Haiti video trailer

This is a video that my friend Edward made. He was one of the guys that came in to visit teams and to record what was going on.

The video is a small sample of things to come.

Haiti time

I can't believe that it's already almost a week since I returned from Haiti.  I'm having "Haiti withdrawal syndrome" now that I'm back.  I wish that it didn't end but everything has its time and seasons and it is finished.

Day 1: The first day I arrived was in the early afternoon.  It already reminded me of India but this time I was alone and not with a team.  It was sort of confusing and it took about 2 hours for me to find the people who were picking me up.  But I arrived finally at the base and met the Awaken DTS crew.  Some of them were resting and others had left to visit an orphanage.  I was feeling a little pain in my stomach but I was ready to go out and meet the people and see the nation.  And I was able to go out in the evening.  I went out with some of the Awaken guys to the tent city near the base.  It was exciting and totally a dream come true for me.  We ended the night with worship and prayer into the night. By now the prayer and worship burn had gone on for about 20 hours.

Le Montcel restaurant
building

Day 2: Woke up Sunday morning and I couldn't believe that I was in Haiti.  I knew I was there but at the same time it was still like a dream.  On this day we went up the mountain and went to a resort called Le Montcel.  The YWAM Haiti group was trying to purchase this place as a base so we were asked to go up there and pray over the place and see what God's will was.  Since I had just arrived, it was funny to me that the first full day that I would spend in Haiti would be at a resort.  But no matter what we do, it's all for His glory.  I know that the 2 teams really enjoyed this time because it was a break for the two months of ministry that they had already faced.  The ride up and down was anything but easy though.  Unpaved, rocky roads full of ditches in a bus that had three wooden benches going long ways to sit on was our mode of transportation but it was well worth the ride.  From the mountain we could see an amazing view of Port au Prince.  I could see why YWAM would want a place like that.  To enthrone Jesus over the land.

Day 3:  3:40 AM I'm awoken by yells in the night.  I can barely make it out but it sounds like someone yelling, "THE BOX IS ON FIRE!"  I literally turn over in my sleeping bag and try to go back to sleep but someone barges into our room and tells us to get up.  I still didn't really know what was going on but I thought that the electrical box, bus, or house was on fire.  What really had happened was that the power line melted and fell right in front of the entrance to the property and the line was laying next to a bus YWAM was renting.  The tires on the left side had both busted and melted from the fire and was till burning.  With electrical fires, you're not supposed to put it out with water but we had no other choice so we had a team running water to the fire.  Luckily we had someone on the team that used to be a fireman so he helped with extinguishing the flame and keeping us calm and under control.  We saw this as a direct attack from the enemy.  As we burn before the Lord in worship and prayer, the enemy coming in the natural and trying to mimic what we are doing.  We don't know exactly what our worship and prayers are releasing in the spirit but we do know that the enemy doesn't like it.

As we all went back to bed I had some thoughts.  We are rebuilding a wall like Nehemiah and when he received ill report and was told to hide inside the temple he chose not to but to continue to build the wall with a sword on their side.  We saw this as an opportunity to not be shaken and continue to run after the Lord.  Another thought I had was that we were never in any danger but it was just to scare us.  We had some ministries that we were supposed to go to but instead we regrouped in worship.

More to come....

Safely Home

I made it home Saturday night November 27 untouched by cholera or any other sickness that was possible for me to contract while I was there.  It was an amazing time with the Fire and Fragrance team and the Awaken DTS crew.

Before I left for Haiti, the impression I had was that it would be like India and I was right.  Although it was not as hot as India it was as dusty, dirty and had similar smells as I imagined it would have.  Haiti is a beautiful place that has been ravaged by an earthquake.  The people are very kind and full of joy even though they live in conditions that are well below what we consider poor in the West.  It's crazy to think that right off the coast of Florida that one of the world's poorest nations exists and that they need so much help rebuilding their cities as well as their own lives.

Pheobe and Una praying for
some new friends

The 200 hours of worship and prayer was not like what I imagined but it was very practical.  Everyone took a different shift through the day and in the evenings we would worship and pray together as a group.  During the day there were other ministry's available.  At one of the ministries, I was able to go to the tent cities and help minister to them through prayer, the gospel, and in very practical ways like building tents for those who lost theirs when the rain came.  Some people also needed better tents because it was torn or in very poor condition.

Presidential palace.  It used to
be two stories.

 One of the tent cities we went to was right by the Presidential palace.  The "president" of the tent city (he's like a leader/manager of the tent city) told us that no one had gone into the tent city since Jan 12 which was when the earthquake happened.  He said that other organizations and ministries are too afraid to enter in because the people in this particular tent city are prone to violence and rioting and that it means a lot that we are entering into the camp and meeting the people where they are.

