Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Final Leg
We are finally back in the U.S. As I type this blog, it is around 1 p.m. here in San Francisco as we wait to board our flight to Dallas and then to Jackson.
I want to share just a bit of what happened Sunday in Southeast Asia and wrap up the trip. We got up early Sunday morning and went to share with the English speaking church (made up of Indian and Chinese believers). Then, we ate lunch with them aftewards (some type of shrimp porridge). I have gotten wise! It has taken me all week, but I finally learned. I ate very, very, very slowly and left an unoffensive amount in the bottom of the bowl because I just knew the Vietnamese were cooking for us upstairs.
Sure enough, before we finished the porridge, a Vietnamese lady came down and beckoned us upstairs for lunch AGAIN. We all sat cross-legged style in a circle on the floor. Many varieties of food were in the center of us. Once again, I have learned! I sat far away from the ladies because they see you getting low and start throwing stuff on your plate with their chop sticks. I guess they think because we are all fat Americans, that we never get full... well, I can tell you one thing for certain. Vietnamese people eat twice as much as any American I know. They are literally bottomless pits. Anyway, I sat far away from all the ladies, planned to eat very slow (which chop sticks aid when I use them) and be okay. I turned to put some cabbage and "something" in my bowl, sat back upright and there to my right was a Vietnamese girl. She had decided, I guess, that I might need some meal assistance after all. I ate slow, and when I got a little low, she would throw something in my bowl, but eating slowly helped. At least she didn't throw the chicken head in my bowl... that might have caused a problem.
Anyway, they were extremely gracious to us and more than hospitable. After a brief rest, busses,taxis, and vans began pulling up. The busses held a limit of 44 people, but there were as many as 58 on some of them, traveling up to 2 hours sitting in the floor. Around 200 Vietnamese packed the English speaking church. After about 2 hours of singing and sharing, I preached on the cost of following Christ (which is very real for them). There were a few dozen recommit themselves fully to following Christ in spite of the cost and 3 professed to come to Christ.
Then there was about an hour and a half of picture taking and good-byes before we left to eat (yes EAT AGAIN) and return to the room. We got in bed again around midnight, woke up at 4:00 a.m. and headed to the airport. We have crossed time zones and been in the air for so long we don't know which way is up. We have operated on less sleep than I though possible and have stayed extremely busy. No time was wasted and the time that was invested has the potential to reach into the remotest areas of South, Central, and North Vietnam.
God has gathered together people from all over Vietnam (a seriously restricted nation) and as we learned on this trip, God has also brought the Nepalise fromthe country of Nepal as well. He has brought them to a place in East Asia that is also restricted, but apathetic about them as transmigrant workers. This has opened the door for us to openly share and train them and then send them back to their homeland to impact their world. The investments in this work seem to promise fruitful returns in the Kingdom. Now, we must let the fog clear, seek God in prayer, and determine what type of role he wants us to play in the long term efforts of this work.
Until next time...
I want to share just a bit of what happened Sunday in Southeast Asia and wrap up the trip. We got up early Sunday morning and went to share with the English speaking church (made up of Indian and Chinese believers). Then, we ate lunch with them aftewards (some type of shrimp porridge). I have gotten wise! It has taken me all week, but I finally learned. I ate very, very, very slowly and left an unoffensive amount in the bottom of the bowl because I just knew the Vietnamese were cooking for us upstairs.
Sure enough, before we finished the porridge, a Vietnamese lady came down and beckoned us upstairs for lunch AGAIN. We all sat cross-legged style in a circle on the floor. Many varieties of food were in the center of us. Once again, I have learned! I sat far away from the ladies because they see you getting low and start throwing stuff on your plate with their chop sticks. I guess they think because we are all fat Americans, that we never get full... well, I can tell you one thing for certain. Vietnamese people eat twice as much as any American I know. They are literally bottomless pits. Anyway, I sat far away from all the ladies, planned to eat very slow (which chop sticks aid when I use them) and be okay. I turned to put some cabbage and "something" in my bowl, sat back upright and there to my right was a Vietnamese girl. She had decided, I guess, that I might need some meal assistance after all. I ate slow, and when I got a little low, she would throw something in my bowl, but eating slowly helped. At least she didn't throw the chicken head in my bowl... that might have caused a problem.
