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YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES

Acts 1:8: But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and  in all Judea and  Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

Hi.  I am M. Sarah Chang from Belize. I thank God for Jesus who saved me from misery and the burdens of life through his death and resurrection. By this grace I could leave the U. S. and began a new missionary life in Belize. I wish I could share with you big, exciting numbers, but instead I will share God’s grace through what happened so far this year .

First, thank you for your prayer and love 

Through Mary Chang and Sarah Yun’s visit you were too generous, sending many things.   I felt like we became very rich. But soon God put such shame in me to see myself as the Israelites who craved foods in the desert. Your love and generosity brought me to repentance. Thank you and thank God.  

Second, do you know that we need a heavenly visa to get to the kingdom of God?

There was a Latin America directors meeting in Brazil the last week of January.  M. Moses went to attend this conference. It took 16 hours to get there, but he was denied entry into Brazil because he had no visa. We thought we can go anywhere with a U. S. passport.  He was kept overnight under guard and the next morning they deported him.  He said he thought about what it would be like to go to the kingdom of God and be denied entry.   I t was too scary to think about. We thanked God for Jesus who is our heavenly visa to the kingdom of God through his death and resurrection.

Third, in Jesus’ name

Geovani began 1:1 Bible study in April of last year.  He has been faithful to 1:1 and Sunday worship. He spends most of his time with us. He was always hungry. He is working hard to lose weight. We opened ourselves and our house to him. He became like family. I began daily bread training with him this year.  He is like Simon, but I decided to have Jesus’ hope and began to call him Peter. But we had trouble with his parents this year. They accused us of being a cult, of drugging him, that we are the moonies. They even said that they will report us to the police and channel 7.  He had to make a decision to choose his parents or us.  He chose his family. The most painful thing was that faith was not planted in him yet.  I learned two things through this. First, Colossians 1:10-12 :  “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way;  bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God , being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully.”   Through this I learned that  I can please God even through endurance and patience.  Second, Deuteronomy 10:8:  “At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in His name.”  Remembering the grace of God to me, I tried to work hard. But God gave me a turning point that I must learn not to work in my name but in His name.  I realized that my real enemy is myself.  I calculate this way or that way or whether this sheep can come to SW or not etc.  I am fighting against such things now. At the same time I am eagerly expecting God’s work through Jesus Christ and through his words. I am more prayerful and watchful. In this hope I would like to share our prayer topics:

1. We are studying Matthew gospel study this year. M. Moses has been faithful and responsible for every Sunday message. We pray for 5 pages messages.

2. Our faithful 1:1 Bible students are:   Dilon,  Kimisha,  Emanuel,  Parnell, Hugo, Mishell, Darnell,  Brandon, Tanisha,  Fenton, Nancy, and Sylvia--- Rufus was fished by Landry. He has heart but since he changed his job, he couldn’t study.  He got a full scholarship from Waseda University in Japan. Before he left, he came back and offered a tithe. We were able to send him in the hope of God for him to grow as a future professor shepherd in the land of Japan.Our desperate prayer topics through 1:1’s are that God may raise up one Abraham and Sarah and form the body of Christ for a disciple-making ministry.

3. We may get residency.

4. Belize to be Bible-believing and a missionary-sending nation as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

5.  I may grow to be a woman of prayer in spirit and be His witness.