From: Betsy

My time in West Asia has been full of opportunities to learn and serve. We toured the capital city, learned some of the local language, and helped teach basic conversational English to students through an English camp.

Recently, we shifted our focus to a five-day summer kids’ camp with about 80 campers. We spent time preparing alongside the local leaders and volunteers, and the week was filled with worship, gospel teaching, games, and building relationships with the children.

God has been teaching me to serve others with patience and love while learning to abide in Him daily. He is growing me in boldness, humility, and perseverance. Please pray that I would continue to grow in my faith and faithfully share Christ with those around me.

From: Isaac

This weekend marks the halfway point of our time here.  Our time has consisted of teaching English, filling in leadership roles at a weeklong summer camp, meeting friends and contacts of our fieldworkers, and spending time debriefing and praying.  Looking forward to the next few weeks, we will continue teaching English, opening up doors for the long-term worker to establish relationships in the Muslim village.  We are prepared for other things to happen as well, that God provides for us to join Him in His work.

You can be lifting up to the Father that I learn more of what it means to abide in Him daily.  Ask that He would provide me with specific opportunities to share the Good News with people here.

I would also love to know how He may be leading me toward life overseas in the future, and whether this part of the world is something I should highly consider.  You can also ask that He would continue to allow me to be an encouragement to our fieldworkers as well as my own teammates while here.  I want to stay strong and consistent going into the home stretch!

From Maggie:
Oh, we’re halfway there!

Living on many prayers, our team has officially completed our third week in West Asia! Our Lord has thoroughly humbled me by allowing us to see the inspiring attitudes and accomplishments of His fieldworkers, and I’m honored He allowed me to contribute alongside them. Of course, I’m also grateful for the love and support I’ve received from the congregation of Colonial Heights, my home church, who have faithfully interceded for me throughout our journey.

This past week, we got to serve alongside a local body of believers, putting on a day camp that intentionally engages kids from a nearby unreached village. It was a fabulous experience, and I had a wonderful time leading the dance class! I taught some American basics like the Cupid Shuffle and the Cha-Cha Slide, and the campers got to show off their traditional dances as well. My main prayer is that, in the midst of all the fun and activities, long-lasting seeds were planted in the hearts and minds of these children.

Soon, we’ll return to teaching English on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so please intercede for the relationships we’re establishing with unreached villages and for the salvation of the kids we’re meeting. I would also appreciate prayer on my behalf for endurance and an abundance of gratitude in the face of difficult – sometimes merely inconvenient – circumstances.

Lastly, my father and brother will be flying in this week to check in on this team, then they’ll head over to the Scotland team before returning home. I ask that you join me in asking God for their safety while traveling. Thank you so much for your faithfulness to me in reading this update and supporting our efforts!

From: Braxton

This email comes at the halfway point. There’s so much to discuss, but I’ll save much of it for when we are face-to-face. To begin, the people I’ve met have been so wonderful. They have a thorough and beautiful intentionality from which we can and must learn. So much fruit has come from what many would consider minute things. Whether it be the English camps or the week-long camp, such wonderful seeds which I may never see the fruit of till the day comes are being planted. The language is quite fun, and I hope to hold onto it even when I leave. I can say I have adjusted now and enjoy the fact that the weather is far cooler than in Mississippi.

Now, on a more serious note. So much has occurred; I have been reflecting on much of it lately, especially today, after the week-long camp. The things we’ve been a part of were so wonderful and so unexpected, and the relationships I have formed, I earnestly hope are lifelong! As I’ve stated previously, I hope to continue learning. There is so much to bring home and share. I am doing very well and wonder how much love I will have for this place by the time I depart, which I think will make the return and adjustment the hardest.