the round up

Bali has a bunch of people coming and going. It's a land of individuals far from their homes. Well, as far as non-Indonesians go. Some people run away to Bali for the waves or to live any type of life they feel like constructing. So what happens when the world caves in on them? When something terrible happens and they find themselves far away from support lines?

Global Church has the privilege of reaching out to people like this. One man recently broke his neck in a motorbike accident and now we are faced with a friend preparing for heart surgery. These men have no one and not much to give back, but it without a doubt we are to serve them. What does this look like? I was told to look at hospitality as stopping my routine to care for someone else. It doesn't matter what time of the night it is or how far away they live, we're too seek them out. To simply drop by and ask how they're doing could make a world of difference. Taking groceries over or just watching a movie together. These acts of service begin the dialogue that leads to Christ.

So in 30 minutes we leave from here, McDonalds, and will ride out to meet those who have no one to turn to. I encourage you to round up your Christian brothers and sisters and go to those who can't move. Help those who have yet to acknowledge their needs. Preach with your actions and with your words.

Position of Transition

I've been hanging out with YWAM for the past 3 weeks and God just opened up a serious opportunity. I have a chance to move into a house with two travellers who are non-believers. Global Church, the church plant that I'm working with, has been investing in this guys for a couple weeks now and it will be an honor to continue pour truth into their lives. One of the guys broke his neck in a motorbike accident and will soon be released from the hospital. This man is ready for God. Pray that I would be able to help him along that path.

Check this out: I play soccer with the U-21 team in Jimbaran. They are all Hindu and pray before/after every practice. Over the course of the last week they've started to call me Maday (spelling?). This is Indonesian for 2nd son (cause they found out I have an older brother). So, I'm fitting into the mix pretty well and I'm looking at getting some translators around so I can tell my story. Maybe we'll try to get the guys to a spot to watch a soccer movie and then ask some questions. So keep that in prayer.

Finances could use some boosting, but I'm not going hungry. My reading and studying is going well. I'm so psyched out of my mind to have a chance to impliment what I've been learning.

getting it slotted!

So the weeks are getting stacked. Lining up a lifestyle that will do the most impact. I've been hooked up with a soccer team that plays 3/4 times a week and I get to hang out with a bunch of dudes who don't speak a lick of english. But I can ask for the ball in Indonesian.....so that's a start.

Got the visa sorted. I'm going to mission up to Kuala Lumpur to get my visa renewed. It's a hassle, but it'll deal with the 30 day limit.

I'm in a secret meeting with the pastor of a local church plant. We're going to see how I can come alongside the ministry and bless. It's going to be tight.

I've been spending a lot of time with YWAM, uh, actually living with them so I've learned some cool things there.

Just wanted to let all yall know that God has been answering prayers. He's put a couple of believers in my path to disciple and given me a chance to throw some fire into the lives of christians here. Finances aren't perfect or even in the clear yet, but God is good. Thanks for the lovin'.

Bali beginnings

It's neat going somewhere and getting to hang out with locals. I mean as missionaries/travelers we so often go to some far-off land and "randomly" meet up with people who are just like us. Not the case here as I've been warmly embraced by YWAM who is now running a School of Worship for Indonesians. It's bi-lingual and I get a chance to interact with future Indonesian ministers.

This place is way Hindu. I mean incense in the streets, crazy head-garb, little road side gods. I was told to take it easy with the preaching thing, so I left my tracts in South Africa. But I did unleash a torrent of Truth on a fellow surfer....he asked for it. Really.

My visa deal kinda got sorted. I'm going to have to fly out to Kuala Lumpur in 30 days to renew it and that'll set me back $180 imaginary dollars (cause I haven't gotten them yet). Another semi-answer to prayer: I have found several local clubs to play with and am in the process of trying out. I've also received financial sponsorship to play for one of the fee-based clubs!

Things that still need to get prayed for: A local church plant to pour into. It's gotta be a church plant. That's it.

God has shown me some very neat things through the reading that I've been doing and is molding my understanding of the Church. I would like to thank all of you so much for investing in me and giving me a chance to practice all that I've been learning.

Stay tuned for a Project 72 epiphany: disciplemaking.

