India is the most unique place I’ve ever been. The colors are vibrant, like the leaves of the tress in Baru, the foods require great finger dexterity, and the traffic is just this side of being considered a war-zone. We are often invited into homes as we travel around, preaching the Gospel. Well, perhaps invited is too weak of word. We are demanded. “Come to my house!” our friends say. We once, in our immaturity, let their forceful hospitality bother us, but now that we’ve grown up a bit we understand the honor in such an invitation. Now we accept, go, smile, eat, and learn. Yesterday in fact we were invited into a local hindu shop owners house. We really weren’t up for it, but we went anyway, denying our flesh its selfish demands. We arrived, were served Goat Liver (again, liver and durian are my bane – really) and wound up having a great time. Near the end of the meal the mother of the house asked us to pray for her family and her husband, who has diabetes. We did, and it was a highlight of the day. I am believing for total healing. The woman is a believer in Christ, the husband is not and refuses to let her attend church. If he believes it will change everything in that little home of four.

Afterwards we went to a village. This place is both sad and uplifting at the same time. There are idols everywhere, some as big as Nebakanezer’s golden image, and there is no church for miles and miles. The caste system is in full effect in this tiny place; some even speak different languages than the other sub-caste. Anyway, throughout this village are people who came to us and told us of being harassed by demons at night. Now listen, the west struggles with this, but out here the existence of the spiritual world is not in question. We passed one lady on the side of the road, half dressed, half undressed, rolling in the dirt, eyes almost silver, staring at us with a disgusted look. Darlene saw it and told me afterwards. How I wish we had seen and stopped. Perhaps the poor soul could be set free. After talking with a few of the people we learned that suicide is quite present in this little place. This place needs a church of praying people to push the darkness back into its box. We are working to raise the funds to plant a mission base that will help plant hundreds of other churches in the many of the villages here JUST LIKE THIS ONE. Pray we succeed. There is so much good to be done in this impoverished, tormented, lost place. God loves them so much.

After we went to the inner part of the village. Kids appeared like muchkins to Dorothy. This is the uplifting part. The boys LOVE the camera, the girls run from it, but all laugh and shout and love to see a foreigner in their little village. The future of the children is important to God and to us (and should be to you). Afterwards we headed back to the city where we are staying. All the way back we talked and joked about how crazy they drive. Our Indian friends LOVED it.

Later that night Darlene and I went alone to eat. In the middle of the meal she broke down, not from hopelessness, but rather compassion. “No person should have to live like that. With no hope here or for after they die,” she said. “And they shouldn’t have to as long as there is a Christian walking these streets.” And she is right. No one should. No one has to. We’ve just got to overcome selfishness — in giving, in going, in living, in praying. It only takes money, time, and a little sacrifice to see these lives change. And that’s why we are here, ya know? To let our light shine, display the good works of the love of Christ, and to let those works been seen by men so they are glorify our Father in heaven. We have the answer, in our hearts, in our wallets, in our mouths. We are the representatives of a Kingdom where no one is oppresses or hungry or damned. And we serve a King that cares about the unknown distant faces, he knows there name, he knows how many hairs on on their head. His name is Jesus.

Below is the testimony with pictures of us praying with this sweet mother! And yes, we’ve got it on tape!

From Pastor Ebanezer:
Two weeks earlier this lady came to Church with tears hoping that God would touch her son who was addicted to alcohol. She heard Dustan Stanley’s message and she came forward to be prayed for. Darlene Stanley prayed for her with tears. You know what happened? Last week this lady came back to church with cheerful face testifying that her son stopped drinking alcohol in two days after being prayed for. When she told that to the church the church went for a long clap in praising the Lord! Thank you, Darlene and Dustan Stanley for your great ministry in Chennai. We know for sure God is going to use you both in India beyond imagination.

This is a continuation of the Abide blog series by Dustan Stanley.
To start from the beginning go here: Abide #1 – “The Dream”

“Lord, what is this sadness?” I asked. And he replied…

1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.

