It has been quite a while since my last update! I truly hope you all had a great Christmas, and have a very happy upcoming New Year as well! God has been moving in some very awesome and powerful ways over here in Asia. A couple of weeks ago we got to have our first ever baptism with two of our friends who have been in the family for a while: Abner and Tony. It was so amazing witnessing these two declare their faith in God and to celebrate them on their journey to walking in their new life with him. Our friend Tony was so excited to get baptized that he showed up with a shaved head! We asked him why and he said, “I figured I would shave my head and look like a baby boy for my new life.” It was so funny, and both he and Abner were so genuinely happy. I was given the honor of helping to baptize our friend Abner, and it just blew my mind watching everything come full circle. I was the one who prayed with Abner when he first accepted God, and to see him get baptized and be all in for God was nothing short of amazing and is a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Fast forward to last week: All of us on our team threw a giant Christmas party for all of our friends. We played some games, did a white elephant gift exchange, decorated cookies, and most importantly we got to share God’s message, what Christmas is really about. and why we celebrate it. Our team as a whole had a total of EIGHT people accept God that night. EIGHT!!! Three people in our party, and five people in our other team’s Christmas party. Wow. So amazing!!! I’ve been blown away seeing this season of dryness come to an end. For a while, it seemed like there wasn’t much happening. We would all be going out and sharing with people, but it felt like God’s word was falling on deaf ears. However, God was at work behind the scenes preparing people’s hearts. Many of the people we shared with at our Christmas party are friends who have already heard Dad’s message before and just haven’t accepted yet. God’s word really does penetrate the deepest parts of the heart. I’ve seen it happen first hand, and I’m so thankful to Him. Please continue praying for our team. Pray that God would continue to soften the hearts of the students here, and for God to keep ushering in wave after wave of new people that are ready to accept him.