Jeffrey's Bay wrap up

The past two weeks I was an honorary member of Leadership Experience Program (LXP). These 20 students from all over southern Africa are hitting the streets with a vigor that would leave the most hectic vacation bible school looking like a walk in the park. They wake up earlier. Pray more. Worship together more. Fast more. And they do outreach three days a week, listen to lectures, and run a youth program. They do this every week for 9 months. They’re serious about experience. George Mwanza, the leader of LXP, openly welcomed me and inspired me as I sat in on lectures. The students became a family extension and I was allowed to live with some of the staff. It was an amazing opportunity.

I hitched a ride to Port Elizabeth in a delivery truck and caught two taxis to get to the bus station. Twenty hours later I arrived in Pretoria, in the far north of the country. This sprawling city is unlike anything I’ve seen so far in South Africa. It is very westernized and there’s a lot of money here. But I came to see what is going on with Africa Revolution, an organization headed up by Allan Grieg. Allan works with the poor from the local township. Africa Revolution also does ministry with HIV/AIDS infected. Over the next couple days I’ll be living in the township and getting an inside look at what work among the poor looks like.

Things are going to get crazy. I’m going to be flying to Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday and have yet to make a solid contact there. I need to get plugged into a local church and establish goals quickly. I really need to find a soccer team to play with. A lot of loose ends and the time is running short!

Jeffreys Bay

Got the sweet hook ups- The most epic Saturday of my life took place this past weekend. I was prayed up and encouraged by the messages from all of ya guys out there. Early Saturday morning I started a session of prayer and an overview of Acts then headed to find what God was doing in Jeffreys Bay. What I found still stuns me. Over the course of the day I ran into a vibrant church that hosts dozens of ministries in the area, two surf discipleship schools, a bible school, two leadership training schools, soccer outreach, door-to-door/simple church ministry, a Christian camp, worship practice, a community of believers, and an invitation to come alongside and learn more! I had been running around town tracking down my leads and returned to the hostel to find that several people had come by looking for me. I called a number that someone had left at the desk and was told to sit tight. “We’re coming for you”. Strange, I had heard that months ago in Dublin when it looked like I was all alone. God never bails.

So I found myself hanging out with the guys from Leadership Experience Program (LXP). They invited me into the house and I am surrounded by a valiant effort to make disciples of young students from all across Africa. There are currently 13 students and they have a regular week that looks like a hardcore VBS schedule that is capable of blowing out any qualified minister…and they do it for 9 months. Heavy.
I found a lot of haters. A lot of nay-sayers. Bad vibes. Sometimes believers don’t get a long and we’re not called to be best friends with everyone. Paul himself talked about how he wanted to go where the gospel has yet to be preached, so as not to interfere with other ministers. I think I’m beginning to see what he means.

Killer waves. Freaking insane. The most perfect wave I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve only had a chance to get in the water twice, but it makes me that happiest guy on the planet when I’m paddling out. I’ve met many friends in the water (even in just two sessions) and have had a chance to preach Jesus a couple times. Once I was speaking with a youth about the importance of knowing the Father through the Son, when an older local surfer paddled past. He ripped into me telling me to keep “that religion” to myself and that I had better know my place in the lineup. I wasn’t even speaking to him and he told me to be quiet!

There are some things that I’ve gotta wrestle through, but I know that with prayer and supplication God will show me the truth. I am lifted in spirit and know that God is truly my Deliverer.

just go or invitation?

Here's a tough situation that is unravelling at the moment: I sent the following to a few of my mentors and maybe you could wrestle through these issues and pray for me at the same time.


I was recently talking with my father about my situation in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. I am looking to serve with my gifts of evangelism and discipleship, but there haven't been any open doors yet. My father talked about how there needs to be an invitation from a host ministry. I feel that I've been forcing myself on people as I have come along (here in South Africa). I have never thought about this before and I always thought that the main emphasis was on the willingness to go (and make disciples). I have sacrificed so much and made myself so available and now it seems like no one really wants me. Sounds like a sob story, but I have put myself in a place where I must trust God. I feel like I have always been struggling for a balance between faith and work. Like I can get all of these appointments lined up before I set foot in Africa and it's all smooth sailing. Or I can just go and look to join in where God is working. I don't know about this whole missions trip thing. I know I have to make disciples, is it possible to go to the wrong spot? My intentions are blameless so why doesn't God use me? I'm a highly trained, completely available worker....ready to join the harvest; but it looks like my services aren't needed. That can't be right. Looking for a little help in these areas. Thanks so much for all of your support.

