Trip Time - Part I

Dear Friends,
Back from our third trip out, and having a moment to take a breather.
Actually the Father has afforded us a breather by canceling our fourth trip, which was to be a follow-up trip to a place we visited in May. His timing is perfect, so we are glad to obey. Our bodies are tired and a little compromised (Mike, Kenan and I have had a touch of giarrdea from this last trip), and we are missing Anna, who is in another city helping a friend with three very beautiful children. We will be reunited this Friday and prepare for our last trip out before the kids start school. We leave this Sunday.
From our first trip we wanted to share with you that Grace was
AMAZING- a good group, many returnees, and some great new faces. The trip this year compared to last year was- EFFORTLESS. Last year we were all in the same boat, going to places we had never been, walking in faith that He would lead us- yet that walking in faith didn't come easily for anyone.
Last year it was NECESSARY to be in the Father's school of faith and to learn together.
THIS year, we found a team that, at least for the returnees, knew what to expect and how to walk. And they had not only prepared themselves well, but had also prepared the others well, too. When the Father is is control, things become EFFORTLESS. By that I don't mean there aren't bad days, misunderstandings, the normal things that happen when people are in too small a vehicle on a very bumpy road, stomachs are churning from new experiences with food and culture- it is SO easy to get in the flesh here! What I DO mean is when a group of people EXPECT the Father to show up and want to be obedient to His voice, HE makes all things possible, smooth- it is out of His hand that things become EFFORTLESS.
So I write to say, in this first installment, that the group that broke into three groups and did the Father's business did MUCH for His Kingdom and the Kingdom to come amongst His people, particularly amongst the Zhaba and the Queyu. We found where people were and were not, we found new village leaders and government officials that we will need to have a future relationship with, we found old friends who needed encouragement, new friends that needed His love, and brothers and sisters that were at varying levels of obedience, disobedience, misunderstanding, and clarity of what the Gosp. really meant.
One particular story came out of a brother (a man) who was being asked the 4 questions that we ask our family members as they prepare for
"swimming": 1. "Do you know that you have already believed in J, and received Him? 2. Do you believe that He has already forgiven you of all of your sins? 3. Are you willing in front of all of these people to say that you have decided to follow Him and will never turn back? 4. When they mock you, persecute you, beat you, grab you and throw you into prison, and perhaps kill you, are you still willing to believe in Him and never turn back?" You can only imagine that as our partner got to the last question and our brother answered an emphatic "yes" and exclaimed "I will die for Him!" how his two friends who had been looking on and listening erupted with disbelief and anger. Yet, our sister was very calm and turned to the two men, and began to share the stories with them. It seemed "effortless" as one man began to cry and the other hung onto every word, and in a very short while, they were saying that they, too, wanted to believe. Before they pr-ed, our sister invited one of the men's wives and daughter to pr as well. The man's 8 year old son had previously (Oct.'05) believed. The man who was crying was the owner of the house where we always stay, the place where over 24 people had already said "yes" to the one true God. His wife and daughter were in the room, already believers (Oct.'05 and June '05, respectively), when he, his friend, and his friend's wife and daughter all gave their lives to Him.
Praise to Him! As we sat there, we realized we were in the midst of two WHOLE families that now believed. AMAZING. Why? First of all, because the Father said it was time. Second, because a brother, one of their own, boldly proclaimed that J is Lord. You may remember his story- the one whose son had seen demons and could not sleep, but after believing in J his son has never seen demons again. That brother KNOWS that power of the risen One! And third, because people came, and more people prayed, expecting, believing that the Father is going to do what He has promised He would do.
To Him belong all the people. To Him belong all the nations!
All For His Glory- Mike and Trish