Free to Follow Him

June 25 --- We have had 3 weeks of class by now, which means 3 teachers (all Aussies), many hours of readings, long assignments, and the occasional break to watch the FIFA World Cup – GO USA!!! We have covered the topics of Cultural Anthropology, Biblical Basis for Missions, Historical Expansion of Missions, Christian Leadership, Reaching the Unreached People Groups, and Stars, Sand & Dust – the Abrahamic Covenant. The information in our classes is all highly relevant and important for all Christian ministers to grasp. Pray that God continues to bless, anoint, and show favor to the speakers who are flying in from all over the world to impart the words and vision of God.

I leave on Saturday for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, where Malaysia shares a border with Indonesia. My team will be working with a local church, teaching English to refugee children who are not accepted in the regular school system. Pray that God uses our hands and our minds to bring relief to the existing workers and to build the confidence and self-esteem of the children.

This past week I have been fighting a cold; thank you to Mom and Dad for praying for my complete health….I am feeling better, but not perfect. Pray that my health is fully restored and that I will not suffer this weekend while doing ministry.

The World Cup…..GOD BLESS THE USA!!!! We won our group and now move on to the Top 16….I know many of you in the US couldn’t care less about soccer, but here it is so huge that I feel responsible to stand up for MY team.

You may notice that I have posted a block that shows an unreached people group --- it changes daily, so check back often for different groups. Just so you know, there are about 6,300 people groups (equal to 40% of the world) that have yet to hear the Gospel in such a way that they can understand enough to accept God’s love and grace. They have no church, no fellowship of believers and the few believers tend to be isolated without a leader of any kind. I challenge you to pray for the group that shows up whenever you check this blog. Research the people if you desire – use http://www.joshuaproject.net/index.php for great updated information and statistics.

A few other recent statistics and estimations from David Barrett (the US Center for World Missions):

• The world population increases 3 people every second, which means +94,608,000 every year.
• The world population of baptized Christian converts increases approximately 210,000 every day, which means +76,650,000 every year.

What does this mean? It means that while the Gospel is being preached and accepted, we are behind the curve. We must push on; we must double, triple, or even quadruple our efforts in reaching those who have never heard.

Remember that Jesus came so that ALL might hear and know; He knows intimately and loves desperately every person who now lives, has lived, and will live. Don’t they have the right to hear and understand the TRUTH of God?

PRAY. GIVE. GO.

June 6, 2010 – Listened in to my SCC family today. I had forgotten that today was the ForeverJones CD release concert @ SCC. I was so blessed to be able to tune in for this wonderful time of praise and celebration.

Now to why I was awake at 11:45pm my time…my roommates and I are starting the Insanity workout tomorrow and I waited until after 9pm to do the Fit Test. We are starting the 60-day program Monday morning at 6am (which is in less than 6 hours!!)…pray for me!!!

The last week has been absolutely amazing. Monday was Orientation, Tuesday was City As A Classroom (more on that later-check my FB for photos), and Wednesday thru Saturday was the GET Retreat near Gopeng, Malaysia.

The main theme of this last week was “house-cleaning” – meaning that God is sweeping out rooms, chasing down dust bunnies, and pulling weeds in each & every room, space, and crevice of my heart and mind. He is pulling back scabs and uncovering painful areas that I’ve let heal wrong over the years. He is re-setting bones and grafting skin over the burned places.

Pray for God to continue to give me insight and understanding; pray that I will act and speak in His wisdom, not my own.

At the end of this month we have a field trip; we have several options of where to go for a few days of work & relaxation. I ask that you pray that God will guide me to the option that is His perfect will: KL, East Malaysia, or Vietnam. The ones outside of KL will cost about $350 extra for flights…

I love all of you; thank you so much for all your support!

Leigh

May 30, 2010 – Today was very eventful. Everyone on the team met for church, (which was awesome, by the way!!) then most of us headed out for lunch together at an Indian Muslim restaurant. Somehow it’s worked out that I’ve eaten Indian food for almost every meal here so far….but it’s good, so I don’t care. Then a group of us headed down to Times Square for some shopping; a couple of our guys are from KL so we had tour guides that spoke the language….always a big plus! Then we headed back to the boys’ apartment to relax before our team dinner tonight at a nice Chinese restaurant. Just so you know, Americans are totally getting jipped when it comes to Chinese food. This stuff here was fantastico!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Except for the 1st course of soup, I ate the entire meal with my chopsticks….most of you know that this is quite a feat for me! I normally give up after a few bites and ask for a fork, but I felt that here I should stick it out and it totally paid off! I got really good at using the sticks!!

List of New Experiences Since Leaving the USA
1. Flew alone to another country.
2. Slept on a plane.
3. Changed money w/o help
4. Rode in a car on the left side of the road.
5. Visited Times Square and saw not one billboard for a Broadway show.
6. Successfully led other Americans around downtown KL.
7. Ate Indian food (and loved it!)
8. Saw a teammate eat a fish eyeball and didn’t puke.
9. Saw a teammate eat the head and tail fin of a fish and wanted to try it! (but it was all gone…. )
10. Drank freshly squeezed apple juice and watermelon juice (both taste like you stuck a straw in the fruit and sucked really hard)
11. Ate an entire chinese meal with only chopsticks
12. Stay tuned for updates to this list!!!!!!!

God is doing amazing things here in me; please pray that I continue to focus on Him alone, that He remains my center, that I become single-mindedly obsessed with Christ and His love for all of humanity. Pray for me that I depend on Him alone to satisfy and fulfill me in my innermost being; I can feel a bit of a struggle with that already living in a house with 8 other women. I thank God at all times for all of your support and prayers. I would definitely not be here if not for you. Know that, at the very least, you are making a difference in MY life. Thank you, again. Love to you all.

Leigh

May 27, 2010 - Today is Day 1 of my nine months in SE Asia. On my way here, I asked myself, is all this – long & delayed flights, heavy luggage, hot airports & cold airplanes, etc – worth me coming over here? And the answer was YES! I know that God not only opened this door for me, He walked me right up to it, turned the knob, and nudged me to walk across the threshold. I ask that you join with me in praying that God will continue to show me where His will for me lies. I praise God that He has blessed me with 2 full days off before I have to report for any scheduled event. Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

Leigh