We have been on enough trips with young people to recognize the explosive amounts of energy that young people have for doing something significant with their lives. Whether you believe it or not, this next generation of young followers of Christ have remarkable potential to radically change the world for Christ in next 50 years. They are passionate, they are bold, and they smart. Yet, like all young people, they are searching for direction. Some purpose to latch onto and dedicate their lives to. Yes, these young Christ followers may know Christ and may read their Word, but what do they do with their faith that they have stepped into.
Think about a grenade versus a shotgun shell. Both are small cases of black powder that are ignited sending the shrapnel hurling outward. The difference is the trajectory of the shrapnel. The grenade is unpredictable, you throw it and run, not knowing exactly what it’s going to do. The shotgun shell, however, is loaded into a shotgun and the energy is concentrated into the barrel of the gun and the result is more precise, on-target damage. We need the youth of this generation to be concentrated to the purpose of the Great commission and the results will be incredible.
We believe this wholeheartedly and therefore see the great need to integrate young people on life-transforming short-term mission trips. Recently, Hume Lake Christian Camps has approached FaithQuest Missions to talk about this very thing. Their executive leadership is adamant about using the the camp’s good will as a premier Christian Camping experience to churches throughout the United States for the purpose of Missions mobilization. We have the great privilege to partner with them for this effort and will begin the work this spring with a mission trip to Central and South America with a filmographer and the Hume Lake High School Camp Directors. A top-scale video will be created to be shown throughout the summer to thousands of students and Youth Pastors, promoting Hume Lake Sponsored Trips operated by FaithQuest as early as this Fall! Right on! Praise the Lord!
This little ministry of FaithQuest is just a small part of what God is doing all over the world, but wowzers, it just keeps growing and growing! God continues to make Himself known to us in big ways and we are amazed and so thankful! We could not let the year end without thanking you for the role you have had in standing with us in encouragement, prayer, financial support, volunteering, and supporting or joining us in this year’s outreach and vision trips. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
God has used you for mobilizing people and their churches to put their faith into action in a wide number of ways in more than 50 churches in the USA as well as in Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Africa, India, Cambodia, and El Salvador. Y-Africa/Y-Malawi is growing and spreading as we are close to finishing the sponsorship of more than 6,000 children in Malawi and working on the replication of the model in Uganda and Ethiopia.
One of our Y-Malawi partners that you help provide the majority of the support for, helped 34,000 people come to Christ in 2011. Another now has more than 2,000 Chiefs and their wives in weekly bible studies in our focus area of Nkhoma. Incredible! More than 125 people took a leap of faith in 2011 and joined one of our many trips. This led to a great many people putting their faith into action and an explosion of real passion that is creating excitement and action in churches here and overseas. We invite you to join us on a faith adventure in 2012!
Of course we are planting seeds towards a big harvest in the year to come. On January 8, 46 women will leave with Lori Gash & Cathey Anderson for the Freedom Climb event in Africa for the fight against Sex and Human Trafficking that so many of you have supported. Johno will be with teams in Haiti, Honduras, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Peru in the first 6 months of the year.
We pray you will continue to stand with us and even grow your involvement, trusting God together in big ways! We are more certain than ever that He is in this, blessing everyone responding to His call to faith and action! Year-end gifts posted online or mailed for 2011 and received in a timely fashion will be receipted for 2011, and will provide us the needed launch fuel for the next year.
2012 gifts sent monthly are uber-helpful for our planning, and periodic gifts as God leads seem to save the day every month too! It’s a faith adventure…woohoo!…and all part of the “faith quest” He has us on. BIG THANKS again to you, our faithful team! What is happening here would not be happening without you! You are in our thoughts and prayers, and we know in God’s hands.
With wild joy and appreciation,
Johno & Lori
Click here for info on how to give online or through the mail.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8
It was said by a notable politician that with Kim Jong-Il’s death he goes to share “a warm corner of hell” with the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Gaddafi and Bin Laden. Without doubt, these men and their authoritarian leadership caused a lot of pain, violence and turmoil in this world, but we must be careful in how we respond to situations like these. We must not become consumed by our feelings about Kim Jong-Il and his death, but become consumed with a spirit of compassion for the afflicted people of N. Korea who live in a land ruled by intimidation, propaganda and a suppression of the Truth! Jong-Il did not recognize the truth until he came face-to-face his Maker, who is the only one who has the right to judge, but there are people in N. Korea that still have breath and time to encounter Jesus and we HAVE TO remember them in our prayers.Let our hearts not be filled with anger and judgment, but with compassion and love.
“For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” (Jer. 18:32)
Her face covered in wrinkles and her legs emaciated, Bona sat on the road, slouched up against a short wall that was behind her. Daily, she saw hundreds and hundreds of people flood into the market lining that narrow alleyway in the crowded city of Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia. Whether locals or tourists, men or women, young or old, she held her hands out to them…it was all she could do. If she didn’t, she’d quickly waste away until her poverty completely overtook her. Though, as the people stepped over her, she’d watch as they would intentionally avoid her and pretend to not see her—giving her no acknowledgement whatsoever.
Jonathan, a college student, had come to Indonesia for a mission trip. Though, before his team traveled to their mission sites, they had an overnight stay in Kuta Beach–for tourism and picking up supplies. He and his friends were laughing as they excitedly passed this little old lady to get to the tourism shops. Jonathan took notice of her, but clueless to what he could do for her, he kept walking.
