Sower's Asian Coworkers Conference

The first week of October we held a conference for our Asian coworkers in Beijing. There were people from China, Central Asia, the USA & Thailand. Unfortunately our coworkers from the Philippines were not able to get visas for China so they were unable to attend. Our teacher was Dr. Steven Crane, lead pastor of Eagle Christian Church, Eagle, Idaho, pictured here leading one of the training sessions.

This was an excellent time of training and fellowship, the Lord moved in spectacular ways during our time together. The beginning was a little rough, we were chased out of our first three places by the security police, who "visited" our Chinese leader and told him that they knew we were trying to have the conference and didn't want us to do it. After moving one step ahead of them we finally went to a different city and found a great place where we went for the next four days without being bothered. We were even able to sing out loud!

The teaching was exceptional! In an interview with one of the pastors who was there, he described it as being "like thunder & lightning!" Pastor Steve was moved to tears by the worship and prayer times. We were all touched by the Lord and encouraged to go back to our fields of ministry and work even harder to get the Gospel to the people who have never heard.

Eagle Christian Church STM Team

The Eagle Christian Church also sent a team along with Pastor Steve (pictured here, center, yellow shirt). They came to minister at the same time as the conference was taking place. 

They were amazing! They did orphanage work & also met students from a nearby university. Some of the guys did construction work, which is a real blessing for the orphanage, while the others did crafts & skits & bible stories with the kids.

In a coffee shop near the university they were able to meet many students, chat in English, and eventually share the Lord. One of the ladies was a little intimidated by the thought of doing evangelism, something she had never done, although she is a strong Christian. It was just not among her gifts or strengths. She later told us that while talking to some students they became very connected, and had established an amazing relationship in a short time. As they chatted, the girls asked her about her faith, which she had told them about in their conversations. As she shared a little deeper she realized that they wanted a faith like that also. So, with some fear & trembling, she asked them if they wanted to ask Jesus to come into their lives, and they said "YES"! She was then able to lead them in a prayer for salvation with tears of joy!

There were several others who received the Lord also, and many who were introduced to the fact that there is a God in heaven that loves them, a completely new concept for them. We trust the Lord to work in those lives to bring them also into a relationship with Him. We also connect the students to the local house church so they are not alone.

I praise the Lord for the STM groups that go with us. They are the backbone of our work. They not only do construction, mercy & evangelism, but they are an encouragement to the local believers who see what being a Christian is really about.

Is this your year to go?