5 Practical Ways to Share The Gospel

A while back I shared how God has put a burden on my heart to share the gospel right here in my hometown of Wichita. I hope and pray that God has put a burden in your heart to share the gospel where you live as well. 

If you are like me, you may often wonder “How can I share the gospel and not sound like a weirdo? How do I even do this? I'm not a missionary or a pro at this and it can be scary.”  I feel you! I have asked myself all of those questions. And the truth is, you might feel weird sometimes but people and Jesus are worth it. I also want you to know that there are creative ways you can share Christ and it doesn't have to always be scary or awkward. So, today, I'm here to help you find practical ways to share the Good News that Jesus saves. 

If you ever have questions about how to do this or would like some prayer as you share Jesus please please e-mail me. I'd love to talk with you about this or pray for you. 

Christ is the best news we can ever offer someone yet we want to present Him in a tasteful way. I think there are so many ways to do that so I am going to give you some ideas of what I do and things I have seen. If you want to share the gospel then I would suggest praying and brainstorming and see what God leads you to do.

1. A Picture with a Verse

This one was free and super easy! Parabo press offers all new clients free 25 square prints. I think you pay shipping but that's it. I ordered prints of flowers and some travel pictures and wrote verses on the back. These come in a thick zip lock pouch so it is really easy to take them with me in my purse. When I’m at a coffee shop, restaurant or some place I am interacting with someone I tell them I took this picture and that there is a verse on the back for them. 

I thought so long about what verse to put on there but over time I am starting to realize that so many people don’t know John 3:16 and the gospel is so plain and clear in that verse that I think I will stick with that for those cards. Some cards have a little note some don't. I will also tell you that every person I have handed these too has been so incredibly grateful. If someone ever gives it back I will feel really dumb but I'll deal with that when it comes. 

And if you are thinking that you'd like to do this but don't think your pictures are good enough please e-mail me and I will send you some pictures you can use, free of charge. 

2. Building Friendships

I know this is probably a given but sometimes it takes months and years of friendship building before God opens a clear door for the gospel to be shared. I encourage you to look for those opportunities. I currently am befriending a Muslim family and Dave and I know it could take a long time to earn their trust where they will listen to us present Christ to them. 

Also, I shared how my co-worker came to Christ (you can read about that by clicking here) and a big part of that was because God put it on my heart to reach out to her when she was going through a hard time. That friendship was already there and then God opened a door to show His love through me and I think that is a big part of why she listened to the gospel. Look and pray for those opportunities in your life. They are all round us we just have to be sensitive to The Holy Sprit’s leading. 

3. Photography Bible Tract 

With my photography business I wrote a small Bible tract that I give to every new client after their photo session. I basically compare a photo shoot to salvation and I explain that just like I edit pictures Christ can edit sin out with His shed blood on the cross. 

I know I can’t sit with every client and go over the plan of salvation but I can give them that card that plants the seed and trust The Holy Spirit to work as He sees fit. I also know not everyone can hand out Bible tracts at their job but I can, so I do. =) If you can't maybe you could have a pocket New Testament sitting on your desk, a copy of Our Daily Bread devotionals for people to take, a verse at your desk, something. Pray and ask God to show you how and where. He will answer! 

Our vet sent us a letter after Static died. Here is a little piece of what it said, "While I understand and empathize with your loss, may I also remind you that our relationship to our pets isn't nearly as important as our need to have a relationship with Jesus Christ." He gave the gospel in a very creative way and I'm so thankful he shares the gospel with so many people who come into his office. And side note, we love our vet! If you need one just click here

4. Sharing Christ In The Way

We can share Christ in our every day occurrences and I really think it's easy to do this with kids. And Dad and Moms, you are the first missionary your kids will ever see, so preach well to them. ;) Sharing Christ in the way is where you take a situation you are in and relate it to a Bible story or Jesus. Here are a few examples:

My nephew Elliot and I went standup paddle boarding. First off, paddle boarding with a five year old kid sitting on your board adds an entire new element of fun and scariness but then add in the choppy water that was there that day and it was kind of scary. I didn't want to tip our board and dump my nephew over. So while I was trying to paddle I asked Elliot if he knew the story about the disciples and Jesus when they got in the boat to go to the other side and all a big storm came upon them. He told me he didn't so I told him the story and it was a great opportunity because we were on 'waves' so it was easy to tell him about Jesus and how God helps us through life's storms.