Summer slingshot

There is so much work yet to be done here in Muizenberg and so many opportunities, but I know that it's time to move one. I've been here for over a month, the longest I've stayed in one place on this voyage. I feel called to church planting and it's been really neat to see a small glimpse of what that really means. Please keep the following guys in prayer as they look to get plugged into the local church and make a stand for their faith. These are the guys from the Surf Shack. If you're ever in Cape Town, swing by for a surf lesson and ask these guys if they are representing Christ as hard as they surf! These young men are in the thick of it all:

Dave-one of the managers at the Shack. pray that God would bless his generosity and continue to provide for him and his housemates. pray that he would be a light to the darkness around him

Craig-the other manager, a fantastic surfer with extreme charisma. pray that he would steadily grow in understanding of who God really is and that he would be moved to share Christ with those around him

Alfonso and Nate- These guys are surrounded by worldly friends and claim to be owned by Christ. They are in a tough situation and need to burn some bridges. Pray for accountability and the Spirit to fill these men!

Kennedy- A believer who is seeking God and has a passion for surfing. Pray that he would realize the gift of truth that is found in the message of Jesus and that he would be full of joy in when he shares this! He needs to grow and be surrounded with godly men.

So, please lift up these young men and remember that there are people representing Jesus all across the globe. Please pray for me as I wrap up loose ends here and move on along the coast. Pray that God would place another exciting ministry in my path.

Thank you prayer warriors!

Friday night youth

Friday night youth- I was invited to speak at a youth night in a local town last Friday. The youth pastor and I play soccer together on Saturdays and we had been talking about doing a program for a couple weeks. I had met with Chris, the pastor, and we spent Wednesday watching soccer and chatting with several of the youth. I even had a birthday song played to me with a trombone, guitar, and piano! Yes, I am now 21. The youth met in the church building in Lavender Hill, a beautiful name for a scary town. This neighborhood is notorious for crime and gang activity, but on this night it was dedicated to Christ. We spent some time in prayer and I presented my story. I spoke on Luke 10 and the harvest. I encouraged the youth to speak boldly of Christ in their lives and to make a stand for the faith.

There were several things about this youth group that struck me (in all of my years of youth experience): firstly, the ages of the youth ranged from 6 to 21 years of age. That has never been attempted in the States, but it worked very nicely on this past night. We split the kids into so many age groups and then give them their own programs, but this night showed me that more is possible than we once thought. The second surprise of the night was revealed at the end of the event. With 20+ kids there was only one compact car to transport everyone home. The level of service and dedication that I saw in the youth leaders is astounding. They had a sense of ownership of these kids. The cost of the transportation and the inconvenience of the trip meant nothing to them. Their main objective was taking care of the needs of the youth.

stomping ground

Every week day I meet with a group of kids for a surf lesson. At 3:30 we meet at our shack on the beach and get suited up. We have a bible time and ask a couple questions. I've been trying to hone the bible time to a simple formula so that other volunteers can follow it so we've turned to bible memorization. The other day we started with John 3:16. The street kids learned the actions and had the whole verse down. After our surf I heard a ruckus in the street and turned to find that the kids taken money from a drunk man who had passed out by our shack. A chase pursued, which led to the apprehension of one of the youth. He was interrogated with the boxing-of-the-ears method by a local man. He cried. It was tragic. He had it coming.

And then some surfing lady bought them all ice cream.

these are our stomping grounds:


View Larger Map

You'll find a series of 3 buildings on Beach Road. One of the small buildings is ours.

Pray that these kids hear the pure and simple gospel in a way that they can understand. Pray that strong volunteers would come to preach to them. Pray that disciples would be made out of the street kids.

don't just teach them, give them a teacher

Project 72 is all about making disciples and having them join the Harvest and that can be played out in a lot of ways, but just recently a very pure and simple form has been manifested. Cape Town, South Africa is a wild place with a fantastic amount of diversity. Today I was on my way to a mall that has Gucci in it and I happened to pass a shanty town that spread over a couple square miles. The diversity stretches also into race and ethnic background, as I could go to a concert hall with several hundred whites and then ride the train home with only blacks. It's in this setting that I have been introduced to the needs of the street kids. These little guys are living in the shadows of the tourists and they've got it tough. In Muizenberg, a coastal part of Cape Town, there is a ministry that reaches out to the kids. Sonlife is a branch of Christian Surfers International and their aim is to take kids off the street and teach them to surf while showing them the truth of Jesus. It's a great idea and there are volunteers from all over the world coming to help out.

