Nov 19 2011
Three Opportunities to Serve God through Giving – Winter 2011
This is our favorite time of the year! The music, the lights, and the sense of celebration always lift our spirits. And people like hanging out with each other, talking and sharing, and also reflecting back on the year behind and the one ahead. It is a great time to connect with friends we love.
We know that during this time we all think about serving others and the Lord through giving in different ways. ISI in the DFW area is in a special time right now. God is doing amazing stuff and we feel that God has put us smack dab in the middle of it. In the last year God has started two huge new ministry opportunities that allow us to touch the world more effectively for Christ through internationals students. We invite you to consider being a part of one of these giving opportunities and projects.
Three opportunities to give where God is working (click on the following to learn more):
- We need your regular help to allow us to be a catalyst for to serving international students! – Backing up God’s Call
- Do you ever get goose-bumps when God works so clearly and immediately? We do! – UTD Ministry House Project
- Special people God is using in special ways with South Asians – ISI Midwest Aradhna Concert Tour
1.We need your regular help to allow us to be a catalyst for serving international students! – Backing Up God’s Call
As you have seen in the last year through our newsletter and blog, God has been doing amazing things in and through our family & ministry. Many of you have been partners with our family & ministry and have been praying and tracking what has been going on for years. You know that this is an unprecedented time. God has brought many international friends to our weekly Friday gathering. So much so that we have had to divide up in to two groups. Many of these students have asked and so we have been able to start many Discovery Bible Study groups and Passing Truths On (PTO) disciplemaker making groups to help students meet and walk more closely with Jesus.
Our team is at ground zero where God is teaching us revolutionary ways to touch international students through new strategies and concepts that have the potential of many students being cultivated as leaders who will perhaps become multiplying ministry planters back home – taking what they learn here and applying it. The rumblings of God’s movement through students are beginning to be felt. As we saw in our Asia trip, our dear student friends are starting groups in their home country to disciple other who can start groups to disciple others. Imagine the impact if this continues.
So many wonderful things, yet, at the same time, we all know that times are tough for individuals and organizations which depend upon donations, and we are no exception. As you know we have been faithful in the work of the ministry – praying and reaching out, and mobilizing volunteers to do the same. But we cannot continue without help from people who care, who love seeing God at work, and who love partnering with God in what he is doing—people like YOU! You make it possible for us to be the catalysts for movements of God, empowering people like you to touch students’ lives.
We have been receiving anywhere from $200 to $800 less than our monthly budget many months this year. Just doing the math you can see that we have had a considerable shortfall and our formerly considerable reserves are depleted. Won’t you help us to make this up by sending a tax deductible gift through our ministry fund (you can give online here) to help us make up the shortfall throughout the year? These gifts are Roy’s sole source of income and we have been living and doing ministry in deficit. We believe in God’s call for us and in His promise of provision and so it is vitally important that you all, who believe in what we do, join us and perhaps be the means of His provision. We also need additional monthly donors who will stand in the gap and make up for our lost monthly givers. So again prayerfully see if you are called by God to use this link to make a gift which will continue to keep us on the front lines!
Go back to the beginning of this article
2. Do you ever get goose-bumps when God works so clearly and immediately? We do! – UTD Ministry House Project
At the Dallas-Ft.Worth ISI annual planning retreat, the Lord led us to focus on the critical need for 20-something year old interns to reach out to the international students at UT-Dallas. We had to face the fact some 20-something
year old international students like being around 20-something year old Americans and the trend is towards a larger number of 20-somethings coming! In planning HOW to recruit such interns, we were led by the Lord to pray for a home within walking distance of the UT-Dallas campus where the interns could live (paying only utilities). These interns would be students also—strong Christians—who could devote 15 hours per week to outreach to internationals. They would probably be Dallas Theological Seminary students or UT-Dallas grad students. BUT THE IDEA OF A HOUSE THAT NEAR CAMPUS SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE!
But the God who led us to pray for the impossible specializes in doing the impossible! JUST ONE WEEK LATER, the UT-Dallas ISI Campus Director was contacted by an old church friend who wanted to see if ISI could use his house near campus. His renters has trashed it, and he was prompted by the Lord to see if the Lord wanted to use it for ministry. He did not want to sell the house, but could see how its proximity to the UT-Dallas campus could benefit our ministry there!
We prayed, and the Lord made clear this was from him! GOOSE-BUMPS! We have a multi-year agreement with the owner to use the house, and we are responsible for fixing it up and maintaining it while the interns live there and minister through it.