When I worked at the Y I had a kid during swim lessons tell me how a rainbow was made and I told her that her science was correct but that ultimately God made them. She then asked me who God was, and I told her. I told her God made her and loved her. The next week she came back to me and said "I told my Mom what you said and she said my Dad and Mom made me." ha ha! I cracked up. I did end up giving that Mom a Jesus Story Bible Book and told her about the questions her daughter had been asking me. I invited them to church as well. They never came to church but I got to plant a seed and I trust that God will send someone else to water it.

We each have daily encounters with lots of people. Look for ways to say things about Christ in every day conversations. God could use one of those as an open door to share more about Him.

5. CHRISTmas cards

This is the PERFECT season to share about Christ. I gave a Chirstmas card to the lady at Dillards that always helps me with my Origins skincare products. The card talks about Christ and I wrote John 3:16 inside. I also wrote her a thank you for all her help in there. Dave and I plan to get a poinsetta (or something Christmasy) for our neighbors with a card and verse as well. Every season is the right time to share Jesus but Christmas just makes it easy!

I share these ideas to hopefully get the gears turning in your brain. How can you share Jesus with those in your life? Time is short friends and eternity is well, forever and ever and ever! Jesus and heaven is so incredibly close but the flip side to that is this, people will go to hell; eternal flames, separated from Christ. What will you do to stop that? Get sharing! What can you do today? 

How to Ruin a Short Term Missions Trip

Apartments in Burma 

If you have ever gone on a short term missions trip, have ever wanted to go on a short term missions trip, know someone who wants to go on a short term missions trip, then this post is for you!

Today I am going to tell you how you can spoil and ruin your short term missions trip.

First off, I have read articles debating and stating that short term missions trips are pretty worthless in the long run. I don't agree with that at all but I can see why they post that. If you go with the wrong mentality you can definitely ruin the time on a mission field.

I think mission trips are more for encouraging the missionaries than they are for making a super long term impact on a country. I think the lasting changes come from the missionaries who sow, plant and water day in and day out. I also think that building a house or doing a project is beneficial too, but when you leave, it will be the missionary that will follow up with them.

I'm here today to share with you how you can absolutely ruin a missions trip for a missionary. Also, please note that not one missionary I have ever visited told me to write any of this. They have no idea I'm writing this. These are simply my observations from missions in general and from living abroad.

Let's get to it. How to ruin a missions trip:

1. Eating the Missionaries American Snacks

Don't you even think about opening up their pantry and cracking open their precious American foods and snacks. I know that when you visit another country the local food will look and taste different to you than your American food but, for the love of food, don't eat their American snacks. If they have American snacks, let's say, Pop Tarts for example, they probably paid $8-$10 for that box. If they are living in a 3rd world country those $8-$10 Pop Tarts probably meant that the missionary not only paid that ridiculous amount of money for them but they also hauled them in a suitcase to get them in there. I know because I was a sucker for Pop Tarts while we lived in Asia. And no, no one ate our Pop Tarts either. I'm just using this as an example. Bottom line though, just don't eat their American snacks!

What I would recommend doing, before you even go to visit that missionary, e-mail them and say, "I plan on bringing you $25 worth of American snacks. What would you like?" Then, bring those snacks and don't eat them. I'm forever grateful for family and friends who brought Parmesan Cheese and Resees Peanut Butter Cereal. (I will eat a bowl of that cereal after I finish this post.) And also, I can never spell that cereal correctly. Please send grammatical and spelling help (Amanda, I'm talking to you!).

If you are hungry, ask for some food that you know is easily available in that country. After living in Asia it would be great to say, "Hey, is it okay if I have some leftover rice?"

Speaking of food .....

