Greetings, Church, I hope that this letter finds you well, pressing on towards the prize (phil 3:14).
It's been over two months since I and the team assembled here in Truckee, CA. Our partnership with the local church, Sierra Bible, has been a tremendous blessing. They've been so good to us. We were kindly placed in the home of some hospitable members of the church and have been invited to so many meals. It's been a blast meeting with the college group on mondays, awana on tusedays, youth group on wednesdays, and snowboard outreach on thursdays.
Our group is split into two teams, one working at Soda Springs and one at Tahoe Donner, both ski resorts. We work 3/4 days a week 8am-4pm. We've got a ton of co-workers from South Africa, Argentina, and Chile. As our days go by we've been looking for chances to talk to them about Jesus, ask them questions about their lives, and invite them to an event or outreach. On our days off, we go to the big ski resort and snowboard. While there, we've met with friends and made new ones. Because of the common experiences on the mountain, we've got a ton to talk about and get excited over.
Shortly after arriving here in Truckee we met Andrea. She worked with us and didn't have much going for her. She was living in her truck and just barely getting by. One of the guys on the team gave her $100 for her personal needs and she was amazed. We had alot more to show her though. over the next 2 weeks we invited her to college group and over to our house for meals. She saw Christ in us and was called to be a daughter of God. It was a pleasant encouragement to me to remember that if people can see a decent picture of Christ (and the Spirit moves) they'll be broken and want in on this Christ following thing that we do.
Living with 5 dudes is fun. It's also really testing. Team conflict and dynamics have played a huge part in our time here. I wrestled through arguments and finances, and when I was at the end of my rope I turned to Jesse, the youth pastor and the main contact of the local church. His calm guidance pointed out that I should be careful not to look at just numbers, situations, and logistics but that I should focus on the spiritual world that we live in. He encourged me to stop brooding over event details and start with praying the event. Instead of just hanging out with people after church service, take measures to listen to their hearts and petition the Lord for their needs. In place of just yelling good bye to teammates in the morning as they head off to work, pausing to pray and commission them to serve the Lord for that specific day. I know that a lot of you don't live with a big group of random Christians, so you may not have to deal with all the animosity and hurt and miscommunicaiton that comes up like it does here, but you can look at things spiritually if you want to make a real lasting difference.
Our time here has gone so quickly. I urge you to be intentional with every day. Be clear and focused on the goal of serving others and proclaiming Christ. That means that when you meet with Christians talk about the opportunity that is going to come up after watching that movie with an unbeliever. don't just have friends over to "hang out", make sure that Jesus is the main event. When you are at theater practice with a Christian sister, make sure you compete with each other to be more excellent in hopes that someone would ask why you work so hard....and then point straight to Christ. When you're closing a business deal or teaching a snowboarding lesson, affirm the glory of God has he has made this economy possible and this wonderful natural world. Make sure that every Christian with you knows that they have to be all in on it.
Pray that our co-workers would continue to come to the Lord. Pray that we would be loving towards one another and encourage one another to bold acts of faith. Pray that we'd find a place to stay for the next month (our current house parents are moving to Hawaii). Pray that we'd remain focused on Jesus.
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. Thanks for the text messages that encourage. Thanks for asking about us at church. We've got another month or so to go here, and it's going to be an all-out sprint as we run this race.
for His glory,
Jonny Wong
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A letter from Jonny
Steve's Update
Hey everyone, if you are reading this right now (as Jake has said) it truly does mean so much to us. Knowing that there are literally hundreds of people following us on this blog and praying for us is just mind blowing and truly exemplifies the power and unity that does exist in the body of Christ! It has been amazing to see how much the Lord has provided up to this point, and it will be amazing to rejoice together when we see how the Lord provides at the end of this week. Which for those of you who don't know... we have to move out of Florie and Jerry's house by this coming up Sunday, its Tuesday, 5 days. But the cool thing is that non of us are worrying whatsoever, for from what God has done so far- we KNOW that He will be faithful.
As for myself personally, i have grown sooooo much from the experience of living side-by-side with five other people in a small area for the past two months. The Lord has taught me so much in the areas of sacrifice, service, forgiveness, grace, selflessness, care, and love towards others and learning to always put others before yourself. When iron sharpens iron, sparks will fly! but the results are amazing. I thank the Lord everyday for the blessing of being here... (between you and me, the snowboarding is some of the best in America, God is good, sooooo good). But we only have a little over a month left, and if everyone could pray that we could focus hard and really strive at having a huge impact before we leave, that would be much appreciated. For we have set forth an amazing base of friendships from working and riding with people for months now, they have seen our actions and i pray they will listen, and we will have the strength and opportunities for our words to follow. Other than that, my friend Abby from Georgia will be coming from March 11-14. I am super stoked about her coming, and the days cannot seem to go by quick enough! It should be pretty entertaining having her see what true snow really looks like, and will be a blessing having her join the team for a few days in ministry.
Jake's Update
Hello family and friends!
This trip has meant a whole lot to me. In thinking about what God has done for me, about 100 things come to mind. The biggest thing I have learned so far is to be intentional with everything I do. Yeah yeah yeah we have all heard to do that before. But this concept has finally become real to me. I have also grown in appreciation for all the incredible people in my life. I have found that there are too many incredible people in too many incredible places for me to be with. I guess that is a good problem to have!
My older brother Kyle came out last week to Tahoe with his friend Scott. I had a blast riding with them at Squaw Valley. Tomorrow my wonderful girlfriend Jaci will arrive and we look forward to serving the Lord together here for a few days! I am still doing online classes and trying my best to keep up with those. As summer approaches I have been thinking and praying more and more about returning to Tucson. I can't wait to get back to my friends, parents, brothers, and my sister. After summer is Chicago again!
Thank you all for your prayers and for reading this. Knowing that you believe in this mission means so much to me and the guys. We would love to hear your words of encouragement and wisdom. All of you made this trip possible. God bless!
- Jake
A Goodbye From Brad
Hi, my name is Brad
I am leaving Tahoe early to go back to Roseville, CA. When I go back home I will be getting ready to go on another mission trip to Mexico. In Mexico I will be building houses for people who are homeless, also we will be giving out clothes to people who need it. The reason for going home early is to get plugged into my home church and help out with the youth group to raise the money needed before the trip. During my stay in Tahoe, i have grown so much spiritually. I hope I can show my friends at home how great God is by telling them about all the things we did here.
Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Time Cruncher
I am always amazed how time seems to fly by us. One day we are back in Chicago and now we are two and a half months into our ministry in Tahoe. God has done so much in our lives and in the lives of friends and co-workers. In a way it is sad to think about how the snow is going to melt soon and we have to travel back home. All of us guys feel so blessed to be apart of what God is doing in Truckee. There little over a month left before we have to leave and now it's crunch time! Since God has allowed us to develop so many friendships and connections we need to make the most of every opportunity to minister in this last month. Pray that we will be diligent with our time and continue to spread the love of Christ with every person we come in contact with! God is love and His love conquers all!
