It’s already been seven months since I boarded a flight to Asia and set out on my great adventure! Whew! Time, it seems, is one thing that travels faster than a 747 jet. But seeing as how I am now almost two-thirds of the way through the World Race, I thought it best to summarize my experience thus far and to praise God with you for all He has done! What follows are some highlights from each of the first seven months on the Race:
1. Cambodia (September, 2014)
While in Cambodia, our team served alongside a Filipino missionary couple whose aim was to establish churches in the remote villages outside of Siem Reap. We spent most of our time learning to love each other as teammates, teaching children English, training local believers in evangelism, and gaining an acquaintance with a Khmer culture that had been decimated by genocide under the Pol Pot regime. In Cambodia I was profoundly moved by the sacrificial love of our missionary hosts.
2. Thailand (October, 2014)
Chiang Mai, Thailand is something of a paradox: on every corner there is a Buddhist temple in which devout monks pursue enlightenment; but there are just as many bars and massage parlors behind whose doors the sex trafficking industry flourishes. Our entire squad of 42 lodged at a café-and-hostel whose owner saw it as her calling to put the city’s sex trade to an end through the love of Christ. So while several of our teams frequented the bars to be “Jesus in the skin” to prostitutes and their beneficiaries alike, our team visited local temples to engage monks in spiritual conversations. In Thailand I fell in love with our squad and prayed for revival on the rooftops.
3. Vietnam (November, 2014)
Behind the veil of state-sponsored atheism and the hustle-and-bustle lifestyle of the big city, the people of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam are spiritually restless and thirsty. Partnering with an American missionary couple, we facilitated English conversations in “speaking rooms” at a coffee shop that housed a vibrant underground church on the weekends. While in the speaking rooms I encountered the power of the Holy Spirit as evening after evening He opened up wide doors for the Gospel!
4. Uganda (December, 2014)
The spiritual climate in Uganda was quite unlike anything I have experienced before. There is scarcely a moment in the sleepiest hours of the evening when the wind will not carry to your ears the sound of diligent pastors praying against the spells of witch doctors and their demonic puppet masters in the spiritual realm. While our team ministered at a Christian compound in Wakiso, I gained first-hand experience in spiritual warfare, preached day after day, learned invaluable lessons from Pastor Sande, danced with joy alongside African brothers and sisters on Christmas Day, and met precious young people like David (pictured above), who are hungry for the Father’s love.
5. Rwanda (January, 2015)
While in Rwanda we resided in the sprawling city of Kigali, the warmth of whose climate was only surpassed by the warmth of our hosts—Pastor Fred (pictured above), his wife Mary, and their children. Meanwhile, our ministry consisted in preaching daily—both in the church and outside its walls in the streets and from house to house! Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). As it licks its wounds in the wake of a tragic genocide of the 1990’s, Rwanda is one place where the harvest is so plentiful that the grape clusters weigh down their branches. The power of the Holy Spirit was with us, and over twenty individuals professed faith in Jesus Christ!
6. Ethiopia (February, 2015)
Ethiopia is an ancient place where biblical agricultural techniques are employed. In the villages Eastern Orthodox steeples point heavenward alongside Muslim mosques, but evangelical believers are relatively few. Out in a quaint cranny of the country whose dusty roads were frequented by donkeys and workhorses, we partnered with an organization called HopEthiopia, with whom we helped build homes for orphans and the elderly. It was in Ethiopia that we showed orphans the love of the Father and met two young believers, Bayissa and Gadisa, whose influence could very well change the course of the nation.
7. Montenegro (March, 2015)
In Montenegro, a nation of 600,000 souls, there are only about 200 evangelical Protestants. But the few believers who gather in an upper room in the city of Podgorica are praying that Montenegro would experience its own Pentecost. To this end, we readied 20,000 evangelistic tracts for distribution and handed out another 10,000 invitations to hear an Indian evangelist who was coming to visit. As I gazed down from a mountaintop on the mouth of the Mediterranean in the port city of Kotor, I stood in awe of Him for whom the mountains are but footstools.
The Father Factor
In 2012, as many of you know, I underwent a season of intense anxiety attacks, at the end of which the Lord graciously healed me in soul and body. At that time, I learned powerful biblical truths about human fatherhood, the Fatherhood of God, and intergenerational sin. Malachi 4:5-6 foretells that just before the Lord comes, He will turn the hearts of fathers to children and children to fathers, effecting intergenerational healing in order to prepare His people for His arrival. Since 2012 I have begun writing a book on this fascinating subject! One of the most thrilling aspects of the Race has been watching the Lord open up doors in every country for me to preach on fatherhood and to converse with local believers, only to find that the intergenerational principles I’ve learned appear to hold true around the world! Rejoice with me, and pray that the Father would continue to provide more opportunities to spread His Fatherly fame!
Top Ten World Race Experiences
• Nestling up closer to Christ
• Living constantly in a loving community of believers
• Rebuking an evil spirit in Uganda and worshiping the night away
• The mountain in Kotor, Montenegro
• Angkor Wat Temple, Cambodia
• Preaching in every nation and watching the Lord work
• Participating in the spiritual harvest in Rwanda
• Worshiping with Christians from other cultures
• Finding a hidden waterfall in Thailand
• Dreaming about God’s plans for the future
Up Next…
• April: Albania
• May: Honduras
• June: Nicaragua
• July: Costa Rica
• July 25: USA! Lord willing, I will complete my seminary degree with a view to pastoral ministry.
How You Can Continue to Support Me:
• Read and subscribe to my blog!
• PRAY!—for the nations, for our squad, for God to save souls and work miracles, and for me to grow in my relationship with Him.
