From West Coast to Far East

Our time in San Diego at the EFCA One conference went very well. Mike and I led the pre-conference presentation of the Pathways Bible Study Method for lay people. We covered the whole 13-week course in four - 1/2 hours so it was a race, but those attending really seemed to like it. Some said it was exactly what they needed in their ministry. We had a good cross section of pastors, missionaries and laymen who attended, about 18 in all. We hope to follow up with them over the next several months to see how they are using the study and to get feedback from them that will help us improve the course. All in all, we were very pleased with the way the day went and the outcome we received.

 

We had one other day at the conference before we left for Asia, and I spent the entire day dialoguing with lots of different people about what we do and how they might get involved. I gave about 50 copies of our lay study away so we will see how people respond. In general, we had very good responses and people were receptive to trying it out and even helping us in some way to produce or promote the ministry. My teammates all had similar experiences as well. Brad and Eric gave a commercial at the Expository Preaching pre-conference workshop and reported that Pathways is becoming much better known among pastors in the EFCA, and many people are talking about it. About a dozen or so new pastors signed up to get information about training opportunities in the future. In every way, we thought the conference was a great success for our team.

We got up on Thursday at 4 am to head to the airport and flew to Seattle, Tokyo and finally Bangkok. It was a long tiring trip made a little easier because on two of the legs we got bumped up to business class which was fun. We got to Bangkok Friday night (you lose a day on the trip due to the date line) and went to the hotel where we always stay overnight only to find we had booked the wrong hotel. We got the Thongta Residence rather than the Thongta Resort, both cheap overnight hotels. So late at night we had to get a taxi to take us over to the right hotel, and the driver couldn’t find it right off so we didn’t get to bed until midnight. Thanks to jet lag, we were up bright and early the next morning and went to the airport for breakfast and our flight on to Chiang Mai. A few perks, a few hassles, weird hours, pretty much a normal trip.

We are now in Chiang Mai and have had our first day of training. It went well. The material this time is on the Salvation Story of the Bible and is going to be difficult for the students to fully grasp. It is also my first time to teach it, and already I have lots of ideas about how it needs to be changed. One student said she thought at the beginning that the material was too hard and she could not understand it. But as she listened, she began to understand and finally thought by the end of the day that she would do okay. So for her at least we had success and I think many others felt the same way.

I am teaching alone this time and it was a tiring day. My feet were feeling like they got hammered after standing on the concrete barefoot all day. It is warm here but not unbearably hot like it was a few weeks ago so we are thankful for that. As we began yesterday the men sang some songs while waiting for one student to show up, and I was struck by what a privilege it is to be here with them and to teach them how to study the Word. I really enjoy being with them. I am looking forward to a good day today. Edie and I are both up around 3 am so are well prepared for the day by 8:30. So far, we haven’t made it past 8 pm before we crash, but gradually we will get in sync. Thanks for your prayers! 

Al

Haiti Training Trip

I am sorry that I have not been able to communicate before now about my trip to Haiti. Our internet has been down for three days. Thank you so much for praying for me as I train in here, the training has gone fantastically. The men are responding well and capturing the vision for training many others here. Tomorrow, we will discuss the next steps toward that end. Most of these guys are very well trained but love the simplicity of our approach. I think they see it as a way to train others who have less academic background. We have had many encouraging responses. One man said he had been praying for months about the desperate need to train pastors how to study the Word and preach, and had really felt the Lord calling him to do something about this. But he did not know how. He said our training is an answer to his prayers. He knows it will require sacrifice on his part, physically, spiritually and even financially to do this but he is willing. This man is very bright, teaches at the seminary and has a great reputation. We think he may be a foundation stone to build on. Another US pastor, who is with us on this trip, said he also is willing to help with the training and perhaps can come more than once a year to do so. Other top leaders are already thinking about ways to spread the training. We are thrilled.

I asked for prayer for spiritual warfare while I am here. I have sensed no opposition at all and I think it is because so many of you have been praying. Thank you so much. Please continue. We have two more days here and then travel home on Monday. Thanks for partnering with us in this battle for the Kingdom.

Al

Home Again!

Edie and I are now home and trying hard to get through jet lag. It seems it is much harder to do this once we are at home, than it is to do in Asia at the beginning of our trips. We consider our latest trip to be a wonderful success. Two groups were graduated with outstanding final sermons in some cases and fully adequate ones for all. The last three years with these men has made an amazing difference in their lives and is producing significant changes and growth in their congregations. 

Our time at the Asia conference was a pleasant end to our trip allowing us to rest up some but also giving us a chance to make great contacts with some of our Asian ReachGlobal staff. Next June we will be traveling with Daniel Holmquist to India and Nepal, after our training in Thailand, to explore new training opportunities for the coming years. Daniel helped me in Thailand this time and did an outstanding job. He will be overseeing South Asia so I will be working closely with him for training in that area. 

My priorities now are to update all of our curriculum with what we have learned in the past year and then to produce a good lay version for roll out in June at the national conference. Please be in prayer for me on this regard as it is a large project with much to accomplish between now and then. I really believe this lay project will have significant impact in US churches as well as some of our overseas contacts as well. 

Al

Thailand Training Update

The training for the men in Chiang Mai went very well, despite the usual problems with translation but we were able to navigate that okay. The men have shown such great improvement over the past two years. It really is remarkable. Daniel, a ReachGlobal cohort, trained with me. It was his first time working in a training with nationals and he did well. He commented, “If this is the hardest group you have then this material works really well.” He was quite impressed with the sermons the men presented.

I continue to learn with each training trip. On this trip, I saw that some of the tools we teach early on get lost as we add new tools later. In addition, the men can preach on each section quite well but have trouble seeing the flow of the message through the whole passage. I think that the Lord has given me clarity on how to address both of those issues as we go forward. I also have been struggling to determine how to write our workshop on the Redemptive Story well. I have not been satisfied with what we have. I think I finally have some direction on that as well. 

We are now at the ReachGlobal Asia conference in Southern Thailand. It is beautiful here and the hotel is really nice. It is a good break for us after three hard weeks of training and travel. My back is finally clearing up and I have little more than a bit of stiffness, especially if I stand a long time but I can live with that. The massage I got in Chiang Mai was torturous. I had never had a massage before and everyone advised me that a deep tissue massage would help loosen my back. It did but the price was high. Wow! A rather large Thai woman gave me a real workout and it was quite painful. After an hour of working on me, she took me downstairs and asked a muscular Thai man to finish because she didn’t think she was strong enough. I had thought she was too strong! He gave me another half hour of torture, and lo and behold, I was quite loosened up, limp perhaps from all the pain. Anyway, my back has been improving ever since. I went to the only chiropractor in Chiang Mai and I don’t think he helped me at all. All in all, I am thankful to be mostly pain free and able to get around well now.

Our time here at the conference has been wonderful with good opportunities to connect with people interested in our Pathways program. We had good discussions with some Hmong leaders and we are making plans to begin something with them in a year or so. There are approximately one million Hmong Christians in Asia, 400,000 in Vietnam alone, and almost none of them have formal training. Pray with us that we can get all of the issues resolved to begin training trainers for them by 2016.

In our main session, a missionary give a testimony of discipling an Indonesian man. It was an amazing story of humble and effective influence in this man’s life. Then the missionary said he had learned about Pathways and had begun using it with the men in his area and that it was so wonderful. He gave us a great endorsement. I had never met this man and had no idea he was using our material. I was amazed and delighted that the Lord was spreading our training far beyond us. All glory to Him.

Al