Limping All the Way to Asia
August(ish) Update
“During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Genesis 32v22-26
Hello friends and family!
I am beaming with excitement as I write this newsletter while I am on my way to Thailand, the first leg of this trip to Asia before my vision tour in Indonesia. Since being home I have forced myself into a stillness and solitude to bring me into a deeper presence with the Lord. This year I have grown well acquainted with the struggle and strife Jacob finds himself in as seen in Genesis 32. What looks like a fleshy act of disbelief is actually a deep desperate act of faith. That a back and forth with the Lord is better than seeking the blessing Jacob desired elsewhere. As I myself have related to this story, I realized that I was often seeking the Lord’s blessing through my prayers but not in actual practice. Recognizing that His Will required a lot more sacrifice than I was willing to offer. This brought me to thinking of the people in Indonesia that a group of people from my church family in California have been interceding for as we step out in faith for this vision tour.
Indonesia is home to a variety of diverse people groups. The country itself is primarily Muslim, but the area we are focusing on is primarily Hindu. These people hold rich Hindu and Muslim traditions with their own local cultures. There’s also a large tourist population which includes travelers who go on spiritual retreats searching for wellness, inner peace, or a chance to “find themselves.” They desire to process and ponder and come out on the other side with a new understanding and perspective—or oftentimes clarity on their lives. The idea of seeking solitude in a quiet place is not foreign to Christian theology as Jesus Himself often was found in places of silence and solitude, however there is a key difference. When Jesus or when Jacob encountered these experiences it wasn’t to find themselves but to find God. To find the beginning of God when they’d reached the end of themselves. I think of when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane where He cried out to the Father over the fate of His life—the cup that He would have to bear. Or Jacob demanding of the nameless figure before him said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” But what makes this Holy and not hypocritical is that they weren’t trying to change the will of God but find alignment in it. To find freedom to be able to experience the blessing.
I found this liturgy book at the beginning of summer and have found myself re-reading this one over and over again. Highly recommend!
The reality is, there is a great misdirection where both tourists and locals are longing for deep peace and blessings, but looking for it in all the wrong places. True peace and blessings come from surrendering yourself to the true and living God. For Jacob, the goal is not to win the fight but be blessed by the fact that you get to bring your worries, concerns, and frustrations to the Father at all. We want the people of Indonesia to be able to experience freedom from their rituals and practices that they are accustomed to.
So, when I think about these people, I’m heartbroken by the fact that many are offering prayers to idols that truly have no ability to change the state of their situations. To know that there’s vast amounts of tourists seeking peace and inner clarity that they will not find outside of the only One who truly clarifies and brings everlasting peace. We are not seen as unchristian to wrestle with the Lord, for to be grasping the Holy One is the most certain place for us to be. Even if it adds a little limp to our gait. And there are so many people who are simply grasping other things.
As myself and others prepare to seek God and His will for our lives as well as how we can love and minister to these people, I ask that you’d pray for us. There’s 8 of us in total going and I believe the Lord has something incredible for each and every one of us. I also am still raising support, if you feel led to make a one time donation or a recurring payment to continue to allow me to do ministry like this. I thank you all for your continued support and prayers as I step into the next thing the Lord has for me. I love you all deeply and cannot wait to share all that God will do.
Prayer Requests:
Safe travels to Thailand and Indonesia
Direction and guidance as we pray through a new work
Financial provision
Praise Reports:
CSOM 2026 was a success!!
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