glory...

so i couldn't just leave you with photos form the weekend without giving my God some glory...

He took us up there last weekend and kept us there safely and brought us home safely... that's the basics... that's what i prayed for when we left really late on friday and it looked as if we wouldn't even get our bus... that's what i prayed again when we hurtled up the winding mountain roads... this is what I asked for from my God but He blew my expectations away...

I have friends here... i suppose i had friends here anyway, before the weekend, but now i feel like i have friends, people who I aim to keep in touch with for a long time... this happened I think when we began to move past talking just about the cultural differences between England and Malaysia, and stepped into areas that are closer to our hearts, talking about family, friends, dreams, ambitions... conversation comes naturally now... people are beginning to ask when I can come back next...

To take it to the next level in thanking Jesus for our weekend... I was asked to play guitar for the group... and to be honest I was terrified... not just at the thought of playing and singing in front of people, but more importantly that this was (for a handful of the people) the first time that they would have experienced any kind of Christian praise... and so I felt nervous from the outset... I prayed a silent prayer that God would still my thumping heart and help me glorify Him and God delivered... we had two sessions of worship over the weekend, and for some of the students they sang along.... and others listenend and (hopefully) took in the message of the songs... they were heard to be singing songs such as "the message of the cross" and "consuming fire" to themselves over the course of the weekend... so we praise our God... with no shame and no embarressment as to what people might think of us... please thank God for this...

By this point I hope you have smiles spreading across your faces... but it gets better... we had many "sharing" times over the weekend... in which we explored the meaning of life, and life's values... we were asked questions such as "what our purpose for living?"... giving us ample opportunity to begin to introduce the saving grace of Jesus... the friendship that can be had with the only perfect person to step on our earth... people here began to question life... began to ask some pretty big questions... please pray with me that they will find their answers in Jesus... in His Word... and in His Love...

So I asked Jesus to keep us safe on our trip, to do this He came with us, and stayed with us and came back with us... please pray for some more seed planting before we go... and for continued meaningful friendships with: moon, pei jun, ching siew, siaw chian, kai yit, kelvin, chuen hoe and the other guys in the house

Some things to pray for:

• Continued whole hearted seeking of Jesus is my life each day
• A safe journey back to the states for Todd on saturday
• thank God for English Class yesterday - biggest attendance yet and I got to share what I thought was the purpose of life
• Siaw Chian said last night at English class that she doesn't know her purpose or a good example to follow... please pray that one of the Christian ladies here will follow this up and introduce her to Jesus
• We've got a hectic schedule for the rest of this week as people want to see Todd again before he leaves, please pray that the time spent will be effective and glorifying to God
• Alpha is looking to be well attended this week as its twinned with a farewell meal for Todd, please pray that God's word would reach people there
• Me after Todd leaves