Later that afternoon, after he’d toured through Kuta Beach, he lay on his bed. At that point, he could care less about the souvenirs he’d bought, because it was Bona who consumed his thoughts. He felt God was putting her there, but he was letting his anxiousness defeat him because he didn’t know what he should do for her. Finally, he sat up defiantly and grabbed his Lonely Planet English-to-Indonesian book his buddy had given him and left for the spot that she was at—still unsure of what to do. As he got close, he prayed that God would help him and at that moment a door banged open next to him and two boys came out of this small shop carrying ice cream cones. Bingo!
Jonathan may not truly know the significance of that hour he spent sitting next to Bona on the street until he enters the Kingdom of God. However, he does know that during that hour, as Bona gummed through her ice cream cone and he joyfully fumbled through trying to speak Indonesian to her, things felt right. Despite the endless strange looks he got from the people passing them by, he could not help but feel happy.
I have decided / I have resolved / To wait upon You, Lord / My rock and Redeemer / Shield and reward / I’ll wait upon You Lord
As surely as the sun will rise / You’ll come to us / Certain as the dawn appears
You’ll come / Let Your glory fall as You respond to us / Spirit rain / Flood into our thirsty hearts again / You’ll come / You’ll come
We are not shaken / We are not moved / We wait upon You Lord / Mighty deliverer / Triumph and truth / We wait upon You Lord
As surely as the sun will rise / You’ll come to us / Certain as Your word endures
Chains be broken / Lives be healed / Eyes be opened / Christ is revealed
These are the lyrics of a powerful song written by Brooke Fraser of Hillsong United called You’ll Come. Romans 8:18-25 speaks of a life defined by a longing for renewal and the glorification of God’s people when Christ returns. The truth communicated in that passage and this song are an absolute way of life for so many believers around the world facing the afflictions of hunger, persecution, and poverty. They endure because of their steadfast faith that God will not abandon them and He will respond by sending the Spirit of Jesus Christ to them. To His Glory, they will be rescued from their affliction, whether in this life or upon their entrance to the Kingdom of God. They have decided, and resolved to wait upon the Lord and not give up.
I do not seek to minimize the afflictions that we, indeed, can face, but may we in our atmosphere of privilege in the USA, learn a lesson from those whose lives are tormented daily by the pains of this world. May we also take the Spirit of Jesus Christ, who dwells in us, to those that are hurting. May we respond, as Jesus would respond, to the needs of the world. We owe it to them and we owe it to Christ. Let’s Go!
Are you willing to join us in remaining educated about the state of our fellow Christians around the world? We owe it to God and to them to familiarize ourselves to their situation and be praying for them and making the most of our personal freedom of religion. We can be a voice for the voiceless and make visible the invisible. We strongly encourage you to find out more here, a source of awesome information and resources.
<–Top Ten Countries of Greatest Persecution, 2011
Check out the awesome video on this post!
Join FaithQuest in being one with them! We and our partner, Open Doors, implore you to pray on Nov. 13–the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church! Find out more about the one with them campaign here!
Here is an incredible example of people taking action:
FaithQuest’s own Lori Gash and Cathey Anderson and 40 other women have committed to begin an ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on January 11, 2012, the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the U.S. From now and until the event, the whole team will be raising awareness, prayers, and finances for women and children being oppressed, enslaved, exploited and trafficked. The Freedom Climb goal for 2012 is to affect the lives of 10,000 women through projects that break the cycles of poverty, shame, slavery, and despair. These projects include micro-loans, education, skills training, and protection from exploitation with our wonderful partner, Operation Mobilization.
Mt. Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain at nearly 20,000′, its summit is known as Uhuru Peak. Uhuru is the Swahili word for freedom. Climbing Kilimanjaro is symbolic of the huge climb to freedom faced daily by millions of enslaved women and children worldwide.
Find out more and how to donate on our FaithQuest Page or the official Freedom Climb Page.
Seven years ago, I stepped off a plane into Capetown, South Africa and my life has never been the same. I was the sole teenager amongst a group of pastors and other adults from Coast Hills Church. I had dreamed of going to Africa, but now that I was there, I had no idea what I was doing there. After a couple weeks in South Africa, the question of, “why am I here?” became much more apparent. I thought I had come to teach but I quickly recognized that I was there to learn. I thought I had come to share Christ but I quickly recognized that I was the one who did not truly know Christ.
Since that initial trip, I returned to South Africa two more times and then made my way up to Malawi for the next few summers. During my time in Africa, I have learned more than I could hope to learn in a lifetime. The people of Africa have taught me so much about hospitality, generosity, love, hope, joy, and trust. I have experienced some incredible highs and some devastating lows during my time in Africa, and the direction of my life has changed because of those times. My dad and I were able to start a small partnership organization with my host family in Malawi that gives scholarships to orphaned high school age students. Through the help of friends, we have been able to support 10 high school students to continue their education and we hope to be able to support many more in the future. It is exciting to have found an area in which to continue a relationship, even when we live thousands of miles apart. I am forever indebted to the warm-hearted people of South Africa and Malawi.
Want to hear more stories of people whose lives were transformed, click here.
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