There are so many stories to tell about this short trip and I guess I'll be sharing little be little in the next coming week.

Ground fees and Haiti

The countdown until Haiti is about 2 days.  The 200 hours of prayer and worship start this Saturday and I am happy to say that I will be joining the group.

I have purchased my ticket to go this Saturday and I will be there until the following Saturday.  Also I have received all of the ground fees to cover my stay in Haiti.  I think through the preparation for this trip the Lord has shown me his provision and blessing.  It's funny to me because when I was in YWAM trying to raise support to go to India and China was much harder than this time and I feel like I did much less to announce my plans or at least it was a shorter notice.  But no matter, long or short, harder or easier, the Lord is faithful to provide for his children.

The Lord has really given me favor for this trip.  I can't get over the fact that Target gave me "black Friday" off so that I could go to Haiti when the main reason that they hire is for the holiday shopping season.  It really was the hand and favor of God that I am able to go.  Even during this time at home God has been opening doors for me to share what God has been doing in my life.  Tomorrow, I will be going to a worship night where I have been invited to share a testimony of what the Lord has done in my life and just today I was invited to share when I return from Haiti about what the Lord is doing there.  Through these opportunities, I pray and hope that it will stir a passion in their hearts to run after God.

So, its off to Haiti I go.

Praise

With the Haiti trip around the corner, it's hard to think it'll happen without any money and such short notice to supporters.  But God is good and he's providing every step of the way.

A week ago or so I was praying about Haiti, going and provision for this short trip.  One night during that time I had a dream.  The details of the dream are kind of fuzzy to me and they were when I woke up but one line that was spoken to me was very clear.  I heard someone tell me that everything that I needed would be provided for.  Those were the most comforting words at the time and I from that time I was convinced that I would be provided for to go to Haiti.

Today I received a couple donations to go to Haiti from the church I attend.  It's enough for me to get a plane ticket to Haiti which is the amazing provision of God.  Thank you Jesus.  It's this kind of thing that makes my relationship with God more real and personal.  I know that he is looking out for me and that I do not need to worry because he cares for me more than the "birds of the air" or the "flowers in the field" like Jesus said in Matthew 6.  

Another praise report that I have involves work.  I was hired by Target for the seasonal position so that means the main reason I was hired was for the upcoming holiday season which is Christmas.  Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year.  I was hired to help cover different areas of the store during that time.  But because of the Lord I was able to get that whole week off of work to go do the Lord's work in Haiti.  

So it looks like I'll be heading out on November 20th and returning on the 27th.  I still need some more funds for the daily cost of living in Haiti but I'm not worried as much because Jesus was faithful with his promise and provided money to go to Haiti and he will be faithful to provide the rest of the money I need.

Please keep me in your prayers.  The financial provision is just the beginning of a major spiritual struggle for a nation to turn to Christ.

Yesterday my friend Aaron, who was visiting from California, left to journey back home.  His time here was refreshing for me.  During my last trip to Harrisburg, PA, I dropped Aaron off with some friends of ours so that he could spend some time with them.  So this past Monday I went up to Harrisburg to pick him up.  

In Harrisburg I was again able to connect with some friends.  Also Amy, a leader of Fire and Fragrance in Kona,  happened to be visiting at the same time.  She had a time of ministry that night releasing the word of the Lord about circuit riders.  Amy had an encounter with the Lord where He spoke to her of people that would be released as circuit riders through the nations to speak out the word of the Lord.  These people would be like Paul Revere in the Revolutionary war.  

During the Revolutionary war, Paul Revere was the famous rider who rode through the night on horseback warning the people of the town that British troops were on their way.  Circuit riders were clergy who would travel by horse back and preach in the 1800's I believe.  We live in such amazing times and God is doing something new in the earth.  Before I returned home I had the privilege of leading worship for the two hour prayer set.  Our topic of intercession was for the elections that took place on Tuesday.

This past Thursday I was invited to share at a bible study.  Aaron came along with me and we both shared on Global passion and what God was doing in the nations.  Of course we don't know everything that God is doing but we do have some idea in certain regions of the nation.  It was an honor and blessing that we were given an opportunity to share our hearts with this community that met together.  Aaron and I were blessed with an offering to help with our journey and to sow into our ministries.  

Haiti update:

Hurricane Toma, which was heading towards Haiti, has shifted and missed Haiti but is now flooding parts of the nation and could possibly flood more of the nation.  Although the hurricane has not directly impacted the nation, the flooding has increased the spread of cholera. Please keep praying for Haiti and the teams out there.  

The 200 hour burn of prayer and worship will be taking place on November 20-28.  There is a new website that's up and running, http://ipray4haiti.com/ that has more information about the burn.  Please join in by praying with us and for us.  

