"Those whom the Eternal One has recalled…they will go along so easily. They will walk this path, come waltzing to Zion, singing their way to that place of right relation to God. An aura of joy never-ending will attend them; they will clasp gladness and joy to their hearts, while sadness and despair evaporate into thin air." - Isaiah 35:10

Before we departed for Kashmir, India, I happened to meet an Indian physician.

“Any advice for me before I leave for Kashmir?”

He grimaced. “Don’t go.”

From that inauspicious send-off, we flew into Delhi and then north to Kashmir. The sheer beauty of the rushing streams, snow-capped Himalayas, and herds of sheep grabbed at my senses. It seemed impossible that anyone could miss finding God in the midst of His dramatic creation.As a Christian medical team—the first Western practitioners to come to this Muslim area since 1947—we functioned as Jesus’ hands and feet. Although we had secured permission to pray on behalf of the people, it required some creativity. So we were Team 24 Medical Relief, Jesus being the twenty-fourth prophet in Islam. Our team shirts sported three mountaintops that, to us, represented Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Clinic in Pahalgam meant climbing a steep hill, so we opted to ride ponies to the site. Hijab wrapped around my hair to be culturally sensitive, I mounted a gray horse and we began the ascent. Beautiful scenery, exotic surroundings (we don’t normally see frolicking baboons), and the crisp, clean air at 8,000 feet were awesome.With the clip clop of horses’ hooves as background to birdsongs, I spoke to my horse and patted her muscular neck. Every time she heard my voice, her left ear tilted back to listen.“You’re such a good girl. Such a beautiful baby.”In truth, I had no clue if my ride was male or female. She had no idea what I was saying. But the beauty of her strength and the strength of my affection came through to each of us.

We had arranged for translators to ask medical questions at clinic and couldn’t have done the work-ups without them. From student nurses to community helpers, they were invaluable and tireless. Relationships were made. Christianity was modeled. People got medicines, exercises for sore backs, and wellness teaching. This is a textual snapshot of what we accomplished.And yet in some indefinable way, the patients seemed to sense our love and care even without language, and we sensed their total trust. Similar to the connection I felt with my gray pony, the sick and hungering of Kashmir connected with all of us. Hugs, tears, and handshakes were exchanged. Presented as “we all pray to the same God,” many people agreed to prayer. Miracles happened. Cloudy cataract eyes were opened to see the clouds floating over the mountains. Deaf ears were unstopped to hear words of encouragement and peace. Frozen jaws were released to give thanks. And so much more.

One woman—obviously very, very poor but dressed in her finest—pulled up several layers of clothing and began digging in her pocket. I assumed it must be medicine she was already taking, a note from a local doctor, or perhaps a handkerchief. She finally held out a small, red, fabric bag, which she placed in my hands with a smile. Inside were six Kashmiri eggs. This gift would have been a week’s worth of food for her family.

Tears came to my eyes. We hugged. I whispered a prayer into her ear. The widow’s mite of Scripture came to mind. And I understood that no matter how much money I ever make in my lifetime, nothing will rival the riches of those six speckled eggs in a woven, threadbare sack.Experiences along the way were as varied as the locations we visited. We three medical practitioners treated 700 patients in our short time there. We used $1,700.00 of donated money to purchase medicines and supplies. We traveled by plane, boat, horse, and car. These are the stats. They tell no tales.Jesus was with us in a Caesarean-section delivery, as I prayed for a Muslim baby girl as she took her first breath. He was there as I embraced a woman who lost a baby. And as relationships were forged with local leaders, teachers, and communities; His name did not have to be uttered. There were no other Westerners anywhere, and everyone understood we were unabashedly servants of the Living God.As people at a public garden rushed to take selfies with us, I hoped that they got pictures of the Holy Spirit shining through our eyes. That the simple peace, love, and acceptance of Jesus was evident in us. And that rather than flower seeds, the seeds of the Kingdom were being sown.

