Posts from the “Prayer Letters” Category

The Significance of Two Pennies

Posted on January 23rd, 2019

Pennies falling into a bowl Saturday night it was snowing hard outside. But inside our meeting room, the sound was a little like rain on a tin roof. I could hear pennies dropping into a bowl in the front of the room. Students were walking up to the bowl, dropping in a couple pennies and sitting down. Over 100 Asian American students from the east coast gathered together last weekend and at the end of their leadership retreat, we challenged them to take two pennies and offer them back to God. These pennies, like those given by the widow in Mark 12, represented two things: It’s a small amount of money. They cost more to mint than they are worth. This represents what we…

You shared… How do I grow in my love for God’s Word

Posted on November 17th, 2018

Last month, we asked you, our ministry partners, what you do to grow in your love of God’s word. Here’s some of what you said: Thanks for your prayers! We will also, continue to pray for you two, your children and your students. I do love the Word! I teach ‘Redemptive History’ twice a week so most days I am studying the Word. I also have time, in the morning for a devotional. Our son has pointed me to the Bible Project (which he is so excited about!!) This is what I do – Hopefully this is encouragement and not my trying to impress!!! You asked so I wanted to respond. I read with great interest your November newsletter.  I am a strong proponent…

#GoodStartBoston (or how not to be #SocialMediaStupid)

Posted on October 3rd, 2018

#GoodStartBoston We’re trying new things to reach college students with the gospel. Part of being a missionary is to become a student of the culture of those we’re trying to reach. For me, that means not being #SocialMediaStupid anymore. I used to think, “College students in Boston think and act like me.” After all, I was a college student in Boston not that long ago. But my freshman year was 21 years ago, and so it’s increasingly clear that there’s a new generation of students on campus. Let me give you an example: As the guys stood around eating their big roast beef sandwiches last week, Joel was on his phone snapping the scene. “Are you snapping our meal?” “yep” “OK. Here’s my snap…

Join us for a prayer walk

Posted on September 3rd, 2018

What I love about prayer walks is that they remind me that I have no control of the results in our ministry here in Boston. I can’t change students’ lives for all eternity. Only God can do that. And so we pray. Going for a prayer walk lets me look around and pray with my eyes open. It lets me pray for much longer without distraction. And as I look around at all the students (and buildings they live and study in), I can focus my prayers on them. Would you join us this month as the school year starts to pray for Boston? That God would have compassion on this great city like he did for Nineveh? And that thousands of students across…

“Lasting friendships. That’s your measure of success.”

Posted on August 6th, 2018

“Lasting friendships. That’s your measure of success.” When we first started doing ministry in the Middle East, that was what our long-term teammates told us. “For the average person from this country who becomes a follower of Jesus, it’s about 2 and a half years from when they first meet a Christian to when they start following Jesus themselves. So really, it doesn’t matter to us how many people you share the gospel with. But what we do care about is whether you make friends with spiritually interested people here. We measure success like this: At the end of the summer, you’ll leave a note and a gift for your friends. The team that follows you will contact your friend and set up a…

She looked up at me with kind, tired eyes

Posted on July 17th, 2018

We’ve just got back to Boston after our summer in the Middle East. And, of course, we wish each one of you were there with us in person, to experience some of the amazing ways the Lord moved. The best we can do today is an audio diary. Here’s a short clip of me (Malisa) sharing with our students one morning to help refresh the vision for why we were helping serve our new refugee friends in the Middle East. I wanted our students to see how significant their presence was this summer. If you’d like to hear the audio of me sharing, send me an e-mail and I’ll send you the password. She looked up at me with kind, tired eyes as the…

Vidoes of our Students

Posted on June 1st, 2018

Recently, we have been sharing some videos of our students. Here they are:

Magic Moments

Posted on March 15th, 2018

My friend Sam is in Navy ROTC. He’s now a Junior and for the past couple years I’ve been encouraging him to reach out to other midshipmen in his ROTC Squad. Now, two seniors: Alex and Fiona are starting Valor (a Cru military movement) and it was just the push Sam needed to invite his friends to talk about Jesus. Sam invited four of his classmates to come with him to Valor. And we’ve been praying for them each week. A couple weeks ago, Sam and I exchanged this little text message chain. And I thought you would like to see it. These are the magic moments when students take the risk: to invite, to ask, but then to share about Jesus. Malisa and…

Luo Pad Prayer

Posted on March 15th, 2018

Update: Here’s a short video of our students at work at the LuoPad event Would you help us next Tuesday? Next Tuesday, we’re going to help make re-useable feminine pads to distribute to refugees in the Middle East and beyond. If you’re in Boston on Friday, we’d love to have you join us. If not, we’d love you to pray for this outreach. On Tuesday from 2-5pm, we’re hosting a drop-in service project at Boston University where students (and you if you’re interested) can come and cut out the pieces of “LuoPads.” LuoPads are washable feminine pads that are part of a “LuoPack” of women’s hygiene items (6 LuoPads, 2 pair of underwear, a washcloth, washing instructions, a waterproof bag, all in a privacy…