We need your help with the costs of fixing it up—estimated at $4,850! We have guys from two churches who will do the labor along with local ISI staff, but we need your help with the cost of paint and materials to get the house back in shape for living in and for ministry.
Doesn’t it sound like the Lord to use disastrous renters, a Christian home owner, a local ministry in need, church guys with fix-up skills, ISI staff, and YOU to partner to make ministry happen?! The Lord led us to ask him for the impossible; we listened-obeyed and he worked mightily; and now we need you to be a part of the team. Will you join us in seeing God at work through his people?! Please click on this link and see how you can give towards this project.
Go back to the beginning of this article
3. Special people God is using in special ways! – ISI Midwest Aradhna Concert Tour
Two years ago some 500 Asian Indian and Nepali international students in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area attended four concerts by the Christian worship team Aradhna. The members of Aradhna are former missionary kids in India/Nepal who learned the language, love the culture, and use their musical gifts to worship the Lord by writing and playing music in the cultural traditions and styles of India and Nepal. Go to www.aradhnamusic.com and click on sample tracks. You can also read the words of the music. You can see that they honor God with their words but also by their professional and yet soulful sound.
The South Asian Indian and Nepali international students love this music. But more importantly, the guys playing it are doing so in the power of the Lord. We had prayer teams on their knees, and what happened in the concerts was powerful spiritually! The Lord inhabits the praise of his people, and these were worship concerts attended and loved by hundreds of non-believing and secular students who witnessed God at work!
Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. ~ Psalm 108:2-3Psalm 108:2-3
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
2 I will start playing my harps
before the sun rises.
3 I will praise you, Lord,
for everyone to hear;
I will sing hymns to you
in every nation.
WP-Bible plugin
Aradhna has responded to our invitation and made room in their tour schedule for another visit to the Dallas-Ft.Worth area campuses (as well as campuses in Wichita KS and Colorado Springs, CO where ISI is ministering). Again, we need your partnership to make this special ministry by very special people happen! Aradhna only asks for their travel expenses, concert expenses, and a small honorarium, but for five concerts in our city that amounts to $4,500. Could you help us make this a reality? We have staff and volunteers ready to follow-up Indian and Nepali students who attend. This could be the start of many significant relationships. Please use this link to help with this outreach project.
Go back to the beginning of this article
In closing…
This is shaping up to be a wonderful year of seeing the Lord at work! We just took more than 100 international students to tour NASA and had incredible conversations about spiritual issues while there and on the way back. Something about space and the vastness of the universe which turns our thoughts to the idea of a Creator! Follow-up from a fun event like this is so easy and natural!
Blessings on you and your extended family for the celebration of Christ’s birth! And let us know how we can pray for you as you interact with family and friends this holiday season. Sometimes it isn’t very easy!
Roy & Lisa and the Kids
At the same time, outside of the Big Howdy and some of the special work Vinay is doing at UTD, we were having limited impact with this community. We felt that God wanted us to build bridges with this special and important community – to show them how much He loves them.
Aradhna is a Hindi word which translates to “Worship”. This band was formed by children of Americans, followers of Jesus who grew up in Nepal and India whose heart languages were those of these special lands. Under the watchful eyes of India’s best, they mastered the sitar, tabla, tambura, key instruments of Indian culture in addition to more western instruments like bass, violin and guitar. They became students of “bhajan” the worship music of India and they formed Aradhna. They play concerts for groups of followers of Jesus (but also they have played in Hindu temples as a testimony) both in India and around the world.
So less than a year ago, our team in cooperation with several other groups like BSM, churches, etc. felt challenged to bring this group to the North Texas area for a series of concerts as a gift to out South Asian friends. Assignments were passed out, (Ron was chosen as point with the rest of us coordinating the rest of the work on the different campuses and doing the things needed to make all this happen) prayer teams were mobilized, research was done and we set off doing something we had never done before. We chose Northake College, UTA & UTD, the campuses with the largest populations of S. Asians.
This last weekend was a culmination of all that work and what a special weekend it was. (
It was really touching to see. In one Indian Hindu student who has been meeting regularly with some followers of Jesus lately to learn more, you could really see the joy in meeting the band and hearing what they had to say. It was almost like students were being exposed for the first time to the idea that it was okay to be an Indian and still be a follower of Jesus.
One interesting side story was the response of the Nepalese speaking students. They were so touched that they were not bunched in as Indians but had songs in their own language as part of the program. Chris, the lead sitar player, grew up in Nepal and is fluent in Nepali and spoke directly to many of them. Many of the students were Nepali and Anugraha, a student friend and Nepali Christ follower was able to strengthen relationships that could help him as he seeks to start a Nepali church. 