Anyway, they were extremely gracious to us and more than hospitable. After a brief rest, busses,taxis, and vans began pulling up. The busses held a limit of 44 people, but there were as many as 58 on some of them, traveling up to 2 hours sitting in the floor. Around 200 Vietnamese packed the English speaking church. After about 2 hours of singing and sharing, I preached on the cost of following Christ (which is very real for them). There were a few dozen recommit themselves fully to following Christ in spite of the cost and 3 professed to come to Christ.
Then there was about an hour and a half of picture taking and good-byes before we left to eat (yes EAT AGAIN) and return to the room. We got in bed again around midnight, woke up at 4:00 a.m. and headed to the airport. We have crossed time zones and been in the air for so long we don't know which way is up. We have operated on less sleep than I though possible and have stayed extremely busy. No time was wasted and the time that was invested has the potential to reach into the remotest areas of South, Central, and North Vietnam.
God has gathered together people from all over Vietnam (a seriously restricted nation) and as we learned on this trip, God has also brought the Nepalise fromthe country of Nepal as well. He has brought them to a place in East Asia that is also restricted, but apathetic about them as transmigrant workers. This has opened the door for us to openly share and train them and then send them back to their homeland to impact their world. The investments in this work seem to promise fruitful returns in the Kingdom. Now, we must let the fog clear, seek God in prayer, and determine what type of role he wants us to play in the long term efforts of this work.
Until next time...
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Days Three & Four
In this blog, I am covering the work of Friday and Saturday. There has literally been no time to write. And when I do find time to write, there is not time to find and connect to internet and post. Also it is a challenge to determine if the blog posts because the country has blocked access to my blog due to its content.
We got up again Friday at 7:00 a.m., ate breakfast, and headed out one more time to the Chinese church to teach the third session of 2 Peter and Church planting training to the Vietnamese workers.
Afterward we went to a ladies apartment to share with a group that meets in her home. We climbed about four flights of stairs and entered a room about 10 X 15 feet. Approximately 30 people gathered, sat Indian style on the floor and listened to me share for about an hour and a half or two hours. Question and answers followed until midnight. One young lady shared her testimony of how the demons that possessed her great grandfather (the shaman in Vietnam) tormented her family for years. She met Christ here in Souteast Asia, shared with her father back in Vietnam and the whole family came to Christ.
The demons stopped harassing them and they are currently hoping to plant a church as soon as possible in their home.
We got back to the room around midnight and got to bed around 1:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 23
It is now Saturday. We actually got to sleep past 7:00 a.m.! We left the hotel at 11:00 a.m., went to eat and shared about the possibility of future work. Then we traveled about an hour where I preached to an English Speaking Church called the Lighthouse. There were approximately 60 Chinese and Indian believers gathered there.
After a short break the Vietnamese began filtering in. There were probably around 100 who filtered in from as far away as the Thailand border. The leaders had them stand up to show which areas of Vietnam were represented. The South, Central, and Northern parts of Vietnam were all represented. Several different remote Ethnic groups were also there.
The realization came to me that in this one service tonight, all of the nation of Vietnam was potentially being impacted. These people will return home to unreached, unengaged peoples and many will begin house groups in their communities. Several shared that they have already led their parents, grandparents, and siblings to Christ by phone from here in Southeast Asia. This work has great potential.
Pray that the leaders continue to grow in the Word and right methods of witnessing and evangelizing.
We preached, sung, heard testimony, and prayed until 11:30 p.m. There were 9 or 10 who professed to follow Christ from the meeting. After some pictures with those professing faith, we are now on our way back to the hotel and should get there around 12:30 a.m. We will hopefully be in bed by 1:00 and will have to rise around 5:30 or 6:00 in order to leave the hotel at 7:00 and get to our next stop on the tour.
