Our Team

Most of you probably already know that Michael and I are on a long-term team. We have been together for about 4 years now. Our projected launch date is January 2014 and we plan to move somewhere in SouthEast Asia. There are 6 of us on the team. If you don't already know them, please allow me to introduce them to you.

Gavin & Lauren Pinkston

Gavin was Michael's best friend growing up and through college - also the best man in our wedding. He graduated from Freed-Hardeman with a double major in Missions and Pre-Med. He will graduate this weekend from medical school (in Memphis) and will soon begin his residency in Greenwood (or ville...can't remember which), South Carolina. Lauren is his beautiful bride of one year. She also graduated from Freed, with a degree in education. She has been a teacher in Memphis (quite a challenging job) for the past year, and I think has plans to get her Master's in Education when they get to SC.

Aarek & Jen Farmer

Aarek was one of Michael's closest friends in college. He graduated from Freed with a degree in education, and up until recently has been working as a teacher (also in Memphis). He recently accepted a position as Youth Minister for the Great Oaks church of Christ in Cordova. Jen graduated from Florida Southern and is now almost finished with a Master's in Counseling from Harding Grad. They plan to be in Memphis until we move overseas.

and here's a pic of Michael and me...

Gavin has a small window of opportunity between finishing med school and starting his residency, and we decided to use it for a survey trip - a chance to check out some of the countries we are looking into and seeing if we are being Guided anywhere.

But, when people are trying to Reach the Lost, it is never as simple as it sounds. The Enemy has been doing all he can to keep us from going on this trip. From problems with our school here in China to political problems in Thailand to problems booking flights, suffice it to say, we have been fighting a battle. But the One in charge is taking care of us, and we WILL be going on this trip! The four members of the team who are living in the States will be landing in Vietnam on May 31. Michael and I will meet them in Phnom Phen , Cambodia on June 6. In addition to Vietnam and Cambodia, we will also be visiting Laos.

We are so excited to enter this new phase with our team. Our launch date is approaching a lot faster than we thought it would, but we are ready to begin a Good Work!

Please Think of us as we prepare for and go on our trip. Please Ask that we will be Guided to where He wants us to be. This will most likely be our only chance to visit these countries before making a decision on where we will be living in the future. Please Ask that He grants us Wisdom to know His Will.

Thank you for your continued Thoughts for us and our work here in China!

Putting a Face to the Name

Some of you receive newsletters or updates from us occasionally that ask for your Thoughts for some of the students we have made relationships with. (If you haven't, I'm asking you now!) I would like for you to have a face in mind when you are Thinking of these precious students. I will introduce them below.

DREAM

(Dream is seated on the front row, farthest to the right - black long-sleeves)

Dream is my sweet friend that I mentioned in my last blog (if you missed it, check it out here...or just scroll down!). She is a freshman English major. She wants to be an English teacher. She is one of the most thoughtful students I have. Last semester, she was the first to reach out to me and make an effort to form a relationship. We have had many talks recently about Important Things, and she has noticed the difference that They have made in my life. She has shown an interest in the Son and last week, I gave her a Book that was in English and Chinese. The Seed has been sown. Please Ask that it will be Watered and He will give increase. I want so badly for her to know the Truth.

LISA

(Lisa is closest to the camera

- stripes and pointing a gun at you!)

Lisa is a close friend of Dream's. She usually comes to lunch with us on Fridays. She is also a freshman English major. She has not necessarily shown as much interest, but she has been there to hear mention of the Son. She is a sweet girl that loves life. Please Ask that her ears are open to what she has heard, and that her heart will be soil for planting.

CHEN SHU (pronounced Chin Shoe)

(Chen Shu is seated in the middle)

Michael first met Chen Shu last semester. He was by himself, walking back to our campus. It started raining and he didn't have an umbrella. Chen Shu came up to him and offered to walk him home with her umbrella before she even knew that they were heading to the same place. That's just the kind of girl she is. She is a junior Broadcasting major. We have gotten to spend quite a bit of time with her this semester. We have had lunch together, she has been to our apartment to teach us to cook Chinese dishes, and she invited us to be a part of her class project (we had to be on a TV game show of which she was the hostess). Please Ask that her eyes will be open to notice something Different about us, that we will have opportunity to talk to her about Why we are different, and that we have at the very least made an impression in her life for Good and Truth.

WENDY

I think this one is fairly obvious!

Wendy is another one of my freshmen English majors. I had the opportunity to spend a Saturday afternoon with her a couple of weeks ago. We were able to talk for a couple of hours and really got to know each other. Without any prompting from me, Wendy asked me what I Believed. I was, of course very happy to share with her. In response, she told me that she "believes in science" (something they are encouraged to do in this society). She has such a good heart. Please Ask that she will open her heart to search for Something More and that the Words I spoke to her will land in good soil.

Of course there are other students that I have formed relationships with (one of which is Vivian - but I don't have a picture of her yet!). Please Think of all of them, but especially name these precious souls by name. Thank you for your continued Thoughts for the Work here. May His will be done and His name honored!

There Is A War Being Waged

*Disclaimer: I did not write this to offend. I wrote it to make you aware. There are also some generalizations in here that most definitely do NOT apply to everyone I know back home. I wrote this from my heart.

Dream is the student that I have grown the closest to over the past year. We have been talking and spending a lot of time together lately. We have lunch together every Friday. Last Friday, after lunch, we took a walk and ended up talking for around 3 hours.

Dream's family is Buddhist. As a part of Buddhist and Chinese culture, she prays to her ancestors. Dead people. She asks them for blessings, good health, and success in life. Her prayers fall on deaf, dead ears.

My heart breaks.

I love her. I want so badly for her to know the Truth - for her to be able to lean on a Living Rock, for her to be able to speak to Someone who hears.

There is a war being waged. I am a soldier. I am fighting. I have been wounded. I do not ask for an award, or for recognition. All the award and recognition that I need and desire come to me readily from the One who sent me into this battle.

But as my heart breaks for Dream, my heart also breaks for others - for so many of my "Christian" friends back home. They are living in their nice two-story homes, buying new furniture and clothes, going out to eat at expensive restaurants, working hard every day at jobs that will not last past this life, going to "church" on Sundays and Wednesdays and thinking this is Life. They do not even know about the war. They say that they are needed at home to work and support those who go, and also to reach the lost in their own communities. But where is the support? Where is the reaching out to the lost? They do not know there is a war, because they are not fighting in it.

I pray that when Michael and I move back to the States in less than two months, that we will not sink into lives of comfort and forget about the war and those who are fighting in it.

I have a friend who is in the army. He is in the Middle East now. He receives many packages from home and many messages of encouragement. I cannot help but think that the battle that I am fighting in is so much more important. Like I said before, I do not need award or recognition. I just want those back home to realize that there is a war being fought for souls - souls who are dying everyday without ever even hearing the name of their Savior, souls that are praying to dead people who cannot hear them.

When will we wake up and realize that we were not put on the earth and given the Truth so that we could live lives of comfort and mediocrity. We have been called to fight!!!

From prayer that asks that I may be

Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,

From fearing when I should aspire,

From faltering when I should climb higher,

From silken self, O Captain, free

Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,

From easy choices, weakenings,

(Not thus are spirits fortified,

Not this way went the Crucified,)

From all that dims Thy Calvary,

O Lamb of God, deliver me.

Give me the love that leads the way,

The faith that nothing can dismay

The hope no disappointments tire

The passion that will burn like fire,

Let me not sink to be a clod;

Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

-Amy Carmichael