Hello to all my family and friends! I’m excited to be writing this newsletter and to be sharing the incredibly exciting things that the Lord is doing in my life, post CSOM. I can attest that He has been faithful to continually show me my great need and desire for His constant presence. There have certainly been trials in this season, but I praise and thank Him for them, as they perpetually lead me to understand more and more just how sovereign God truly is. While in an abandoned tower on the Baja beach front, I felt the Lord give me a passage of Scripture to work through with Him. The passage, in Genesis 32, is where Jacob becomes Israel, and it has been an awesome reminder as of late. Just as he was given a limp, a thorn in the flesh, with which he had to walk for the rest of his life, that same blow brought him to the place of pure faith in God and God alone to fulfill the promise given to him by God. I pray to welcome the thorns in the flesh as they come, inasmuch as I cease from catching heels and instead have faith in God to fight my battles.

“How pleased would you and I be to go halting all our days with such a weakness as Jacob had, if we might also have the blessing that he thus won!”

– Spurgeon

IN THE NEAR FUTURE

Starting next month, I will be joining the Missions Training School (MTS) at CC Saving Grace. It can be thought of as a continuation of the training that started at the Calvary School of Missions, with a lot more opportunities to learn and serve in many aspects of ministry, and to connect with the body of the church. MTS will provide more classes, and even teaching opportunities, as well as opportunities for leaning into the Lord’s direction for my life in going about His work. In addition to starting MTS, I am also excited to be joining a team going to Japan for a vision tour in late January 2024! A vision tour to Indonesia is being planned as well, directly to follow the tour to Japan. These kinds of opportunities are an incredible gift from God, as we seek not only His heart but also His will for the unreached. More on both of these trips will be shared with you all in the coming weeks!

I don’t have a specific country, region, or people group on my heart, but rather I know that I want to be used to be a witness to Christ to the ends of the earth. With that in my heart, whether or not I feel called to a specific country upon stepping foot on the ground, I know that God is going to use these vision tours to teach me and show me so many things that I’ve yet to learn or even consider. The prayer is that He breaks our hearts with what breaks His, and leads us into fulfilling these words of Jesus; “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another,” (John 13:34).

IN THE MEANTIME

There is a ministry at CC Saving Grace called Convinced, led by Pastor Nick. Going every Thursday to either Fullerton JC or to Cal State Fullerton, he is looking to take the gospel to any and all on these campuses, and it is a work of the Holy Spirit. I had the honor of accompanying him this past week, and though I confess to having a fleshly spirit of timidity in these circumstances, I have complete faith that we receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon us to be witnesses to Christ (Acts 1:8). I’ve never felt such a calling to be bold in my faith here and now. It is one thing to look with excitement, fear, and faith in where God is leading me to spread the gospel throughout the world, but it is another thing to admit that He also has a mission field right before me, right here among the secular campuses of universities in Southern California. I share this in part to hopefully spark the same conviction that God has been speaking to me, but also so that you who read this hold me accountable! My spirit is surely willing, but my flesh is incredibly weak, so I beseech and ask that you beseech the Lord of the harvest to send workers into HIS harvest field (Matthew 9:37-38); where He guides, He provides. Engaging in discourse with these souls on these campuses is not man against man, or our values and beliefs against theirs; it is the God of the living universe reaching out to the lost whom He so loved, and, “… we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us;” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I feel led to share one last thing, and I know it’s a truth that is for myself just as much as anyone else right now. Our service to the Kingdom of heaven is not accomplished in spite of undesirable circumstances or painful trials; rather, it should be elevated by such things, as God manifests His great strength in our great weakness.

PRAISE REPORTS

• The season that I have been called in to; immediate opportunities to share the gospel.
• The next steps that God has been faithful to provide.
• The unchanging truth that we can have peace in the midst of storms.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• For every student and staff member of MTS to be in prayer and to be prepared going into next month.
• For everyone going on the vision tours to Japan and Indonesia to trust in God’s timing and will throughout each respective process.
• For the hearts of any and all who we will encounter on the college campuses to be good and fertile ground, ready to receive the good news of Jesus Christ.