I am closing out the 2010 year with a whirlwind of travel. Recently, I found myself complaining about being too “traveled-out.” In my early 30’s, traveling was so much easier but now, it is getting harder, not only because of the physical aspect, but because I will be away from the family.

It would have been easy for me to just focus on myself, but then I thought about all the different things that I would be able to experience on this trip. In Singapore, they will have their first mini-retreat and I will be doing a baby dedication in Jakarta. These are all firsts for both churches, therefore my heart was overwhelmed with thankfulness. Just one word came to mind: privilege.

I am blessed beyond measure and I am amazed at the faithfulness of God, not only to me but to all our churches. Thanks for all your prayers and support. I will keep you guys updated regularly throughout this trip so that you can “travel” with me on this journey. Love you guys!
 
 

 
My time in Lima, Peru was incredible. In fact, it was like a mini-retreat for me. I was able to recalibrate and get my spirit renewed. But most of all, I was able to reconnect with one of my spiritual mentors, Pastor Robert Barriger.

I have come to the realization that there are always a handful of people that God sovereignly places in your life. They are the divine connections that play a significant role in your journey with Christ.

I will never forget how the divine connection with Pastor Robert was made back in 1997. I went down to Peru on a vision trip after receiving a revelation that I needed to go down there. Someone introduced me to a contact, but for some reason I did not get the sense that this pastor was someone that we could work with in Peru. After meeting other pastors, I asked someone if they knew of anyone else that I could meet before I returned back to the States. One of the missionaries mentioned that it might be good for me to meet up with Pastor Robert.

Even though it was last minute, I was able to get a 30-minute appointment before their mid-week service. But due to the notorious Lima traffic, I ended up missing the appointment and came to service about an hour late. As the service was finishing up, I realized that I would only have 15 minutes to talk with Pastor Robert, since my flight was taking off that evening.

With thousands of people filing out to exit the church, I had to go against the exiting traffic and head towards the front of the sanctuary. After profusely apologizing for missing the appointment, I asked Pastor Robert if he can share his heart and vision for Peru. Then, literally in 15 minutes, he briefly shared his testimony, and then proceeded to share the vision of his church and for the nation of Peru.

It is hard to describe in words what I felt, but after he shared, I just knew that this was the man of God that we, as a church needed to work with. Then in the following year, we sent our first missions team to Latin America. Since then, it has been an incredible journey of being mentored by him, but more importantly, Pastor Robert has become a great friend.

I share this little bit of history of the divine connection because over the years I have come to understand why God placed him in my life. On my flight back to the States, I was able to spend some time in reflection and I came to several conclusions about Pastor Robert:

 
 
As Pastor Robert is ahead of us in this journey, he is definitely leaving footprints for us to follow. I am privileged and thankful that I get a close up view of the real thing.

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” (Heb 13:7).

“Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all” (MSG)

“Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and trust the Lord as they do” (NLT).
 
 
 

Pastor Robert trying to tempt me to take a bit out of the “Apple”
 
 
 

It is awesome to see that Camino de Vida is raising up leaders for tomorrow
 
 
 

The scenery off the coast of the Pacific Ocean is beautiful
 
 
 

There is something about a fresh fish market that always makes me hungry
 
 
 

The Barriger family were taking their Christmas card picture
 
 
 

The U.S. Embassy in Lima is like a fortress
 
 
 

An incredible sunset over the Pacific Ocean – perfect for inspiration!
 
 
 

I am standing next to a giant in the faith

 
I am in transit in Atlanta and waiting for my plane to head down to Lima, Peru. It has been awhile since I have been in Latin America. A lot of our focus has been in Asia within the last 5 years; but recently God has opened a door for us in Chile.

I will be reconnecting with Pastor Robert Barriger from Camino de Vida. I am looking forward to just hanging out with him, as well as learning from his wisdom.

These are exciting times. God is moving powerfully all over the world. I believe that God is going to open up a door of opportunity for us again in Latin America. I can’t wait to share with you all that God is doing in this part of the world.
 
