Photo on neonlite.ca
It has already been two days so far here in the United States and I feel like I have been here for a week. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but all I know is that my heart is more convinced that we need to stay true to our vision and mission.
The first thing that I experienced when I landed in Ann Arbor was this acute feeling that things were different. In my first trip back to the States in November 2009, there was this overwhelming feeling of being “back home.” In fact, it was a great feeling. But this time around, things felt so surreal and a bit confusing for me. Maybe it was the repercussions of being out of the country for 8 months. I am not sure. But it was definitely a new experience for me.
So far, on Monday I have met up with the Ann Arbor pastors, the new Jakarta Team, and hung out with Pastor Andrew and his family. Then on Tuesday morning I flew out to Austin. I spent some time with Pastor Ben and his family. In the evening we had a prayer gathering for HMCC of Austin, where I shared God’s heart for what He is doing around the world and what we sensed that God wanted to do in Austin. It was a good time of prayer.
I also met some new faces. I was encouraged to meet people who came to know the Lord this year, as well as people who received Christ last year. I had some great conversations with some of the first members of the church back in 2008. God is truly faithful.
Then I ended up talking to one of the leaders until the wee hours of the night (hence this 4AM post).
We still have a full schedule for the next few days here in Austin and then I will be heading back to HMCC of Ann Arbor to minister on the weekend. Then next week, it is off to visit HMCC of Chicago.
Thanks for praying. God is definitely giving me the strength.
Due to my packed schedule, I am trying to microblog more via Twitter, which then goes directly to Facebook. If you want to keep up with what is happening here in the States, you can follow me on Twitter or Facebook.
More to come…