Anger

During the past year I have been dealing with anger a lot more than I have in the past. The Lord seems to making it clear to me how dangerous and destructive anger can be. Several times I have completely broken down from my anger, thrown things on the floor or yelled. When this happens, I scare even myself. Anger seems to take over and I need the power of the spirit to gain control over my flesh. I have spent a lot of time meditating on the following verses from James,

19My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Praise & Prayer Update May 25th

Hey everyone,

Please keep us in your prayers this week as D is leaving for the states in just a few days. We haven't been apart from each other for more than one day since we got married, so two and a half months seems like a long time!

Praises:

• We were able to spend time this week in prayer and thought about our vision and how we can serve here
• We both were sick during the week and have recovered
• H has been asking the Lord to send her sick people to pray for, and this week a woman with breast cancer showed up oustide our door begging. H was able to pray for her in the name of Jesus. Pray that God would reveal His Son to this woman.
  
• We were both able to connect more with parents of the kids we teach this week. It was really encouraging to get feedback from a few parents about how much their sons or daughters look up to us.
  

Prayers:

• That our time together before D leaves would be blessing
  
• One of our friends and some national partners have been busy meeting women and sharing the gospel in villages this week. H is helping edit the materials and do background research for this outreach. Pray that the Lord would lead us to bridges to share the good news and reveal Jesus to these women and their families.
  
• That the Lord would send us to 'people of peace' who will be receptive to the gospel
  
• That we would finish well at school and be a light to our students and colleagues
  
• That we would grow in our marriage even when we are ten time zones away from each other!

Thanks so much for your prayers during this time of transitioning from school year to summer. We are excited for all the Lord has for us during the coming season. May we be faithful with all that He has given us.

Cry out for Justice

I wrote the following prayer in November after reading a novel, based on a true story, about the wife of a 'holy man/saint' in this country. It was heart wrenching. It led me straight to my knees. The basic storyline was about a young girl who was married off to this 'saint' about the age of puberty. The 'saint' had such a hunger for sex that he used not only her, but prostitutes and several poor orphan girls, even very young ones. The 'saint' tried to molest his own daughter and the only way the mother could save her was to give her husband other young girls instead. She became an unwilling accomplice to his crimes. Not only that, but because the 'saint' kept his wife in seclusion and since no one had seen her face, he felt that he could masquerade her as a prostitute for all his friends.

This story may seem extreme, but I have heard many stories from women that could each be their own novels. The spirits of lust and death seem to have a strong hold on the entire region.

Prayer for Women, in response to the novel Blasphemy.
November 14, 2007

Let me cherish my time with you. Oh Lord, I feel far from you, draw me after you. Draw me into your chambers that I may entreat of you. That I may share in your heart.

Lord, what do you feel when young girls are being sold into their slavery under the guise of marriage? When lust-filled husbands satiate their hunger savagely on virgin girls, not yet reached womanhood.

How do you feel when the girls are bleeding and broken, crying out to a God who is not near? Does your heart break?

When women are made to play the whore, and all they want in purity.

When a man’s flesh rules, ruining lives. Entering forcefully to change their bodies, minds and hearts forever.

Scarred.

When a man’s every action is ruled by his lust. Breaking young girls and mother’s hearts. Caring only to satisfy his flesh.

The greater the pride,
the greater the lust.

Does you heart break for these women, or are they cursed forever? There is no justice here. They cry out and cry out. Only to say that God is far away. God is only here to weep. God must take delight in the suffering of women, for hell is full of us. And even in heaven men’s lust is rewarded by virgins.

What is the depth of the evil of man’s heart? Lord, how can I bring your hope to these women?

LUST

PRIDE

GREED

This land is riddled with curses for the sins committed in her. The bloodguilt is great. Oh Lord, cleanse the land. There is so much evil here. Let us be messengers of your coming. Shine through us. SHOW YOURSELF with signs and wonders. Dreams and visions.

Let me cry out for justice day and night. Continue to give me glimpses of your heart. Show me steps I can take to reach out to women around me and in this broken society.

Reveal your Son.