Psalms 42:1-5

I sat back and read again, and again. The scriptures seem to both jump out and pull me in at the same time. I couldn’t move to a different Psalm. This was the word the Lord had for me. But what did it mean? Like always, the meaning eluded me on my first read through, but as I meditated, reading slowly, saying the words aloud so I could hear them, letting them refresh my heart slowly, drinking deeply, the most simple yet life altering truth stepped from behind the veil.

I was thirsty.

“As the deer pants for the water,” I said aloud and to myself. “so my soul pants for you, O God.” That was it! That was the feeling! Thirst — elusive, yet ever present and effecting every parts of my being! Like verse two said, I was thirsty for the living God, the only water that truly satisfies. My spirit was longing to come and appear before the Lord, screaming at me for the longest time, “Go! Go find a place and meet with God!” But, alas, I was too busy to listen to his cries for help. The inner me, my heart, my spirit, was panting for the Living Water, but no matter how hard he tried to steer me into the consistent presence of the Lord he was not strong enough, drained of his strength from his lack of nourishment. My mind was in total control, demanding the wheel and driving recklessly through the dark streets with no headlights!

In all of my work I had stopped meeting regularly with God. I was visiting the Lord rather than abiding in His presence. I’d wake and work and sleep and wake. At night I’d want a break from thinking so I’d veg out with a book or movie. The next day would be a repeat. Sure here and there I bowed my knee for a few minutes of prayer or skim a chapter of the bible, but the seeking was dead. It was fake. It flowed from a guilty conscience rather than a heart to be with God. It was dead religion creeping its way back into my heart, obligation not love, and a weak attempt even at that. It was a sad reach at discipline. My only goal had been to quiet my conscience. In the end it proved totally ineffective at quenching my thirst. Soda is no substitute for water in a parch land!

“Yes, Master. I see,” I said. “My soul misses you. I miss your presence.”

Read more, I heard in my heart.

“My tears have been my food day and night,” I read, “while they say to me all the day long, ‘Where is your God?’”

I suddenly remembered the tears I had woke up tasting, salt from my own body. From this the Lord showed me something that I’d never seen before. When we get to this place, with our spirit thirsting inside, the only nourishment we have is what we can provide from our own natural self, and that nourishment will make your thirst more rather than less. It is like drinking saltwater. As you work to fill the void that comes from a lack of God’s presence you make your soul even more thirsty. We think it will quench our thirst, so we guzzle the sea water from our own eyes, both draining our strength and making the thirst worst at the same time! We eat our own arms! Those who do not know God’s presence because they don’t know Christ try to fill their thirsty hearts with all the glittering, staggering things of this world, but in the end (I’ve seen it time and again) they are more thirsty than before. They are carrying these jars back and forth from poison wells. They are dehydrated spiritually, dying, but all they know is to drink of their own tears! We must show them the living water! We must share the Love of Christ with these poor souls! Just as Christ went to the woman at the well and sat down where she drew water, we must do the same, we must go! How can we call ourselves Christ-Like but ignore the dying one drowning in his unknown sorrow?! Let’s go to him and repeat our Lord…

 

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:13-14

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. – Isaiah 55:1

Praise God we have access to the living water! Our eternal thirst is quenched, but even we must drink of the water. We need God continually!

I read on, aloud so I could hear the words for myself. “These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.”

I paused and reflected on the last few months. Since I had begun to neglect my walk with the Lord I could see a real change in my life and my ministry. There was a time, as Darlene and I traversed the world preaching the Gospel, when my preaching was both fiery hot and deeply penetrating. I’d lay my hands on peoples shoulders and know things about them that I should not know, things that could help them steer clear of rocks waiting to shipwreck their faith and life! I remembered, just like this Psalmist, leading people into the presence of the Lord with joy. I remembered standing before witch doctors, Muslims, Atheist, Buddhist, and Hindus, declaring the Gospel with a smile. I remembered deaf ears opening at my fingertips, curved backs straitening, sleeping souls awakening! I remembered prayers being answered overnight, God providing thousands of dollars in an instant, being led by the Spirit of God out of the path of evil men and car wrecks! I remembered following the leading of the Lord to a dot on a map in a foreign nation, and seeing God preform miracles on the front steps of village homes. I remembered! How I remembered! And how it hurt! Now, I was living in a place of struggle. I was trying from day to day to find strength to go on. Everything was harder than ever. My joy was fading and with it my strength! My prayers were hindered. It seemed I was working days for one minutes wort of fruit. I was striving, something I hate. Christs’ burden is light and east, but my knees were buckling under the weight of someone else’s yoke! I stopped reading and dropped, pressed down by the weight of my laziness and foolishness.

