I write to you today to share with you an important decision that I've recently made. I've been considering a number of very attractive options for this coming summer. I've felt the Holy Spirit stirring in my heart to take another missions trip. He spoke to me specifically about teaching English in China with the Youth Mission International/China Educational Exchange joint venture program. This option makes good sense. Right now, my career goal is to teach english internationally, possibly in a missions capacity. This is a wonderful opportunity to test the waters in that area. It's also an awesome opportunity to continue the work of evangelism started last summer by Michael Burton, Leonard An, Carmen Hochstetler, and Michelle Youngs in the city of Chengdu, China.
How can you partner with God and me in this ministry? A few ways. First, I'd like to ask for your blessing. Please pray about this opportunity. Proverbs 15:22 says, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed." Please consider yourself my advisor in this matter. Second, I ask for your earnest and fervent prayer. It's been said that no ministry opportunity will ever succeed unless it has been bathed and founded in prayer.
1) I ask you to please pray for my heart as I prepare for this trip. I understand that all ministry flows out of my personal relationship with God. Please pray that I'll be continually drawing close to God and walking daily with him in his righteousness.
2) I also ask that you be praying for my heart for the Chinese people. Please ask for me to have God's heart and God's eyes for them, that I may share his passionate and intense love for them.
3) As well, please be in prayer for the hearts of the people who we'll be ministering to. Pray that God will be working in their hearts and stirring in them a desire to know the one true God. Pray that he'll be preparing the fields for harvest and germinating seeds that have been planted previously.
4) Please be praying for the team that God is assembling for this work in China. Ask for the empowerment of his Holy Spirit in our daily lives, that we can be continually molded into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. So far, I'm informed of two other people who will be on this team. Please pray for unity within the team, even at this early date. Psalm 133 says, "How good, how pleasant, when brother dwell in unity." Pray against the plots of Satan, who will be trying to create divisions as soon as he possibly can. Please pray that this team will not be servants of God, but partners with him in his work.
5) Please pray about fund-raising issues. Pray that I'll have faith that God will provide for me.
Fund-raising is a big deal. As I figure, it will cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,500 to take this trip. Right now, I'm starting to brainstorm and pray about fund-raising. Please pray about and send any fund-raising ideas you might have. If you would like to help me raise funds, I'd humbly accept any of your time, ideas, creativity, talents, energy, or resources that you'd like to contribute towards this trip.
Again, prayer is the most important thing you can do for me, but helping in the effort to send me is also important. As a representative of you personally, the Vinewood College group, Vinewood and Bethany MB Churches, the North American Mennonite Brethren Conference, and Jesus Christ, I seek to be only a member of the the team that will send a few people to China. We are all partners with God in this work, and the REAL team extends far beyond the few people who will go. It includes you, the prayer warriors. Again, the success of this ministry depends on the amount of time that we spend interceding right now before the God and Father whom we all love and serve. Thank you for your brotherhood, your time, your love, and most of all, thank you for your prayers!!
In Christ,
Andrew