There were challenges to be sure. Mission trips are like that. Kashmiri and American cultures work in different ways. It’s not wise to romanticize the idea of medical mission travel. However, after years of traveling the world for recreation, the only trips I now long for are those to serve God. Not because anyone on the team is “such a good person,” “so dedicated,” or “an inspiration.” Quite the opposite. We are flawed human beings who have been blessed with a Call that brings us joy.

We all hope to return to Kashmir and visit villages that are even more remote and needy. Touching damaged lives with medicine is a big responsibility. Touching broken hearts and souls with Jesus’ message of hope and salvation is an even bigger charge. We ventured into the altitude, but our work will not disappear into thin air. Instead, we pray for a renewed breath of grace for Kashmir’s beautiful souls.

Upon entering Charity Children’s Home in Yangon, Myanmar we were greeted by more than 200 beautiful, joyful, smiling faces running to us to give hugs. It can be difficult in the mayhem to see individual faces in the crowd or to take time to find the one and to build a relationship.

Enter Su Ye, a 13-year-old boy who was born in a poor village in Kayah State. Su Ye’s father died while his mother was pregnant with him, and Su Ye’s mother was too poor to provide for his daily needs and was not even able to send him to school because there was no school in his village. Su Ye’s mother took him to a church in Kayah State that was planted by the founder of Charity Children’s home, Pastor James Lian Sai. She asked if the church could care for the boy and the church happily accepted him.With the mother’s permission, they sent him to be cared for at Charity Children’s Home in Yangon. Spending time with Su Ye was so refreshing, especially hearing his story and his dreams and aspirations. He shared with me the things he is most grateful for. The first one being that he is grateful that he is saved. He said, “I even wrote the date I was saved down in my Bible.”The second thing he is grateful for is that he is able to get a good education and third, that he has been given the opportunity to play the keyboard. His dream is to serve God with his musical talents. Because of your prayer and faithful giving, Su Ye has accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and savior and is being lovingly cared for. He has the opportunity for an education and to chase after the dreams God has placed on his heart.

Su Ye is one of 220 children at Charity Children’s Home and one out of 708 being cared for daily through SEAPC Raising Kids. There is no limit to what God can do in the life of a believer and Su Ye’s story is an example of that. The significance of each and every child being cared for can be lost at times when looking at the multitude.Jesus set the ultimate example for us when He shared the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:1-7. Jesus’ story emphasizes how much God cares for every person and the joy He expresses when a “lost sheep” is found.A few years ago, I started to think about how cool it would be to film a video focused on the life of just one child living in Charity Children’s Home, following their daily routine from sunup to sundown. On my trip to Myanmar last month, we finally had the skilled human resources to bring this long-awaited vision to life.Most importantly, Su Ye agreed to let our team film a day in his life. As you watch this video and enjoy a look inside Charity Children’s Home, I pray that, above all else, it will serve as a reminder to follow Jesus’ example of focusing on the individual. Thank you for standing with us in prayer and through your giving.[embed]httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ok0Vt-dehs[/embed]My prayer is that the Lord will continue to give us more opportunities to find the one and bring them to Him.

This post originally appeared in the February 2017 SEAPC Magazine.This past year I had the great opportunity to meet the children my family sponsors in Myanmar and Nepal. I have often been asked how my trips are, why I do them, and thoughts about sponsoring a child. First, it is hard for me to respond in a rational sense on why I do these trips but it makes me feel closer to God. As a disciple of Christ, I strive to be an agent and represent the kingdom of God in all my weakness. I strive to bring faith, hope, and forgiveness and most of all, love. As for the worldly reason, a 2013 study by the University of San Francisco supports the child sponsorship method of giving. Child sponsorship results in an improvement of a child completing secondary school by 27 to 40 percent, completing university education by 50 to 80 percent and obtaining a white collar job by about 35 percent. The focus of child sponsorship is on developing human beings versus just provisioning for them. The overall gain is to improve the social fabric of the country. I have also seen SEAPC is using my donations to the maximum effect, bringing light to where there has only been darkness.