I will preach at 9:00 a.m. to another English speaking Chinese congregation and then that evening to more Vietnamese. These services will be taking place around 8:00 p.m. CST Saturday evening and 3:00 a.m. CST Sunday morning.
Pray that God will have His way. It is going to be a short night and a long day tomorrow, then we will have to leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning to get to the airport and head home. We will likely need 48 hours of unbroken sleep when we finally stop.
Pray that we will stay alert and focused and rested for the work. Hopefully I can update the blog one more time before we head for the airport Monday morning to catch our plane at 7:00 a.m. (6 p.m Sunday night CST).
Pray for us.
We got up again Friday at 7:00 a.m., ate breakfast, and headed out one more time to the Chinese church to teach the third session of 2 Peter and Church planting training to the Vietnamese workers.
Afterward we went to a ladies apartment to share with a group that meets in her home. We climbed about four flights of stairs and entered a room about 10 X 15 feet. Approximately 30 people gathered, sat Indian style on the floor and listened to me share for about an hour and a half or two hours. Question and answers followed until midnight. One young lady shared her testimony of how the demons that possessed her great grandfather (the shaman in Vietnam) tormented her family for years. She met Christ here in Souteast Asia, shared with her father back in Vietnam and the whole family came to Christ.
The demons stopped harassing them and they are currently hoping to plant a church as soon as possible in their home.
We got back to the room around midnight and got to bed around 1:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 23
It is now Saturday. We actually got to sleep past 7:00 a.m.! We left the hotel at 11:00 a.m., went to eat and shared about the possibility of future work. Then we traveled about an hour where I preached to an English Speaking Church called the Lighthouse. There were approximately 60 Chinese and Indian believers gathered there.
After a short break the Vietnamese began filtering in. There were probably around 100 who filtered in from as far away as the Thailand border. The leaders had them stand up to show which areas of Vietnam were represented. The South, Central, and Northern parts of Vietnam were all represented. Several different remote Ethnic groups were also there.
The realization came to me that in this one service tonight, all of the nation of Vietnam was potentially being impacted. These people will return home to unreached, unengaged peoples and many will begin house groups in their communities. Several shared that they have already led their parents, grandparents, and siblings to Christ by phone from here in Southeast Asia. This work has great potential.
Pray that the leaders continue to grow in the Word and right methods of witnessing and evangelizing.
I will preach at 9:00 a.m. to another English speaking Chinese congregation and then that evening to more Vietnamese. These services will be taking place around 8:00 p.m. CST Saturday evening and 3:00 a.m. CST Sunday morning.
Pray that God will have His way. It is going to be a short night and a long day tomorrow, then we will have to leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning to get to the airport and head home. We will likely need 48 hours of unbroken sleep when we finally stop.
Pray that we will stay alert and focused and rested for the work. Hopefully I can update the blog one more time before we head for the airport Monday morning to catch our plane at 7:00 a.m. (6 p.m Sunday night CST).
Pray for us.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Busy Training Day
We ate some home cooked Vietamese food for lunch. It was definitely an experience. I prayed during the blessing that God would give me the ability to eat the food and to give me a stomach of iron. It was noodles, some very strange looking mushroom slices, bamboo shoots, and duck meat. It was surprisingly good. For desert we had bong bongs... not spelled correctly. Bong bong means fruit and whatever we ate was a fruit with no name, so they call it bong bong. I have never seen it before and they were very unique, but pretty tasty.
After we left the first training session, we went to eat some local and authentic Chinese. It was definitely NOT American Chinese. Some of it was a little tough to swallow "literally." They brought out some type of pork that I have never seen before. It looked like a spleen, but we discovered it was the meat from underneath the pigs belly wrapped in a spinach leaf and cooked. It didn't make it around the table and to our plates and I don't think I heard anyone complain.