2. Complaining about the Local Food

I am sure the host missionary would love to hear you complain about how you don't want to eat rice for two weeks. Try living there for a lifetime in a land of rice, or beans, or whatever the local food is. Whatever is served to you, be thankful and do your best to eat it. If you absolutely can not eat something, sneak it onto your husbands plate do your best to eat what you can and leave the rest. Just don't complain about it. In a lot of countries it is okay to tell a local you absolutely could not eat something. I very politely told my friends in Asia that I just could not eat intestine soup. I thanked them but very very politely declined. They were not upset and neither were my bowels that night ... but Dave's were because I asked him to eat it for me. #husbandoftheyear

3. Sharing Every Moment of Your Trip on Social Media

Missionaries don't often get visitors and when they do, they want to see you. They want to hear about things going on at home. They want to hear what God is teaching you. They want face time. Real face to face time. One of the worst things you can do to a missionary is to take a million pictures and then post it all over social media. That missionary will have about two weeks with someone, you, from their country. When you leave they don't always have someone to relate to. At the end of those two weeks you will go home to your comfort zone but the missionary doesn't get that. Use every spare moment to encourage that missionary. If you absolutely can not refrain from social media do it only after your host missionary has gone to bed.

I once heard a horror story of a group that would lounge inside while on their phones. Then, they would run outside, play with the kids for a few minutes, snap pictures of it and then run back in and post it on social media. That is not a missions trip. That is a big fat fake expensive lie.

Before leaving town, I would just post on your accounts, that in order to maximize your time and be the biggest encouragement you can be while abroad, you won't be posting on social media until you get back. People will totally understand that.

4. Not Leaving Grocery Money

Imagine having 4-8+ guests come to your house for two weeks and you had to provide all meals for them. Just do the math for a quick second and see how that would fit into your budget. It's expensive! When you leave the missionaries house to go home I would recommend writing a thank you note and putting some cash in there for groceries. If you offer them the money personally they won't take it. Every missionary I have stayed with has been so generous and does not want money, which is why you just have to leave it on their table when you fly home.

5. Complaining about the Weather

I rolled my eyes as I typed number 5. Just don't complain about the weather. The missionary does indeed realize it is either super hot and humid or super frigid and icy in their country. They live their day in and day out. What you can do when you get hot and want to complain is say something along these lines to your missionary friend: "I have noticed that the weather is really hot here and I just want to say how grateful I am that you, day in and out, serve Jesus in the weather. I think God will bless you for that." If someone would have said that to me in Burma I would have bursted into tears.

6. Act Like The Locals are Weird

I totally understand that when you visit a new country everything will be different. However, while living abroad I learned that I was the weird one! To me, it was super weird to wear a longi skirt that I couldn't walk in. I even thought the locals were weird for wearing it. However, when I wore one of those things and had to hike it up just to walk, while all the locals looked on and laughed, I soon realized I was the odd one. I never did wear that skirt again either. I just couldn't figure it out.

Be gracious to people. Understand that you both are from different cultures and be sensitive about that.

7. By Not Smiling

I have learned, that when traveling or living abroad, smiling goes a long long way. Every language can understand a smile. If you are trying to communicate with a local and just can't figure it out, rest assured, a smile will help you out a lot. In Burma, I had a lady start kissing my arm all over because she was mesmerized by my white skin, and although I was horrified inside, I just kept smiling until I could get myself out of the situation. And no, my husband did not help me as he thought the entire ordeal was hilarious.

8. By Not Going with a Servant's Heart

When you go on a missions trip, go with the mentality that you are there to serve. You are there to serve the local missionary in whatever way, fashion or form you can. You are there to serve the locals and be a blessing to them.

If you go with a 'serve me' kind of attitude you will spoil your trip.

And that, my friends, is how you can ruin a missions trip! As you can probably tell, I'm a little passionate about all of this. But what I am more passionate about is encouraging missionaries and if this post will help someone have a better missions trip to bless a missionary, than I'm all about that!

What are some other ways you can think of to ruin a missions trip?

What are some ways that you can think of that would be a blessing to a missionary on the field when you visit?

And now I am off to eat that bowl of cereal....

Pracitcal Ways You Can Help The Persecuted Church right from America

Today I want to have a heart to heart about the persecuted church. 

To be honest, living in America (or away from persecution) makes it sometimes hard to relate to those suffering so much. But the truth is, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering persecution and the Bible commands us to remember them. 