Also, if you would like to partner with me to see Haiti change you can e-mail me at schoi19@gmail.com.  Any kind of partnering helps from prayer to donations.  I would love to know who would be partnering with me so that I may also be able to invest back with prayer and news from the forefront.  If you have any questions or would like to meet with me or anything at all please feel free to e-mail me as well.  Also if you would like to know more about the situation and work in Haiti you can go to www.jasenchung.com.  

Haiti

It has been over a month since I have returned home from YWAM Kona.  It was a little bit of a rough re-entry to "normal" life but God has been doing things to help me seek His face and presence in my daily walk.  Some of the things he has given me many opportunities to meet other believers that have similar heart after God.

Recently I was invited by a friend to dinner and I met some young adults who are hungry for God, to know him, to run after him, and to inspire others to do so.  It was so encouraging for me to see that God was inspiring hearts with the same message I was hearing and learning in Kona.  Another door God opened while I've been here is having a DTS friend, Aaron, fly in from California.  Aaron did DTS with me in the summer of 2008 and we have been staffing on the Kona base together for about the past 2 years or so.  This past weekend we took a trip up to Harrisburg, PA to visit some friends who are staffing a Fire & Fragrance DTS (if you would like to know what more about Fire & Fragrance click this link Fire&Fragrance), a YWAM Kona plant.  I had a chance to meet a lot of friends who staffed with me and staffed my DTS as well as the Fire and Fragrance phase 2 who were on outreach.  It was really refreshing to see YWAM friends outside of Kona.  

...So job-hunting has come to an end.  I just had an interview yesterday and this morning I received a call to come in and finalize the process.  At the same time, I have been invited and am currently in the works of trying to go to Haiti.  Right now Haiti is still recovering from the aftermath of the earthquake and the immediate crisis on top of everything else is the cholera outbreak.  Two teams from YWAM Kona, Fire&Fragrance phase2 and Awaken DTS, are in Haiti doing relief work and ministering to the people of Haiti.  They have been there since mid-September.  The leader of one of the teams, Jasen, had asked me before I left Kona if I would join him for part of the Haiti outreach.

The Vision

Along with helping the nation with the immediate needs of the cholera outbreak and whatever else is needed, I have the potential to be apart of a movement of prayer and worship that has been unprecedented in the nation of Haiti.  The Lord put it on Jasen's heart to do a 200 hour prayer time for 200 years of reclamation of the land of Haiti, glorifying the name of Jesus over the land of Haiti and crying out for his presence to rebuild a nation that has been destroyed.    There will be unbroken night and day prayer and worship from November 20-28.  Those dates were chosen because these dates lead to the Presidential elections for Haiti.  Haiti can truly be re-established very quickly in this time.  

As for me, I felt the Lord has been talking to me about Haiti.  I didn't think of it as a possibility at first, but my heart has been stirred more and more to see the Kingdom of Heaven invade Haiti.  I am becoming more sure that I am supposed to go to Haiti and partner with Jasen and YWAM with what God is doing there.  For me to go I need a plane ticket which is about $500-$600 and $300 for the 10 days I will be staying in Haiti which would cover housing and food.  

If you would like to partner with me to see Haiti change you can e-mail me at schoi19@gmail.com.  Any kind of partnering helps from prayer to donations.  I would love to know who would be partnering with me so that I may also be able to invest back with prayer and news from the forefront.  If you have any questions or would like to meet with me or anything at all please feel free to e-mail me as well.  Also if you would like to know more about the situation and work in Haiti you can go to www.jasenchung.com.

Home sweet home

It's been about 2 weeks since I left YWAM Kona and moved to Frederick, MD and its been an interesting adjustment.  My days have been mostly filled with praying, worshiping, reading the bible, staying fit, cleaning the house and doing chores, and whatever else is needed around the house.  Life is so different on the mainland, off of the YWAM base, "normal" life is definitely not everything I remember it to be.  Being with Family is nice and has its perks, home cooking and an open fridge, free laundry, no staff fees, no cell phone bill, my own room and so forth and so on but I miss being in community.

I feel as of late that I transitioned out of having a pretty full schedule into having a lot of free time.  It's hard to not be doing much but at the same time I know that this is where the Lord has led me to be.  As of now, I'm job searching, praying into schooling and which church to attend.  Life seems to be mundane and even the things I write seem pointless and without purpose.  It's hard to celebrate with my friends around the world who are on outreach at different locations

I miss the mission field, I miss training, the more I'm back on the mainland the more I'm realizing that I wasn't cut out for "normal life".  But even for this season I have to trust that the Lord knows what he's doing, because he does.. because he does.

Closing and opening doors

We are coming to the end of not the week but the end of the lecture phase of the Awaken DTS.  I can't believe that three months of my life have passed by so quickly.  Most of the teams are en route to their outreach locations and I am currently sitting in the Seattle airport as I write this blogpost.  


