Great Joy to Serve these Leaders from 25 Nations!

Thanks very much for praying for me as well as Shannon and the kids while I was gone.  After about 28 hours of straight travel, I returned home Sunday night.

Enjoy these photos from the conference.  I really wish I could personally introduce you to each of these people I met. They are all missionaries with Campus Crusade and have come to Christ in their own countries – many through the ministry of Campus Crusade.  Now each of them serves in operations roles – helping every team in their country increase capacity to reach people for Jesus.  Often they accomplish so much with very few resources.  All by the grace of God.  It was a joy just to listen to them share their stories.  To me, they truly seem similar to some the people the writer of Hebrews mentions as those of whom the world wasn’t worthy.

At the conference we heard an inspiring devotion from our South East Asia Team Leader – Tom Roxas.  The title was “Idol Maker or Idol Breaker” about the life of Moses from Exodus 32.  What is an idol?  – “An idol is anything which displaces God in my heart.  It may be something which is quite harmless in itself, yet if it absorbs me, if it be given the first place in my affection and thoughts, it becomes an “idol.” – A. W. Pink

Tom also shared from his personal life on how God gave him amazing grace to share in prison with the man who had murdered his brother.  How, without knowing who Tom was, the man invited Christ into his life.  Later the man realized that Tom was related to his victim, and through tears Tom told him he was forgiven through the power of Jesus. His personal sharing touched many of us as we saw how God could truly use us when we break idols to allow King Jesus to have His way.  Powerful testimony on God’s love and a reminder of how God loved us even though we had similarly took the life of His Son.

Here are a few scenes from the conference.  (Eveb more photos are here.)

Want to see me riding an elephant? See the very short video clip of the slow walk and murky submersion of the elephant (fortunately not submerging the riders!) during a quick tourist excursion we took one day.