Throughout the DTS we have challenged the students with the question of how to make lasting fruit in the nations. This is actually a question that has been burning in my heart for a while – how do we really leave lasting fruit, and not just go looking for salvations, leaving behind believers with no idea how to grow.

I asked Dan Shannon to speak to our school in the last week of DTS. He spoke for just an hour over Skype, blasting us about the importance of planting simple indigenous-led expressions of church, giving us concrete ways to pursue that, and inspiring us with stories of what can happen. We were all excited and challenged, and Jenni and I were praying that the Lord would make an opportunity for our students to do this on outreach.

Needless to say, we were so blessed to visit Cambodia and find that Nate and the Cambodia team were doing just that! Nate had started a Bible discovery group, and quickly handed over leadership to a great young guy called Behab. Behab began inviting his friends, then leading them in simple Bible studies where they focused on how to obey the teachings of Jesus. While we were there youth were getting saved in the group and it was starting to grow like wildfire! It was such a privilege to witness the simplicity of the Gospel impacting the people of Cambodia in such a real way, and to see Nate and the Holy Spirit making it happen!

PS. Nate is going to be joining us on staff in Kona in the coming months! Follow his progress here.

Thailand, I love you. Let me count the ways… 1. As soon as we landed we were awestruck just by the size of the airport- an exciting event for one of our first experiences in Asia. 2. We were greeted by Mr. Panya, our wonderful Thai taxi driver who spoke very little English, but smiled a lot. 3. We have not ceased to eat delicious things since our arrival. The fruit at the “Weekend Market” is great, and the curry dishes we’ve tried have been outstanding. Yum. 4. We have the option of hot showers at the facility where we are staying (called the NRTC, the Nancy Ross Training Center, which is part of YWAM Thailand)… FYI we have not had the option of a hot shower since we left Kona, so this feels pretty luxurious. 5. You can get a legit, one-hour Thai massage for 120 Baht- that’s the same as $4 in the US. 6. God has such a heart for the people of this nation. We are thankful to get to see this corner of the world, and we are gaining new understanding about how he loves his people everywhere.

So, come experience Thailand for yourself, and you’ll be counting the ways you love this place!

Tomorrow morning we take a long bus ride to Cambodia. That is where our next team is located. We cannot wait to see them! I don’t even know if I’ll be able to sleep much tonight, because I’m that excited about seeing them. It’s such an incredible feeling to show up in the middle of some crazy place, where we’ve never been before, and be reunited with friends who are really happy to see us! We’ll get to stay with the Cambodia team for a few days, then we’ll come back to Thailand, sleep here one more night, and then fly from Bangkok to visit our next team. It’s such an unbelievable privilege to be trotting the globe, encouraging our friends, and taking part in the ministry they are all doing. We are very, very blessed indeed.

Thanks everyone for your prayers, and your hellos on Facebook. Please pray for us when you think of it! We love you and miss you all. We hope we can come to your corner of the world sometime soon!

Our team has had a great time there so far. They started their time in Bauan, Batangas, where we met them and spent our first three days. Then we travelled with them to Nasugbu, by bus, a couple hours away. Everywhere we went the people were incredibly friendly and eager to meet the “foreigners,” as they called us. Our team is doing a great job in their ministry opportunities, and people are deciding to follow Jesus. It is unreal to get to be a part of all this.

Aside from joining in on the ministry times at churches, schools, and communities, Johnny and I spent one-on-one time with every person on the team. I met with all the girls, and he met with all the guys. It was such a precious time to hear from each of them about how they’ve been doing, the ways they’ve all been growing, and to encourage them to keep doing their best. We really love what we do (Thank you Lord!).

We head to Thailand and Cambodia next…stay tuned for more updates soon! Check out more photos from the Philippines here.

Every Tuesday night we go downtown in Kona to heal the sick, pray for people, share God’s love, and preach the message of the Gospel to the people of Kona. Some nights it’s sweet and easy, some nights it’s hard. Some nights people are welcoming, some nights people scream, swear, shout, or just plain ignore us. Tonight was just another night, but the Lord has been doing things in us this week about breaking through to true faith in him, and killing off all the unbelief in our hearts.

Tonight, four people met Jesus for the first time on the streets of Kona. Four people will never be the same! There is rejoicing in heaven, and there is rejoicing here on earth!

I’m going to bed – but I just had to share that with you all. God is good, revival is coming, and there is a generation rising up like the world has never seen who will be UNASHAMED of the gospel.

“Today was an amazing day. We welcomed a rad married couple, two kids, eighteen single dudes, and twelve single girls into Call2All DTS, ushering them in to a radical new season of life in Christ Jesus. And we get to walk with them in it.
It was an interesting feeling today, welcoming all these people who we’ve talked to and prayed for over the last few months. Some of them have come with the fire of Jesus burning in their eyes and a passion in their hearts that spills over into even the first conversations I had with them. Others have come hoping for healing, calling, direction. Still others have come with nothing more than expectation to meet with God. Others don’t even know what they’re stepping into in fullness, only that Jesus sounds good and they want to meet him. The Father wants to know them all. Jesus has made a way. The Holy Spirit will empower them. We are all going to fall in love with him, some for the first time, some for the 50th or 500th, but all of us will be drawn deeper into his heart.
I was pondering this today when the realization began to dawn on me all over again that one day we’re actually going to see Jesus face to face. Actually really. Face to face. He’ll be riding a white horse. His name is Faithful and True. And these students will be standing there with us. Face to face. The worship and adoration will be endless because the elation and affection will be (insert superlative here). If you take a minute to just stop and think about it, it’s life-transforming. Seriously though, what a crazy thought.
It makes me want to run well. It makes me want to simply bring them to this Man. Introduce them to my Lover, Savior, Friend. It makes me want to weep and laugh, all at once. This is what we were created for, and this is what they were created for – worshipping the Man, Jesus.
So, let’s be bold, and let’s do it. The Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing!”