My sister is the first one who shared with me about the persecuted church when she showed me the yearly calendar provided by VOM with various ways to pray for those suffering. 

In 2012 I moved to South Korea and started learning more about North Korea and the persecution there, particularly the Christians who are persecuted. My heart went out to those suffering and I started being researching and learning more about the persecuted church. 

Then when we came here to Thailand we met a Christian family who has fled here from Pakistan. God opened doors for us to help them a couple of different ways during our time here and honestly, we have just been so blessed by their faith and friendship. I haven't posted much about them for safety reasons but if you want to pray for them shoot me an e-mail and I'll share more with you. 

I share all that to remind me and to remind you that we need to be supporting our brothers and sisters in Christ. I think two of the most important things we can do is to remember and pray. 

Dave and I pray for the persecuted church on our Missionary Monday prayer night and I highly recommend adding them to your prayer list. If I have them written down I will see it and make it more of a priority. 

I think to pray effectively we need good and practical information. I have a three resources that I want to share with you today. All three are great ministries helping the persecuted church. 

1. Voice of the Martyrs

VOM was started by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand who himself suffered much persecution. He moved to America and founded VOM to hep the persecuted church. 

VOM has a whole section called Get Involved where they list some great ways you can help the persecuted church. They also have a really neat thing called Action Packs where you can donate money and they will send a package to Christians who need basic supplies (towels, blanets, etc.). The pack only costs $30 so I'm hoping to do that once I get home. 

There is also a Prayer Map where you can click on the countries and it will give you an overview of that country. Burma (Myanmar) is even on that list! 

VOM is on Instagram and they send occasional updates with prayer needs. It's a great and easy way to stay informed. 

Lastly, they have a Prayer App just to pray for the persecuted Christians! 

2. Open Doors USA

Open Doors was founded by Brother Andrew who is known for smuggling millions of Bibles into the persecuted churches. 

I think my favorite feature is their World Watch List with the top 50 countries with the most persecution. I like it because once you click on a country it not only gives you an overview but lists a few ways you can specifically pray for that country. 

3. Mute No More 

Mute no More does a really good job of informing about prayer needs. They are on Instagram and they only post when there is something that needs immediate prayer needs. It's nice to have something specific to pray for. 

Mute no More has a Prayer wall where you can sign up to pray for the persecuted church. Their goal is to have people praying 24/7. 

Lastly, there is a short little book about a Christian family in North Korea called These are The Generations by Mr. and Mrs. Bae, told by Eric Foley. It's a short read and is so informative and eye opening. The faith these Christians amazes me. 

So I hope through this little post that you will be reminded and encouraged to remember our brothers and sisters and to lift them up before the Father. 

Ask Us Anything - Part 3 {Questions About Missions}

Mt. Wheeler in New Mexico. I'm missing the mountains and cold air so I'm showing pictures of them to reminisce. 

Hi!

Today I decided to write out my answers to 'Ask Us Anything' and I'll be talking about some general mission questions as well as some of our best memories from our time here.

Hope you Enjoy!

What will be your best memory, your best take-away, from your time here in Asia? The one 

you guys say "Remember when...." for years to come? 

We have only been here 6 months so this answer could change BUT for me there is one memory that I will never forget as long as I live. 

We visit temples here. I mentioned before that I have mixed feelings about visiting temples and each time I visit I want to tell people that there is a God in heaven that can hear their prayers and that He wants to have a relationship with them. 

One day Dave and I trecked all over town to find this huge reclining Buddha. We finally found the place where this Buddha was and it really was a massive reclining Buddha. I saw people bowing and my heart just broke. 

We were walking around the Buddha and a man approached us and asked us where we were from. I have no doubt it was The Lord prompting me but I just knew we had to share Jesus with this man. I wanted to be tactful so I asked him if he came to worship here. He said he did come here to meditate and then he asked if we were Buddhist. I told him we were Christians and then immediately he had question upon question. 

He told us he meditated so much but he could never fully tap into the spiritual world like he wanted. He then said this: "I have read the Bible through three times. How many times have you read it?" I wanted to hide in shame because I have only read it through one time.