 
 

 
Every time I travel to one of the HMCC churches, I am reminded how much Jesus loves His Bride (Eph 5:25-27). Even though each church is a little different due to the context, I am thankful that each of our churches has the same DNA.

It has been refreshing to spend some time with Pastor Ben and his family. Their family has always been special to Christina and me because Pastor Ben was there when we first started the church in Ann Arbor back in 1996. Also, we knew Susan when she was a freshmen and saw her grow up to be a woman of God.

On this trip, I also had the opportunity to meet up with the leaders of the church and with a few of the new believers who came to know Christ through our ministry. I am just amazed at all the powerful ways in which Christ has been working. We are constantly reminded that it is not about us, but all about His glory!

This trip was particularly encouraging because I got a glimpse of how HMCC of Austin is being faithful to one of their callings to reach the nations. We had a potluck dinner after Sunday Celebration and the members were supposed to bring a dish from their country. We had cuisine represented from – China, Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Nigeria, Jamaica, Germany, and etc.

Many of these people are pre-Christians and our committed members are doing the hard work of building relationships and investing in their lives. Not only is the harvest field great, but I believe that HMCC of Austin will reap a tremendous harvest for the Lord in the days to come.
 
 
 

 
I find myself constantly re-learning the important lessons of faith and obedience. In fact, they are both related to one another. You cannot have one without the other. As I take this time to reflect on my short four day trip to Chile, I realize how much of my life and where we are as a church are related to faith and obedience.

As I think about how God even opened this door for Chile, I wonder to myself, “What would have happened if I did not obey the Holy Spirit that early February morning when God spoke to me about Chile?” In light of everything that is going on in my life and the life of the church, it would not have made sense for me to make this trip, but something was stirred within me.

Now, after meeting so many great people, leaders and pastors, along with the privilege of witnessing the earthquake and tsunami affected areas, I can say with 100% confidence that God somehow rewarded the steps of faith I took in trying to obey His leading.

This is the amazing part of our journey with Christ. He sometimes takes our faltering faith and even our opaque obedience and then turns it around to show us something incredible. I am realizing in greater magnitude that this is how our relationship with Christ is supposed to be lived out on a daily basis. Is there any other way? No wonder, this life with Christ was promised to be abundant and full (Jn 10:10).

On our last day in Chile, Pastor Pete, Pastor Ben and I sat down with the leaders of the Pueblos de Dios church on a beautiful ranch near the mountains. We began to dream together about how God wanted to reach the great nation of Chile through the partnership that God forged together. We are thrilled at the prospects.

We will be sending a team from HMCC-AA in late December of this year to partner with the members of Pueblos de Dios. The focus with be to minister to some of the devastated areas in Constitucion and Cauquenes. Our hope is that a church can get started through our joint efforts. Then, we will do ministry in and around Santiago by working in some of the local churches, as well as linking up with the college students and young working professionals to reach out to several of the universities in Santiago.

It is amazing how God orchestrates and brings like-minded people together. As we shared our vision of reaching out to university students around the world, they expressed how God has been placing that burden in their hearts as well. The university students are the future of Chile and we want to make impact for the next generation. As we will see lives being transformed with the Gospel, the transformation of Chile will soon follow.

I am thankful that God is truly opening a door for us to re-engage Latin America with the Gospel. Now, as God is already doing His part, we need to do our part – this is the beauty of hopping on the train with what God is doing. All we have to do is enjoy the ride.
 
 
 

We went to a ranch to spend some time to strategize and plan for the future
 
 
 

The view was awe-inspiring. There is definitely something inspiring about mountains
 
 
 

I love the Latino culture. We just hung out and sang songs together
 
 
 

Street entertainers are common in the streets of Santiago
 
 
 

My little Latina friend

 
It is hard to believe that we have been here for only 3 days and God has given us the privilege of witnessing so many different things. On Tuesday, we went to two different locations where the earthquake and the tsunami hit. I have seen a lot of pictures on the internet but there is something different about seeing it firsthand. It broke my heart to see the reality of devastation.