“I’m sorry, Lord,” I prayed. “I’m sorry. How pathetic I am to ignore you, who saved me and gave me the most fulfilled adventurous life! You’ve blessed me more than I know. Please forgive me. I’ve traded the real for the fake. I’m so sorry.”

In my heart I knew what I said was sure. This feeling, the more it was exposed, terrified me. It was as if I had lost something so valuable. It was as if I’d taken ten steps backwards in my Christian walk, stopping to take a nap while the turtle kept going. It was like I was back in high school, where I once made a blatant choice to backslide, in full light of what I was risking.

“Please Lord, restore me. I know you want to. You always do.”

Yes I do, read on.

 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation
(Psalm 42:5 ESV)

And there it was, the promise. As always with the Lord, when you come to Him humbly, he receives you. When you confess your sins he forgives you and cleanses you completely. It is my complete and deepest belief that he is the restorer of what is lost. The destroyer of the work of the enemy!

Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you in turmoil? Put your Hope back in God! You WILL again praise Him. He IS your salvation! It was as if God was speaking directly to me. “Dustan,” I imagined Him saying. “Put your hope in me. You will recover from this, and you will be stronger than ever in the end. I forgive you. Now, come to me, drink. Let me teach you a few things…”

And it was then I knew that there was a way back, that God was about to show me how to regain all that I had lost. Suddenly the words of the Lord Jesus popped into my head…

    “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

So I turned to John 15.

When we arrived in Chennai we were once again greeted by our beloved and boisterous brother, India. This nation is like no other. The traffic screams both ways, the hospitality is beyond almost any other we’ve ever tasted (they are neck to neck with Indonesia on this point), and the food is as delicious and potent as the colors. It is wonderfully new and the smells, the sounds, the sights, all slam into you like a freight train. Somewhere along the buckled sidewalks, as you’re trying to yank free from a beggars clasp and a horn beeps, not one, but eight times, warning you to move, that’s when you realize… this is India.

India has more unreached people groups than any other nation. Hinduism is the main religion and is in everything. Islam makes a large percentage as well, followed by Christianity, but with over a billion people, that majority of lost people represents a number larger than is comfortable to think about. Even in the south, where the Church is planted, the list of completely unreached people groups is overwhelming and evident. It is not rare to see a massive group of people walk by, barefooted, as they make pilgrimage over streets littered with feces, passing cows chewing on the straw houses of the lower caste. In some places the higher caste will not even share the community well with the lower caste. It is the most blatant way of saying, “I’d rather you die than share water with you.” It’s pure, concentrated hate oozing like yellow puss from deep rooted religious lies. It is also said that slavery is larger here in India than anywhere else. After a little secret research, I believe it. From what we’ve gathered, most of these slaves are forced to work to pay down small debts, but are charged for room, board, food… everything. The result? The debt grows rather than shrinks. Money rules here, so much that even the idols are painted with gold coins pouring from their palms. If you are rich, laws do not apply. Corruption is everywhere, so much in fact that as I write this, there is another man fasting, much like Ghandi, in order to urge the government to pass new corruption laws. Pray he succeeds.

Dustan Stanley from The Revolutionary Life ministering at our South Indian host church.