Open prison doors and set these captives free.

Bind up the brokenhearted oh Lord!

Come and bring your perfect justice.

*New* Prayer Journal Posts

I've recently felt that I should share some more entries from my prayer journal here on the blog. I I wasn't quite sure why, as many of my prayers are me crying out to God in repentance or intercession, but then I remembered that although many of the Pslams of the Bible were personal songs of worship, repentance, prayer, or intercession they are inspiring, encouraging and challenging for us even thousands of years later. 

I hope that the Lord will bless you through these prayers. Recently the Spirit has been challenging me to 'bare my heart' more, and I think this is one way I can start to do that. 

The Promise of the Father: Bible Study

In our house fellowship we have been studying the book of Joel. This week we were on Joel 2:28-32, so I decided to compare this passage with what happened on Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. Here's the study questions as well as some further discussion questions. Inspiration from Peter Wagner's Acts of the Holy Spirit. Email me if you'd like the two page worksheet or the answers.


1) Joel 2:28-32 – What does God promise?


2) Acts 1 – The Lead up to Pentecost

a.) After Jesus ascended, what were the disciples to do?
b.) What did Jesus promise them?
c.) Why did they need it?
d.) Were they “better off without Jesus?” (John 16:7)
e.) How long would this waiting period be?


3) Acts 2 – Pentecost

a.) What is Pentecost?
b.) What had the disciples been doing between Passover and Pentecost?
c.) Do you think there is any significance or strategy to God choosing this day to send the power of the Spirit?
d.) What were the visible signs of the invisible spirit?
e.) What does God use fire for in the Old Testament? Can you think of any examples?
f.) Who was present when the disciples started speaking?
g.) Can you break these people into different categories? In which category did the disciples fit?
h.) In your culture, who could you compare the disciples to?
i.) Is it significant that people hear God’s message in their own languages?
j.) How does this compare to other religions?
k.) How did the people present react?
l.) In Peter’s speech, what are his main points?
m.) What are the characteristics of the “last days”?
n.) What is the two-part action plan Peter gives to those who are “cut to the heart”?
o.) How many people came to faith that day?

4) Discussion Points
a)What parts, if any, of Joel’s prophecy were fulfilled or partially fulfilled on Pentecost?

b) What do you think the “last days” refers to?

c) Do the characteristics of the last days seem common in your church experience?

d) Did they seem common in the experience of the early church?

e) How do prophecy, dreams and visions, signs and wonders relate to salvation?

f) Do you think some cultures are more apt to expect and look for “signs” from God?

Praise & Prayer Update May 18th

Hey everyone, The last week has definitely gone by too fast! Praises: - D's flights have been confirmed and we have purchased his tickets - The Lord seems to be giving us more clarity and direction as we seek His strategy for reaching this nation Prayers: -That we would be more intentional about sharing the gospel, meeting new people, and sowing the Word of God -That we would be consistent in praying together as a couple on a daily basis -That the Lord would give us both a hunger for His Word and to be fruitful for the kingdom of God May the Lord would open people's eyes to see and open their ears to hear. May the Word of the Lord run swiftly and be glorified in this barren land. May God show Himself in power and stretch out His hand to heal and deliver through the name of His holy servant Jesus. May the powers of darkness reigning over this land be usurped by the rightful king who sits as the right hand of the Father: Jesus.

Global Day of Prayer - Tomorrow!

I hope all of you reading can join in with this year's Global Day of Prayer in some way. Millions the world over will be uniting in prayer on Pentecost Sunday.

You can watch live coverage of prayer gatherings around the globe on God TV, which will also be broadcasting live from Jerusalem.

Praise & Prayer Update May 10th

It's been an exciting week here leading up to the Global Day of Prayer. We encourage you to tune in to God TV any time on Sunday May 11th to see prayer events from all over the world. Let us unite together as one Bride to cry out for Jesus and all that's on His heart!

Praises:

• Our prayer times as a couple are becoming less tedious and more enjoyable! May the Lord continue to allow our hearts and minds to unite in worship, praise and intercession.

