In the Middle East, Global Partner Jason shares about how four people recently took the step of baptism.

 

Our faith community recently took a weekend to gather outside of our city for a time of training, rest, fellowship, vision casting, and prayer. It was an amazing opportunity to go deeper with these brothers and sisters and consider all that the Lord wants to accomplish in this year. We focused on Jesus’ promise in Revelation 21 that he is making all things new. To top the weekend off, we celebrated new life in Christ with four young believers through the act of baptism! It was a joyous occasion and at the same time very serious. These four believers counted the cost of following Christ and chose to be baptized to publicly express their new life with Christ. Please pray for these new believers' young faith, strength and peace when faced with opposition, and a deep experience of God's unmeasurable love.

I was greatly blessed to be able to participate in a summer trip to Michigan to be able to witness the very caring and faithful work by the people there. I hadn’t gone with any specific expectations but left with a profound sense that God was doing a great work, and people were being invited into his Kingdom through friendship and service in the community. What was most touching was being able to hear from the people who have served in the area for over ten years and have put countless hours in waiting on the Lord to move and to change hearts.

One thing that was helpful to me was learning more about how the Discovery Bible Study is being used to share and to discuss Bible stories in a simple way that focuses more on the aspect of discipleship even before someone may come to Christ. It was so simple and useful to me that I and a fellow member of the trip shared what we learned in our Park small group. As someone who has been taught a lot of theology, this was a very simple tool that I learned is used all around the world to read and study God’s word.

From June 16-20th, 43 Global Partners, 35 children, and 22 Park team members met in Turkey for the Global Partner Gathering. In the mornings, partners worshiped in English, heard relevant messages from Park's former lead pastor, and shared their joys and challenges from the past year. In the afternoons and evenings, they took advantage of the resort, signed up for optional counseling sessions, and enjoyed meals together.

Meeting and encouraging each other was a highlight for many partners. From church planting in the Middle East to teaching English in Southeast Asia, partners gleaned from each other's experiences and shared common joys and challenges. A few also mentioned how the gathering came at a needed time to be recharged.

Both partners and team members alike recognized the unique gift of such a large scale event from a sending church. One team member said: "Park is in a relatively rare space among American churches of not only having a heart for the nations and dedicating prayer and sermon time to the idea, but also of sending workers out into the field of harvest God has prepared." Here's a few highlights from our partners, team members, and kids workers:

Here's what some Global Partners are saying about their time in Turkey: 

• We feel overwhelmed with gratitude. This is such a refreshment.
• We are reminded that we are not alone in persevering and following Him to the ends of the earth. Our hearts and our souls are refueled. Our vision for this work is becoming clearer.
• This week we rejoiced with those who rejoice and wept with those who weep.
• There is a deep well of joy when I think about our time together.

Team members also expressed the impact of the Gathering: 

• My heart is burdened to pray more for Christians around the world and is challenged to be more bold because of the example of these Christians.
• Ongoing prayers for these kids and their families are absolutely essential.
• God is moving in the far reaching corners of the world.
• [This trip] renewed my passion for Global ministry.

From 6 months to 15 years old, 35 kids were well loved by the Park team, made new friends, and learned about God! Park's kids team designed their own curriculum with the unique experiences of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) in mind.

A few teachers were a part of the kids team and were able to bless partners with their expertise. Hannah described her experience engaging with parents making educational decisions: "I had lunch several days with Global Partners who had questions about which schools and grades to enroll their children in and which resources they could use to teach their children at home. I provided resources, advice, and a sounding board to several families and exchanged contact information so I can continue to be an ongoing resource to them. Being an educational consultant to Global Partners is something I am interested in continuing to do, and I would not have become aware of that need without going on this trip."

Tirzah is honest with her husband about her faith, and he has been willing to listen. One night when I visited them we even read Scripture together. Then he agreed to meet with a local pastor to hear more and ask questions. Tirzah’s mom was also in that meeting, and abruptly asked him a strange question:

“Do you like yogurt?”

He was shocked and told her, “It’s really weird you should ask me that, because I recently had a dream about 3 cups of yogurt. Someone was telling me to choose one of them, but I couldn’t choose because all of them were the same taste.”

Tirzah said, “See? It’s like the Trinity. You can’t choose between the Father, Son and Spirit because all of them are the same taste.”

That got his attention, and he listened without arguing for the rest of the meeting.

Another day he came with Tirzah to a gathering of believers. There he met the pastor and even invited him to visit their home.

Father, thank you for these opportunities for him to hear from you. Please keep speaking, and draw him to yourself!

Every month at Rogers Park we have a Global ministry time with our elementary kids. Last month we shared an update from the Browne family, who moved from our RP family to Ethiopia. Upon arrival, they were introduced to the neighborhood of Korah. It was designated as the area for outcast lepers and contained the city dump. They were also introduced to a school that educated the area's most vulnerable children.

We were able to share the story of 13 year old Solomon. Due to his family’s needs and lack of income, he was sent to the dump to scavenge for scrap food and recyclables to resell. More recently, he was able to be a part of the school and after two years in the program passed into grade 3! This fall, Solomon, along with other classmates, will enter into a public school for the first time. Their goal is to raise the $34,000 needed to keep this school operating for at least another year.  

It was encouraging to see our RP children so focused as we shared about this amazing ministry and Solomon's story. What a privilege that our kids get to see their own friends, who were seated next to them last year, now halfway across the world showing the love of Jesus to others. What a joy it was to then receive generous donations from some of the kids toward the cause. One child in particular donated their entire lemonade stand proceeds from this summer

About a year ago, we began meeting with a language tutor three times a week. We have gotten to know her well, having her over for dinner and even going on a trip with her. She's from a very unreached place in our country. She recently came over for dinner, and we quickly began to dive into a spiritual conversation about hearing God's voice.

With her, we prayed and asked Jesus to show her who he is and if there's anything He would like to reveal to her. She saw Jesus in front of a cross gesturing toward a path, and later saw a flock of sheep going over a hill towards light. We shared how Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and her joy was tangible. She said she knew God was talking to her.

Later, she mentioned how she dreams a lot about her mom, who passed away a few years ago, but could never see her face. Christian felt like God wanted to give a "gift" to our friend. God showed her a picture of her mom's face, and she was able to be cheek-to-cheek with her mom.

She began to weep and thank God, confessing that she wanted to follow Him all her days! We feel so privileged to see God pursuing His children. Please pray that God would give us wisdom in discipling her. Pray also against persecution and for a curiosity among those she shares her new faith.

Lily was the quietest one in the group, and we often never knew what she was thinking. However, I recently got a small glimpse of what God was doing inside her heart to transform her life and her family.

Ten years ago when I first started meeting international students, this quiet student from East Asia came to our welcome picnic, where she met one of my teammates who invited her for coffee. My teammate shared the gospel with her over coffee, but also asked about her life which was meaningful to Lily. The seed was planted in Lily's heart, and she joined our Bible study. After much research and Bible reading, she made the very thoughtful decision to follow Christ.

Not long after her decision to follow Jesus, she returned to her home in East Asia. Amidst difficult circumstances, she saw her mom and brother come to know Jesus and started a prayer group. Recently, I saw her in the States, where she was getting her master's degree from a Bible college.

Lily's story is a reminder to me that reaching an international student can impact family and friends living all over the world - some that are very difficult places to share the gospel. Thank you for partnering with me to help fulfill Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations. Lily's story encourages me to keep sowing those seeds.