But, in the midst of this, there is a rare beauty. India is the most hospitable place (along with Indonesia) we’ve ever been. Now, I’m not talking about Tourist India. I’m talking in the homes, at the tables, sitting crossed legged with a cup of Chai over a banana leaf, India. The believers we’ve met are so authentic that it took us a while to get over wondering what they secretly wanted. People here are spiritual, with a huge giving heart to visitors. Our friends in the south eat, drink, and breath reaching their nation for Christ. They work tirelessly to expand the Kingdom of God and take care of those who can not care for themselves. The pastors we know visit homes continuously, caring for the precious ones the Lord has given them to lead. It is beautiful. Two groups that particularly impress me are the young single men of the church and the ladies. If we are ever in need of help they are but a vodaphone call away. Once, when our friend Kaley was visiting us, a man scared her (without knowing he did – long story). We made a call and one of the guys, who has not been saved as long as the others, showed up in a blink. The passion to protect was inspiring. Another time, after preaching at 1:00am, I (Dustan) was very sick. Our good friend Stanley took me to the hospital and refused to let me pay a dime.

The point: this nation still has, as Caedmon’s Call said, the spark of the divine, there behind the lies that drag you down. More than ever we believe in India, and everyday we spend on these streets, searching for the location of our Mission Church plant, we believe in it more. We believe there are thousands of young Indian missionaries waiting to be confronted with the call, who will take the Gospel to the ends of their nation and beyond. We believe that God loves and wants to move greatly amongst the Hindus and Muslims of this country. We believe, that as this culture changes, as it is everyday, an army of Christ like followers who love God and others more than self can help steer the nation towards Jesus.

With every ounce of who I am I KNOW the answer is the Gospel. The key is to make disciples who make disciples, to raise up pure hearted, true, Indian men and women of God, to go into the cities and villages as Kings and Priest of our Lord, ushering in the Love, Hope, and Faith of Jesus Christ. It is possible! All things are possible to those who believe! Besides, God wants this more than we do. It is HIS idea! It shall happen in the name of Jesus! Our goal is to plant a church, in a city, that will raise up Indian missionaries. We will make it operate in a modern style, yet focus on teaching Love, Hope, and Faith passionately. Our goal is to place a faith filled Indian Pastor to shepherd the congregation, while we focus on the recruitment and training of future Indian missionaries. This is our aim world-wide! More laborers for the ripe harvest!

Never once have we lied to you, our partners. Never once have we inflated number or stretched the truth. Over the past four years Darlene and I have taken VERY little pay from this ministry, pouring all of our resources into travel, ministry, production, and the preaching of the Gospel. So now, with no shame and a clear conscience, I can say to you that we need your help over the next few years. India is our first focus, but afterwards we wish to plant mission churches in Ghana, West Africa, perhaps Thailand or Indonesia, and the USA. It is the first steps to making Revolutionary Life a missions movement that sees thousands sent into the mission field and millions saved.

Indian christians praying during one of Dustan and Darlene's services with the Selvaraj's.

Will you take a moment right now, bow your head, close your eyes, and ask the Lord if He would have you give to Revolutionary Life financially? Will you commit to monthly giving over the next one or two years? Will you give a one time gift? No amount is too small. Many ones equal much. Perhaps the Lord is speaking to you about going on the mission field yourself? Will you go? Will you answer the call? Will you? What is the price of a soul? What about a thousand?

Here in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, three times daily the electricity goes off. Every few days the running water here stops, and we have to tell the owner to buy MORE water for the empty reservoir. The streets are dusty, more than you just pictured, and each time we cross the streets we thank God for another victory. It is another world; one we love, and tomorrow we will crawl from our bed yet again, take a cold bucket bath, fall to our knees on our rice mat, and ask the Lord to make us able to preach the Gospel throughout the day. This is the life we have chosen; it is the life of a missionary apostle, and there is nothing better. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. We miss family and hamburgers. We look to the day we can have a home to come back to after our mission travels. We long to start a family, and we will, but each time we lay our hands on another sick person and see them recover or share the Gospel with another unreached soul, each time we see that hint of belief sparkle in their hopeful eyes, or hear the voices of our Indian family praising their Lord, we forget for a moment. At that moment there is nothing but the love of God flowing from our fingertips and tongue, and everything seems small in comparison. It’s like we feel Heaven’s Royal Eyes lock onto our location and pause, smiling, thrilled, pleased, and that is what we truly live for.

