ISI National Staff Conference Denver, CO

Every year we are blessed to gather together from all over the world for a time of fellowship, refreshment, inspiration and training. Every year our plenary speakers are top notch, and seem selected by God in perfect timing for me. This year was no different.
Dick Foth, a mentor to leaders in Washington,D.C., encouraged us to "take the adventure in trust" and follow Jesus into a relationship together, TOGETHER. David Watson, VP of Global Church Planting at City Team Ministries, challenged our strategies box with creative ideas about the elements of the kingdom tactics and leadership. Al Newell, founder of a volunteer ministry development company, taught us some principles in building effective volunteer teams. Judi Vankevich, the Manners Lady, gave us 3 keys to being good ambassadors: a respectful attitude, respectful words and respectful actions; "which is just good manners!"
This year Richard gave a testimony at a ChurchMobilizationInitiative focused lunch, and later taught in a series of friendship partner training workshops.
We heard many student testimonies that blessed and encouraged us, and saw God setting the stage for some great breakthroughs in Japan.
We returned home tired in body and refreshed in our spirits. We hope to share and implement what God has added to us.

Friendship Partner Training

This spring we had two training

sessions and have another this

summer.

The purpose is to help people interested in reaching out to international students to get comfortable with some of the differences and to cope with some of the difficulties they may encounter in the befriending process. We get to see "lightbulbs turning on" as we share helps in overcoming language issues like idioms; and culture differences that are not bad, just different. Role playing some meeting scenerios is fun and helps people understand things they've never had to think through.

We emphasize love without conditions as we share amazing stories about students who have returned home and what God did then. We help people develope an efficient way to share their own story.

Our hope is to set people up for a successful friendship experience that will lead a student to desire to know our precious Lord Jesus Christ for himself.

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving!

Yay! It's payday! We made it through another month, and we are glad and bless God! One of our friends posts a heart felt, exuberant thanks to God that is full of joy every month when she pays the rent. She recognizes and gives honor to God for His provision in all things. Even more so, we recognize His provision and the blessing of many friends who give so we can serve. We are grateful and mindful of sacrifices our friends make so that we can walk in what God has called us to do. Bless you! I am hoping to call all our supporters this summer so that we can catch up and learn some specifics of how to pray for you. I look forward to hearing your voice!

Bumps in the Road

In our travels this winter and spring we have been on alot of roads.

Along the way the weather and road care, or not, has created areas where there are pot holes of varying sizes, widths, depths; and bumps. There are times when too many vehicles enter the road at the same time and place that causes forward movement to slow and/or come to a halt.
Then there are times when, with the wind at your back, you can cruise along smoothly and swiftly.

Ministry has been alot like that. sometimes it has been easy to meet with people; at other times the scheduales just don't co-operate no matter what you do to accomodate. Sometimes people are enthusiastic to begin ministry but the bumps in the road slow them down. Sometimes too much life enters in at the same time and ministry slows to a stop.

Please pray with us and for us as we seek to persevere and be an encouragement to the Body of Christ!

The Engagement!

The last few weeks have been event-full! We traveled to New York City to see Daniel in Dance AdDeum. Abby met us there and we had a grand weekend together. The next weekend we collected Abby from the homeschool convention in MA. and enjoyed her visit here. Inbetween, this nice young man, Nick Ryan, proposed to Abby and she accepted. They have know oneanother for several years and graduated together from Patrick Henry College. Last summer they started dating, and their friendship became a serious relationship. We are very happy for them and for us!

in My Defense...

One of the joys of international

student ministry is friendship. In the many friendships formed with students come important milestones that we get to share in because we are the closest "family" geographically. For the students aiming at a Phd, the oral defense of their thesis is a grueling event at the end of 5-7 years of study. Most times we are able to attend these events and watch with joy and pride to see a wonderful presentation, which we sometimes even understand. It is always a blessing to witness God at work through a process as He refines His beloved and brings him/her successfully to a new level. So it was on Good Friday as our friend Akinyi successfully defended her thesis and won her second doctorate. We are so proud of her, as she worked so hard and kept on in spite of incredible difficulties. She pressed on and won the prize! We are rejoicing with her and challenged to keep on to win the prize. Philippians 3:12, 14.

Good News

At our NorthEast Regional Staff Conference our President Doug Shaw shared many facts and stories to encourage us not to be intimidated by I*lam. We are experiencing unprecedented favor in two Asian nations with an outbound student program which connects students there with ISI here before they leave home. A recent study indicates 70,000 m*slims received Christ in 2009 in the USA. An Im*m in Ir*n recently complained that many 20-30's from their country are receiving Christ when they come to the USA. He complained that "someone" is picking them up at the airport, feeds them meals, invites them to friendship circles and Bible studies and then leads them to Christ. "Who are these people?" he asked. It is a blessing to know the impact of ISI through staff and VOLUNTEERS is being felt /heard around the world. President Shaw shared another student story about a m*slim student who arrived here, in the USA, hoping to hear about Jesus, but no one told him or invited him to church. He drove to a church and parked in the lot but no one invited him to go in. After doing this for 4 weeks in a row, he just went in and sat in the back of the church. At the end of the service, he went forward to receive Christ! That is good news, isn't it! Let's be bold in reaching out in love as followers of Jesus and invite "them" to come in.