• $500 more of language school support has been deposited. Praise the Lord for His provision! May we be faithful with all that He gives us and treat all of our finances as if they belong to Him. It looks like H will be able to spend from June 5 to June 29th without having any work commitments. She plans to spend time time focusing on prayer, language, and strategic outreach. H's friend and accountability partner is currently at language school about 6 hours away, and H is thinking about spending a week with her working on strategies to reach women in our region.

• Although school and upcoming exams are currently taking up a lot of our time, the Lord is giving us ways to share with and serve our students and co-workers

Prayers:

• D needs to change his flight schedule so that he can stay here until all his students complete their exams. Pray that he will be able to find affordable and available flights back to the US.

• Students are getting restless and ready for summer break, although school doesn't finish til May 30th! May the Lord give us strength and perseverance as it is difficult to deal with whining students, lack of water, frequent power outages and the overwhelmed administration. May we have the attitude of Christ Jesus throughout all the trials!

• May the Lord have favor on H's visa which is "processing." She has to wait four weeks, which is after her current visa expires, to get her next update. May the Lord give us faith that HE will oversee this situation.

• May the Lord guide us in HIS strategy to reach the millions of lost people in this region

• H was reading this week about how many women have come to Christ through dreams, visions, prophetic words, and witnessing miraculous healing. May the Lord help us to always be willing and available to pray and minister to people that we meet. May He grant many dreams and visions of Him that would lead them to a personal relationship through Jesus Christ. May the Lord give us faith to pray for healing in the name of Jesus.

Praise & Prayer Update

Things seem to be coming together for our summer plans, and we are getting anxious to finish up with the school year and get on to the summer break.

Praises:

• $650 of support for language school has been deposited into our bank account. Since H now plans to stay in the city and take language classes, this should cover the costs of 2-3 months of part-time tutoring. Praise the Lord! Any other support received will go towards more hours of language classes, study materials, and helping to pay the bills since H has committed to work less than 20 hrs/week in order to focus on language, prayer and outreach.

• H was able to schedule workshops for the summer at a local institute. The Lord gave her favor in meeting with the director of the institute and she was able to get all of her visa renewal materials ready and mailed out.

• Two more young women have arrived in our city to focus on reaching women for Christ. Praise the the Lord that he is sending laborers for the harvest.

Prayer:

• That D's flights would be confirmed and tickets purchased within the next few days

• That we would have quality time together in prayer and building on our marriage before D heads back to the states for 2 months+

• That the Lord would give both of us favor as we process our visas

• That the Lord would provide for this country, as half the population currently can not afford enough to eat

• That the Lord would help us not to be wasteful and to spend all of our money as if it is His

• That the Lord would give us opportunities to bless people around us with physical provision in a way that clearly glorifies His name

• That H would find the right language tutor for the summer months

• That the Lord would help us to finish the school year well and be a light to both students and staff

• That God would open up the door for His word and spur many to pray on the upcoming Global Day of Prayer (May 11th - next Sunday)

In Christ,

H & D

P.S. - We would love to hear from all of you more often! Please let us know how you are doing, what the Lord is teaching you, and how we can be praying for you.

Praise & Prayer Update April 26th

Hello everyone,

We're currently working on a list of stuff to do during load-shedding (government regulated power outages). Jump in the car to run errands. Go grocery shopping in the air-conditioned grocery store. Take a shower. Make food, since you'll be sweating at the stove no matter when you do it. Take another shower.

The extreme seasons tend to expose the rising disparity between rich and poor in this country. While our neighbors' houses roar with the sound of petrol powered generators during outages, other parts of the city can be without electricity, running water, or gas for days. Every summer many people living in those areas just die from the heat, dehydration, and disease. May the Lord have mercy on the rich men of this country, that they would come to know Him and His heart for the poor.

During these past few weeks we've both been praying and felt the Lord guiding us to change our summer plans. D's sister and brother-in-law have been going through a tough time, and D feels that he should spend the summer in the states with his family. Financially, we do not feel that we should be spending money for two plane tickets to the states, and H feels that she should stay back to focus on language, prayer, and reaching out in the community. Instead of going to the summer school, she will stay in our city and hire a language tutor there. Any support that we receive will help us pay for the classes.