After we ate, we traveled to Bill's for the last time and sat Indian style in his floor for about an hour and a half straight talking about the Gospel and answering questions. We left Bill's at 11:30, got back to the room a little after midnight and hit the sack at about 1:00. All is well. The work here with the Vietamese seems to be a good work and worthy of investing in. The people are converted, discipled, and trained here and then sent back to Vietnam to plant churches. God is working in Vietnam and among the Vietnamese and it is our hope and prayer that this week of training and encouraging will move the work along even further. Off to bed...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
East Asia - Day Two
Well the first full day in East Asia has come to an end and it has been a busy one. We got in bed late last night, jet lagged, at 1 a.m., got up at 7 and hit the road at 9. We have been wide open ever since.
We have learned first hand in a fresh way that persecution is real. It is not easy to be a believer here, but there is joy and a hunger for God.
We have met some interesting young men and women from Vietnam who are hungry to learn more of the word and hungry to learn more about planting churches both here and in Vietnam. One young man, who I will call Bill came to Christ, returned to Vietnam and began evangelizing the lost in his community. In a short time the communist government caught on to his work, began harrassing him and his family and eventually drove him out of the country. He is currently here separated from his family,planting churches, and discipling young men and women.
We led church planting training, shared testimonies, and computer training from 10:30 until 4:30 for him and some of his colleagues today. Then tonight after traveling to Bill's and spending time with him and his fellow workers this evening, I taught in Bill's home to a packed room full of his disciples from about 9:15 until 10:30. In reality, he should be teaching me.
I feel like a guy who just went to Wal Mart, bought a hammer and a Do it Yourself magazine trying to teach a bunch of contractors and construction workers how to build a house. I am insufficient for this task.
It is almost 11 as I am typing this, in the van, on the way home from Bill's. It is clear that there will be very little rest or down time on this trip. By the time we get back to the hotel, call home, and get cleaned up it will be 1 a.m before bed again. We need your prayers that we will be energized and rested for the week. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for this task.
More tomorrow...
first full day's report
Well the first full day in East Asia has come to an end and it has been a busy one. We got in bed late last night, jet lagged, at 1 a.m., got up at 7 and hit the road at 9. We have been wide open ever since.
We have learned first hand in a fresh way that persecution is real. It is not easy to be a believer here, but there is joy and a hunger for God.
We have met some interesting young men and women from Vietnam who are hungry to learn more of the word and hungry to learn more about planting churches both here and in Vietnam. One young man, who I will call Bill came to Christ, returned to Vietnam and began evangelizing the lost in his community. In a short time the communist government caught on to his work, began harrassing him and his family and eventually drove him out of the country. He is currently here separated from his family,planting churches, and discipling young men and women.
We led church planting training, shared testimonies, and computer training from 10:30 until 4:30 for him and some of his colleagues today. Then tonight after traveling to Bill's and spending time with him and his fellow workers this evening, I taught in Bill's home to a packed room full of his disciples from about 9:15 until 10:30. In reality, he should be teaching me.
I feel like a guy who just went to Wal Mart, bought a hammer and a Do it Yourself magazine trying to teach a bunch of contractors and construction workers how to build a house. I am insufficient for this task.
It is almost 11 as I am typing this, in the van, on the way home from Bill's. It is clear that there will be very little rest or down time on this trip. By the time we get back to the hotel, call home, and get cleaned up it will be 1 a.m before bed again. We need your prayers that we will be energized and rested for the week. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for this task.
MOre tomorrow...
We have learned first hand in a fresh way that persecution is real. It is not easy to be a believer here, but there is joy and a hunger for God.
We have met some interesting young men and women from Vietnam who are hungry to learn more of the word and hungry to learn more about planting churches both here and in Vietnam. One young man, who I will call Bill came to Christ, returned to Vietnam and began evangelizing the lost in his community. In a short time the communist government caught on to his work, began harrassing him and his family and eventually drove him out of the country. He is currently here separated from his family,planting churches, and discipling young men and women.
We led church planting training, shared testimonies, and computer training from 10:30 until 4:30 for him and some of his colleagues today. Then tonight after traveling to Bill's and spending time with him and his fellow workers this evening, I taught in Bill's home to a packed room full of his disciples from about 9:15 until 10:30. In reality, he should be teaching me.
I feel like a guy who just went to Wal Mart, bought a hammer and a Do it Yourself magazine trying to teach a bunch of contractors and construction workers how to build a house. I am insufficient for this task.
