Devotional 171210

Dear brothers and sisters,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
May God grant you new strength and wisdom to face your challenges in the year to come. Emmanuel, God is with us. His very Presence indeed is our greatest gift of Christmas. Amen?

I cannot imagine how I could have accomplished so much in 2010 without the help of God and your prayer support. We had 4 GOI anniversary celebrations in USA (Houston, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco) and 2 in Canada (Vancouver and Toronto). God gave us an opportunity to share our vision with many of our supporters and make new friends who were interested to find out more about GOI. God also gave me opportunity to preach in 2 missionary retreats in Brazil and the Philippines.

I was so blessed to be invited to preach in many missions conferences and retreats throughout this year. One of the most unforgettable experiences was to preach in the Missions Conference of Grace Gospel Church in Manila, The Philippines (See picture I took in front of the church). This is a legendary missional church among Chinese churches worldwide. 45 years ago, they were one of the rare Chinese churches who supported of global missions. Their annual missions pledge amounts to over 75% of their church general fund. They supported missionaries all over the world, and looking for opportunities to give away the surplus to support more Kingdom work. What a generous Church! They even sent out their Senior Pastor to do missions work with full salary support. This is something I never heard of before. Praise the Lord!!!

Thanks for your prayer, I should be able to finish my dissertation on time for graduation in April. With this doctoral degree, I will be able to teach in seminary in order to mobilize seminarians for global missions.

Our family is doing well. Loretta and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in November, Our daughter and son-in-law are growing in their passion for the Lord. Our son is studying at Bethel University in Tennessee after he finished his military service. He is very thankful for God’s provisions and guidance in his life.

We covet your prayers for us. My calendar for next year is already full. I expect another great year of serving God in different Continents to witness His wonderful work around the Globe.
May God bless and protect your family in the year to come!! Have a very happy New Year…

In Christ,
Lawrence