Praises:
• H was able to share more this week with one of her co-workers and is hoping to give her a Bible in her native language next week
• D was able to find an affordable plane ticket to the states. Pray that all the travel arrangements will work out
• God has really given us rich times of study and fellowship during our home group
• Last night we were able to share about the gospel with two friends

Prayer:
• That the Lord would guide us as we continue to plan for the summer
• That the Lord would work out both of our visa situations.
• That God would allow us to finish well and be a light to both students and colleagues
• That the Lord would give us boldness and help us be intentional in sharing with those we meet

Thanks for all your prayers and support,

H & D

Comparative Study - The Last Battle

In our home group we've been studying Joel and recently compared different passages thought to describe the last battle. Here's some of my notes. If you'd like the information in chart form just send me an email.

A. Description of people being attacked (Israel)

Ezekiel 38:7-12
- a land restored from war
- people gathered from many peoples
-on the mountains of Israel
-which had been a continual waste
-they dwell securely
-no walls, bars, gates
-livestock & goods

Ezekiel 39:23
-they dealt with God treacherously

B. Description of attackers

Ezekiel 38
-a great host, army
-from the land of Gog, Magog
-coalition of many peoples from the north
-will advance like a storm cloud
-riding on horses
-will design an evil scheme to attack Israel
-has been prophesied about for years

Revelation 19
-kings, captains, mighty men, beasts, great & small
-sitting on horses
-fighting against “him who is sitting on the horse”

C. How Israel will be judged (What will happen? What will God do?)

Ezekiel 38
-city plundered
-earthquake (19)

Revelation 16
-dry up the Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings of the east
-demons will assemble kings for battle at Armageddon

Luke 21
-Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies
-many will fall by the sword
-led captive among the nations
-Jerusalem trampled by Gentiles

Zechariah 14
-all nations will be gathered to Jerusalem
-city taken, houses plundered, women raped
-half of the city → exile

D. How the attacker will be judged

Ezekiel 38-39
-great earthquake (19)
-all shall quake at his presence (20)
-mountains thrown down, cliffs fall, walls tumble (20)
-every man’s sword against his brother (21)
-pestilence, bloodshed, torrential rains, hailstones, fire, sulfur (21-22)
-led against Israel – mountains (39:2)
-strike bows and arrows and fall in Israel (39:3)
-send fire on Magog (6)

Revelation 16
-lightning, thunder, earthquake, city split in 3
-islands and mountains flee
-100 lb hailstones

Zechariah 14
-The Lord will go out and fight those nations (3)
-flesh will rot will they are standing (12)
-all will fight each other (13)

Revelation 19:20
-Beast and false prophet captured and thrown alive in the lake of fire and sulfur
-rest of followers will be slain and eaten by birds

E. Immediate effects of D

Ezekiel 39
-Gog and Magog devoured by birds and beasts in an open field (4-5)
-Israel will make fires of weapons for 7 years (9-10)
-seize the spoil (10)
-valley of travelers→ burial place for Gog → block travelers (11)
-7 months Israel will bury the bodies → cleanse the land (11-16)
-birds and beasts will feast on the corpses (17-20)

Zechariah 14
-Mount of Olives will split in 2 (4)
-people will flee (5)
-no light, no cold or frost (6)

Revelation 19:21
-birds eat the flesh of the slain

F. God’s promises of blessing to Israel

Joel 2
-They will be satisfied and provided for (18)
-no more a reproach (19)
-remove the northerner (20)
-send the rains (23)
-plentiful harvest (24)
-restore the years the locust has eaten (25)

Ezekiel 39
-They shall know He is the Lord (22)
-restore fortunes of Jacob (25)
-forget their shame and treachery (26)
-dwell in safety (26)
-be gathered from enemy lands (27)
-not hide His face (29)
-pour out His spirit (29)

Zechariah 14
-living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem (8)
-Lord will be king over all the earth (9)
-Jerusalem will be secure (11)