We would not be here without you. You enable us. You send us. You pray for us. So from the bottom of our hearts we thank you. Thank you for caring so dearly for Darlene and I, Revolutionary Life, and the Unreached World. Thank you for loving the Lord with all you are. You inspire us. And thank you for believing that we CAN reach this world for Christ.

Dustan and Darlene with their hosts, the Selvaraj family, in Tamil Nadu, India

(At some old ruins in Chiang Mai, Thailand)

After our first 14month long missions journey Dustan and I went on I learned how to be creative with a few things such as with fixing my hair with no curling iron, hair straightener, hair dryer, or any other electronic hair device. It demanded me to think of other ways to fix my hair, and to be honest it was quite frustrating in the beginning. Some of us ladies have a lot of hair, and tho a lot of female missionaries eventually go with shorter hair cuts, I wanted to keep mine long still. I’ll be honest with you…Sometimes when you can’t wear much makeup, or any, the last thing you want is to feel plain ugly, so with having longer hair it helps me still keep some feminine charm even when I’m unable to be made up.

(Packed up leaving our Guesthouse in Thailand)

Fixing the Hair

Before I share on how I fix my hair on the road, you need to know that my hair type naturally is fine, frizzy and wavy. It’s not straight and it’s not curly. When I scrunch it with hairspray and gel it will curl right up, and when I don’t it’ll have a braided frizzy wave to it. So I’m only sure about my hair type when it comes to these tips.

My main hair tools are:

1. Baseball cap
2. Beanie
3. Hair tie
4. Hair spray and sometimes some gel
5. Bobby pins
6. Claw hair clip

These tools help a lot with my hair length being past my shoulders. One of the main reasons is because when I’m in a hurry or unable to fix my hair right away I can put it in a hat and role my hair in the back into a bun, tie it off and go. At the end of a hard days travel, or from being out and about I can take the hat off, and undo my ponytail bun, and “WALAH” I have amazing silky waves. It’s really that easy. It works like magic every time. One tip, if you want to get your hair curly naturally, just twist and role it into a bun while it’s still slightly damp. I usually use one, but you can do it with two also. For two just take the top part of your hair like you’re pulling it half up, twist and role it into a tight bun getting it high on your head leaving some slack at the base (you don’t want your hair to pull). Tie off the rest at the base of your neck, and sleep on it overnight. The next morning you’ll have lots of curls.

When I’m in a hurry and if I just washed my hair, I’ll put my beanie on to get it to dry laying down right since I have side swept bangs. The rest of my hair will maintain its natural slight waves. I’ll spray lightly with hairspray at the crown of my head, and maybe really lightly on my ends. It helps me work with my hair rather than against it. That’s why I choose to have my hair longer with layers, it helps me manage it better on the road, and it’s easy to pull back when I need to. I learned a long time ago to stop fighting against what my hair wanted to do naturally. No matter what I can do it won’t be perfectly straight unless I have a hair dryer and straightener. But unfortunately I can’t have those things on the road, and sadly most of the hot and humid places we go it wouldn’t work anyways. My hair can be stubbornly frizzy in humid climates, but I’ve learned to work with it and since then I’m a lot happier with my hair. It’s not perfect, but that’s ok; this is the mission field so if you’re able to maintain any style what so ever you’re doing pretty good.

(Shopping for warm clothes in Tibet)

The other thing I can’t leave without is some bobby pins. These are a-maz-ing. I really love to use these. Sometimes my bangs get in the way and so I will pull them just at the crown of my head back and place two to told my hair there. Also helps with style when I really use a lot of hair spray and gel to set off my waves and will give my hair some added lift. Btw, I use only the wet kind of hairspray out here, never the aerosol kind. The reason is the aerosol kind can be too harsh on the hair and gives it this awkward stiff look, so the wet kind works with my hair letting its natural shape take form.

