 Dear Friends, I (Lisa) don’t know how long Elijah stayed in Zarephath, but it seems it was brief enough that we could call this a short-term missions trip. I’m a big believer in short-term missional endeavors, despite some of their inherent limitations and potential pitfalls. Jesus sent out his disciples on at least one, and Paul planted many of his churches through a series of them. As we look at our next few years, it seems more likely that we will be carrying out our ministries through short to medium trips rather than through relocating to Malaysia or elsewhere in Asia. We’ll share here our hopes for our next two trips but first let me share what I think makes Elijah’s trip so successful and such a good model for those of us who go on them today. First, he entered a new context with a potent mix of confidence and humility. He wasn’t “bringing God’s love” to Zarephath, as some heading out on short-term trips might say. God had told him that he was already at work in the heart of a woman there. Elijah just needed to go with eyes wide open to discover who it was who had been prepared to welcome him. Second, he entered the new culture with vulnerability and need, and he was willing to ask for help. He didn’t show up to fix the problem with a giant truckload of water; he couldn’t. Instead, he came thirsty and every bit as hungry as the woman and her boy were. As the story begins at least, he is the recipient-guest, and she is the giver-host. His words and her willingness turned her from passive sufferer of the fate of death to an active participant in the future God was bringing her. Third, though he doesn’t bring much in the way of skills or resources, he does bring one thing that she lacks: his faith. He brought his relationship with the God who had commanded him to go, his testimony of having experienced God’s provision in the past, and his willingness to go out on a limb with a crazy, bold promise. Like many a newcomer coming in from the outside, he brings a fresh perspective, a new way of framing an entrenched problem. That is the way of trust that Yahweh will provide, even in this season of scarcity. August in India and Malaysia We are painfully aware that this is a season of hardship for the church in India. We share links below describing the rise of families and whole churches being evicted from their villages, of churches being burned and pastors beaten. We can do almost nothing to fix that, but we can come alongside these faithful disciples with words of hope, with solid training so that leaders can lead their churches well, and with our love. We hope to bring all of that when we serve at a seminary in the Southeastern part of the country. We will be there the second half of August, with Rich teaching leadership while I will be teaching preaching. We always avoid large gatherings, but we will be even more careful this time, and we do ask your prayers for the church in India and for our health, safety, energy, and excellence as we say yes to this invitation. After that, I will head to Malaysia to be one of the faculty for a colloquium of doctoral students from around Asia with the Asian Graduate School of Theology, a consortium of schools that have banded together to offer a number of degrees that no one school could field on its own. I have not been back to Malaysia since we had to leave somewhat suddenly 15 months ago, so I look forward to connecting with friends and colleagues while there. Fall in Durham, Winter in Asia I will be in Pasadena in late September and would love to see Southern Californian friends when I’m not pawing through our basement boxes, but other than that, we’ll stay put in Durham, NC for the fall, happily serving at our church here through leading the Young Adults group and hosting an Adult Sunday School course in Global Mission. We will also be gathering a team that we hope will meet us in India for a short-term trip. Our plan is to head to Malaysia in January, then be in India February and March, serving in various schools and churches and laying the groundwork for our church’s visit mid-March. After that, we will be in the US, discerning our long-term home and continuing to serve both from a distance and through extended visits to Asia and elsewhere. We are so grateful for your friendship, financial gifts, and prayers as we prepare for this upcoming trip. As always, feel free to reply here with a way you are seeing God at work where you live or a way we can be praying for you. With gratitude, Rich and Lisa Every conversation with pastors and partners in India also includes a reference to heightened persecution, scrutiny, unjust imprisonments of Christian believers and pastors (and nuns!) all over India. Please pray for our brothers and sisters! To Learn more about the church in India today: 
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