G. Why God does what is described in the passage

Ezekiel 38
-so nations may know Him
-vindicate holiness
-wrath/anger (18)
-jealousy (19)
-greatness, holiness, make himself known (23)

Ezekiel 39
-holy name not profaned (7)
-glory among nations (21)
-nations see judgment, particularly on Israel (23)

H. Other observations

Luke 21
-nation will rise against nation (10)
-great earthquakes, famines, pestilences (11)
-terrors, great signs (11)
-saints to endure (12-19)
-signs in sun, moon & star, distress of nations, roaring sea, fear (25)
-the Son of Man will come (27)

Zechariah 14:16-19
-everyone ‘who survives’ will worship the Lord in Jerusalem once a year
-if any people don’t go up to Jerusalem, they will have no rain

Revelation 19
-picture of Jesus ‘sitting on the white horse’

God TV

Surprisingly, our internet has been fast enough to get the low video stream of God TV. This morning I was able to tune into Che Ahn (Harvest International Ministries, California) for a teaching on God TV and then tune into The Prayer Room Live for some prayer and worship time.

The God TV stream is free and available to anyone with internet. Our connection can be as slow as 7Kb/s and that was enough to watch the low quality version. Being overseas and having limited access to Bible Study and Prayer resources, God TV is a great place to try.

Praying Across Time Zones

I have been really blessed the last few days by being able to pray along with people at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Since there aren't many believers over here to pres into intercession with, it's great to be able to tune and pray with the teams at IHOP.

An audio subscription is onlly $5/month, and for me I'd say it's definitely worth it. My prayer times had gotten stale and dry and it's nice to have other people praying and inspiring me to pray.

This morning (my time) they were praying for women in prostitution in Cambodia. It spurred me to intercede for the many women in my city who are working in brothels or red light districts. The Holy Spirit was showing me God's heart for these women to come to know Him and be free, physically and spiritually.

Check out The Prayer Room Live

Who I am in Christ

Starting to memorize Bible verses?

Here is a great list of verses about our identity in Christ from Freedom in Christ Ministries.

These are great verses to turn to whenever you feel down or don't know who you are or where you're going

Who I am in Christ

What won't we be able to do in heaven?

At a Che Ahn conference there were two things he said that really stuck out to me.

Of the different purposes that God created us for, which of them won't we be able to do in heaven?

- Worship
- Discipleship
- Fellowship
- Ministry (to members of the body)
- Evangelism

It's only Evangelism, sharing the good news, that we won't be able to do for eternity. We have only this life to do it.

Che Ahn also said, "If I talk to someone for more than fifteen minutes, I see that person as someone I need to share the gospel with."

Che shared that he always gets his hair cut a different place so that he can share with a new person each time!

Pray for us that we would also have this attitude. Right now, we find it difficult to share with many people we meet due to inadequate language skills, but pray for those who can speak English that we would be bold in our witness. May we may not be ashamed of the gospel, which is the power of salvation for all who believe.

• Pray for the two AC installation men who we gave tracts to yesterday
  

Praise & Prayer Update April 5th

Praise the Lord for the cloudy and windy weather we've had this week! In the states we are usually really happy for a sunny day, but in spring and summer here, since most days have blue skies and are HOT when the sun is out, we rejoice when it's rains or there's actually clouds giving us some relief from the sun.

Praises:

• H was able to give out personal cards containing Bible verses to 15 of her co-workers this week. So far, people have been touched to receive a personal card of appreciation, but we pray that they would not only feel encouraged but also challenged and inspired to seek God. May any invitations we receive for tea, lunch, dinner etc. be times where we can share the gospel.
  
• One Jesus film (in the local language) was given to the religious studies teacher. Since this teacher loves to watch movies, pray that not only would he watch it, but that the Holy Spirit would speak to him and lead him to the truth
• We have been able to pray together more consistently this week
• Two people have already responded to our need for language school support!
  

