For more than a week I have been at the
Epicenter teaching two classes in Expository Preaching for two weeks, my first
time there. I have been so active in Hong Kong that slowing down was hard.
Praying helped. It was difficult for me to get going this time because I had not
done two weeks for the last six months but the reward is big. Buying my book
earlier, the students were so excited that I was here.
On day 2 (20) we went to the disaster area, where I could not help but
cry as I laid flowers at the memorial, so did the driver who has been there four
years now. It affected him terribly as he quit his KTV operations to volunteer
for three months that turned out to be more than four years in ministry.
I have recorded four testimonies of relief workers with my new phone.The students' interest are keen but they were slow to learn initially, especially for fulltime ministers. I did my best to train them and broke through in three days. I am so proud of both classes of altogether 50 students as they are of me, seeing them transformed literally before my eyes.
Oh I have a mouth blister because everything here is hot and spicy. I also got a haircut because a student's wife is a professional. I promised if I were to return maybe two years from now, I would cut it to army length, total reformation. I know it is time to leave today (1) because my blister is gone.
By God's grace I have trained 450 students in Asia, 150 of them
in structural diagramming. One day I hope the students will take over my role. I
have also taken a more active role to encourage students to pray with me at 630a
before classes start at 8a. It is weird because I was rarely that direct. The
students here are very friendly, which helped me to settle in. On the downside I
will miss church for two weeks now because classes are held on Sunday as
well.
This month has been quite uplifting for me becasue I have also gone to Grassland and trained close to a hundred there, even though half of them were just there to make up the numbers. The only disadvantage was that I was away from home for too long, close to three weeks, and I missed family and friends. After the second trip I realized I was the rigth candidate to do missions, because I am the right age and with the right personality. It took me a year to feel right at home being away even though the response has been nothing less than rousing.
This month has been quite uplifting for me becasue I have also gone to Grassland and trained close to a hundred there, even though half of them were just there to make up the numbers. The only disadvantage was that I was away from home for too long, close to three weeks, and I missed family and friends. After the second trip I realized I was the rigth candidate to do missions, because I am the right age and with the right personality. It took me a year to feel right at home being away even though the response has been nothing less than rousing.