He had so many questions about salvation so we sat down and shared the gospel with him and we shared lots and lots of verses. Remember, this is all right there in a Buddhist temple! I was nervous because I have no idea how they handle people talking about Christ in temples so when Dave was talking I was praying for God's protection.  

We talked a long time, prayed with him and gave him Dave's e-mail address. We have never heard from him and I don't know if we ever will but I will never forget what God did that day. I pray God used His Word and what we shared to help that man come to a saving knowledge of Christ. 

I know many of my readers aren't in Buddhist temples every day but wherever we are at people are seeking for Hope. I challenge you to ask God to open doors for you to share the gospel with people.

Do you have any tips or advice for people interested in missions? 

Yes I do! 

First I'd bathe that interest in prayer! I can tell you about missions all day but God can make missions happen. 

Secondly, I'd realize that missions starts at home. Somewhere I read that a missionary is someone who is passionate about telling others about Jesus. The good thing is you don't have to travel anywhere to do that. 

I'd get connected with some missionaries from your church. If your church doesn't support missionaries I'd be happy to get you in touch with some of my missionary friends.

Why get in touch with missionaries? Because it will allow you to build a relationship with someone who is on the mission field. You will know how to pray for them and you will get insights into their ministry. Not only will you gain knowledge about missions but you, getting to know a missionary and praying for their work will encourage them more than you will ever know.

I'd also consider doing a short term missions trip. There are many options and many places to do that but if you have a relationship with a missionary on the field that might be a great option for you to visit them.

Also I say GO! If you are called to missions but are hesitating I'd just like to tell you that being exactly where God has called us and seeing Him work has given me a tremendous amount of joy.

If you have more questions about missions please ask me! You can E-mail me or comment. I'd love to answer any questions anyone has about missions.


Favorite missionary story. Not necessarily the person but the experience of a person that was most impactful to you. 

I mentioned above a memory I won't forget but there is also something that I have heard many times from the people in prison that has touched my heart.

What is it they tell me? That they are thankful that they are in prison. They say that they were caught in a life searching for a longing to be fulfilled and when they came to prison Christ found them.

I don't doubt them for a minute either. Some of these people you can see a tremendous amount of joy in their faces. But isn't that just like Jesus? He knows where we need to be so that He can reach us. He is willing to use any situation to reach us and to have a relationship with us.

What gift do you have that is the most natural way to serve God for you? 

Encouragement.

I'm no pro but I definitely think that God has given me the gift and desire to encourage others.

I absolutely love being in Myanmar and Thailand and coming alongside the missionaries here to encourage and help in the work God is doing. The missionaries here work hard and they definitely need people to encourage and walk with them in their journey. 

____________________________________________________

You all asked me some really good questions which made me think a lot! My challenge is to ask you the same questions and to see how God can use you. 

How can you be a missionary right where you are at? 

What gift do you have that is the most natural way for you to serve God?

I have two more Ask Us Anything posts coming up! Part 4 is about marriage and part 5 are all the fun miscellaneous questions you all asked. 

Myanmar - Our First Few Days

Hi, friends!

Our first few days here. Whew! I don't even know how to describe them properly. It has been good. It has been filled with lots of new things but overall we can say that God is good and He is taking good care of us. 

A "side cah", spelled in the Beka way. I think they look interesting and I'll be riding one before I leave. 

Our flights here went really well and we had zero problems with customs, visas, etc. We were elated to see our friends here. There were definitely tears of joy, mainly from Pam and myself. We have enjoyed staying with them, visiting and getting to know them more. 

They have shown us around parts of the city and I'm going to be honest, I'm having some culture shock. I knew there would be culture shock but knowing and experiencing are completely different things. I am sure The Lord will continue to help me adjust to life here just fine. A verse I have quoted and read over and over has been the following:

Psalm 18:1 - I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 

Sunday morning we got to meet many of the kids that attend Sunday school here at Pam and Zam's house. It was nice to meet them and they are super duper cute. We also broke bread with Zam and Pam's family and that was such an encouraging time. 

Monday we toured a big portion of the school and were introduced to many of the kids and teachers. I'm really looking forward to getting to know the students and teachers more. 