Another way to “increase” my waves to curls is I’ll spray and gel my hair (getting it damp with some water when I do), and then tie it up in a messy bun with a hair tie, or bobby pins (these work really well for this). When it dries in about an hour or 30minutes I will have twice the volume and curls as if I spent hours on my hair when actually it only took like 5-10 minutes. After I use a wide tooth comb to get it all in place you can add bobby pins at the crown to pull it back a bit and add a final touch of hair spray to set it off. Alot of times now even when I’m in the States I will still use these tips when it comes to fixing my hair cause it works, and a lot of times I like the results better than if I spent all that time using a hair straightener, or curling iron!

So now when Dustan sees me wearing a hat or beanie as I’m getting ready, he knows I’m actually fixing my hair.

The claw hair clip is by far the hardest thing to keep from breaking on the road, so I recommend getting on that’s tougher than the typical plastic ones. I am using on while we’re here in India alot, almost everyday. The ladies here keep their hair back at all times, so the easiest way for me to fix my hair here is to take on of these claw clips and pull my hair back. I like it too cause it doesn’t leave any lines, and can give my hair a loser look than with hair ties.

Makeup:
As far as makeup goes, I’ve learned that eyeliner can go a long way in helping you look presentable and is so easy, quick to put on as well as pretty natural and easy to wash off at the same time. My daily makeup is pretty much eyeliner, blush, and chap-stick (if that counts). Mascara is another thing I love to use and sometimes eyeshadow, but only when it’s conducive to where we’re at. Like when we are traveling all night on buses and trains, I won’t wear any mascara cause it’ll get crumbly, and I won’t be able to wash it off. I’ll keep my face as clean as possible in those cases cause you don’t know when you’ll have a bathroom with a sink and running water. Lastly, because I’m so fair I use the blush to give me some added color. Otherwise I can look pretty pale at times. :p

Facial Cleaning Tips:
Another thing I’ll use on long road trips is facial cleansing wipes. These are so great, cause when you are on the road your skin gets dirty and grimy, and so something as simple as this can be so refreshing. You’ll feel like you just washed your face over a sink of water! And for someone like me, my skin is so prone to breakouts due to climate, dirt and pollution, so I have to keep my face extra clean at all times. I always carry with me a small bag of cue tips (travel size) and a travel size of rubbing alcohol. You’ll be amazed how even after washing your face how you’ll have layers of dirt come off! You never can be too careful, so I always have these with me as part of my beauty regime. When I slack for just a few days sometimes from using it, I’ll break out, so I am always having to stay on top of cleaning my face with the right tools!

Everything I mentioned above are things you can find on the road in big cities pretty easily. From bobby pins, to hairspray, gel, hair ties, claw hair clips, cue tips, rubbing alcohol, eyeliner, facial cleansing wipes, hat, or beanie you can pretty much find. Tho usually when it comes to makeup I advise people to get from home before they leave. That’s one of those things that you don’t want to bargain with. Odds are you if you find makeup overseas it won’t be the same.

(On an overnight train in India)

Accessories:
Cause we are spending alot of time ministering in churches on the road we have to be able to “dress” up our “travel wardrobe” when needed. So I’ve learned accessories can go a long way with helping with that. I carry about 2 pairs of earrings, a couple of necklaces, and bracelets. I try going with stuff that’s light weight as much as possible (in Thailand I purchased some earrings, necklaces, and braclets that were made from wood, and coconut shell. It’s really light and looks nice too), and that’s neutral so I can wear with most of my clothes. Lastly I always have one long scarf. This comes in handy when it’s hot you can use to wipe your face, keep you warm when it’s cold, in more Islamic places it can serve as a head covering, and lastly it can really add style to a boring, backpacking missionary wardrobe. I add a scarf to anything I’m wearing and immediately it makes what I’m wearing look nicer. So scarves serve lots of purposes on the mission field, are light weight, and add style.

