WLS+AZ Missions - Update #6

WLS+AZ Missions - Update #6

  Sunday, July 12, 2015 at 12:22 AM    Unknown

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I felt God calling me to this trip because He told me that He wanted to show me something. A week before this trip, it finally hit me that I was going on missions. I felt prepared but also nervous because I was not sure what I would be doing at a Native Conference. But God really took all that fear and nervousness away when we entered the WLS camp site. During the week, it was cool seeing about 120 different tribes worshiping God. A lot of them have passion for God and they have thirst for Him. I learned a lot that week, through the Warrior Circles (Worship), Battle Council (Workshop), Life Circles (Cabin Times), and One on One times. I have noticed there are a lot of similarities between Asian culture and Native Culture. Some are that they are very traditional and they put respecting their elders very highly. A lot of them struggle with depression, drugs, abuse, and sexual pleasure. During Life Circles, I felt God working in everyone in my cabin, even through me. He gave me an opportunity to lead the small group. At first I was not looking forward to it because leading is not my strong suit. But God gave me the ability to lead, and showed me that He is in control and that I should always trust in him. That week was a good pre-cursor for the Arizona trip, because during WLS, I made strong bonds with some people in my cabin, so that during Arizona we could share about deeper things.

Once I got to Arizona, I was psychically drained from the previous week. I was not looking forward to the things God had planned for me, since I was so tired. With a lot of prayer, God gave me a burst of energy whenever I was low. This week of Arizona was so much more different than other trips I have been on. It was really spiritually challenging, because there was a lot of spiritual warfare. There was a kid in my small group that came once, but that one time he came; he was singing a peyote song that supposedly invited evil spirits to come. After that, we felt a lot of hardships; team members were injured, some were mentally uneasy, and we were not unified as a team. With faithful praying, things started to change; our team was more unified, and people were getting healed. But the battle was not over yet, one of the navajo, which was one of my good friend had a bracelet that had a evil spirit within it. I guess God had this plan where he wanted me to cast out the evil spirit. When we were on the way to pick up the bracelet from his house, I started to doubt myself and God's power, and fear started to enter my mind. But one of the counselors prayed for courage, which helped a lot. When it is time to pray over this bracelet, I sensed the Holy Spirit watching and protecting me. After a lot of prayer, we all felt relieved through God's love. I felt as if this was why God wanted me to go on this trip. Afterwards, I felt as though God showed me that I may have the gift of discernment to be able to help remove this evil spirit and further God's kingdom.

Praises and Thanksgivings:

- Thank God for giving us the energy to do everything and more through these past 2 weeks.

- Thank God that I was able to meet and bond with different natives, not just Navajo.

- Praise God for everyone who accepted Christ in the weeks of WLS & Arizona.

- Thank God for protection from the evil spirits.

- Since I was the only boy in my grade that went, I felt alone, but thank God for the love he has shown to me through many other people.

-Daniel

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WLS+AZ Missions - Update #5

WLS+AZ Missions - Update #5

  Friday, July 10, 2015 at 5:49 PM    Darren Lo

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It’s Friday already?? What a week! We literally just finished VBS with a big potluck full of fried rice, corn mush, fried rice, some mutton stew, and of course, fried rice! It was a great time to celebrate God’s blessings throughout this week of VBS! Praise God!

As Jared mentioned previously, we have had an abundance of rain, there hasn’t been a day that it didn’t rain out here at least once (except for Friday, but the day isn’t over yet!). Thanks be to God who provides more than we have ever expected this year. With the rain though, came a few challenges getting through the dirt roads to pickup the Navajo. There also hasn’t been a day someone hasn’t gotten stuck on the dirt road either! But thank God, everyone and every vehicle has been safe throughout our travels on the Rez.

Throughout this week of VBS, I have been extremely grateful that I am not teaching in front of the teen’s class this week (thanks, Dan!). And yet, I found myself at a loss for the reason that I am here. I often thought about what my direct role here on the reservation. We learned so much at WLS and found opportunities to apply all we learned last week, and yet I still felt a bit under-utilized this week and left wondering if that is ok. As I prayed earlier this week for God to provide a role, I soon found many opportunities to support our High Schoolers and Collegians through prayer and support; leading prayer times for the team; and even facilitating the schedule during VBS.

And last night, our team had a fairly intense night of fighting through spiritual warfare against the forces that have even attacked some of our own team members. We spent a good amount of time praying and claiming God’s victory through Jesus Christ over Twin Mesa Bible Church, our VBS, and our team. We definitely experienced God’s great power through prayer and worship as we stood in courage and boldness, holding fast to the faith that we believe and share. This experience brought a weight of reality that exists in this place and the firm foothold that Satan has on these people. Yet so many of us claimed God’s light to shine bright even after we leave. May God continue to use our efforts to revolutionize this place and the Navajo people!