We have been searching, praying and looking for housing. We looked at a total of five places and we have narrowed it down to two places: a green house and an apartment. Both are excellent options so we are going to pray, scout out a few more things about each option and hopefully decide by Friday. I hope to share a full post on house hunting here some time. 

When I moved to Korea I wrote and shared about the things that first struck my fancy there so I'm doing it again here in Myanmar. It's always fun to read it a few months down the road for a good laugh. Here are just a few things:

Electricity  |  The electricity goes on and off here. It's just a normal part of life. And by on and off I mean our 2nd day here it was off for 6-8 hours during mid day. 

I know you all are nice and chilly in America but let me tell you it is in the 80's here (if not hotter) and humid, like you can breathe water in kind of humid. Having the electricity off for those hours was a nice toasty day for us! I was in a class when the lights went out and the only person who batted an eye was me. 

Why I missed Sunday School  |  One of the boys missed Sunday school this past week. When Pam saw him in class she asked why he wasn't there. His reply: "I got bit by an eel." um ... what? He did indeed say that though. Apparently last week it rained and rained here. The boy said he was out in the flooded streets and apparently there was an eel in the flooded streets too. 

Lizards  |  I like the lizards here. I'm completely thankful that I lived in Brazil because the lizards here are like the ones in Brazil. Oh and when we went apartment hunting I felt something run under my foot and lo and behold it was a little lizard. Those little lizards also eat mosquitos and to that I say - thank you! I'll get a picture of one sometime and share it.

City Living  |  I think the biggest shock for me is the city life in general. I just came from small town Oklahoma where you could see out for miles and miles. The city here has buildings everywhere and you can't see far at all. Everything seems piled on and is smashed together. The city life isn't like Chicago or NYC it's Myanmar and I just don't know how to describe it. I have felt a little overwhelmed and a bit claustrophobic by it. When we went apartment shopping they showed us an 11th floor apartment and when I saw the view I started crying because it was the first time I could see out for far! I am positive I will adjust over time so I hope this doesn't sound like a complaint.

the beautiful view from the apartment

Hope you all are doing well on the other side of the world! Thanks for the prayers and for supporting us while we are here in Myanmar. 

Thailand - An Update on our First Few Days

Hi, everyone! I thought I'd give a keep recap of what our first few days have been like here. I have good internet here and figured I'd should take advantage of it. 

our flights over  |  Our flights over went great. The flights and layovers were the best ones yet and I'm positive it's because you all prayed for us - thanks! 

prison visits  |  We arrived to our friends home around 11:30pm and were up and ready to go by 7:30am the next morning for our prison visit.

We throughly enjoyed visiting the prison. The visits are monthly and it is basically a church service. There were about 200 women and many of them have become Christians. They sang louder than any church I have been in (with the exception of The Brooklyn Tabernacle). Dave and I both shared our testimonies and other people on our team shared testimonies and verses as well. They had me pray over the women who have a life-long sentence or who are on death row and humbled isn't even a fitting word for that. A lot of the women have a life sentence or are on death row for having over 1K of drugs. They can have their sentence reduced at times so that is good. 

After the service was over we got to visit with many of the women. They knew we spoke Portuguese and Spanish and we got to talk and pray with several of the women. One lady was from Mozambique, a Portuguese speaking country in Africa. Two other women spoke Spanish and it was nice to be able to listen to them and pray for them. 

We are hoping to be able to coordinate some of our visa renewal times during the first of the month so we can go along with our friends to visit these women again. 

Thursday and Friday Dave went to the men's prison as well. He said it went well and he got to visit and answer many questions that the men had. 

Please keep these prisoners in your prayers. Pray that God would continue to save many of them and for the ones who are saved, please pray that they will be a light to others. 

rest  |  We have been resting a lot. Jet lag wasn't as bad as it normally is, again, I'm positive it's because of prayer. I have come down with a cold but a lot of rest is helping me get back on track. 

visiting with friends  |  We have loved staying with our missionary friends here. They have a large house and always have something going on whether it is English classes, Bible classes, or having people stay with them. We have been able to meet a lot of people and at lunch someone pointed out that we had 5 languages being spoken at the table: English, Thai, Philippine, Pakistani and Myanmar. It's been neat to spend time with so many believers from all over the globe. 

a festival  |  Our missionary friends had someone take us to a festival. It was quiet interesting and honestly more packed with people than any place or festival I have ever been too. I thought Korea was packed but man, Thailand - you showed us what packed really is! 