Coming home is such a strange feeling and a mix of emotions flood me.  People have been asking me if I'm excited to return home but Kona has been home for me in the past 2 years.  I didn't realize how much of an impact leaving would have until now and even now it hasn't quite hit me yet.  I'm going to miss the campus, the Banyan tree cafe, the prayer room, the pavilion, building 4, Ohana court meetings, Monday morning worship, and especially the people I  have been in community with.  


Leaving Kona has been a tough process but I know that there are new opportunities for me as I head back to Maryland.  I don't know what this transition all entails but I know God know's what he is doing and I believe he's the one guiding me still.

Happy birthday to me.

My birthday was this past Saturday and I am now officially 22.  I don't know what I expected for my birthday but there was a bit of confusion for me because our schedule was a little different than usual.  But I was still able to celebrate with my friends and the people who have become like family here.  It has been strange in some ways but in other ways it was a weekend of celebrating instead of just one day.

This past weekend wasn't just my birthday but Heidi Baker, from Iris ministries, was here speaking at the campus on Friday and Saturday night.  She told stories and testimonies of Jesus' favor and miraculous things that would happen like food multiplying, deaf being healed, blind being healed, limbs growing back, miraculous provision and more.  She challenged us to live from a heavenly perspective.  We are seated in heavenly places with the Lord and we as believers do not live life according to our circumstances but through what the Lord tells us.

On the first night, she told us that there had been riots in Mozambique over the rise in the price of bread.  She said she wanted to rush back home to be with her family.  During that same time the airplane that they owned also crash landed and they couldn't find their pilot.  So before she started speaking we prayed for Mozambique and for the pilot to be found and alive.  Even though the circumstances were not in her favor she felt the Lord told her to stay and continue to speak for the two days.  On the second night, before Heidi spoke, she told us that the pilot and the plane was found.  The plane was completely destroyed but the pilot only suffered minor injuries.  I believe she said that it was a minor cut on his chin.  It never ceases to amaze me that the Lord really does hear our prayers and how quickly he goes to work on what we ask for.

What a way to celebrate a birthday.

Future plans

DTS is going really well.  I couldn't have asked a better group of staff to run with this quarter in the sense of unity and seeking similar things in our relationship with the Lord.  The students have been amazing with how they receive teaching and discipleship, and they are all hungry to know more of this God we serve.  In a little less than a month this group of young men and women will go out in 8 different teams into the nations to minister to people around the world that the Lord  is crazy about but I will not be joining them at this time.

As of now, my plans are to go home and be with my family in Frederick, Maryland.  I have been praying for my next step and I feel that the Lord has told me to go home for at least the next 3 months to spend some time with my family, invest in a local church, reconnect with supporters and work to raise funds to go out into the field again. 

I'm not sure what the Lord has for this next period of time but I do know that it is better for me to obey than for me to plan out my own future.  God loves us and he is for us so I don't have to worry about what tomorrow might bring although it does feel a little strange for me to come home for a longer period of time.

This does not mean that I will be done with missions and it does not mean that I'm through with this "phase" of my life and I'm coming back to "normal" life.  It simply means that the Lord has other plans right now and I'm just following him.


I'd love to meet with you once I'm in the continental United States, so please let me know if you would like to and we can arrange a time.  I'll be flying back on Sept 23 and arriving in Maryland on Sept 24. You can e-mail me at schoi19@gmail.com and we can schedule a time. 

Writer's Block

So we're winding down to the end of week 6 and about to start week 7.  Our speaker this past week is Don Gilman speaking on missions and giving up your rights.  

For the first time since I've started my blog, I am not able to fully express what's going on.  And even though that life is progressing and I feel the Lord stretching and growing me, I don't know what to write about to give you an update on what God has been doing in my life or in the world around me.  


At this point we've hit some mile markers of breakthrough in the school.  So far the Lord broke in supernaturally in healing, being set free, and now in finances, twice.  


The DTS costs about $3,910 for the lecture phase of the program and by the first deadline which was August 5th.  During that week we had about $6,000 that we owed the campus and God miraculously pulled through for the all of the students to receive their money to stay for lecture.  The second time the Lord came and paid off fees was this week.  On Thursday, August 19, we had a time of praying, worshiping and offering and we had a deadline where each student had to have $2,000 towards their outreach amount to be able to buy plane tickets and during that time we needed about $8,000, give or take.  Again, the Lord came through in his faithfulness and everyone had their fees paid off by the deadline at 3pm.  