Prayer:

• Pray the Lord would help us manage our time so we can be strategic in reaching out to those around us
  
• Pray that those who received a card would think about their relationships with God and desire to know Him
  
• Pray that we would have access to easy to read native language versions of the Bible to give out. Currently there is a hang up with a local Bible Society which is blocking contextualized Bibles from being printed
  
• Pray that the Lord would provide the $4000 we need to do language study this summer. We are currently partnered with other workers in our area, but we are not sponsored by any organization. Wedding gifts allowed us to travel here, buy a car, and get set up when we first came.Our local salaries allow us to pay for all of our regular monthly expenses, but since language school involves living in another country, visa expenses, and course fees, we are not able to afford it on on local salaries at this time. Would you please pray and ask the Lord if you would be able to help us study language this summer?
  

Thanks for your prayers & support!

Looking Back & Praying Ahead

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already been married for one year, and that we’ve spent the past eight months overseas. There’s definitely been a lot of struggles and new experiences for both of us. Grocery shopping by rickshaw, driving on the other side of the road, teaching in a school, waking up to the call to prayer, various insects invading our kitchen,and trying to pray together when everything seems to be a distraction.

Over our spring break in March, we were able to go to the mountains and spend some time praying and talking about our vision for the next year. We want to focus on both knowing God and making him known; which is how we’ve found ourselves over here!

•  to share the gospel with the least reached

•  to love and serve Muslims

•  to love and serve in the nation we are called to

In order to fulfill God’s purposes there are several areas we feel that we should focus on in the coming year.

1) Learn the Language --> Language Classes
2) Be Tentmakers  --> Professional Development
3) Be Examples --> Personal Discipleship & Accountability
4) Build up the Church --> Fellowship, Training, Prayer
5) Be Forerunners-->  Study End Times, Prayer
6) Use Spiritual Gifts --> Practice, Study, Prayer
7) Share the Gospel --> Strategic Outreach, Friendship

While we were in the mountains, we checked out the language school that we had planned to go to this summer. We really feel that if we want to be more fruitful in this region then we need to be able to speak the local language. Since sharing the gospel and discipleship take place best in the heart language, we are limited with our current language abilities.

The language school is the best option in the region and is always totally booked in the summer. Since all the students who attend the school are foreigners, the prices were a bit higher than we expected. With both of us taking four classes a day for ten weeks our course fees amount to $2750. There’s no discount for people earning in a weaker currency!

When we add up all our expenses for the summer, considering that we will be full time language students, we come up $4000 short of what we can afford on our local salaries. That includes food, utilities, classes, travel, visas, and housing for the summer months.

Would you pray about supporting us financially this summer so that we can spend these ten weeks focused on language study?

In faith, we’ve already put a $200 down payment to secure our housing for the summer. Praise the Lord for providing an affordable apartment through a local pastor.

We are really looking forward to what God has in store for this summer and this coming school year. Please pray for us:

•  That we could finish this year well and be a light in our workplace

•  That we would focus our time and energy on living out God’s purposes for us

•  That we would continue to encourage, challenge, and bless each other in marriage

•  That the Lord would provide all the finances needed for our summer language study

Spirit of Death

"There was blood splattered all over the walls. Her neck was just hanging from her head; half off. Nobody knows why he did it. It was the most disturbing thing I've ever seen."

This is a paraphrase from a conversation I had with one of my friends this week. I called her to see how she was doing, and she told me the gruesome story of how her husband's aunt had been murdered by her own servant. Living in an upper to middle class section of the city, an incident like this came as a shock to the family. Nobody knows why, but the servant (hired about a month an a half ago) attempted to chop off the aunt's head with an axe. The blade was too dull to make a clean cut, but he succeeded in cutting into her neck enough to kill her.

A second servant had gone out for Friday prayers when the murder took place. When the second servant arrived, he saw the aunt partially decapitated and the other servant running away. He caught the murderer and called the police and family. My friend was one of the first to arrive at the scene, even before the police had come.

Are you wondering why you did not see this story on the news? If this had happened in the US or Europe it surely would have been in the papers. But here, these kind of unnatural deaths happen all too often. I wrote another blog before about the little blurbs about gang rapes, killings, and other horrendous crimes that come in the back of the paper where almost nobody bothers to read them.