First off, here is a picture of the traffic on the way there. Our missionary friends here have a driver and he does an excellent job. 

Here is what I mean by tons and tons of people. Also, this is before the 'crowded' part and I'm not kidding.

The festival is a Buddhist festival where everyone purchases a floating arrangement made from banana leaves and flowers. They confess their sins and place the arrangement in the water. This is supposed to take their sins away. 

After purchasing a flower arrangement they have several options on how to get them into the river. They could get in a long boat which held about 4-6 people.

They could get in this big boat which held a hundred to two hundred people. 

Or for the third option they could just smash in with thousands of other people to confess their sins and place their floating arrangement in the water.

After placing the arrangement in the water there were three people to push the arrangement out. One was this guy standing here. One was a kid on the side. The third kid was in the water pushing away all the candle lit arrangements so the wooden dock wouldn't catch fire. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that little boy in there. Can you see him?

They also had a lot of other items for sale: balloons, food, live fish and turtles in plastic bags and lots of other knick knacks and toys to purchase. Oh and they had a beauty pageant as well as a group of men playing basketball via 'hackie sack style. It was really entertaining to see. 

As you can tell, the Thai people need Jesus. Please keep praying that many of them will get saved.

Burma  |  Tomorrow we leave for Burma. We should arrive there around 2pm. We are excited to get over there and start helping.

Thanks again for all the prayer and encouragement as we are making our transition over here. We couldn't do it without all of the support.

Missionary Mondays - Today is the day!

Today is the big day! We are heading off to Asia!

We are excited, nervous and sad to leave family and friends but ready for a 14 hour nap on the flights! More importantly though, we are ready to share the gospel with those we come into contact with!

The picture below is our route. We leave today at 8am and the total travel time is around 25 hours, with 20 hours being in the air.

We will arrive in Bangkok at 10:10pm on Tuesday (10:10am American time). The next morning we are going to a prison there to share the gospel as God opens doors. Would you please be in prayer for those who will hear the gospel?

We will stay in Thailand until Saturday and then we fly over to Burma. Wahoo! 

I have had a lot of people ask me how to stay in touch and I'm so glad you all want to stay in touch! First off, I have to be honest and tell you I don't know what direction this blog will take. I have some posts written to share and I will update as internet and time allow. Rest assured though, I so want to keep writing and sharing. 

Ways to Stay in Contact

Blog Updates: If you look at the left on my blog page there is a spot called 'stay updated'. You can put your e-mail address in there and when I post an update it will e-mail the post directly to you. 

e-mail: I'd love to hear from you sunshine2thesquareinch{at}gmail.com or beka.l.johnson{at}gmail.com

Facebook - I'll be updating there! Both on my personal page and a lot on my blog Facebook page too. If you don't 'like' my FB page already please do so to get updates. 

Instagram! I will be keeping that up and running! 

Lastly, I'll have to be honest and tell you that saying bye to everyone was much harder this time than before but Jesus is worth it! To say bye to family and friends to share the gospel with others is worth it. These verses have been a blessing to me so I want to share them with you all today!

Mark 10:28-31

Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Missionary Mondays // Fashion & Safety

Happy Monday Friends! Welcome to week 6 of a series called Missionary Mondays! Missionary Mondays are weekly updates on how God is guiding Dave and I to Myanmar (Burma) & Thailand. We hope these posts will help answer any questions but if you have any other questions please ask! We love questions. 

For previous updates please read the following:

Week 1- A recap on meeting the Holmes who serve in Thailand + an overview of the ministry there.
Week 2 - What are you willing to eat for the sake of the gospel?
Week 3 - Why Myanmar (Burma)
Week 4 - Prayer Requests & Our Upcoming Travel Plans
Overdue Update - This gives a general overview of our upcoming move and plans.

Pam & Zama in Myanmar - The people we are going to serve with in Myanmar have been so kind as to write a blog post all about the work they are doing over there. I hope you will check it out.

