Meet Evergreener Garrett Inouye -Asian Access/SIM Missionary to Japan

When I initially took on this position at Evergreen SGV, my prayer was that God would raise up full-time overseas missionaries within our church. Soon after, I met with Garrett Inouye (who I remembered as a high school student) and he shared how God had called him to Japan.

We began to meet regularly for over a year in preparation for Garrett going on the field and now he is officially approved as an Asian Access/SIM missionary and is currently raising support so he can go on the field for his initial two-year term.

Garrett is currently an Outreach intern at Evergreen SGV and is also overseeing the college ministry, “the Floor”, as part of his preparation for Japan. He has been a great encouragement to me as I have been blessed by his passion for the Lord, his faith to venture out and his heart of mercy for others (he is also one of the funniest guys I know).

Recently, I was able to catch up with Garrett regarding the journey God has taken him on:

Reflections from Haiti

Our team with Joanna Hodges

Though only five days long, my recent trip to Haiti revealed a lot to me about the country, its people, the work of the Good Samaritan Hospital hospital (HBS) and the importance of missionary care. Here is a snapshot of my reflections since returning:

Leaving on a Jet Plane to … Haiti

From February 24-29, I along with join Frank Murakami and Allen Yee will visit Hopital Bon Samaritain (HBS) in Limbe, Haiti, a hospital Evergreen members Bill and Joanna Hodges started serving at over 50 years ago. (It started as a Christian outpatient clinic in 1953 and grew under the direction of Bill Hodges.)

Please pray:

• that we would be able to bless Joanna for the amazing legacy of ministry she and her husband helped establish
• that we would encourage the workers in their ministry
• that we would be able to see what God is doing there
• that we would be able to discern what God may be calling Evergreen SGV to do there

 
I will attempt to post updates via twitter.

When something short-term goes a long way

When you think about overseas short-term missions trips, the numbers do not seem to add up.

A group of ten or so goes for about two weeks at a cost of roughly $30,000. A day is lost in travel with a few more needed to get over jet lag. Finally, just when members get adjusted to the time, culture and language, it is time to go home back to the normal daily grind of life.

What that all adds up to does not seem to amount to much. However as with all things in the Lord, the impact of something short-term can go a long way. And that is particularly true in regards to short-term missions trips. Here then are three ways short-term missions trips can have a long-term impact:

1) A missions trip can impact you for the rest of your life

Stepping outside of your culture allows you to evaluate your life in light of what God is doing around the world. Many long-term missionaries first recognized their calling to missions after going on a short-term missions trip, and people who go on missions trips are often lifelong supporters of missions.

2) We have something to offer that is otherwise not readily available

Our teams have been asked to construct custom fitted furniture for children, equip a church in the area of prayer and provide English teaching. Locals often ask why our teams would travel all the way from America just to serve them, which provides a great opportunity to share the gospel.

3) We can encourage, minister to and pray for Christian staff and workers

Our teams try to take the time to minister to and pray for our brothers and sisters in hopes of encouraging them to continue the awesome work of proclaiming the gospel and making disciples long after we’re gone.

4) We can bring back here what God showed us there

I say this because I received my calling into pastoral ministry while on a missions trip, had a heart for children’s ministry soon after returning and am writing this article as the missions pastor having gone through the experience. But don’t take my word for it …

*Taken from latest issue of Evergreen SGV Online newsletter

Perspectives is coming to Evergreen SGV

From Jan. 18-May 3, Evergreen SGV will be hosting Perspectives for the first time at our campus. It will be on Tuesday nights from 6:45-9:45pm in our Cafe. For those who are interested in missions or for those who would like to develop an interest in missions, I would highly recommend attending. It will transform your outlook on world missions.

Speakers include Larry Walker, Len Bartlotti, John Lo, Carol Davis and our very own Andy Pearce. Josie Leung is the coordinator for this class.

I remember taking this class soon after graduating from college just prior to attending seminary and it was an amazing time of hearing how God is moving throughout history in the world and meeting people with a similar passion to see God’s Kingdom come to the uttermost parts of the world. The resources I gained have provided me with a solid foundation for my involvement in missions and much of the ministry we do at Evergreen SGV.

This is from our class page on the Perspectives website:

Join us on a journey to learn more about God’s heart for the world He created. As we develop our understanding of His perspective, we can be encouraged, empowered, and equipped to fulfill His assignment for us in His mission to redeem those He loves.

In the span of sixteen weeks we will bring in top missions leaders and mentors. Their role is to challenge and inspire us through the material and their personal experiences. Our role is to respond to the call God extends to us through them, whether it is in our current locations or on the other side of the world.

*Register at www.perspectives.org. Early registration discount of $15 applies by 1/7/11. Additional family members are $50 off. For more information contact Josie Leung at josie_leung@yahoo.com

Related: Adding New Perspectives on the World

Reflections on Lausanne Global Link Event

This past Sunday, Evergreen SGV hosted its own Lausanne Global Link Event. For several weeks, I was praying about which sessions to show but because of the cyber attacks on the Global Link website the first two days, I was left scrambling until the last minute to download the content.

As with all things, God was in control and directed the meeting. Over 50 people showed up and I was so encouraged to see them tackle some the issues I presented from the talks. Here is a recap of what we went over:

Pray for Evergreeners in E. Asia

To protect our Evergreeners in E. Asia, I’ll refer to them as “A” and “D” (You can ask me personally who they are but because this is on the web for all to see, I have to resort to this).

“A” just arrived in E. Asia for a medical missions project to help in an earthquake-devasted area for 11 months. It’s been neat getting to know this home-grown Evergreener and seeing her step out in faith for the purpose of seeing what God wants for her life.

“D” remains in E. Asia for another year term working with college students. I was able to catch up with “D” over the summer and am impressed by this brother’s dedication and commitment to the people of E. Asia amidst the personal sacrifices he’s had to make.

Make no mistake about it, “E. Asia” remains a country that largely persecutes believers so keep our brother and sister in prayer. It is so encouraging to see young people like “A” and “D” answer God’s call on their life overseas. They comprise what I call the “RE:generation“, the next generation of workers God is calling overseas and I thank God for them.

For more information on how you can support these Evergreeners financially and in prayer, contact me at vchen@evergreensgv.org.

Evergreen Lausanne team almost underway

Pray for the Evergreen Lausanne team as they meet together in Cape Town. Reine and Lori should be flying in from Johannesburg about now and Ian just made his way there from Malawi. Elliott has been scrambling to get this congress off the ground. For updated information and prayer requests, read here.

Reflections on Passion for the Nations

Although Evergreen SGV helped host Passion for the Nations this past Saturday, I was fortunate to attend it without any formal responsibility for the conference. Although I felt bad for not doing anything the day of (great job to all the volunteers and core planning team!), I was able to blend in and enjoy the conference. Here are my reflections from the conference:

Reflections on Thailand -”God moments”

A week has gone by since we were in Thailand and the times I wasn’t fighting jet lag, I’ve been able to reflect on what God showed us in Thailand. I found myself reading through my blog posts and recalling specific situations in which God revealed Himself to us, what I call “God moments”. This is important because it’s the reason why the four of us went to Thailand as opposed to just finding out what’s happening there through websites, videos or pictures. We wanted God to pave the way for our future ministry in Thailand.

Rare "God Moment" -Head of village is the man in yellow