As I reflected on this crime, I felt that there must be a spiritual reason behind the high frequency of unnatural deaths and heinous crimes. My friend's aunt who died was only in her early fifties. It reminded me that we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Over here, I feel that we are deeply entrenched in territory the enemy has held for thousands of years.

Oh Lord, even though many times it seems so hard to pray and to press in, help me to intercede for the peoples of this land. So many people die unnatural deaths every day, and most of them have probably never heard the gospel. Lord, help me to be intentional in sharing the Word of truth. Empower me with boldness. Send more laborers for this harvest over here, so that all may hear the truth that is the power of salvation to those who believe.

Praise & Prayer Update March 11th

Praises:

• D and a friend went to a city in our province (3 hours away) to do some outreach training over the weekend. It seems that the training was well received. Please pray that those who attended would feel a burden to be intentional in reaching the lost.
• H is finally driving! She was able to go out shopping this weekend and hand out some literature in the local language. Pray that we both would want to sow the Word abundantly, even if it may not always be well received.
  
• We have both been able to share more with people at our workplace. Pray for the student who D will be giving the Bible to this week.
  
• Electricity! We have had 20+ hours a day of power which has been a blessing in school and at home.
  

Prayers:

• Travel - We will be leaving the country on Saturday to check out a language school for the summer. Pray that we will focus on the Lord during our vacation and that He we will also be intentional about sharing with the different people we meet during the journey. It will take 1-2 days of travel to reach our destination.
  
• Platform - Please pray for us as we make decisions about what we'll be doing professionally next year. We need the Lord's guidance as well as his provision for the proper visas.
  
• Strategic Outreach - We heave been feeling burdened to be more focused on sharing and being strategic with our time. Pray that the Lord will give us his plan and method so that we may bear fruit in this land. May we not only think of our friends and coworkers but may we have vision to see multiplication of faith among the people groups of this region.
  
• Laborers for the Harvest - There are 180 million people in this country who speak over 60 languages. Most foreign organizations in the country focus on mercy ministries, and while those efforts are much appreciated we are not seeing many people come to know the Lord and follow him. In short, we are not seeing much eternal fruit in this field. Even if there may be foreign workers in a village hospital (which would still be rare) there may not be an active witness of the truth. Pray for more workers who are willing to be bold, creative, strategic, and full of the Holy Spirit to come to this land. Pray that those of us who are here would not get bogged down in the mundane or neglect to focus on what's going to make an eternal difference.

Ten Plagues of Egypt compared with End Times

I've been comparing the 10 plagues of Egypt with the 21 judgment events (seals, trumpets, and bowls) in Revelation. I found it interesting how God shows his power and his authority over the magicians in Egypt progressively. He doesn't just start off with the final plague but he gradually builds up Israel's faith and the Egyptians fear of him. Check out this chart that I made to look at the way God judges Egypt and how the people respond.

• Notice that at first the magicians can reproduce the miracles done by Moses and Aaron. I prefer to dismiss the idea that the power of darkness can do miracles, but this is something we see clearly in Scripture. Compare Revelation 16:13-14 - "And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty."
  
• Even the false prophet spoken of in Revelation 13 can perform signs and wonders. "It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived." Revelation 13:13:14
• Sorcery is one of the most prevalent sins at the end of the age, "The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and stone and wood, which cannot see or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality of their thefts." Revelation 9:20-21
  

There are many other observations and comparisons we can make with the end time judgments. If you're interested in studying this more, consider the following questions:

1. Are leaders usually warned of coming judgments and told why those judgments are coming?
   
2. Do the first plagues affect people directly (ie making them sick, causing them to die) or not? How does this compare to the seals, trumpets and bowls?
   
3. When in the judgment series of the ten plagues does God separate his people and keep them from the effects of the plagues?
   
4. How does the separation of Goshen compare to the sealing of the saints in Revelation?
   
5. How do the people of Egypt start showing their fear of God toward the end of the plagues?
6. How can we tell demonic miracles from God's miracles so that we are not led astray?

If you'd like a pdf or word file of the chart just send me an email titled "Ten Plagues Chart."