Tuesday February 22, 2011

Lift Up Your Eyes

It is so easy to lose perspective. Work needs to get done, problems call out to be solved, and we start to get tunnel vision. We lose sight of what God is doing around us, what he wants to do through us, and how we are a part of something much bigger than we can imagine.

That is why Jesus said to his disciples “LIFT up your eyes and SEE that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:35)

That’s where the name of this newsletter comes from. We are hoping that it helps you lift your eyes for a moment and see what God is doing to reach young people in Eastern Europe – and how you can be a part through your service, gifts, and prayers.

I’m glad we have a new Lift editor, Aleisha Stephens , who is gifted in communication and will help us get news out to you more regularly. That is especially important as we enter the final stretch of our 2X3 campaign. We are just 9 months from the finish line and praying that God will answer our prayer of doubled fruit. We are also working hard to complete the expansion of our two main training centers in Poland and Czech.

On a recent flight to Estonia, I was able to share the gospel for two hours with my seatmate – a young Polish woman named Anja. Though she had attended the Catholic church off and on since childhood, she had never heard how to be born again by faith in Jesus Christ. At the end of our conversation she said, “I have gone to the church building for years, but this is the first personal conversation that I have ever had with someone about God.”

There are millions like Anja in the 11 countries where Josiah Venture staff serve. Though we now have over 200 on our team, the harvest fields are huge – and ripe. Thanks for lifting your eyes today and joining us through your partnership and prayers.

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture

"What if God Calls Me to Africa?" (meet Lift's new editor: Aleisha Stephens)

When I was in college, I remember having a conversation with a friend who was worried about “God’s will” for her life. “What if God calls me to Africa?” she asked with eyes wide and fear surfacing.

If you have grown up in the Evangelical church, the reality is, you may have asked yourself a similar question. Maybe that excites you. However, if you think God only cares about those He can ship off to some foreign country, so that they can “suffer” for Him, well, eyes widen and fear surfaces.

My experience is so different. Read more.

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Is it Worth it?

My third summer as an intern with Josiah Venture, the summer of 2003, I began a little cynically. “Why are we doing all these camps?” “Is it really worth it?” “Does enough change come about as a result of all this work?”

In my first week of the summer, we had a leaders' meeting. I sat in a circle listening to peer after peer share about deep spiritual conversations they were having with non-believing students at a camp. Individual names of Polish teenagers were being shared in stories of incredible questions about faith, Jesus, God, and doors opening to hear the truth of Christ’s love. I was in tears. Read more.

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Video: Ukrainian Juveniles Give New Meaning to Memory Verses

I grew up going to church, so I was required to learn memory verses. In today’s world of Internet, computers, and iPods, I sometimes ask myself if memorizing scripture is necessary. How foolish of me. Watching this video of Ukrainian juveniles has given me a whole new appreciation for memory verses. It is one of the most powerful videos I have seen in a long time. Read more.

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