Today, I was hoping to provide a more in-depth update from the past few weeks, but apparently, time is not on my side, so I will be keeping this post brief.

A number of weeks ago, you may remember me mentioning our Gypsy team was scheduled to sleepover in a village a couple hours outside of the city. I had not be to this particular village, but my team leader had been and felt there were Gypsies in this village who had hearts that were soft and that the Lord was preparing the soil in that community. There were also individuals in that village who were musically inclined (this is somewhat unusual in these villages), had aspirations beyond just wanting to be a beggar for a living (a young girl wanting to be a doctor), and were genuinely welcoming. At the same time, there are deep roots of witchcraft and other related practices that some leaders in the community were engaging in. Also, there is one young man who spoke of a dream where Jesus appeared to him and is wrestling with what it means for his life.

As soon as my fingers are done typing, I will be meeting up with my Gypsy team leader, as well as one other lady on our team and Lord-willing, go to the Gypsy village mentioned above. First, the three of us will be spend some time together seeking the Lord and asking Him to do what only He can do in the hours and days ahead. We want to hear from Him, closely follow His leading, and GO meet the specific people that God is directing us to. People of Peace. We will spend the night in this Gypsy village and if all goes as planned, a couple teammates will join us for the day there on Sunday. Tonight, it is our desire to share stories with them from the Word, as we each have been working on specific parables and other parts of scripture that we believe God has placed on our hearts. By God’s grace, I am hoping to share the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, or the parable of the Prodigal Son (Two Sons). I have been learning the “Older Brother” portion of the story and my teammate has been preparing the “Younger Son” portion, which we hope to share together perhaps this weekend or in the coming weeks in other villages.

I would love if you could spend some time in prayer for our team for the hours ahead, as well as for the people we believe God is leading us to. A couple of months ago, God provided some clear direction and vision to our team in where we should be focusing our attention and with whom. We believe this village is apart of His plan at this time. Please pray for protection (physical and spiritual), for language barriers to be minimized, for receptive hearts, for the unveiling of eyes, and for our Gypsy friends to see the light of Christ in us. We want them to know and believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ and for God to be worshipped and glorified. We need wisdom, discernment, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Also, it is not uncommon for the Lord to speak to Muslim believers through dreams, visions, and miraculous healings, so praying for Him to do just that would also be so appreciated.

I will end things here, for now, but Lord-willing, I will be posting another update very shortly. I will be in a different village on Monday for the day, so it will be a few days before I have computer access. I do want to thank many of you for the encouraging emails you have been spending and for the time you are putting aside to pray specifically for what God is doing here in Central Asia.