Visas are in... we're heading back!

Thank you for praying with us for our visas to enter and be in the country. We have received our passports back with 1 year visas for each of us.... but we will have to leave the country every 90 days in order for our visas to be valid. We can trust that God will use this too for his glory. It sounds really hard to my mother's heart now, but He will see us through.

As we head back, our major prayer requests are:

1) a home prepared for us in the new city. Location (near like-minded friends to work with and near the people we want to reach), size, good landlords, and cost of rent are some of the key features...

2) a helper prepared for us. We've been put in contact with a friend there who knows of believing ladies who need work and we are trusting the Lord to provide a helper who will be a good language partner and helper in the home so that we can maximize our time and our home for hospitality and evangelism.

3)a good school and local friends nearby for our kids. (Our big kids haven't spoken that language the whole time we've been in the states and we are eager to see them get back in the swing with it... a fun play environment at morning preschool and good friends to play with would be the perfect motivation for them to tune their ears and tongues back into that language again.)

4) language- for all of us! The two of us wanted to spend more time reviewing our lessons while we were in the states, but... when we get back there we'll all need some refreshers!!! The two of us will begin studying the second language we need once we get settled.

our brother A: just sentenced to 15 years

Friends, this is news we wish we never had to share with you. Gross injustice. But it is also exactly what Jesus said would happen, and what he promised would end in blessing for his own: Matthew 5:10-12.

A. received 15 years imprisonment for allegedly "providing state secrets to overseas organizations." Honestly though, a clearer understanding of the situation is gained by knowing that this country very often accuses minorities of "espionage" or of serving as a liaison to foreign governments when the real thing that happened was more related to religious freedom issues... i.e. sharing Christ with others.

A. was held for over two years without a verdict. He was first formally detained and charged on "suspicions of harming national security." The charges were then changed to "suspicion of instigating separatism and providing national secrets or intelligence to overseas organizations or individuals". He was tried secretly on these new charges. The case was then sent back for retrial. He was tried secretly again on July 28 with the first charge dropped.

Ethnic minority and Christian convert "A." helped pastor a house church in Xinjiang with his wife G. and two sons.

"The 15-year sentence is far more severe than I originally expected. It is the maximum penalty for this charge of "divulging state secrets," which requires Alimujiang's actions to be defined as have "caused irreparable national grave damage. This is the harshest sentence against house church believers in nearly a decade, " said ChinaAid President Bob Fu.

Some friends of Prayer Fuel's who are close friends of A. wrote, "We know that Alim is innocent of all these charges and this is a travesty of justice. Please be praying for our dear brother and his family."

You can learn more about this dear brother's case at www.chinaaid.org .

Our brothers in prison

Rejoice in the Lord that our brother O has been released! Pray that God would protect him and his family now, provide for them, and keep their faith strong and use them to spread the Good News of Christ to others around them.

Rejoice also that A's mother has come to Christ in the past few months. Pray that she would be strengthened by the Word and in fellowship with other Christians.

Ask for continued grace for A in prison- that the Lord would use him to proclaim the mysteries of Christ. Pray for special grace to comfort and encourage him in the bitterness of winter there while there is no heat in the jail.

Beth

Beth is a local student friend of ours who has been hearing about Jesus from us for almost three years now. She's studied the Word and heard the Gospel and been loved by several Christians and we are all so eager to see her embrace Christ.

I just heard from a friend who is over there... she said just talked with Beth this week. Beth explained to her that she will not meet with my friend any longer to study the Word. It sounds like Beth has taken some major steps back. It looks like she's getting of the path that we could see landing her soon in Jesus' arms.

There are so many obstacles to these friends coming to Christ. There are countless cultural, social pressures and burdens on them and there are deeply entrenched arguments they've heard from childhood against Christ. Will you ask the Father to work in her heart and mind to show her the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ? From first to last- when it looks likely and when it doesn't- Christ alone will get the glory for her salvation!

We know and delight to trust that God will draw his own to himself. And at the same time, it is our joy and privilege to lift up this sister.

"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." (Romans 9:15) Have mercy on her Lord!

decision to be made

We have to decide in about one week what kind of visa to apply for. This "visa" is basically our permission from that government for us to be in their country. Basically our options are to be students (but we would have to study the majority language, that we just finished studying) for 8 hours a week in order to get this visa. Or we could apply for a Business Exploration visa but we would have to leave the country every 90 days.

There are other advantages and disadvantages as well to be considered. Thank you for praying with us for wisdom, guidance, and provision from the Lord for this, dear friends!

A & O- sentence up soon

Two of our brothers have been held away from their families for almost two years now because of their faith in and service for Jesus in the area that we love.

Pray for O who has been in a labor camp. His two year sentence will be completed next month and he should be released. Since he and his wife have allowed foreign advocacy (from groups like China Aid) on their behalf, local authorities greatly dislike them for having foreign connections (foreignors are often greatly mistrusted) and for drawing attention to the injustice of this case (thereby shaming these authorities.)

Please pray for O to be released and to be protected when he is. Pray for a continued strong witness to the men around him in labor camp. Pray for provision for and protection for his wife and two children- and for their strength and encouragement in the Lord.

For our brother A, who has been held for nearly 2 years without any conviction, ask that the Lord would bring justice and help for him, comfort to him in prison, and continued grace to be a bold and loving witness and to see men around him come to know Christ. Pray also that his wife and children would be physically protected and provided for and spiritually strengthened and encouraged.

Matthew 9:36-38

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Lord of the harvest, give us eyes to see like you see and compassion like yours. Burden many more hearts to go and serve those who have never heard your Gospel. Send out new workers Lord! Provide for them, equip them and send them out to humbly serve.

Fall Travels

Thank you for praying for our family as we've been traveling this fall. We've been honestly surprised with how smooth the road has been for us (sad comment on our faith) yet we have been truly grateful for God's evident grace to make it so.

Thinking of this time in the states, the two of us agreed that these are our top desires:

1- To deepen in prayer

2- To be more rooted in, submitted to the Word of God

3- Grace for our kids

We can see God's provision in each of these areas, though we are both eager to gain from the first two requests more still. We're about half way through with this first "home assignment" time and are desiring to be nourished in the Lord well together- the two of us- so that we can return to the work in Asia with our tanks topped off.... fueled up and ready to serve. Thank you for praying!