One personal story from me before I close.  Since I got back from my outreach to India/China I had been in about $500 in debt and recently a friend of mine, in YWAM, gave me a donation to pay if all off.  Even in my utter irresponsibility and stewarding of the money the Lord had given me he is faithful to forgive my debt.  It really isn't about the amount but about God's faithfulness always.

Now what?

So the Call2All DTS is done and over.  So now what...?

Currently, I am moving into staffing the fourth week of the Awaken DTS.  I decided to staff this DTS when I was in Mcleod Ganj after praying and asking the Lord what he thought about it.  So far so good and I'm getting a good feel for it.

Emery (left) praying for Aaron Walsh

This past week was an amazing week for the school.  We had a guy come and speak from Tauranga, New Zealand.  He runs the Tauranga House of  Prayer (THOP) now, but he used to be one of the interns under Mike Bickle who runs the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City, MO.  Aaron Walsh, our speaker, spoke with such authority and his words were weighty as he told us that "We don't know Jesus."  He was speaking on the supremacy of Jesus, that we need to get to know the real deal Jesus, and that it's all about him. Aaron would drop such spiritual truth on us that to a degree you would feel uncomfortable with the idea you had of Jesus but at the same time you knew Aaron was right.

The highlight of this week for me was Friday.  On Friday we had a time where Aaron prayed over us.  When we started our the Holy Spirit came and started setting people free from spiritual bondages that they were struggling with.  The main stronghold that the Holy Spirit highlighted was self-hatred in the young women of the school but they weren't the only ones that were set free.  The Holy Spirit came and set free young men and women from demonic strongholds and with much weeping turning to praise they were released into freedom and the love of God.

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing people set free and blessed by the presence of the one true living God.  I can't believe its only week 3.  It seems longer and at the same time it is amazing to see God work so quickly in the lives of the students.

If you want to check out more about the school you can check out the website at www.awakendts.com. 

Outreach overview

After being back from outreach, I've had time to think over the things that have happened on the field.

The sights and sounds of India through China will definitely not be forgotten.  But most of all the friends we made along the way will surely not be forgotten.  This was my first time entering into the 10/40 window and doing ministry in this region, first time going to India, Hong Kong, and China, first time staffing a DTS, and first time leading a time on outreach alone.  It was an interesting experience with many things that I didn't expect and many obstacles along the way but none that could not be overcome.


One last story I want to share about this outreach is on my time in Northern India at Mcleod Ganj.  Some of the things we did were two 24 hour prayer times, a 3 day evangelistic campaign, coming along to English classes and a basketball ministry.  On the last day of our evangelistic campaign we were talking with a Tibetan man who lived in the area.  He had a copy of the book of Luke and Psalms, I believe, and he would read through it constantly.  He had many questions about Jesus and who he was.  Being a Tibetan, his culture is full of Buddhist rituals.  To be Tibetan means that you are Buddhist so the fact that he had questions was an avenue of Hope for us.  During one of the conversations, he said that he wanted to be a Christian but he had to know Jesus first, 100% without a doubt.  One of the members of my team replied back saying that we don't know Jesus 100% either, its a relationship and we keep learning more about who He is.  I think that this took our Tibetan friend by surprise because he went away thinking even more about this.  The next day he was happy to announce to us that he wanted to accept Jesus into his heart and he did.

This was probably the highlight of my outreach and it was worth it to see even just one soul come to the Lord.  

China: a brief overview

It's been about a 3 weeks since I made it back to the YWAM base in Kona, HI. We had a debrief time to go over the things that happened on outreach and tie up loose ends as a team and then as a school. Now all of the students have gone home and I'm in transition time with the base as staff.

Team in front of a potential, future campus in China

During the time I didn't write I was in China and for security reasons I decided it would be better for me not to access internet. But we had an amazing time in China. While we were in China we stayed in the northern regions in the city of Dalian and Dandong. In these cities, we had the privilege to meet amazing staff and Chinese believers who were very hungry to serve others and to learn more about God. These people are probably the most servant-hearted group that I met as a group and not just individuals.

Most of our time was spent seeking the Lord and what He was doing in the city. At the base in Dandong, they had a prayer room on the top of the apartment complex where we spent most of our mornings as a team to seek the Lord and also where we spent individual personal time being with the Lord. We also had the opportunity to see the border of China and North Korea.

Beyond this railing, the grass you see on the other side is North Korea. The stone pillar that is in the river used to be apart of the bridge that connected China and North Korea. During the Korean War, this bridge was blown up to keep China from entering the war but it didn't do anything from keeping them out but it brought them in to aid North Korea. This bridge, was one of the things we were able to do in China and one of the other things was a boat ride that goes along the border of North Korea. The contrast was unreal as the China side was very green and the North Korea side very dry and brown. I'll post up some of those pictures soon too.