One such helper is Jean Marie. He's from Rwanda and is positioned to be helping with the ministry for a long time to come. So here I am, only going to be in town for a couple weeks, and I'm faced with some options. Yes, I could teach the street kids to surf and minister to them. That would be a great service, but imagine how much more beneficial it would be to the kids if I would give them a qualified leader? And so I begin to pour into Jean Marie. He needs to learn how to surf, he needs to see what it is working in a team, he's got a way to come when it comes to street evangelism. But in just a few short weeks he can become so much more equipped for the trails that lay ahead.

Let's get another one to join the harvest

What is Project 72?

Project 72 is based on Luke 10:1-3

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. "Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

When you settle down from being super pumped about that you may continue:

Here's the deal, the message of Christ is for all people and places. It is Project 72's goal to labor for the harvest and to gain workers for the harvest. That's pretty much Evangelism and Discipleship. Project 72 aims to show Christ followers that they can win souls to the Kingdom wherever they are at and with whatever lifestyle and skill set that they have.

Join the harvest, my friend.

Missionary blogging

So back in the day missionaries could talk for 30 minutes when they got back to the states on furlough, but now we've got wifi behind every corner! Missionaries today can keep their supporters updated on the latest happenings.

Here's another cool blog coming out of Spain

Check that piece out! (and make me some Paella)

Work force!

The Basque people find their identity in their work. In the very first conversation that you have with someone they will inevitably ask you where you earn you money. So it was pretty cool that the family that I'm staying with has a friend who owns one sweet bar in the local town of Getaria. I've been helping out over there for a couple weekends and it gets pretty crazy when the sun is out (lota foot traffic). Here I've been learning how to fry us some calamari (which this young lad is enjoying) and I've been picking up on some Euskara (the Basque language) as I worked at the bar too. It's a beautiful thing when an evangelist has a captive audience and we can thank our special sponsors Heinkin and Coca-Cola for making that all possible. It works like this: in walks a local Basque man. He ritualistly takes a walk every Saturday and Sunday. This walk will take him at least an hour or two and on this walk he meets and greets his friends (who are also out). There is always a bar or restaurant in this equation. At said bar, the people will rest and take something to eat and drink. Here they will spend their time as they have no pressing need to be anywhere.

This struck me very hard. When you preach to someone in the subways of Chicago (0r worse yet on the streets of Dublin) they've always got "somewhere to go". And they have a very urgent need to get to that business. The Basque culture is very unique in this area: for all the cold, hard conversations that you have with a Basque person, it is amazing how open they can be in their familiar realm at their favorite hour.

You are one of them if you are at the bar...or maybe you are one of them if you have their alcohol and food under your power. Either way, this is one of the most interesting finds I've encountered on this voyage.









Thanks Heineken!

Zarautz prayer

Zarautz, Pais Vasco from Jon Wong on Vimeo.

Zarautz, Pais Vasco, Spain is a small town on the coast that is in great need. No, they don't have any pressing physical needs, but there is an overpowering void that can only be filled with Christ.

Zarautz, Pais Basco

Today was a lifestyle day. It began with a quick breakfast and running shoes shuffling down the stairs. John Piper was hosted on my ipod as I trekked up the local hills. Vineyards held the mountains together and crumbling walls glued the ancient earth to modern apartment buildings. Second breakfast and some time in the Word.

Grabbed the skateboard and headed to the beach a little before noon. It was pretty cool to see familiar faces and one youth about my age even remembered my name! Met a couple of Benya's friends and then headed back to the house to get into the suit and grab my board.

The water is my time to pray. I feel God's strength rolling underneath me and then I am overpowered with a desire to turn to the surfer next to me and tell him how great our Creator is.

The waves weren't the best, but I got some funny looks when I told the youth that I had a Message from God and that I'm not here for vacation. "Not that many people around here believe in God," Benya responded.

"Well, that's why I'm here, my friend"

Dublin: pre-conceptions

What does it mean to trust that God will provide? When will I know what to do? What are the first things that we think about as we go into a situation? All of these things that ran through my mind.


Untitled from Jon Wong on Vimeo.

Malaga Intro

Malaga intro from Jon Wong on Vimeo.

Update

Holding it down in Michigan, I was able to spend some time in God's beautiful creation getting recharged.

School is finished for a whole year!

Projecto 72- Prelim letter

Prelim Letter

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