Today I'm addressing 2 topics: fashion & safety. Fashion because I'm having to revamp my wardrobe and safety because I've been asked about that a lot. 

Let’s start with fashion. In America it seems that 'anything goes' however that is not true in many other countries. Asia, in general, is much more modest than America. In Korea they preferred for you to cover your shoulders and collar bones (but you could wear the shortest skirts and shorts ever…weird!). Part of covering their skin is modesty and part of it is protecting their skin from the sun.

One time in Korea my family came to visit and I was giving them a walking tour of Busan (a large city near where I lived). It was hot and there was no way I was going to treck around town in sleeves and pants so I had on a pair of shorts, a tube top shirt and I was wearing a backpack. Generally Busan is more laid back with clothing… or so I thought. In the middle of our tour this little old granny came up to me and start whacking me, hard! She was screaming in Korean, was pointing at the sun and then would point at my shoulders.  It was a sight to see you guys but I'll never forget it. I think the old granny thought I was scorching my skin to death. 

I have been told by my friend in Burma that their society is much more modest than the other Asian countries. Apparently a famous singer there wore spaghetti straps to her concert and the government had a fit about her immodesty. As a consequence they gave her two options: go to jail for 3 months or shave her head and go to a Buddhist monastery for 1 month. I guess she shaved her head and lived in a monastery.

I believe that if you go to a certain country you should do your best to adhere to their cultural standards (although I failed to do that in Busan). I also know we are doing mission work and there are standards with that too. So, to accommodate this I have been getting a ton of maxi skirts, long dresses, longer shorts and loose fitting capris.

Here are a few of my finds:

skirt: TJMaxx // shirt: JCPenney  -  I love the ombre stripes in this skirt!

skirt from Gap Outlet

Oh and you should know that under these maxi skirts I’ll be wearing spandex shorts! Apparently it’s hot and humid in Burma and the skinniest of girls (think thigh gap girls) get chaffed inner thighs. Um... no thanks! I’ve had that before with running and  I’m going to spandex it up under the skirts to hopefully avoid chaffing. 

This black dress is from EShakti and will be great for Asia. The company offered a dress to me that I could customize. I liked it because I could pick the length of the skirt, the length of the sleeves and the options to add pockets. I designed it with Asia in mind! 

I bought these capris and let's just say when I put them on and Dave saw me in them it did not go over well. He did not love these capris. So, they are going back but unfortunately for Dave I ordered a pair of black and blue capris from Old Navy. =)

Anyone have any other fashion ideas for me that will work with Asia?

Safety

Let’s address the safety issues. These questions/comments have come up more than any other:

“Will you be safe in Burma?”

“Are you near the Muslims who are extreme?”

“Will you be near all the fighting that is going on?”

“I’m praying for your safety!”

I completely understand those questions but the more I get asked them the more it makes me think. First off, Burma is primarily Buddhist and they usually are peaceful. I also know the Burmese government treats foreigners just fine and I’m not too worried or afraid about safety.

What am I worried about? ….. mosquitos!!! It’s true. Dengue fever is prevalent in that area of the world and there isn’t a vaccine for it yet. I really don’t love being sick.

Back to safety … I do think we should take precautions to be safe but what if it isn’t safe?  To that I shrug my shoulders and say “So what?” (I hope that isn't too rude). I still believe if you are called – go! What if Jesus asked God that question before coming down to Earth? He came to a super dangerous world that actually tortured and crucified Him. Jesus said we aren’t greater than Him and if they persecuted Him they will persecute us. Now, I’m not telling you I want to be captured and tortured. Heck no I don’t! I think that would be scary. The dying part doesn’t scare me just the torture before part. So, I guess what I am getting at is that we are going to take precautions to be safe, and if we aren’t God will help us if we ever reach that point.

If you want to pray for safety we truly do appreciate it and prayer is always good but would you mind praying that the 10 bottles of bug killer I’m going to take will kill every mosquito that comes within vicinity of us? =)  

That's it for today friends! What are you thoughts on safety? Anyone have any fashion tips? Also, if you missed last week I have prayer cards to send out and if you want one shoot me an e-mail and I'll get you one. 

Linking up with Chantel from A Harvest of Blessing.