One of the other things we were able to do was English corner. English Corner is where the locals come and gather in a location and practice speaking English by speaking with other people. The places where we participated were in cafe's. We would sit down and some people would gather and there would be a discussion topic. They meet weekly and the topics each week change. So we can subtly slip some evangelism in as we discuss the topic.

I thought I had more pictures of the staff and believers but I don't and it's probably better that way for their security and safety. I'll be posting more pictures very soon. Until next time...

Sorry for the delay

So after two and a half months I have made it back to Kona, Hawaii.   Outreach has been a great experience but also very challenging.  I've been back for a couple days now but I've been so jetlagged, tired and busy tying up loose ends for this DTS.

Thanks so much for your support through prayer, finances and your words of encouragement.  I feel that there are so many stories to share with you all about my time in India and China.

I'll be posting pictures stories and future plans very soon. Sorry for the delay.

Final Post

With much struggles we have finally got our plane tickets into China. We leave Thursday May 27 to Dalian and Dandong in China.

This will be my final post until I am allowed to post more sensitive information especially about God and YWAM.

Although China says they have religious freedom they don't want it to spread as much as we do because they feel it threatens the government. So to screen it they tap phone lines and read your emails as they please to "secure" themselves. In order to not threaten the YWAM base we are going to do any e-mailing until it gets secure for us.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Hong Kong and radio silence

This is going to be short because my batteries are going to dies soon on this laptop and I don't have an converter plug.

Any way,  after 33hours of traveling by bus and then 4 hours by plane we made it to Hong Kong.  The first 2 days in Hong Kong I got severely sick.  I had body aches, running a fever, headache, to name the major symptoms.  Thankfully to the Lord, I recovered in 48 hours.  All except for a cough.  Hong Kong is a very modern city. 

It's only been a few days here but it is much needed rest from India.

Radio Silence
We will soon enter China and when we do I won't be able to communicate for the duration of my time in China until I reach Taiwan on June 13th and then I will be able to communicate with you guys again.  The reason is that China reads people's e-mails and they will go through my content even if I sign in to my account.  Facebook is also banned in China but Skype is not.  So if you have that please let me know and I'd be more than happy to skype call you in China for a brief update.  Thanks for understanding.  I'll try to write you again soon before I take off to China.

Mcleod Ganj

Sorry for the lack of communication this past week.  It has just been a really crazy time of trying to get the Mcleod Ganj.  If you want to look on a map its in Himachal Pradesh and close to Dharamshala.  This region is where the Dalai Lama lives which is the religious leader for the Tibetan people.  The Tibetan people were exiled to North India  by the Chinese 51 years ago. 

Even though we are still in India the weather here is so much cooler than Hyderabad.  The place where we stay is a small town and most things are in walking distance.  The temple that the Dalai Lama presides in is a 5 minute walk from where we live.  Because Buddhism is idol worship, the region is spiritually dark with many monks you prostrate themselves over and over again to a golden statue of a demon.  But the Tibetan people are so kind hearted and peace seeking.  The people are very friendly and open to conversation.

Ministry wise, we have had to make it up as we go.  The place we are in is very sensitive because of the refugees.  This past weekend we had the opportunity to pray and worship for 24 hours straight from 4PM May 7 to 4PM May 8.  The pictures below and on the side are from the beginning portion of it.  It was a hard time through the night but it was so worth it in hoping and having faith for Yeshua the Messiah to come and bring revelation on Himself.  We cried out for the Tibetan people to come to know Yeshua and that from this place many will come to know the Lord. 

There are so many other people to introduce to make this happen but that will be for another time.  Sorry its so brief.  Please keep praying for us.  We have 4 days left until we head out towards Hong Kong.

On the road again

After being in Hyderabad, India for about 2 and a half weeks we are northern bound to Dharamsala, India.  And after being a solo leader for about 2 weeks I'll be meeting with John, one of my co-leaders, in Delhi.  Our travel plans are to take a plane this time back north.  It is much cheaper to go by train to Delhi but I thought that experiencing the train ride once was enough.  Now that we are really in the summer months I didn't think it would be good for the teams health to get back on.

From Delhi we take a bus to Dharamsala for about 10-14 hours.  The team and I are really excited to get out of the hot weather and go to the mountain region in the north.  But we will miss the friendships that we made with this base and the staff in it. 

During our stay here we had the opportunity to meet with the regional director of Andhra Pradesh, his wife, and the city director of YWAM Hyderabad.  It was closer to the end of our time here but he sat down and welcomed us to India and to Hyderabad. He told us:

"India is hard to describe because there are so many different characteristics of each region.  It is a land of extremes.  In the north it is extremely cold but in other regions it is very hot.  There are extremely wealthy people and also extremely impoverished people."

This is probably the most accurate description of India, but at the same time its not.  There is still more of India to discover with each state, city, county, and village but for now, we go north.  With little delay we finally go to our second location of outreach.