Please continue to pray for us even through our “work” of VBS is finished:

• Pray that we continue to have safety as we travel to Flagstaff tomorrow (Saturday) morning and spend the afternoon and night there. And of course, safety as we leave for LA on Sunday!
• Pray for the seeds planted this week in the hearts of the Navajo that they would be cultivated and grow throughout the year.
• Pray for the connections we made with some of the Navajo leaders, that they would remain faithful and steadfast as the mission work in this place moves quite slowly.

Side-note: Our time in WLS has bore fruit through some of the Navajo who attended both weeks. We got to see 3 Navajo partner with our collegians to help lead small groups in our teens’ class. And all 3 got to share their testimonies in front of the entire class on Thursday and Friday—what a blessing and HUGE answer to prayer!

Appreciate your prayer partnership throughout this trip and looking forward to seeing you face-to-face VERY soon.

-Darren

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WLS+AZ Missions - Update #4

WLS+AZ Missions - Update #4

  Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 7:50 AM    Anonymous

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Rain! Lots of Rain on the Rez!!!

God has really blessed us with an abundance of rain and an abundance of kids for VBS. Coming out to the reservation Saturday was a great blessing following WLS. We were quickly united with HSMT and able to share many lessons learned and blessings during the past week at WLS. Our Sunday morning service was a testament to that, as Faith (one of the Navajo missionaries) shared how five Navajo from Hard Rock were commissioned on a month-long missions trip across eleven different reservations in the Northwest. Following our service, we had the great opportunity to canvas and drive out to different houses across the reservation. During our canvasing, God really allowed me to reflect upon the brokenness of the Navajo people. Most of them are scattered far and wide on the reservation, and we may be the only ones to herald the Good News of the Gospel to them.  

Going into our first day of VBS it was a pretty trying time leading teens. Most of us were lost, as teens were being dropped off and funneled onto the church premises. It was like an awkward middle school dance (what Spencer calls it), as we began pulling people to be in our small groups. Through all the awkwardness, we were appointed our small group members for the week. Message and worship time came with many distracted kids and some even making loud comments interjecting the message. By the end of the day, most of us were spent in the chaos. We had many reasons to complain and question why we were here. This was later addressed in our team prayer meeting with HSMT. Even though everybody was spent and was complaining, we were here to serve God first and foremost. He who came did not come to be served, but to serve and to offer His life a ransom to many- Mark 10:45. From our prayer time, we were able to reconcile and unite as fellow team members. We were able to refocus on our mission and our service now, instead of on the worries of life back at home and the future.

I can personally say this is one of the hardest mission trips I’ve been on, and this is my third time being out on the Rez. But through it all, God has made Himself known with one salvation today in teens class. PTL!!! YAY!

Some prayer requests include:

-Further team unity within HSMT and our WLS team.

-Pray against Satan and his schemes as spiritual warfare is rampant. Out of the three years on the Rez, warfare hasn’t been as evident as this year (e.g.  there are Navajo teens attending our VBS and are quite nnpossibly praying AGAINST our work).

-Pray for the kids attending VBS that God will open and soften their hearts to receive the Gospel.

-Pray for energy, strength, and boldness to plan, lead, and journal for small group time.

Thanks!

Peace to You,

Laucrae

Aka Jared Lau

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WLS+AZ Missions - Update #3

WLS+AZ Missions - Update #3

  Saturday, July 4, 2015 at 10:47 PM    Unknown

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Wowza! What a week it has been! So, update on our journey. It has consisted of a pretty competitive game of whist, killing 16 hours of time in the airport, hasty target runs, pretty good Japanese food in Phoenix, some tornado warnings, a flood, and walking a mile just to eat waffles. Overall, although it was a lot of traveling, it was a great team bonding experience on what we call "vacation day"! Praise the Lord that we have arrived safely to the Navajo Reservation! 

During the car ride to Flagstaff, we just ended up reflecting and discussing the team’s individual experiences we had at WLS. We talked about what God has taught us this week not only about Native Americans and their culture but ourselves as well. Personally, my WLS experience was pretty hard due to the constant humidity, what seemed like miles on miles of walking, and stressing about homework. Besides all that, I am glad I decided to go to WLS because it has taught me so much about not only the Navajo culture but the Native American culture as well. It has also given me the opportunity to bond with the girls on a more personal level because they seemed more comfortable in that setting rather than being bombarded with strangers from Chinatown. They were open to talking about the things that are going on in their lives and it gave me the opportunity to pray for them. During WLS, I also learned what it was like to be a counselor instead of a camper. I learned to look at the messages and workshops more so from the lives of the girls rather than my own personal life. 

Prayer requests for this week:

1. The team would not tire out and be able to have energy to keep going. That we would be able to see this new week on the Rez not as the last week before we go home, but we would be able to see it as the last opportunity we have to reach out to the Navajos.
2. Pray that although we do have some more insight on the Native American culture, that the team would stay humble and be willing to learn even more. 
3. Lastly, pray for boldness in our actions this week and that we would do things with intention and with willing/open hearts and minds. 

