In a couple of hours I will be heading off to the airport to catch a flight to Nepal. If you didn’t know where Nepal is located it is between India and China (My wife had to show me on a map where it is located). I should be there for five weeks sharing Good News to all creatures with Jesse Boyd who has been there since May with his family. How can you pray for us? Please pray for watered seeds of the Gospel message. For God to receive glory for His sacrifice on the cross, For ears to be opened and hearts to be softened. Pray for people to fear the God of the Bible and to turn from idols and sin. Pray for marriages to be restored and father son relationships to be renewed. Pray for increase to the tracts and New Testaments and words that are shared while there and throughout the journey. Pray for my family while I am gone and for their faith and their love for Christ to grow. Please pray for financial provision as needs for ministry and home expenses are always there, pray for my own walk that the Lord continues to give me an urgency and desperation to see souls be saved, pray for the Spirit of God to work through me in the way that I present to Gospel, pray for my love for people and for God not to become warm or faint, and please pray for my safety and protection while traveling and preaching.
Where is Nepal?
I have been in Chicago for the last week or so and it has been a great encouragement to me. I was able to preach outside Moody Bible Institute again and as usual there were mixed reviews. But many students came up to us and encouraged us by bringing us drinks and one professor asked us into his classroom but the security on the campus wouldn’t allow us to go on campus. One student was so thankful that we came he said that the Lord has really been speaking to him about what he does with his time as a response to the message that Ken Fleck preached on what will you do with your life for Jesus? A couple students said that they couldn’t understand why we would preach to Moody students. I had to explain that College students need to hear about Jesus no matter where they go to college. After I explained that there was one student that still didn’t think it was necessary that we were there but others like I said were encouraged. In hindsight I have to reflect on schools like Harvard and Yale and Princeton that used to be Christian Theological power houses and now aren’t even Christian colleges. I would hope and pray that this would never happen to Moody Bible Institute but maybe it could?
Also while here I was able to preach to the commuters at the train stations in Glen Ellyn and was blessed to be joined by Pastor Kelly Brady form Glen Ellyn Bible Church. He would hand out tracts while I preached and it was a real blessing and encouragement to be with such a God fearing man. I got to sing and preach and even though the weather prevented people from waiting outside for too long for the trains there was one time in particular when the train stopped just before the platform and was held up for a few minutes so I could really exposit for awhile! What a blessing.
On the train I asked the employee that takes tickets if we can preach on the train and he said I don’t see why not but we better ask his supervisor. So I asked her and she said she ahas been working on the train for years and has never seen anything like that but that she would like to listen to me preach. So I went back to the car that we were in and shared a message. I had a guy that was a beginner heckler (I think he needed to go to heckler school to get better at it) but I kept my cool and just stuck with the Gospel. What a blessing afterwards to have the woman employee to say how blessed she was and she even apologized for the behavior of the heckler!
Ken and I went also to Chicago for two days and preached in the city at all the tourists spots and high pedestrian areas including the Marilyn Monroe statue, the Chicago Bean, Water Tower Place, Michigan Avenue, and to the cab drivers that drove us around. Throughout the city we used the half mile haler which is quite loud (really really loud at times) and it could be heard for blocks! We had favor from the police and were able to hand out tons of tracts! I was able to witness to an Americorps volunteer as she asked me to relocate to a different area and we kindly obliged and additionally to a security guard that had backslidden that I believe the Lord had me witness to him to encourage him to return unto the Lord!
Shawn Holes preaching on the train from Glen Ellyn to Chicago
Shawn Holes preaching at The Bean in Chicago
So I am off to Nepal. Thank you for the prayers and support. I will try to update as I go and if you get a chance give Lisa and Will a call. I’m sure they would love to hear from you.
May the Lord bless you as you bless the Lord.
In His grip,
Shawn