As we visited two cities, we got an inside looked at the devastation. It was hard to believe that the disaster happened 8 months ago because there was still a lot of destruction and rebuilding that needed to take place. Constitucion was the first city that we visited. This was the place where the tsunami killed hundreds of people and left a path of destruction. Then we headed out to Cauquenes, where the earthquake literally ripped buildings in half. It is estimated that half of all the buildings in this town were completely flattened. We were told that even though progress has been made, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Throughout the four hour drive from Santiago to these cities, God reminded me of 3 things:

 
 
 
Here is a video update from all three of us:
 
 

 
 
 
 

Here are some pictures of our trip so far

 
 

The Center City of Santiago
 
 
 

The whole city is surrounded by beautiful snow-capped mountains
 
 
 

One of the universities in the city of Santiago
 
 
 

Makeshift outhouses for a camp which had about 400 people affected by the tsunami
 
 
 

A Catholic Church devastated by the earthquake
 
 
 

This is where the tsunami entered into the city of Constitucion and killed hundreds
 
 
 

A damaged home from the tsunami
 
 
 

A whole street of houses were eliminated because of the tsunami
 
 
 

Some temporary houses for people who lost everything
 
 
 

Some of the Chilean pastors that we have been meeting in the last 2 days
 
 
 

You cannot be a vegetarian and minister in Chile :-) This is the famous Chilean BBQ!
 

 
After being here in Chile for less than 14 hours, I am more convinced than ever that God has truly opened this door for us as a church. God is doing some incredible things here. We are thankful that God has allowed us to partner up with Pueblo de Dios. Pastor Pete and I have been able to visit several churches and witness all that God is doing through the Body of Christ. I also had the privilege of preaching to the leaders of Pueblo de Dios church.

For me it has been a very sentimental experience. I didn’t realize how much of my missions experience has been in Latin America over the years. As soon as we landed in Chile, it brought back a lot of good memories from my experience in Peru. Chile is a beautiful country. It has a lot of incredible scenery with all its mountains. The people are also making an incredible impression on me. Whether it is the Latino culture or their love for people, it has been refreshing to be greeted warmly by their genuine love for people (hand shake, hug, hand shake and in that order!).

We will be heading out to the earthquake and tsunami affected areas tomorrow. Please keep us in your prayers.

Here is a personal video from Pastor Pete and me.
 
 

 
I am at a 24-hour cafe inside Changi airport in Singapore. It is definitely one of the busiest airports in Asia. Instead of trying to go to sleep, I have decided to stay awake so that I can get back on U.S. time quicker. This trip out to Singapore and Jakarta was just awesome. I am thankful for all the things that God has allowed me to witness. In fact, on this trip, God did a few things: 1) Reaffirmed and solidified a lot of the convictions that I had about church and missions; 2) Rattled my paradigm of what it means to be the church and do church.

There is a lot to share, so I will wait until I get back. I’m looking forward to engaging in what God has called me to do. We are definitely living in exciting times, as it is a “kairos” moment in history. I always get humbled to think that our God has given me the privilege of, not only witnessing these things firsthand, but to actually have the opportunity to participate in it. All I can say is, “wow!”
 
 

 
The last 3.5 days here in Indonesia has been a blessing. I have been overjoyed to see all the familiar faces, as well as meeting some new people here at HMCC-JKT. The church is growing and God’s faithfulness and power are evident as people are experiencing transformation. It really is an excited time and I am thankful that I had the privilege of witnessing it with my own eyes.

I decided to do an interview with the Juns and ask them 2 questions: 1) What they enjoyed about being in Indonesia, and 2) what they missed from the States. Oh yeah… Emanuel wanted to get in the interview therefore I had to ask him some questions as well. Enjoy!
 