I am frequently asked if I am afraid of the long flights, going into a poverty environment, or afraid of getting sick. I take heart in Isaiah 43:1-7, from Matthew Henry’s Commentary: “God’s favor and good-will to his people speak abundant comfort to all believers. The new creature, wherever it is, is of God’s forming. All who are redeemed with the blood of his Son, he has set apart for himself. Those that have God for them need not fear who or what can be against them. What are Egypt and Ethiopia, all their lives and treasures, compared with the blood of Christ? True believers are precious in God’s sight, his delight is in them, above any people. Though they went as through fire and water, yet, while they had God with them, they need fear no evil; they should be born up, and brought out. The faithful are encouraged. They were to be assembled from every quarter and with this pleasing object in view, the prophet again dissuades from anxious fears.”

To me sponsoring a child means developing a relationship with that child and making us both a part of something bigger. Sponsorship gives them security, healthcare, self-esteem, and raises their personal expectations and aspirations. It’s so wonderful to see them being taught God’s Word, faith, morality, and goodness. Sponsorship takes them out of the cycle of poverty, child labor or worse. I also must mention my heroes! They are the teachers and staff that work each day at the schools and homes. They are the ones who teach the children to look for happiness within God and not outside of God. There are no words I can use to express my admiration for their dedication to these kids. They are so awesome in reflecting Christ to the world.

Please join us in praying for the people of Guatemala amid Sunday's devastating volcanic eruptions.According to our SEAPC Guatemala friends, Hector Zetino and Debbie Zetino:

The eruption was sudden and without warning. The fast moving lava quickly flowed over entire villages, causing much destruction, and sending people fleeing for their lives.Sadly, the villages closest to the volcano were quickly overwhelmed by the lava and mud slides- Rescue teams are unable to enter these villages because of the extent of destruction and hot molten lava. Many believe it's impossible for anyone to have survived in these areas.Rescuers have reported hearing the cries of children and families trapped under debris but cannot reach them because of the intense heat of the landscape, melting the shoes of the workers, and mud slides blocking roads, making it difficult for machinery to enter.The volcano is currently still active and erupting. The death toll is rising and the men, women, and children who were able to escape with their lives have lost everything--loved ones, homes, farms and businesses. They are in shock, heartbroken, and many are left injured.Guatemala needs our prayers and support in their relief efforts to care for displaced families and their ongoing rescue efforts. Please pray and consider giving to help us show the love of Jesus to Guatemala and bring relief to the displaced children and families affected by this tragedy.

In the coming weeks, we will be working with SEAPC Guatemala to determine the most pressing local needs and will be assembling disaster relief teams. If you are interested in joining a team, please email us at info@seapc.org to be updated as details become available.

If you feel led to give, click here and enter your donation in the “Faith & Hope Guatemala Relief” box.

This post originally appeared in the February 2018 SEAPC magazine.Just recently, a friend of SEAPC — a missionary to a country that I cannot even mention because of the danger — walked into my office and said, “I want to sponsor a child through SEAPC.” These words always bring great joy to my heart. What followed was me asking her a variety of questions.“Do you have a specific country in mind? Do you have a specific gender in mind? Do you have a specific age range in mind?”We then narrowed the choices down to a child in Myanmar, preferably 10 and younger. At first, we started to look for a girl. There were several options, but eventually we pulled up photos of two girls. As she looked at them, it was easy to see that she wasn’t feeling led by God toward either of them.

Suddenly, she asked if we had any available children in Myanmar whose birthday (month and day) was the same as hers or close to hers. She didn’t care if the child was a boy or girl. We started to search and found a few options. One was a 10-year-old boy. She asked if I could pull up his photo for her to see. When it was up, she immediately said that she wanted to sponsor him. It was easy to see the instant love she had for him in her eyes. He was the one that she was meant to sponsor.Where does my joy come in? It comes in knowing that this child now has someone who instantly cares for him and will be praying for him. It comes in knowing that she, as his sponsor, is going to be blessed because of this relationship. It comes in knowing that lives are being changed for God’s glory.Do you know someone who would be greatly blessed by sponsoring a child? Have you been praying about sponsoring a child yourself? If so, just let me know. I’m always excited to match a child with a sponsor.To learn more about becoming a SEAPC Raising Kids child sponsor, please click here.