I am NorthEast Indian....

...well I'm not but I found out that I look like it. When we did some of the ministry I met people that looked similar to me. I asked the staff where they were from and I was told they were Indians. In the North east region they have Indians, not Nepalese, Chineses, or Bhutanese people that live in India but Indians that look like me.

So I officially look like half of the 10/40 window.

The team has been in India for about 2 weeks now. It's been such a cultural experience and an amazing time in getting to know the base staff here and others we met along the way.

Above is a picture of the orphanage we visited. It's a YWAM shelter home for street kids and orphans. Its mostly a place for young boys who live on the streets. There were a few girls there but most of the girls are sent to a different home for safety reasons. The kids love to dance and sing worship songs and to play. There was so much joy in the kids I forgot about their circumstances, that they are separated from their parents. Some of them even know their parents, they just live on the streets so the shelter took them in.

These are pictures of an HIV clinic we visited in the city. Before they started the clinic they had a little devotional time. During that time we were given time to sing a couple songs for the group. The message of the devotional time was out of John 5:1-16. The words out of verse 6 stood out, "Do you want to be healed?" This stirred something in my heart to ride on the back of that scripture and just pray for the patients in the clinic. Our team was able to pray and preach the gospel to different people. Not all of the patients were Christians. Some where Hindus who believed in Jesus but also in everything else and some Muslims as well. The staff there were very kind in allowing us to pray for patients. Some of the volunteers were YWAMer's from a different base that we got to meet. They come about twice a week offering help to a clinic that offers service to patients with HIV for free.


These are a couple of ministries that we were able to get involved with. Some of the things are speaking in churches, prayer walking in a Hindu temple, and visiting other centers for children. There are so many pictures and videos to upload and share what we've been doing but I'm not 100% sure how to embed videos directly and I'm trying to figure out if I can make and album page. So until then, I'll be posting it like this and when I get back to the U.S. I'll share some more of the things God has been doing here.

Very soon we'll be moving north to Dharamsala. Please keep us in your prayers.

Hyderabad, India

The record high this week was 104 degrees F. After riding so long in a train for 30 hours with no A/C we are welcomed to Hyderabad where the word hot is an understatement. I didn't know that it was even possible for somewhere to be so hot day and night. And we finally arrived at the YWAM base in Hyderabad

The picture above is a picture I took during the class I was teaching. On the second full day I had a chance to teach a mini-DTS that was taking place and they asked the team to teach. That day Joyce and I taught the classes. It was really touching and inspiring to be with Indian believers. Some of these people came and left their families to attend for just one week, others traveled to the YWAM Base many hours by train to come for this one week course. It is such desperation to be closer to the Lord. I don't know them each individually but I do know that for them to have come they must really love the Lord.

This is my first time in India and it is very difficult to describe India. There are no such things as lanes of traffic, people turn whenever they want, honking doesn't mean get out of my way or express anger but it means I'm coming, people squeeze in tight spots to get ahead and even people on mopeds weave in and out of traffic. The city I'm in has alot of different American and European fashion but it also has buildings that look very broken down, the main eating utensil is your hands, and it is very hot. Food is always cooked in some kind of spice, usually curry or something similar to it. Trash is thrown everywhere and many times beggars will come and hold out their hands until you give them something or you have to be just as stubborn and not give in (that's because sometimes the beggars are scamming). The same problems that we see in the west are also here as well as problems we don't face. They have a really poverty mindset which leads to the country being in poverty.

But even in such brokenness and chaos, I'm loving it. The staff I'm working with are so friendly and they have been very helpful. As they have taken us around town, as we have seen different areas of the city, I'm falling in love with India. God has a heart for this place and He's giving it to me too. I'm so touched and encouraged by the believers here and it's only been about 5 days. There is so much more for us to do and see.

Finally on our way

We are finally going on outreach to India.  After being in Honolulu for about 9 days we are finally going.  Thank you so much for your prayers and please continue praying for us. 

From top right to bottom left it is:
Jeongki, Gahwe, Elizabeth, Damian,
Francis, Joyce, Olivia and me.

There are 2 not pictured that will be meeting us later.  The first is John who is married to Joyce and Minji a student who is currently in Korea working out her visa.

Faithful, He's always faithful

Valeri and Jonathan Faubel 

Today is the day part of the team should have left for India but we didn't. After deciding that we should split our travel agent told us that the next flight available was Friday and by then the whole team would have gotten their visas so now we will all leave as a team.

During our time in Honolulu we have been struggling with our budget. We did not plan to be here as long as we are and the cost of living in Honolulu is much higher than Kona, which is much higher than the Continental United States. By two-thirds way through this outreach we will most likely run out of money.