It is almost 11 as I am typing this, in the van, on the way home from Bill's. It is clear that there will be very little rest or down time on this trip. By the time we get back to the hotel, call home, and get cleaned up it will be 1 a.m before bed again. We need your prayers that we will be energized and rested for the week. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for this task.
MOre tomorrow...
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
We are Here
We finally arrived at our destination in East Asia a few hours ago. It is now 12:40 a.m. and we are going to get rolling in the morning at around 7 so we need to hit the sack. Hopefully we will have time to report more tomorrow. Until then, remember us in your prayers. Pray for our health and our energy level as we have a very busy schedule and are operating on little sleep. Pray for the pastors we will be training and the unbelievers we will encounter. Keep up here, at kevinivy.com, for more updates (hopefully in the next 24 hours).
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Mission Surge Report
Dear Mission Surge Friends,
There are several exciting things that are beginning to fall into place with Mission Surge and several extremely urgent matters of prayer that I want to share with you today in this email. Please read this and forward it to everyone and anyone that you believe will pray!
First, we are literally a few weeks away from having our brand new website up and running in the public domain. The web address will be www.missionsurge.com We already have a Facebook page, but the official website will make the ministry much more public and functional. Please pray that we get this thing finished up and launched very soon.
Second, we have been approved by the state as a non-profit organization and have been given our tax ID number. In November, we should have our Federal non-profit status completed and officially be a 501(c)3 ministry. We are looking forward to this as it will allow people to begin giving regularly and directly to Mission Surge without having to go through Cleary Baptist Church.
Third, this Sunday afternoon I, and 3 other companions, will be leaving for Malaysia until Monday, October 25. Malaysia is a restricted Islamic nation. I will be preaching and teaching for 40-50 hours while there and we need your prayers. I will be speaking in several worship services and evangelistic services in Malaysia. During the nights I will be meeting with a group of migrant workers from North Vietnam to teach them how to plant churches and teach the Word of God. They will go back to North Vietnam and plant churches with the information they gain from this trip. Please, please be in prayer for me as I try to prepare in the midst of 100 other things calling for my attention and as we travel to, in, and from Malaysia and pray all next week for the work there. Also, please pray for these 3 other guys who will be helping me teach and train and encourage the believers there. If you want updates on what is going on in Malaysia you can go to kevinivy.com each day beginning Monday as I will be updating you through that blog. (Just as a side note, Mission Surge is NOT financially supporting me or any of the men going to Malaysia next week. The funds of Mission Surge are only being used to support the pastors who we are working with and training IN Malaysia).
In relation to Malaysia, Mission Surge is providing transportation for the Vietnamese to and from the training. In the beginning these costs were estimated at $600. I just found out that the cost have now jumped to $1100. This has caught me off guard. It has not caught God off guard however. We have committed to transport these men to this training and we are convinced that God will provide the needed $500 to do so. Please, please pray that God would move the right person or people to meet this need in His time. We trust Him.
Fourth, in November we are hosting, at Cleary Baptist Church a conference called Mission Surge. At this conference, we will have a time where Mission Surge, the ministry, will be introduced and the website announced etc. The dates are November 12-14 (Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning). A great line up of speakers will be present and the vision of Mission Surge will be preached through the weekend: The Gospel impacting individuals, families, churches, communities, and the world. You can check out the information about this conference at www.clearybaptist.org Please plan to attend and invite others to do so as well.
The Monday after the Mission Surge conference, I will be traveling to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with our missionary to meet with the president of the Baptist Convention in the DR. We will be going in order to plan a future strategy for impacting the DR. This is an extremely important meeting and I need you to be in prayer for it. Also, we are supposed to deliver 3 laptop computers to 3 key pastors that we are working with in the DR so that they can meet weekly through Skype with our missionary to the DR who is now living in the states due to medical reasons. We have the money for 2 of these laptops. Please pray that God will raise up someone to purchase the third laptop before November.
As we await the launch of our website, you can find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Florence-MS/Mission-Surge/145423062144598 Please go there and join the page and you will get updates regularly.