“So why Cambodia, at your age?” my friend asked me. He was not being rude - just truthful. After all, I am grey around the muzzle. I’m not sure he understood my answer even though he nodded his head as I explained my reasons to him, and he shook my hand and wished me well. I shared with him how I wanted to retire early while I still felt like doing something significant and that I did not want to pass up such a unique opportunity. What I did not share was the deeper reason. He would not understand the fire burning in my soul.Have you ever felt that you were created to be a part of something larger than yourself? Yet as you lived life you almost went into full-time ministry, you almost went into the mission field, and you almost grabbed onto that purpose for which you were created. Have you ever felt that you were finally presented with the opportunity to step into and grab a hold of the reason you are alive? Well, that is what I felt when Mark Geppert walked into my shop where I taught electrical technology in Western PA.

For years my wife and I thought our opportunities had passed us by, or that we somehow disqualified ourselves or just missed out. So when Mark came to my school and said he was looking to put together a team of vocational teachers to help in Cambodia, it was like a spark of hope beginning to glow inside me. When I called my wife ZoeAnna she was excited also. She did ask me one question, however: “Where’s Cambodia?”Sadly, the administration of my school at that time did not want to be involved with this initiative. So we began checking into the possibility of going on our own and we kept in contact with Mark. ZoeAnna and I were thinking we might be to go the next summer. Then we encountered a more serious roadblock.For some time I had been very fatigued and could not put my finger on a reason. Then, while I was at a robotics competition, I had a heart attack. I ended up in a hospital with a stent in one of my arteries. By God’s mercy, we caught it early and there was no damage to the heart. But the medications they put me on had the side effect of a spiraling slide down into deep depression. It took only three months for me to get to the place spoken about in Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones.I became a pile of dry bones so dry the dogs would not chew on them anymore. While I was at the bottom of the pit, I cried out “Father, I’m at the end of my rope, please throw me a line.” I looked at my laptop thinking there may be something encouraging on YouTube. There was the usual assortment of “funny cats” and “got talent” videos but right at the top of the list was a sermon called “The War in Your Mind” by someone I had never heard of.I chose it because it was short enough for me to watch before I had to be at the church for a building project. As I listened to the sermon and the testimonies of the miraculous, God breathed into me just like He breathed into those dry bones. His breath stirred up a hope that I had not felt in a long time, and I fell to my knees and let the tears flow as Jesus released me from the heavy grip of despair. I got up and went to the work night at the church. Afterward, I came home and played every sermon I could find by Bill Johnson and every one linked to him. I started my journey out of the pit. With each sermon and each testimony, a fire began to burn. We began to sense that we were called—no, created—to do the works that Jesus did. We began to passionately pursue His Kingdom.One pivotal moment was on the way home from a trip to Tennessee. ZoeAnna was reading Heidi Baker’s book “Birthing the Miraculous” aloud. The Holy Spirit was speaking to us with each page. At one point we had to pull over because I could not see to safely drive through the tears. We sat there at the side of the road and cried out “Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Use us, send us, go with us. Where you go we will go, what you say we will say, what you do we will do. Take what remains of our lives. We pour it out for you.” This “yes” birthed from fire is the beginning of our journey to Cambodia.

Did you know that approximately five people die every hour from an opioid overdose in the United States?

This opioid crisis has touched so many different lives and families. The following video was lovingly produced as evidence of a life—once affected by an opioid addiction—changed through prayer.httpss://youtu.be/94NGhhjRnEYThis year, SEAPC Pray Americas will be concentrated on eliminating systems of violence through prayer, specifically focused on the opioid epidemic and widespread violent events. We invite you to join us from June 15 to July 25 as we pray for the American continents. We believe that the nations of the Americas will see breakthrough in this year as a result of earnest prayer!How to get involved:- Click here to learn more about the heart behind SEAPC Pray Americas.- Download our brand new guide to prayer walking to learn how to get started with prayer walking in your community.- Get your church or small group involved by distributing posters or bulletin inserts.- Contact us for additional information.- Let us know when and where you're prayer walking!

