Unsung Hero

My favorite sermon that my dad preaches is the Unsung Hero sermon. He asks, "What do Zacchaeus, the woman with the issue of blood, and blind Bartimaeus have in common?" They have an unfeeling crowd, a loving Savior, and an unsung hero. All are hindered by the crowd in some way, whether by selfishness, judgment, or the simple press of bodies. All have a deep personal need--salvation and healing. All find it in the eyes and touch of Christ. But how do they know to come to Him? Somewhere, somehow, someone said, "Did you hear about that man Jesus? He turns the world upside down. The Pharisees hate Him... but He loves tax collectors" or "... He heals diseases" or "... He opens blind people's eyes." No one knows who spread this word. Their names are not recorded in the Bible. They have gone down for 2000 years with no credit. They are unsung heros. But their names echo into eternity. When we are all together in heaven their testimonies will be celebrated.

I had a conversation on Saturday with a lady from Japan. She's here in Canada for nine days, staying with a Christian host family, but they hadn't been able to spend much time talking with her. She asked me what brought me to Vancouver, and I told her I came here to serve God by serving other people. Something in that struck her. She confessed she had lived her whole life for herself, had never served others. I didn't get to tell her about Jesus, but maybe that has opened a conversation with her host family. Maybe it was just the beginning of a seed. There's no telling what God may do even with the little things we say.

Praises 

• My Iranian church has found a pastor. He will be coming to BC in April, starting at the church in May.
• Some girls from my Canadian church and I are getting together today for our first week of CBD.
• We have enough money for this month's rent at the Centre. We are also seeing more people drop in, more often. It's beginning to develop into a community center.

Prayer Requests

• Please pray for this pastor as he moves from France to BC. I have no doubt that it will be a difficult transition. Pray for wisdom in moving, for language acquisition for his wife (she doesn't speak much English), and for help in the transition for his daughter, who I think is a teenager. Pray for vision for him in leading the church and that the Lord would smooth the way as he begins to minister.
• Please pray for this Japanese lady, and pray for Japan. Please continue to pray for divine appointments with women.
• Pray for God's continued provision at the Centre. Pray for Him to raise up some English teachers when our current teachers return to the States. 

Again, thank you guys so much for praying for me!