Hi everyone!
Long time, no see. This blog is a little late, but a lot happened that we want to share with you. Let’s talk about Southeast (SE) Asia.
It was only about 5 weeks long, but the time was jam-packed with growing in discernment of the Holy Spirit’s voice, building relationships, and fun in the sun.
It was our first “ATL” (Ask the Lord) experience. We practiced asking the Lord to speak into everything we are doing. We prayed about where we would stay (found an awesome airbnb), how we’d get there (by train), how to schedule our days, where to go, what to say, who to pursue, etc.
We started our day by worshipping and praying about the day. Every day looked different! Sometimes we felt drawn to go to a park or a mall and see who the Lord might lead us to, sometimes we would stay in and pray for people, other time we focused on growing relationships in our team, or we met with people we had met to deepen relationships.
The coolest was when everyone was hearing the same thing that morning! That is not a coincidence! The Spirit was moving.
The biggest ministry was learning how to hear from the Lord and the second was meeting with people and building relationships. We met so many people who were eager to talk with us and share their stories. Here are some cool stories:
- At the very beginning, we felt called to reach out to our neighbors in the Airbnb apartment. As Americans are best at doing… we made cookies! We then boldly knocked on their doors and introduced ourselves. To our surprise, two apartments invited us in! They were so kind and even served us tea! We exchanged numbers and throughout the following weeks got to build relationships, love them, and minister to their hearts. I pray that our presence and words reflected Christ’s love and had them questioning where the peace and love that we held came from.
- We were feeling called to go to a board game café for our “couples ATL” day on Thursdays. We soon found out that Thursdays are their “open play” day where people connect and play games with one another! This was favor from the Lord. We got to chat with so many people and really bonded with one specific person. This person invited us over to his home for dinner and games! The whole team got to come and we had such a blast!! We also got to share our faith a bit and hear where he was at with faith. He is currently an Atheist and his wife is Buddhist. We pray that some seeds of life were planted and that he comes to know that following Jesus isn’t just another religion about following rules to earn our way to heaven, but that it is about the joy of communing with God every day and partnering with our heavenly Father who loves us so much.
- A huge unexpected blessing to as finding a church that has English services nearby! After an incredible service, we talked with the pastor and set up a meeting with a youth pastor of the church. He came to our apartment and we talked all about the spiritual atmosphere and missional movements happening in SE Asia. God is doing amazing things even in the highest restricted areas around the world! He was VERY generous and bought us traditional teas and dishes to try. It was delicious! He even took a day off to take us to historical sites where the apostle Thomas walked, died, and was buried! We also were invited to attend a house church meeting where we got to worship and hear testimonies of other believers on FIRE for Jesus in a persecuted country. Our time with this pastor and church was such a blessing and gift from God! We were so encouraged and filled up as a result of this connection.
I (Adam) personally learned that God truly wants to speak to us if we actually take the time to listen, the power of generosity, and the importance of relying on him especially when surrounded by comforts. Those 5 weeks felt the closest to normal life than anything else has on the race. It felt like practice before entering back into America.
I learned how to pursue God even amongst comforts like a warm shower, nice weather, TV & WiFi, and good food. The enemy wants to distract us from how God wants to use us. Remain available and willing. A verse that kept coming up for me was:
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2
We are so blessed by all that God is doing in our lives. Thank you for all of your prayers and support! God bless you all – reach out anytime!
Adam and Adrianna
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