Friday, January 24, 2014

I'm going to China!!!



Dear Friends and Family,
I am so excited to tell you about an upcoming adventure in my life.  Many of you know that missions is something that is very near and dear to my heart.  I have participated in and lead around a half dozen mission trips here in the US.  However, my heart’s desire has always been to serve an unreached people group overseas.  After many years of praying and lots of closed doors, God has finally opened the door for me to go and serve the people of East Asia. 
In October of this year, I will be traveling with my home church of Houston’s First Baptist with a group of 14 people to an undisclosed location in East Asia.  We will be working with the J People.  For security purposes, we are not told their full name or their location.  Most of the population is farmers, working with livestock and various crops.  Right now, there are believed to be between 20-30 believers in the 300,000 person population.  That is about .01%.  Currently, there are no Bible translations or even a written language of the J People.  A small team of people are currently working on translating ten Old Testament stories into the J People’s language. 
Last summer I had the privilege to lead a team of 150 missionaries as we went into one of the darkest place in our city.  Carrying the words of Isaiah 58:10 “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your life will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday” we brought hope to the lives of many through hamburgers and craft projects.  This fall, I will get the privilege to once again bring hope.  I won’t speak their language and will spend more time traveling then in the city, but I know that God will use me to somehow be a blessing.
Why am I telling you all of this?  I know what it is like to play a small part in Gods great big story and I am asking all of you to join with me. 
·         First would be prayerfully.  It is not possible for us to go on this trip without a mighty group of prayer warriors praying for us from now until we land safely home.  Over the coming months I will be blogging about the trip.  Feel free to follow my story at http://tuesdaysatgringers.blogspot.com/.
·         The second way that you can join me is through financial support.  The total cost of the trip is $2,700.  I know that God is so much bigger than that number and that he works in the lives of others to accomplish great things.  If you are interested in donating to my trip simply go to http://houstonsfirst.org/connect/give/missions/trips-opportunities/mission-trips/. Once you have logged in or selected guest, simply select the East Asia trip and type in my name. 
·         Finally, I will need all the encouragement you have to offer.  This is a big step for me and I am excited to see what God has in store.
I am beyond blessed to have so many people in my life who are willing to come along side me on this journey.  The words to Christy Nockles song Sing Along are playing in my head as I write these words, “Let YOUR song rise and fill up the earth, let YOUR hope ring out, let YOUR heart be heard.”  There is no feeling in the world that compares to joy of knowing that your days have been spent proclaiming Jesus to a lost and dying world.  As I leave you, I wanted to share the story of one of our church members who has been on this trip before.  Please enjoy Rogers story and I look forward to having each of you along with me on this journey.  http://houstonsfirst.org/article/rogers-story/
Let HOPE rise!
April Pearson

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