From Singapore

I heard this last Sunday together was great! Worship, the message (did you like Jason, by the way?), the food, Mexico team... Praise God for that. As many of you know by now, I am currently in Singapore doing some research and learning from the Singaporean Church. It has been an exciting trip, one in which I have seen first hand the amazing work of God in our world. As I have mentioned before, the centers of Christianity have now moved South and Eastward, and the church in Singapore is a testimony to that. One thing I'd like to share this week as an encouragement to us (I had three at first, but the first one took too much space!):

God loves young people (and everyone else, too!)
Now, I'm not trying to be discriminatory toward certain groups, or say that God loves one more than the other. But there is something about God choosing to use young people in extraordinary ways (eg- Mary, David, Daniel, Joseph, even Jesus- he was 30 when he started. Of course, God used some people later in life- Moses and Paul are just a few). Here in Singapore, the largest church (25,000 in weekend attendance) began as a church of 20 people, with a pastor who was 25 and a group of mostly high-schoolers. That was nineteen years ago. Another church (the 10th largest, at 4,000) began as a church plant of five, with the lead pastor at the age of 23. It's been encouraging to meet the leaders of these churches, and it gives me more zeal and vision as I think about us.

For those of us who are beyond our twenty-somethings , it's amazing what God can do with us as well. I met with a bunch of high-power business people this morning (age 35-60) at a small group they have before work, and it was amazing to see God's work in and through them. One 60 year old, a former Brigadier General turned corporate executive and now venture startup whiz, shared openly and honestly about his being away from God some three years ago. But God was gracious, grabbing ahold of him, and now he meets with this group, has a mentor, disciples others, and is looking to use his expertise and wealth for the poor and needy. Wow. This is just one of the many stories I've encountered here in Singapore.

All that to say God is at work here in Singapore, and it's exciting. But it's also exciting for me to know that God is at work as I go back to San Diego. I'm so glad that I'm living a Kingdom life with you all, and I can't wait to be together with you again. Have a great week, and pray for me if you can- I travel back Thursday.

Yours,
Yucan
pastor