 

 
I arrived safely to Jakarta late last night. My time in Singapore was a blessing as I was able to strengthen the believers in HMCC-SGP. Today, the one year anniversary celebration for HMCC-JKT went well. We were reminded that God blesses us so that we can be blessing. The next three days will be filled with meetings and I am thankful for the privilege of reconnecting with people. I am humbled and honored to be a part of what God is doing. Here is a video blog update.
 
 

 
It been great spending time with Jackson and Rachel. I am so proud of them as they are heading up HMCC-SGP. I have been also meeting up with some alumni and new members of this church. God is at work and we want to continue to participate in what He is doing here in Singapore. Here is a brief interview with them.
 
 

 
I have decided to change things up and instead of writing in my blog, I will do a video blog. I will try to write from time to time, but I am going to give this a try throughout my trip to Asia. One thing I love about being out here, in these global cities is that you are constantly connected through wifi.

It will be great having you journey with me on this trip as I will be tweeting and putting things on my blog. Please keep my trip in prayer. Thanks for the partnership in the Gospel. I am expecting God to do great things.
 
 

 

Photo on Wordpress
 
 
 
Last week was an eventful week as I made a trip out to Hong Kong and Singapore. In Hong Kong, I reconnected with some of our alumni and met up with some pastors and ministry leaders. It was an eye-opening trip as I heard about some of the great things that God is doing in Hong Kong. Even though I visited Hong Kong a few times before, for some reason this trip was different. I really felt like God opened my eyes to the harvest and gave me a greater burden for this great global city.

God also used my trip out to Singapore to remind me of the great need for believers to be a visual display and a viable demonstration of God’s love. When the Church, which is made up of people begin to live out its calling to be the salt and light of the world, we will see transformation start to happen.

I am thankful for the privilege of witnessing firsthand all that God is doing out in this region of the world. I am also humbled to know that God is trying to raise up people in our churches to take up the Macedonian call (Ac 16:9-10).

During my flight back to Jakarta, I was able to jot down some of my thoughts from my trip. I wrote down five major lessons and reminders from this trip:

 
 
As I am seeing some of these things firsthand, it is making it hard for me to go back to the States; but I know that God is calling me and my family to go back and raise up more Kingdom workers who will eventually go to some of these nations and build God’s Kingdom. I am just privileged to have witnessed it. The best is yet to come!

 
I think adjusting from my time in the States and trying to engage with what was happening in S.E. Asia was not as easy as I thought. The change in time zone and the long trans-Pacific flight made the adjustment hard, but there was no time for rest as I had back to back meetings. I had less than 30 hours in Singapore, but it was a fruitful trip.

It is always encouraging to see the HMCC alumni. When I see them, I am reminded of the importance of the investment that we need to continue to make when they are studying in the States.

I also met up with some of the people who are interested in the church plant. I am realizing that there is a greater hunger for biblical community. There are many churches in Singapore that do an awesome job with their Sunday Celebrations. But one comment I keep on hearing over and over is the great need for the churches in Singapore to strengthen the small group ministries and even put a greater emphasis on what happens outside of Sunday.

It is my hope and prayer that we will be able to fill that void and display what biblical community can be like in the future.

The meeting with the core group for the HMCC of Singapore church plant went well. I am just laying down the foundation and trying to put the emphasis on what it is that God wants to do in this great city. We have been covering some basic themes in the Book of Acts. So far, I have talked about the paradigm of house churches as we look into the New Testament and also about the work of the Holy Spirit in the early church. Recently, I talked about the Acts 2:42-27 and the importance of biblical community. This passage has been the foundational passage for HMCC.

Some of the key members and I have talked about the spiritual warfare that they have been experiencing. I told them that this is normal because Satan knows that having a church that is focused on building God’s Kingdom and a passion for transformation will not help his cause, therefore Satan will do anything and everything to hinder God’s work. What we need more than anything else is prayer and God’s Word to strengthen us (Eph 6:10-20).

Here are some lessons that I was reminded with in my time at Singapore: