Pray
“I am feeling more and more that it is, after all, just the prayers of God’s people that call down blessing upon the work, whether they are directly engaged in it or not. Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God who gives the increase; and this increase can be brought down from heaven by believing prayer, whether offered in China or in England. We are, as it were, God’s agents—used by Him to do His work, not ours. We do our part, and then can only look to Him, with others, for His blessing. If this is so, then Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field. I believe it will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home. This, surely, is the heart of the problem. Such work does not consist in curio exhibitions, lantern lectures, interesting reports and so on. Good as they may be, these are only the fringe, not the root of the matter. Solid, lasting missionary work is done on our knees. What I covet more than anything else is earnest, believing prayer, and I write to ask you to continue to put up much prayer for me and the work here in Tengyueh.”
Prayer Requests
updated January 22, 2023
Please pray for us as a family as we continue in the E2 program. We have been diving deep into the Visaya world, learning the culture and language, as well as battling the various sick bugs and skin diseases here. It’s been hard work, and a whole lot for our brains to process as we learn to take off our American worldview and put on the lens of Visayan worldview. There have been times of discouragement, especially with the various sicknesses that seem endless, and times where we feel like our brains will explode from information overload, but also times of encouragement as every day we are able to recognize and understand just a bit more and more. Pray for us to remain diligent and endure all things as we trust that we will learn Visayan in the LORD’S perfect timing.
Pray for us to be able to build deeper relationships with our neighbors here. This has been a challenge as many only speak Visayan, but as we learn more, we look forward to connect more. Pray for consistency and diligence in this area as well as we continue to be pushed to step out of our comfort zones and engage in this culture and the beloved people around us.
Above all, pray for us as a family to keep Christ the center of our lives. We need Jesus at every moment, of every hour, of every day. We desire others to see the face of Christ, with our house helpers, neighbors, and people we may interact with when out and about.
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Prayer is an incredible provision of God’s grace and encouragement in our lives. We would also love to hear how we can specifically be praying for you.