This post originally appeared in the June 2018 SEAPC Magazine.Did you know that according to the CDC, 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids? Or that 2.1 million people had an opioid use disorder in the United States alone in 2016? And preliminary numbers state that more people died of drug overdoses (both prescription and illegal drugs) in 2017 in the United States than in the entire Vietnam War which is a staggering increase from 2016.These are just the numbers for the United States. Can you imagine the numbers from every country in both North and South America?Everyone has been affected in some way shape or form. Maybe it was your friend, your co-worker, your child, or maybe it was you. Everyone’s been affected either directly or indirectly. Jeremiah 33:12 states: “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: This land — though it is now desolate and has no people and animals — will once more have pastures where shepherds can lead their flocks.”Will once more.What a beautiful phrase filled with the hope and promise of restoration, and we are in desperate need of restoration. Why do we need restoration? Because we are human and our sinful selves have separated us from the love of God. But He is the God of restoration. He is the God of resurrection. He defeated death, and His love for you and me is so strong that He sent His only son with the command to die and then pick up His life again.

This land is desolate. It’s full of pain and violence. This spirit of malice which is rending the American continents is allowed to roam free to wreak havoc upon the souls of the lost and in the lives of the found. But our God — the living God — has given us not a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and a sound mind. This free will He has given us gives us the opportunity to sin, but more importantly, gives us the opportunity to be used by Him to fulfill His will. God will do what God will do. Don’t you want it to be through you?God’s ultimate desire is to restore man unto himself. Hosea 2:21-22 says, “‘It will come about in that day that I will respond,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth, and the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.’” Jezreel translates as “God plants or sows.” Where has God planted you? He has planted in you a new garden of life, and when your heart, circumcised to the Lord, cries out to reclaim His land… When your heart, soul, mind and will declare the sovereignty of God and proclaim His praises… Then the atmosphere will change and light will come. Restoration will come. For all success in the spirit realm comes from an atmosphere of praise and worship.Don’t you want to be a part of that? Don’t you want to experience God’s mighty hand moving? And that’s the trick — He’s the one who moves. As Moses wrote, “The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.” And I might add, be still and worship and pray.SEAPC is first and foremost a prayer ministry. We are a global Christian community of friends who believe that lives and nations are changed through prayer. Through prayer. We pray for many things, and this year, my dear friends, please stand alongside SEAPC as we pray from June 15 to July 25 for the American continents. Please pray with us against this spirit of malice which is manifested in the opioid crisis and widespread acts of violence.