Thank you for your prayers for the Malaysia trip, for your prayers in relation to the needed funds, and for your continued prayers for the upcoming conference and DR trip. Please, please forward this email to those in your inbox who will pray! Please check us out on FaceBook! Please keep up with our Malaysia trip next week through www.kevinivy.com and SPREAD THE WORD to as many people as you will!
If you have any questions or any words of encouragement, please leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Thank you.
There are several exciting things that are beginning to fall into place with Mission Surge and several extremely urgent matters of prayer that I want to share with you today in this email. Please read this and forward it to everyone and anyone that you believe will pray!
First, we are literally a few weeks away from having our brand new website up and running in the public domain. The web address will be www.missionsurge.com We already have a Facebook page, but the official website will make the ministry much more public and functional. Please pray that we get this thing finished up and launched very soon.
Second, we have been approved by the state as a non-profit organization and have been given our tax ID number. In November, we should have our Federal non-profit status completed and officially be a 501(c)3 ministry. We are looking forward to this as it will allow people to begin giving regularly and directly to Mission Surge without having to go through Cleary Baptist Church.
Third, this Sunday afternoon I, and 3 other companions, will be leaving for Malaysia until Monday, October 25. Malaysia is a restricted Islamic nation. I will be preaching and teaching for 40-50 hours while there and we need your prayers. I will be speaking in several worship services and evangelistic services in Malaysia. During the nights I will be meeting with a group of migrant workers from North Vietnam to teach them how to plant churches and teach the Word of God. They will go back to North Vietnam and plant churches with the information they gain from this trip. Please, please be in prayer for me as I try to prepare in the midst of 100 other things calling for my attention and as we travel to, in, and from Malaysia and pray all next week for the work there. Also, please pray for these 3 other guys who will be helping me teach and train and encourage the believers there. If you want updates on what is going on in Malaysia you can go to kevinivy.com each day beginning Monday as I will be updating you through that blog. (Just as a side note, Mission Surge is NOT financially supporting me or any of the men going to Malaysia next week. The funds of Mission Surge are only being used to support the pastors who we are working with and training IN Malaysia).
In relation to Malaysia, Mission Surge is providing transportation for the Vietnamese to and from the training. In the beginning these costs were estimated at $600. I just found out that the cost have now jumped to $1100. This has caught me off guard. It has not caught God off guard however. We have committed to transport these men to this training and we are convinced that God will provide the needed $500 to do so. Please, please pray that God would move the right person or people to meet this need in His time. We trust Him.
Fourth, in November we are hosting, at Cleary Baptist Church a conference called Mission Surge. At this conference, we will have a time where Mission Surge, the ministry, will be introduced and the website announced etc. The dates are November 12-14 (Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning). A great line up of speakers will be present and the vision of Mission Surge will be preached through the weekend: The Gospel impacting individuals, families, churches, communities, and the world. You can check out the information about this conference at www.clearybaptist.org Please plan to attend and invite others to do so as well.
The Monday after the Mission Surge conference, I will be traveling to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with our missionary to meet with the president of the Baptist Convention in the DR. We will be going in order to plan a future strategy for impacting the DR. This is an extremely important meeting and I need you to be in prayer for it. Also, we are supposed to deliver 3 laptop computers to 3 key pastors that we are working with in the DR so that they can meet weekly through Skype with our missionary to the DR who is now living in the states due to medical reasons. We have the money for 2 of these laptops. Please pray that God will raise up someone to purchase the third laptop before November.
As we await the launch of our website, you can find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Florence-MS/Mission-Surge/145423062144598 Please go there and join the page and you will get updates regularly.
Thank you for your prayers for the Malaysia trip, for your prayers in relation to the needed funds, and for your continued prayers for the upcoming conference and DR trip. Please, please forward this email to those in your inbox who will pray! Please check us out on FaceBook! Please keep up with our Malaysia trip next week through www.kevinivy.com and SPREAD THE WORD to as many people as you will!
If you have any questions or any words of encouragement, please leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Thank you.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
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