Jan 08 2012
Important meeting tomorrow, big semester!
Happy New Year everyone! We had a great holiday. We got much needed rest and family time. We appreciate your prayers and many of you helped out with our year end shortfall. Thank you so much! It really helped.
Big week coming up. We have a big meeting with our Texas staff – planning our Tejas spring break retreat. This is an important meeting because many of us will be very busy right before the retreat and so much of the planning has to be done early. This is the retreat where God often leads many to start the journey with Himself and many discover God through the Bible and learn how to help other discovery God through the Bible. We are anticipating a very busy semester coming up. We will need your prayers as Roy will be traveling a lot to train people in ministry stuff and doing other things. We have busy regular schedules too with Friday night groups, PTO discipleship groups, lots of sports, scouts, etc. Here are some recent pictures including some from the holidays, etc. http://www.flickr.com/photos/yabukibreeze/.
Some Quick hits form the last few weeks:
- Roy and Charis got sick during the holiday. This is a blessings because it forced Roy to rest a lot which he needed. We got really close.
- Roy just finished yesterday the next major version of the PTO discipleship curriculum for our offering the ISI M28 initiative that he has been working on the last month. It is curriculum designed to help disciple groups to disciple other groups.
- The kids are excited about all the special gifts they received for Christmas. So are their parents.
- We met with our UTA ISI Team at the Phillips for a fun get together. Wow! I can’t believe how big and tight our team has become. Good job Ron as our UTA team leader.
- A fair number of students were exposed for the first time to the story of Christmas at churches during the holiday. Two student were even involved in Christmas plays at churches.
Pray for
So many wonderful things to report. This last week we were able to be a witness to a baptism of a student who is a part of several of the UTA ISM ministries. It is a wonderful testimony of God’ working through many to reach those He has chosen. We are also in full swing with several things that you all and we have been praying for. Here are a few tidbits from the last couple of weeks. I think this may be a little long, but God is doing lots and lots of stuff right now and I wanted to share them with you. Please pray!!! Once again Lisa and I and some of our team are sensing some level of Spiritual Warfare and I think it is because God is breaking new ground in places that are strongholds of the enemy.
Friday nights – As we continue this experiment with Friday Night ISI at UTA meetings at two locations (early & late groups), God continues to bless. This last week is a example of how God is working. The late group had a student who just got baptized this last week. In the early group, our volunteer Cal had some significant conversation with several students which led to him meeting with a South Asian person of peace and starting to set up relationship with a couple of other students. Roy also had a couple of significant discussions about Jesus with the result being one East Asian couple taking the discovery Bible study “cheat sheet” with the intention of doing a family discovery Bible study group in their apartment. Praise God also for workers for the Harvest. Keep on praying for more. The fields are VERY white for harvest who want to be loved on and who want to learn more about the God of Creation and His Son.
PTO (Passing Truths On)- Three PTO groups have started. PTO groups are a 16 week mode of discipling students where they are trained to 1) become disciples who train disciples, 2) learn the essentials of how to walk with Jesus, and 3) learn how to start and lead discovery Bible groups. One of these groups is being led by a couple of American volunteer girls who are learning the process themselves and are passing it along immediately to another students. Ron is training one other key volunteer on how to lead PTO groups. Roy is leading an on-campus PTO group with three students and also two volunteers who are learning how to lead these groups. Roy is also doing one PTO group using video Skype to disciples a student in Colombia and another one in Mexico. This process of starting these groups helped us too to tease out who the followers of Jesus are, those who the seekers are and whose not interested in Spiritual things but have a deep relationship with us.
Right Now Conference – Roy and staff members, Jeff, Hannah, Judy and key volunteer, Tom joined in a conference to learn how to minister together with churches from the 20-30′s demographic. Tom and Judy also were involved with a conference with business leaders on helping believers see “Work as Worship” – using the workplace as a place of ministry. We need to help our students to have this perspective. We also were able to network with business leaders in the area to kick off a new ministry that we are looking at related to students in internships.
Lisa is enjoying her new job because she is actually encouraged to share her faith with her students. It does require more outside time with students and it has less regular hours than her previous job.
Ti* is getting more and more involved with Boy Scouts and playing the cello. He is getting better at both. In scouts, he has had the opportunity to learn things such as orienteering and tying knots. Cha* is really growing into a sweet young lady who loves to do crafts, cook, and spend time with her friends. She even made her own dalmatian Halloween costume. Jonathan is navigating through his sophomore year of high school and is learning how to be more responsible with managing his home work etc.