This post originally appeared in the May 2018 SEAPC Magazine.“‘But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.’ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” Acts 4:17-20Nothing is more powerful than the name of Jesus and nothing can stop us from speaking His name. Nothing has changed since the times of the disciples. The enemies of God are still trying to silence the disciples of Jesus from declaring His name. But His disciples are still fearlessly declaring His name and sharing His victory and love. The threat is still the same now as it was then. By His grace we are having the same response. We will not be silent to speak the name of Jesus into a hopeless and dark world.One of the darkest places is La Limonada of Guatemala City and the surrounding red zone areas — the areas where violence and death are on a cruel rampage, districts that are in the claws of Satan himself. The battle is real and we face real opposition. The enemy doesn’t want to let go of what he thinks is his. The disciples faced that — jail, threats, beatings, intimidation, and even death.As we are stepping into the red zone areas we find young people living under a culture of poverty, death, and violence where the life expectancy is short and early death is the norm. Our mission is to enter these dark places with the light, hope, and love of Jesus, to bring freedom where there is bondage, life where there is death, and hope where there is hopelessness. Just a few months ago, we lost two young adult men (one of whom had children) due to this widespread violence in La Limonada. These are just two examples of the battle we are fighting — but we know who Jesus is.We know Him and know His desires for the lost world for we once were lost ourselves but now we are His. Knowing God’s heart and compassion for these children, we are more determined than ever, in spite of the war, to establish His faith and hope. He has given us the vision to start a place of rescue, a home which is called Faith and Hope.Thanks to God we have people like you who already know about this project and have been praying and giving financially to this endeavor. We are so grateful to each of you. In this ministry home, Faith and Hope, where the children are coming to know Jesus and being discipled, they are also being provided the opportunity to continue their high school education and learn a skill and trade including: welding, baking, tailoring, hair styling, printing, and computer skills, just to name a few.We are driven by God’s love to see that this generation will not die but will live and declare the glory of God. Empowered by the Holy Spirit and the love and generosity of His Body, we are determined to break this vicious cycle of violence and death and bring life and hope through the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Over the weekend, the Garden of Hope sent out yet another class of graduates! Please join us in celebrating their hard work and dedication, and lift them up in prayer as they prepare to go into their communities and plant churches. In commemoration of the occasion, please enjoy this post which originally appeared in the May 2016 SEAPC Magazine. May the Lord continue to bring transformation and revival to Laos through these recent and past graduates!As the ethnic, melodious song of worship was sung in Lao, I was seeing the big smile on Abba’s face, so moved by their genuine hearts. These ten young men were singing unfamiliar, but the most beautiful, songs of praise, their hearts offered to the Most High. The songs penetrated my soul and I could not help but think of the years of prayers that it took to get here: the many hard steps offered in prayer, countless hours in buses to villages, and intense discussions with authorities that culminated to this day. The price was paid in a labor of love, and here I was witnessing the fruit of that labor, and having the honor to deliver God’s word for the day.Before leaving for Vientiane, God spoke to me about revival in Laos. I saw revival fires all along the map of Laos. I kept seeing that this is the generation of revivalists who will transform Laos. In fact, my daughter had gotten sick on our vacation earlier in the week. I went to the store and found a 1-liter bottle of a Gatorade-like drink. I didn’t realize until a day later that the drink is called “Revive.”The ten graduates, representing five ethnic groups, are the start of churches among indigenous peoples in Laos. They have been trained in Bible and ministry, and their training equips them to plant their own indigenous churches throughout Laos. They also work in the Garden of Hope, learning lessons as farmers, tilling the soil, sowing the seeds, cultivating and harvesting the land, which make up the perfect biblical model of evangelism. I pictured the faces of the people they would talk to about Jesus back home in their villages, the struggles and pain in getting the elders to accept a new way of life, but the victory in baptizing new believers, making up the multitude that no one will be able to count from every tribe, tongue, and nation, proclaiming, “Salvation belongs to our God…”The word God gave me for the graduation was on revival that leads to transformation, from the life of King Josiah. Much like many of these ten young men, Josiah was a first generation true believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We can learn from his life that revival must bring transformation to the people. His father, Amon, and paternal grandfather, Manasseh, were wicked kings that provoked God through their involvement with the occult, idol worship, and murder in Judah. Despite such heritage, Josiah started seeking the Lord at age 16, and at the age of 20, he cleansed the land of Israel of the idols (2 Chronicles 34:3-7). It took just one generation to turn the nation around.The Zoe Generation, the group that is led by Brother Hubert, is another group of on-fire men and women in their twenties, whom God will use to reach out to the people in Laos. I am so excited about this new generation of believers. They have been discipled, and are well-trained. They, like the ten graduates, are a new generation full of the Holy Spirit, who know their identity as children of the Most High God and who display the glory of God.As Laos emerges from being one of the lowest in the ASEAN in terms of income and development, God is awakening this land to its destiny. This year, Laos has won the chairmanship of the ASEAN. As it embraces the ASEAN economic zone, many reforms must take place, economic and social, including freedom of religion. Let’s pray that God will send revival by raining his righteousness and let salvation spring up.