Our team has been praying for provision and the favor of the Lord. It's a real struggle being on outreach in a location such as this not having planned for it. But even in the midst of this the Lord has been faithful and true. This couple that we met through a friend that has offered to take us in for housing. We were so grateful because they have offered to also pay for our groceries while we stay at their house. The house is a very small 2 bedroom apartment but we are managing to cram 5 guys in the living room and 5 girls in the bedroom. Oh I forgot to mention that they have only been married for 4 WEEKS.  

On the 4th Day

Today is the 4th day of outreach. So far we have filled our days with wandering around the city of Honolulu. I know it doesn't sound like outreach but it technically is. The more difficult part of this is trying to live a lifestyle of evangelism, worship, and prayer. The Lord has really been challenging me about what it looks like to live it instead of compartmentalizing it and making it an activity we do only during set times that we designate

Spending time in Honolulu becomes difficult because of our limited connection. Please understand that Honolulu was originally supposed to just be a layover stop that turned into a week and a half stop because of visa issues. I'm so blessed to have a team that is constantly looking to minister to the community.

The picture above is of me praying for a homeless guy who said had cancer. This is one of many examples I'm talking about with my team. The picture was taken on the 1st day we were here and since then others in my team have ministered to people that we have met during meal times or just our free time by preaching the gospel or praying for them.

As of now, our plan is to split the outreach team up into 3 groups. I will be leaving to India on either Monday or Tuesday and the other teams will follow. Please keep me in your prayers as I lead this group out.

It's getting complicated

So, this is the last day of the last week of the lecture phase of the Call2All DTS. It's hard to believe that 3 months of this school have already passed and is now gone. Now we, as a team, are faced with the next phase of this school, Outreach.

There has been many developments in the past couple weeks. Many good things but also many things that are hindering us from actually leaving on outreach yet.
Good news first, I went from needing about $3,000 to needing $1,473 divided up for staff fees, health insurance, and ground fees for outreach,  all of our students have received the full amount of their needs to go on outreach, and we are so expectant of what God wants to do on outreach.
Now the "bad news".  The reason I put it in quotation is because it isn't really bad but just a slight divergence from our original plan.  In October of 2009, there were changes for obtaining visas for India that we did not know about.  One of my co-leaders John Kim had to fly to San Francisco to take care of the visas at the Indian Embassy.  Our international students are in the process of still getting their visas and same with one of our American students.  Please pray that we will all get our visas.  4 of us including me have received them but the other 6 haven't. 

Our original plan was to leave on Tuesday March 30th to go to India.  Now, because of visa issues, we are forced to go to Honolulu and do some pre-outreach outreach.   So now we will minister for roughly a week in Honolulu evangelizing, training, and regrouping as a team because of the past couple weeks trying to solve our problems.

Not an option

The great commission is not an option to be considered, it is a command to be obeyed.
-Hudson Taylor

As we come to the end of this week, I am challenged by this statement. Mark Anderson has quoted this a couple times through this week and I am gripped with the reality of this commandment.

It is our responsibility as Christians to carry out the will of God. The expression of the great commission looks differently for each individual but the mission is the same.

Outreach:
I'm so excited for outreach in India and China. My team is so expectant and hopeful of the things that will be happening on outreach. We want to see people saved, healed, and set free from bondage.

At this point not all the money has come in for many people. Collectively we need about $100,000 for students. We took up an offering and we had people donate about $25,000. It's so encouraging to see students in their lack being generous with what they have.

My team has now 11 days until we leave. Please keep us on your prayers.

Under construction

Sorry that there hasn't been too much activity on this site. I'm working on finalizing the layout and content of it.

Right now we're in the 10th week of lecture. Our speaker for this week is Mark Anderson. If you don't know who he is you should look him up on google. He's speaking on missions and evangelism and how we are all different tools that come together to form the body. We don't all have to look the same, or do the same thing but we all move towards seeing the great commission fulfilled whether Jesus comes back in our life time or not.

In 15 days I'll be flying out to India and pouring out the things that the Lord has been building up in me. Pray for the love of God to abound in us so that we may walk in unity with one another and that we may discern the will of God for this trip

Praise: Someone donated $200 towards my trip, Praise God!!!!!

A good place to start..........

So today I was encouraged to start a blog site to keep up with people back home and those supporting me financial and with prayer. So here it goes.....


Today I have 20 days left until outreach. It's unreal that I am in the 9th week of staffing this DTS. So much has happened and it feels like I've been here for years but at the same time it feels like the students just got in yesterday.


With India and China ahead of me I'm wondering what all this is going to look like. Right now I'm so short on money but I know that the Lord is going to provide because He told me He was and I know He isn't like man that He would lie.

There is so much more that I would like to express but for now this is a start. More to come......