What’s been happening with you? I’ve got to say, I miss you guys. Thanks for your prayers as the transition continues. Praise God that He is our rock and source of comfort and strength. Here’s a quick update with what has been happening with me.
Three weeks ago, my trusty Saturn and I pulled into Kansas City at the International House of Prayer (IHOP). Yeehaw! Four guys and I share a home two miles from the mission base. We are all on different schedules, so it was a miracle to get three of us in the same photo. As you can tell, we are a photogenic group! It’s a classic guys’ house: Not much cleaning; heavy footsteps in the hallway; Ramen noodles for lunch and frozen pizzas for dinner. I knew something was off when I entered and said, “Hey, Guys, don’t worry. I brought my crock pot!” (wa wa wa). Another exciting twist is that the police station is around the corner, so for the first couple of nights, I kept holding my hands up in the air when sirens went off. Luckily, I have stopped that now and I just eat Ramen noodles in peace like the rest of the guys.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve been able to devote most of my time to study and prayer. It has been a dream come true. In the prayer room, we pray for many national and international issues as well as sing parts of Scripture back to God in worship. I’ve been able to throw myself into it. God has been able to saturate my mind and heart with His Word. I feel that when I begin my internship next week that I’ll be ready to receive. Our schedule consists of morning classes, afternoon time in the global prayer room, and then outreach or team time in the evening. IHOP administration informed me the program is fairly consuming at six full days a week. So, this down time upon arrival has been a true blessing.
God has provided several unlooked for surprises, too. I ran into a former colleague that taught English with me in East Asia ten years ago! I came home after my teaching contract expired; he stayed in Asia. He is here to be trained in how to use his businesses in Asia for the Lord. Two of his Asian coworkers recently met Jesus. God is introducing Himself to people all around the world. Imagine that! Hearing his story greatly encouraged me. Also, before coming out here, the Lord highlighted some things to me about Islam in a dream. When I arrived at IHOP, the following week they hosted a three day symposium regarding the challenge of Islam’s growth and its impact in our society. Contact me if you would like to hear more and I will connect you with some resources. In both cases, it is encouraging to see how God is piecing together events and people as I’ve arrived in Kansas City.
I want to thank so many of you for helping me get here. Through you, God is providing for me to move forward with this new season in my life. As I am able, I hope to continue making phone calls to connect with some of you soon. Let me enclose a second response card as I’m still building a team for those who’d like to stay connected or partner with me financially. Your contributions will be supporting the preparations for building a House of Prayer in Indy and also supporting prayer and outreach activities now as I intern. If you’d like to stay involved, please return the response card.
Since I’ve been here, I am able to see and hear more clearly what God is doing in my life so that I can cooperate with Him. If you’d like to read more about what I’m learning, I’ll be putting some things on a blog that a friend created for me: brianbeeson.org
With much love,
Brian