At TCU, the team continues to flourish with several students growing through the Bible study there. Sharon, Sarah, Tim, the Moores and the rest of the team are ably leading the team. Recently, 8 UTA ISI students joined with 8 TCU ISI students in helping out with the Fall Festival as volunteers at Christ Church Assembly of God in Fort Worth. The student’s eyes were open wide as they were part of 300 volunteers who served 6000 kids and family members. They were touched by how a church would do such a thing through volunteers and donations without government help or anything. They asked many questions including “Why?”
We’ve had a couple of weeks of good ministry since our last post but also we feel some tiredness and spiritual warfare. But God, at just the right time, took me (Roy) to an ISI Regional retreat in Colorado.
The Houston trip went very well. All the students went and came from Houston safely. We were concerned that there was no astronaut to speak to the students. It wasn’t a problem. The students truly enjoyed their time at NASA and afterwards they heard from a NASA team partner who arranges for HAM radio demonstrations with schools where kids get to talk to the astronauts up in the International Space Stations. There was a great “live-looking” video from the space station itself where we watched an astronaut give a tour and then talk to some HAM radio operators. The students really mobbed the speaker, taking pictures and asking for autographs. It was great. We also experimented with more students staying at each host home and it was a rousing success. I had a couple of Russian speaking students and family members in my car and many of the NASA people spoke Russian. The students felt so special because they could talk with the space program people in their native language. The students also attended churches and met even more NASA people there. No doubt they see that rational, highly educated people could be followers of Jesus too.
The week after the NASA trip, I was feeling very exhausted, with little enthusiasm and with several problems I had to deal with. (small things that the enemy often shoots our way). God blessed me as as we had our ISI Rocky Mountains and Plains regional retreat in Colorado Springs and He used it as a tool to heal and restore. It was incredible being up in the mountains. Normally, I am very social and stuff at these retreats – learning from other staff different things God uses to reach international students. This year, I spent a lot of time in my room. I rested some but also I was supposed to give a talk on the “Gospel of the Kingdom”, a HUGE theme in the gospels, the New Testament and much of the Bible. I spent much of the weekend immersed in the Word in the beautiful scenery of Colorado and it was just what the doctor (or Lord) ordered. It didn’t feel at all like work. Praise the Lord for times like these.
The new school where Lisa works changes terms every 8 weeks. It is not always certain her classes would have enough students and she would have the classes she wants or if she will even teach. The second eight weeks started and she was concerned about teaching and and that she didn’t hear if she would have a class. At just the last minute, God provided and continues to provide enough classes for her to teach.
Wow your prayers were huge this week. The Tarrant County Space Weekend trip went well. Many of the Spiritual Warfare skirmishes were dealt with and God opened up some doors with students in surprising ways. Also, Lisa was on fall break at her work and we had a lot of time together. Praise the Lord.
One of the more interesting parts of my job in the international students ministry is the meetings that I have the privilege of being a part of. The last two weeks I took part in several very important meetings. Among the things we met about were:
Meeting to share at a seminary class about helping with ministry with international students
Okay, I think you get the message. Honestly, each of these things were energizing and invigorating… It reminds me that God is at work right now. Continue to pray that the Lord of the harvest will raise up more people for the harvest. Also pray that he will take these that He has risen up already that He will empower them to share with t
The original purpose of the Friday group going to two different locations was to alleviate pressure in the homes that we meet in. There were just too many people for our homes. We are praising the Lord because while the late group is growing and developing a regular following and a level of stability, the early group is still bursting at the seams with as many as 50 people still coming. God is working in different ways in each group and he is able to touch different types of people in different ways because of the different natures of the groups. Praise the Lord. Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will raise up more workers (and maybe more and bigger houses to host) Pray also that the students will still feel like while we meet at different locations, we are still “one group” following one Lord.
