This is Lauren filling in today. Rona is on campus with the rest of the team for the last day. I am staying behind with Brian to help prepare for the “Farewell Party.” They have planned a wonderful night of fun, food, and surprises for us! We are also excited to present each of them with a thank you gift and card…the 7 staff members have been greater than we could have ever asked for! We will miss them dearly. (One already started crying yesterday when she called to get us a bus ride back to the airport). The night at the slum went well. The Lightbearers Team planned a great night of songs, games, a skit (that involved Rachel “The Good Samaritan” pouring water on Adam, which the kids loved), and passing out tons of snacks and toys. It saddened our hearts to see the conditions that these kids and families lived in. It was quite an encouragement though to spend the night working with a woman who was the teacher in the neighborhood, and picks up many of the slum kids to bring them to church each week. We know and trust that the Lord will continue to use her to be a bright light in a dark place. She was also extremely blessed that we donated some money to her ministry. (So, thank you again, for your financial and prayerful support. It is blessing the nations, and bringing glory to God). These past few days on campus have been…..humbling, exciting, saddening, and eye-opening, just to list a few. We’ve been humbled by the faith of our Campus Crusade friends who fearlessly step on campus day after to share the gospel with students. Some hearts are open and some seem closed shut, but our friends joyfully and prayerfully persevere and challenge us to do the same. We are excited and praise God for the few who have prayed to accept Christ this week. We pray expectantly that once we leave our Thai friends will provide great accountability and discipleship with the newly saved and continue running the race for those yet to be saved. As Chris Tomlin sings, “Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city.” We serve the God of this country as well as our own, and His love for His people is far greater than ours ever could be. His Word promises us that He is mighty to save. I will share one fun story. While waiting at the bus stop, Rachel and I stumbled upon a girl who spoke Spanish! We were so excited and blessed, as we have each taken 5+ years of Spanish in high school, and speak to each other in broken Spanish around the house back in Springfield. Right away, we knew God had broken down a language barrier as Mint’s English was very good, as was her Spanish. We invited her to lunch the next day. We were able to get to know her a bit, have lunch, and enjoy the tour she gave us around campus. She then showed us her dorm, and after sitting and chatting, we talked about religion, asked about Buddhism (as she was Buddhist herself), and shared the gospel with her. She was very inquisitive, and asked great questions that led us to share much Scripture with her. My dear friend here, P.K., whom I have become very close with, was with us and helped translate when needed. Mint will be coming to the Farewell Party tonight (along with other students we’ve met this week), and she has exchanged information with P.K., so as to continue to build a relationship once we leave. Typically, the Buddhist students don’t accept Christianity immediately, but I’ve already met some incredible new believers who, after building a relationship with the Crusade staff, accepted Christ in time. Rachel and I pray that the same will be true for Mint. As we return to the States, the rest of the students are excited to share similar stories of how God has been mightily at work on this campus, long before we came, but even while we’ve been here. He is great to let us be a part of His work and we are excited to see how we will live differently because of the gospel once we’re home. America, too, is filled with souls searching for a Savior. (And praise the Lord that there won’t be any language barriers there. I can go back to talking very fast! I’ve slowed down a GREAT deal this week! J). The students have each taken a turn leading a devotion time in the mornings before we start our days. It’s been great to hear their hearts through Scripture and prayer. That time is followed by more worship time with the staff at the office. We are daily amazed by their faith and prayer life. They pray for and pray over EVERYTHING. Before and after meeting with each student on campus, they are fervent in prayer. I will close with a passage that Abbi shared one morning; “Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
I pray that for you and for me, whether in Southeast Asia or America, that we daily learn what it means to proclaim Christ’s salvation among all peoples. God is great and greatly to be praised! We are so thankful for your support and prayers and will talk to you shortly! This may be the last update unless we have an opportunity to write briefly from the Seoul airport. Please pray for our last day and for safe travels home. Everyone has been healthy and safe thus far. Praise God!
-Lauren Cushing |