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WLS+AZ Missions - Update #2

WLS+AZ Missions - Update #2

  Friday, July 3, 2015 at 9:40 AM    Unknown

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What a gorgeous Thursday! Not only was the weather finally agreeable (vs. being humid, tornado warnings and flood warnings) so I was able to go canoeing on the lake, but God was continuing to deepen my knowledge and heart for the Native Americans and the impact and realizing the importance of this conference upon their community. Over 150 tribes gathered here to listen to messages, worship and develop connections, almost similar to our own FCBC camp.  Some traveled over a few days, even weeks (e.g. Alaskans), to attend.  Because many were not-yet believers, the content was basic, but put in the context of their culture it was so enlightening!  What a rare opportunity and privilege we had to spend an entire week living and eating with the Navajo and to have a small glimpse of their struggles and hopes.

Jared and I roomed with 6 Navajo males, who have all attended our VBS, ranging in ages from 15 to 30.  Even with eons of small group leading experience, I was intimidated on the first night because they were rowdier than any other grade I've had at FCBC (except for Danny Orh and Keenan Tong's grade <grin>), but despite their rough exteriors and lack of Christian upbringing, they shared fairly openly during "life circles", or cabin times, and spontaneous one-on-ones while waiting in line for food or trekking back and forth to and from our dorms.  By the end of the week, we were laughing at and with one another and genuinely treasured the camaraderie we had built.

Seared memories:

• Hearing wild, whooping war cries during a blackout
• Swapping late night skinwalker/demon stories
• Sitting on a rocking chair enjoying the view of the lake and being educated about Ric Flair and WWF from one of the Navajo
• Listening to the genuine joy and repentance of a man who found God at WLS but was struggling with alcoholism and abusing his wife
• Screaming fanatically and proudly over one of the Navajo youth who was performing at the annual talent show

Navajo 101 lessons, reinforced and new:

• Suicide is a sad epidemic in a majority of Native American communities.
• They are a very spiritual people and have a special connection to and appreciation of creation.
• The story of the flood is also included in the history of some tribes, further proving we are all descendants of Noah.
• Satanists are uniting across the world to crash and counteract the work of Christian gatherings and movements (e.g. there was at least one at WLS praying against us).
• Medicine men are to maintain harmony between the people and the spirit world which the Natives believe needs to be appeased, but then the medicine men can be so bound by these evil spirits that if they reveal their demonic sources their family's lives and health can be at stake.
• We should NOT be turning to or dabbling with any other source (e.g. witchcraft, elements, ancestral worship, etc) than God Himself.
• The missionaries and leaders like Faith are so faithful but lonely in their toil of love; they desperately need our prayers, encouragement and assistance.

Please pray as we transition from WLS back to 1 week on the Rez (i.e.:  infrequent showering, no A/C, the danger of being more comfortable among our own people, etc.) and build upon our experiences and relationships forged from WLS.

Deacon Candidate Spencer Sun

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WLS+AZ Missions - Update #1

WLS+AZ Missions - Update #1

  Wednesday, July 1, 2015 at 7:33 AM    Unknown

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What's WLS like?
IT'S SO HUMID!!!! WLS has been quite an adventure so far... to say the least. Imagine going to camp but knowing only less than ten people and being obviously different from everyone else. The camp is a lot bigger than I imagined it to be before coming. Personally, I was a bit overwhelmed by how much was going on the first day and how intimidated I felt by the amount of people that were at the first Warrior Circle. But slowly, after talking and getting to know the girls in my cabin and talking to people during meals & free time, I discovered that the intimidation was only in my mind. I mean, it's still hard being thrown into an environment completely different from what home feels like and somewhere completely outside of my comfort zone and including that top it off with a culture that I am pretty unfamiliar with... but everyone has been very welcoming and approachable. And although it has been a bit difficult connecting with the girls in my cabin, one thing I know that we have in common is our faith and that I believe is the strongest connection that we can have. But back to what WLS is like... it's very green and you feel sticky all the time, my body is very confused by this weather. All in all, it's been a crazy couple of days. 

Things that I have noticed so far include two things: 1) how little I know about the world outside of California 2) how similar two different cultures can be. Since this is my first missions trip, I came into it not knowing what to expect. My sheltered life has made it quite difficult to understand what life is like outside of my bubble- whether it is as simple as the weather or something as complex as family problems. However, one thing that I have been encouraged by consistently is our likeness in our faith in God. During our down time, I have noticed that our two cultures (Native vs. Asian) have a lot more similarities than I would have imagined before this trip. Two cultures that weigh heavily on ancestral respect and following a westernized religion have a lot of similar issues when it comes to which one should follow. Coming to WLS has widened my eyes in a way I did not expect it would. 

Please pray that we won't be discouraged by any unfamiliar circumstances that may continue to come our way (like the intense THUNDERSTORM at 5am this morning!). Pray that I have the energy to continue these next couple of days. 

xoxo gossip girl 

aka Holly Young

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