Lee Family Update April 28th, 2009

Please be praying for the kids:

• Joy has a bad case of allergies which have led into a low grade fever. However she was bouncing off the walls right before she went to sleep.
• Jake expressed his anger to us last night about having to leave home. A large part of him seems to be doing just fine but I know that obviously there is an undercurrent of much struggle.
• Tess is rocking along just fine...at least on the surface.
  

This is what our day will look like today:

We have a day of training from 9am to 12pm. From there we go and get a bite to eat. After that we go to a refugee house which is at this time and by coincidence is just housing refugees from Mexico. Then sometime this evening Will (an m who is also going to Mexico) and I are going to try to go down town to find more Latinos.

• Pray that we will learn and be able to apply what we will have learned in class today.
• Pray that we will be able to build relationships with the people in the refugee houses.
• Pray for safety for Will and I as we venture into the heart of the city.
• Pray that we will find a community of Latinos so that we may be able to build relationships with them which will more easily allow us to share who He is with them.
• Pray that a Bible study and eventually a church would birth there in the downtown area.
  

To Him be the glory,
mmjtjlee

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him
than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling
the word darkness on the walls of his cell.
-C.S. Lewis

Misions Dilemma

Are we doing missions the right way? This DVD series examines this incredibly complex question. Interspersed with conversations with church leaders from around the world, as well as lessons learned from living with his Waodani family in the Amazon, viewers will learn the truth of our mission efforts.

Click here to purchase the Missions Dilemma DVD series from the I-Tec store.

First Bible Study In Vancouver Slated for Wednesday!

Thank you all so much for your prayers! Please continue to partner with us as you participate in the Author of salvation's mission here in Vancouver by asking Him to bring us Spanish speakers so that we might be able to share the Good News that has changed us. 

God has been so good to us while here in Canada. He continually puts Spanish speaking people in our paths despite the fact that there are so few here in Vancouver. Even better, He is not only placing Spanish speakers in our path but more specifically, He is placing Mexican Spanish speakers in our path! I have yet to be amazed. 

We will be having our first Bible study this Wednesday night with a small group of local former Mexican nationals who we have met on the Sky Train and the bus. Please be in prayer for this study. 

• Pray that we would faithfully and clearly communicate the Gospel to them. 
  
• Pray that nothing would hinder their commitment to come.
  
• Pray that God would so affect them in such a way that they would want to come again.
  
• Pray for their salvation.
  

Thank you all so much for your prayers! Please continue to partner with us as you participate in the Author of salvation's mission here in Vancouver by asking Him to bring us Spanish speakers so that we might be able to share the Good News that has changed us. 

As you continue to share in our joy,

mmjtjlee

He Is Risen!

It has been a few days since we arrived here in Vancouver which normally means that we have had a few days to write an update. However since our arrival it has been controlled chaos. We are willing to bet that we have walked close to a million miles since the plane touched down. That includes a full two hours waiting in line to get through customs. 

We had always thought that the Seattle area was God's country. However we are becoming more inclined to believe that Vancouver is. We have never met so many friendly people in all of our lives, and that is coming from Southerners! There is no telling how many people we have engaged concerning spiritual matters and only one has said that she wasn't interested. In fact she said, "That isn't my cup of tea." But remained extremely friendly! The lostness here is great.

Vancouver is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. There are Chinese, Russians, Italians, Mexicans, Peruvians--you name it, they are here and they are coming in droves!  A few days ago another worker was sitting at a table with me in the food court of a local mall and it occurred to me that I was being given a hint of what Heaven will look like because there was a sea of people from all over the world before us. Then a great sorrow came over me because I knew that likely none of these people would be included in that actual "vision" of Heaven that I was looking at. The lostness here is great.

How can a blending of languages and cultures in one small area be so beautiful but at the same time so heartbreaking? It is beautiful because He created these languages and cultures to praise Him. They were created to worship Him just as they are. He delights in hearing their shouts of joy, their groans of awe and their voices singing praise in their very own language and their own way. It is wretched because most will never see the condition of their being even after being clearly shown. The lostness here is great.

I praise God that Jesus is not in the tomb. People such as the ones here in Vancouver are the ones that He died for. He died in the place of His sinful children in order that they would not. Then on the third day, He rose. Because He is the King of all who believe, His sheep will be gathered.

Please pray for Vancouver. Pray that God's great mercy would be displayed through our family in order that the people here would be able to praise Him for it.

Pray that God would regenerate hearts here because the lostness here is great.

"Behold! The Lamb of God!"

Thank You All

Thank you all for your prayers, kindness, gifts, letters of encouragement and time. We have been so blessed to have been able to come home these past few days. The greatest blessing has been to spend time with you all.

We will continue on our journey tomorrow morning as we leave for Vancouver. Please pray for traveling mercies and for any easy adjustment for all, especially the kids. Also pray that mine and Megan's relationship will continue to grow stronger. Also please pray that God would raise up believers in the neighborhood where we will be working.