Today was an interesting Friday night ISI . The question as we went around the room as we were introducing oursevles was “What is your name? Where are you from? and Where were you and what affect has 9/11 had for you in your life?” I was touched by how many of the students remember the day so well. Many were as young a 8 years old and yet feelings of shock and sadness were all over. Probably one huge sentiment was that the worlds became a different place after 9/11. The USA, a place that all people felt was a safe haven was no longer safe. What does that mean for the rest of us. Wow. One student said that he just happened to be on lower Manhattan on the 4 days surrounding 9/11 and saw the burning of the buildings and the collapse of the towers with his own eyes. A Chinese student said that his best friend happened to be flying to the US around that time and they were concerned for their safety. A Taiwanese students felt like something had to be done to prevent this sort of thing from happening. A Saudi student was upset because she felt the world was 
blaming Islam and she didn’t feel that what happened accurately characterized the Islam that she new. The sharing was raw and real and almost all came away thankful that we talked about all this. 9/11 was truly an international affair. It really hit me when the first person that I talked to that lost someone close at the WTC was a Chinese UTA Student (who we happened to visit this last trip) whose friend was working for a Chinese company with offices in the towers. I know there were people from almost every continent if not country of the world that was killed that day.
On three other notes, this was a special day for Friday nights. Last week, I asked the students in the Discovery Bible study group if one of them might be willing to “facilitate” discovery bible study. A student from east Asia who isn’t a follower yet agreed. Wow! Of course facilitating Discovery study is not “teaching” the Bible. Rather it is asking the same questions every week to build community and to facilitate deep thinking and personal discovery by the students themselves. Anyone could do it because the questions are always the same but it is an honor and I was proud of him. He did a great job today on Genesis 2. Some really good statements came out of the group including great observations that he made about God’s sovereignty and about His care for us.
Second, Anish and Joanna, two young volunteers (Anish is originally from Nepal but grew up here and Joanna is Chinese American from Southern California) helped in leadership in leading music and discussion group respectively. It was really fun watching them and it reminded me of when Lisa and I (no they aren’t a couple) worked with some others our age to help in the leadership team back in CA.
So far, in our work with the new group, we have felt so blessed with the team God has given us. The Phillips, whose house we were at this week, have been a joy to work with on so many levels. The Baslers, Joanna, the Rittenhouses, the Johnson’s the Hensons and visitor team members (for this week) the Hodson’s and Neusses are an incredible team and we feel so blessed working together!
Before and during the meetings, I had to manage the registration and the Dallas side for Houston Space weekend trip that Jeff Newpher, our Houston colleague, hosts for our Dallas team three times a year. I did not personally go, but our TCU, UTD and UT Tyler campuses sent 30+ students with other volunteers on this trip to Space Center Houston and to home stays nearby NASA. They even got to meet a astronaut who shared his story with Jesus as it relates to his space experience. All reports indicate a great experience had by all with terrific conversations about spiritual and heart things. Prayers were important as the weather coming back was bad but everything turned out okay. The difficulty was in the many last minute changes and moving pieces. Praise God for the outcome of it all.
This last week was unusual as my parents arrived on Saturday, the weather took a turn for the worse and so the kids stayed home Tuesday through Friday because of the ice and snow. We had much cabin fever. Still what a blessing for grandparents to have total access for a whole week during what is normally a school week. I love Texas. But the one thing I miss the most of California and the thing that makes me sad is not having my parents near by during this stage of theirs and our kids lives. So this was special. Praise the Lord for His planning. Dad also turned 75 during this time but he insisted on cleaning up and building shelving for my garage during much of this time in the cold. He is awesome and he makes me so proud and appreciative on so many levels.
It’s been a couple of weeks since our last message. A ton has happened in the mean time. I will jump directly to the praise and prayer reports. I hope this message finds all of you well.
The Fall festival at Christ Church Assembly of God was wonderful as 20 of us (Americans and international students) volunteered at this event. The students were truly amazed by it. One Chinese student was amazed that someone other than the government sponsored something like this for the community. He was touched. We have learned that in China volunteerism is in its infant stages and so this was a paradigm shifting activity for them.
Space weekend in Houston was probably our best yet. We took 50+ students and volunteers from UTA & SMU and we were hosted by our ISI team in Houston and Seabrook United Methodist Church. After visiting the space center, we were able to take pictures with an astronaut who spent more than a year up in the space station and then the students stayed with host families. I had the privledge of driving an Indian, two Russian, one Mexican and one Turkish students. They had a wonderful time! By the end of trip, there was sadness to leave their host families and I really felt like the people in our car were like family to us. God clearly spoke to them to show them his love for them.
The T4T discipleship group at TCU has started and we have met three times already (on Fridays). To see what God is going in the hearts of the different members of the group. It has been a real blessing. Further I am learning so much that can be applied to future groups.
Pray for TCU’s Thankgiving event hosted by McKinney Memorial Bible church also on the 20th as the students visit various homes.
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.
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