give good gifts, and to bring Himself glory and praise.
There is a movement at Biola: a movement that comes straight from the Spirit of the Lord. For a few years now, Biola students have been praying for revival on campus. Revive ministries exploding is just the start of what is happening here!
Chapel attendance bursting out the door to the point where students need to be turned away; a freshman class overcoming their self-consciousness and nervousness to thrust their hands up in the air in worship in UNITY, together, on the first week; and a sense of a deep and urgent NEED across campus for deep relationship and communion with Christ. Students are no longer the select minority, or “that group” of SMU and MK kids when they say “Lord, send me!”
There was an older couple, married for 70 years, who visited Biola yesterday: The Waughs. The Waughs were a significant part of The Jesus Movement several years ago, and recently worked with a man named Greg Laurie to start what is today known as Harvest Ministries, one of the biggest and most moving Christian event ministry around today.
The Waughs have a vision; they have a passion. Their passion for students in prayer stems from a vision they have, that there is a revival stirring, and on the cusp of overflowing. They visited Biola on the Day of Prayer not to join in the festivities, to “enjoy them,” but to stir our fires. In a time where students, praying last year, saw the fulfillment of Acts 2:17-20 while praying, in smelling smoke vapors, the Waughs recognize that the time is near for the Lord to come back, and they exemplified Hebrews 10:24-25, which says:
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (ESV)
So as we see the Day drawing near, I think the prayer on campus is an urgent one. The “Day of Prayer” will soon be just like any other day… with students intentionally humbling and opening themselves up before the Lord. THAT, dear friends, is my prayer.
Desperate for Christ,
Stephen Croft
