I am happy to report another amazing God-inspired and God-directed mission trip! First off, I want to thank all of our family and friends who helped us through prayers and financial support. We felt so loved and prayed over and this gave us much comfort especially given the last-minute uncertainties with the trip.
For those that had not heard the trip destination yet, Jake and I went on mission to Dubai, U.A.E! Our trip went smoothly and we had no delays with entering the country. Unfortunately, the organization we went with has now had most all of their visas revoked, and it appears that they will no longer be able to conduct their ministry in the country. This is sad, but we firmly believe that even though this door is closing, there are others opening in other parts of the world. They already have a thriving ministry in several states in India, which is what Faith and I were a part of in Punjab, India. As a reminder, the organization we have been partnering with is called FAMM (For All Mankind Movement). Their mission is simply to spread the gospel to the unreached people groups in the Middle East and South Asia. They have an incredible ministry that shares the gospel in the places where these people live, as well as following up by creating story groups and church plants, and even training local pastors. It is really an amazing ministry and you can read more about it here: http://www.compassionkits.com/.
The format of this trip was a little different than the previous trips with Faith. In Dubai, we were ministering to the migrant laborers who are working most of the day in construction and other manual labor jobs. So because of this fact, they are only available in the evenings back at their camps/dorms. This meant that we had to cram most of our ministry in during the evenings. During the daytime, we were able to go on prayer walks and put together the hundreds of compassion kits (personal essentials) for the guys. And we did have some time to see some other parts of Dubai (e.g. Burj Khalifa).
Our evening revival services were similar to our revival services in India and were the highlight of the trip. We arrived each evening around 7-8pm at the laborer dorms and gathered the guys together in one of the dorm rooms. We typically packed in about 50-60 guys into a 4-person dorm room! I am sure we were way over the fire marshal limit for the room (ha!) and they actually had to lock the door at the point the guys were sitting on each other. How amazing is it that guys were clamoring into this room beyond capacity to hear about Jesus! The translator/pastor would welcome the guys with some get-to-know-you questions, jokes, and games. Then we would provide snacks and drinks to all the guys (remember these guys had been working all day and some get up as early as 4am). Then we would launch into our “service” which would be a message from the translator/pastor, then we would give our personal testimony, share a Bible story (e.g. Demon Possessed Man from Mark 5), and the story of Zacchaeus. Then one of us would directly share the gospel and explain what Jesus has done for us. After we were finished presenting our part, the translator/pastor would summarize what we had shared and then also deliver his message. He then would ask everyone if they were ready to accept the free gift of Salvation through Jesus!
We had 3 teams of 3 that would deliver the services, and 2 other FAMM leaders from the US were also on the trip. Jake and I were always on the same team and we had 2 other college guys that switched in as our 3rd team member. Between the 3 teams, we reached about 600 men, and had over 200 decisions for Christ. At the end of the week, we even had a special baptism service for many of the guys who had accepted Christ earlier in the week. It was amazing!
On each of our mission trips I look for how God is working to teach me more about Him and what I should be doing to become more like Him. For this trip, God has given me my 5 D’s of Dubai (check out my 4 Ps of Punjab from my previous trip at (http://4hiswill2hisglory.blogspot.com/2015/03/for-sake-of-punjab.html). The first D is Dedication. We saw so many signs on our trip of total dedication to God and His mission. Our translators on this trip were from Pakistan and Nepal. These guys left their wives and families and were spending years in Dubai ministering to the laborers and bringing many thousands to Christ. Separately, we even met a minister from the US who had moved his family there to pastor in a church for ex-pats. This dedication to sharing the gospel models and inspires me to go on more mission trips and to share the gospel here at home.
The second D is Discipleship. The translators/leaders were so purposeful about building up the next level of leaders in all the camps. Each revival party we held had many other leaders organizing and gathering workers to attend. Additionally, one of the new parts of this mission for me, was the brothers in Christ that we got to work alongside of there. Unlike our India trips, our group of 11 (disciples) from the US were able to spend a lot of time together encouraging, building up, and challenging each other in our faith. This has inspired me to focus on discipleship back here at home and to find other mission trips where this is a key component.
The third D is Deception. With all the cultures coming together in Dubai, there were many other false Deities being worshipped there from Buddhism, to Hinduism, to Islam, and others. Many times the Bible calls the Devil the Great Deceiver, and Dubai is full of deception about the Truth. There is much evidence that the Devil is at work there also preventing FAMM from continuing its ministry.
The fourth D is diligence. On this trip, we saw many people accept Christ but there were also many who did not make that response. Sometimes we do not see the fruit of our labors immediately or even in this life. But God calls us in obedience to be diligent to fight the good fight and to finish the race well (2 Tim 4:7). I am convicted that I need to have that same diligence and focus in sharing the gospel here at home.
The fifth and final D is Decision. Ultimately the trip was about sharing the gospel and bringing guys to that point where they made decisions for Christ. As mentioned above, we had over 200 decisions for Christ and this was very encouraging to us to know that lives will be changed by God through this work. One of the powerful aspects of the FAMM ministry is their belief that the decision is not the only/final objective. The ministry is all about follow-up by creating story groups and house churches to provide opportunities for new believers to grow in their faith. They also focus on training existing pastors on the true faith and countering false doctrine (e.g. prosperity gospel) that is pervasive in the Middle East and South Asia. Oh and a bonus “D” I will mention is the Dunking - baptisms). J
In summary, the trip cemented for me the value of relationships. During the trip, I was able to focus on my relationship with Jesus through studying and memorizing my stories and messages, and through daily time in His Word. I also saw the power of relationships through the work of the local leaders/translators. And finally, this trip allowed us to really bond with our fellow missionaries from the US. As mentioned above, we were blessed to spend time every day with other brothers in Christ building each other up, challenging one another, and rejoicing in the impact we were helping to bring about through Christ.
Well I could go on for pages about the details of this trip, and I did not even mention how cool it was to spend time with Jake and to watch him preach to the men! But I do want to thank each and every one of you who helped me through prayer and financial support (as of this writing we are only $150 short of being fully funded – Praise God!). I was so encouraged by the support I received and both Jake and I felt covered in prayer as we embarked on this journey. Thanks again for your faithfulness and obedience in your support and your walk with the Lord!
For some pictures of the trip (including a little excursion in Frankfurt Germany during our return layover), check out this Flickr album. https://www.flickr.com/gp/therudys/0F7Zj9
Finally, I would challenge each of you to consider the words of Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 9:37-38 “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” There are many to be reached around the world and even right here at home. I urge you to seek and pray that God will convict and direct you to your mission field. But whatever you do, remember to give God all the glory. We are all just instruments in the hands of the Master Builder.
Thanks everyone and blessings to you all!
Kevin