One special story is of two separate groups of Burmese refugees who lived in Nepal for nine years but recently immigrated into the DFW area. We saw several of them at all three concerts as they truly connected with the music and specifically with Chris. Interestingly, Chris’ 2nd grade teacher from Nepal now lives near Dallas and was at the UTA concert and she told me that Chris’ mother has a ministry to these same types of refugees.
A special byproduct of these concerts was that it put before the Christian community the great opportunity to share the love of Jesus with S. Asians and to be able to do it together was a special undertaking. Many followers of Jesus who love S. India were there and most of them did not realize how many others also had the same heart. To see them interact with each other and with students was a thing to behold. Much like when God encouraged Elijah in his isolation that he was not alone in his faithfulness in Israel, so it seemed the spirits of all were lifted. Trust was being built, in each other but also in God. I really believe something very special will come out of the relationships made. This was no small or insignificant divine purpose for these concerts.
I am waiting on hearing the exact number of attenders though the qualitative results were enough to make us smile and for God to be glorified. I believe there were at least 450 total attenders at the three concerts. (approx. 150- UTD, 180- UTA, 120 – Northlake) Students from as far away as Tyler and Wichita Fall came to see the concerts. The other special thing was how God provided the funds for this. This was an area of tremendous risk and faith building for us and God provided!
Each concert touched had a unique feel. Northlake was outdoors and was the first major events by more than one faith organization there in a while and so really was a kick off of working together. UTA was a continuation of the work already done through the Big Howdy, etc. And UTD, UTD was special because the students did most of the work and you could see God working in developing them as leaders. In addition the band played at three services at 121 community church, exposing the whole church to S. Asian culture. In addition they went over to SMU on Monday to play another concert under Chi Alpha.
Some times God “benches” us in the craziest times to force us to rest. Often he uses illness or family issues to do this important thing. This last week I was exposed to a new way, Jury Duty.
(not to mention the other campuses – UTD, SMU, Northlake, UNT, Collin College, University of Dallas, UT Tyler) Last I checked our UTA Big Howdy team (
still ahead with the Used Item sale this Saturday and the approximately 450 attender Big Howdy Party on the 29th, the rides around Arlington on the 7th (already 50 sign ups) and the Aradhna concert on the 19th where we expect 350-400 students. Of course this all wouldn’t be possible without our incredible and dedicated team of volunteers and staff. At UTA, Ron leads our Howdy team of approximately 150-200 volunteers. It is a generally crazy time and God is blessing us in so many ways.
Thankfully it was at municipal court and I figured the cases are relatively short (it’s really traffic court). As it got closer and closer, I was feeling more frantic about being able to make the time to go. Still, to be able to finish out jury duty with one day of service (likely sitting around and waiting) and to not have to serve again for a while was very inviting. Anyway, I decided to go with an attitude of rest. This was a day off from the frantic daily requirements of life; a time when “I could legitimately say, I can’t do it… I am serving my country.” I was going to take a good book, my facebook app on my phone and just relax.
taken to the court room to be picked… We find out they just handle 30 minutes to 2 hour traffic (mostly speeding) cases. This time I want to be picked… I can go home quicker and I can honestly say I served on a jury in the last 2 years when asked next time. First jury… No… “I’m taking a day of rest… relax” Second Jury… YES! I am picked… but we have to go up to the 9th floor to wait for our turn for the second case.
The case was relatively short, cut and dried. The defendant was trying to be “Denny Crane” on Boston Legal but no one bothered to tell him he was in traffic court and really, in real court… Boston Legal would not cut it. Actually in contrast to the obviously new, just-out-of-law-school but professional Assistant DA, his case really felt like a grown up version of “My dog ate my homework” with little substance but much passion. Anyway… I’m not going to let it bother me because “I’m taking a day of rest…”
Right after I got off the airplane from Texas, I go into a car and drove to the Los Angeles Convention Convention Center to join a conference for university international student advisors from around the country put on by 
After spending a delightful evening with my parents and observing them as they hosted a Church planter leadership training meeting at their house using video curriculum from the 
After that intense time, we moved on to Azusa, CA for the 
It seems this year that I have been in California almost as much as I have been in Texas. I don’t know what it is. The last couple of years I had only been there less than once a year but this year it’s been four times so far. I am so thankful that God has allowed me this opportunity to be involved with the ministries I have been a part of there but also time with my family was good. After the conference, I had the chance to catch up with my parents and even paint my sister’s new house. It was a real blessing.
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