That’s it for now. I’ll take more time later to go into “what type” clothes to pack and all of that. Hope this blog is able to help some ladies out there who are considering travel, or missions. Just know that you can look good anywhere in the world as long as you’re able to put a small effort in. It doesn’t take much to do these things, and can really help you maintain your own personal style while being on the road. You always have to give up a few luxuries, but where there is a will there is a way! It’s not easy traveling and moving like we do, ministering, and shooting video for our tv show, but by applying these tips it’s really helped me feel better about myself and improved my own personal appearance while we’re on the go. The last thing I can do is shrink away from the camera when I don’t feel my best. It’s apart of what we do. So I’ve learned to embrace it, and do what I can to maintain my personal hygiene away from a household of goods, and it can be done!

(On the border between Thailand and Burma during an outreach to the Burmese people)

“You have no time to play. You have no time to rest,” they would say. And I would listen.

Darlene and I were working morning till after bedtime everyday: waking, working, sleeping, waking, working, sleeping. Repeat. My To-do list stretched a mile long and hung from my shoulders, its train filling every corner of my life and claiming every calorie of energy. I was overwhelmed, but there was something else going on, something different and beyond the physical and mental drain of hard work. It was deeper, spiritual, and no amount of accomplishment was filling this void I felt in my heart.

In the natural everything was going great. We had been accepted for international broadcast; I was doing what I am made to do – living a world-wide mission adventure with the love of my life; fulfilling my calling,; traveling and seeing the beauties that poets have written volume about. I was even about to reach a few personal goals with the releasing of my first book. But still, something was wrong; I felt unfulfilled and empty. I fell asleep that night, praying.

“Lord, help me. I don’t know what’s going on inside, but I feel miserable. It almost hurts. Help me.” And if fell asleep.

The next moment I found myself in a massive church building, or perhaps it was a stadium, I am unsure. The place was filled to the brim with worshipers crying out to their God. It was some kind of conference. I joined in the worship, crying out to my awesome God and the Lord Jesus Christ, lifting His name, calling from the deepest of me, pleading for relief from the dryness I felt in my soul. I needed Him. I was desperate.

At this point in my dream I saw that the leaders of the conference we beginning to lay hands on and pray for every person there. They had teams of ministers and intercessors going from person to person. As the team assigned to my area got nearer I recognized the woman coming my way. Her name is Susie, she is a prayer partner and giver of our ministry and a good friend for many years. She and her husband have been a source of encouragement for a long time and I was thrilled to see that it would be her praying for me (I am particular who I allow to lay hands on me and pray).

Susie approached, smiled, and started to pray for me. As soon as she laid her hands on my shoulder the Holy Spirit overwhelmed me and I felt my knees buckle. Throughout my years of being a follower of Christ I have only fell under the power a few times – it is not a normal occurrence – but this time I not only fell, but crumbled. Before I realized what had happened I was on the ground, wailing. Tears burst from my eyes without my consent and groans that can not be uttered began to come painfully from my lips. I lay there and prayed in tongues, and as I did a strange feeling came over me. It was as if sorrow, a deep, deep sadness, began to flow out of me as I prayed in the spirit. With every heavenly syllable another ounce of sorrow was released from my heart, and it kept coming, and kept coming, and kept coming…

I woke with a start. Tears were still moving on my cheek and my mouth was still praying in tongues, uttering those magical and mysterious words that can not be spelled. My heart wasn’t racing; it was calm, but the sorrow that was flowing in a steady stream from belly to lips was thick, overwhelming, and constantly being expelled through these spiritual syllables. This continued for a while, I don’t know how long, until I was able to calm down and go back to sleep.

The next morning I told Darlene about my dream.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “I mean I do and I don’t. I know that the Lord was trying to heal me from something, but from what? I feel the problem, but I don’t know what exactly it is and where it is coming from. Is there a deep sadness in me that until now I felt but didn’t know I felt?”

So I took it to the Lord in prayer. A few days later, in between editing sessions, I cracked open the Bible to Psalms…

To be continued…

I’ve now traveled (on the move) out of the USA on mission for over two years. Darlene and I always pack one bag, with an additional one as a daypack, and hop on a plane, only to spend the rest of our journeys on and off of camels, horses, tuk-tuks, boats, buses, trains, prop-planes, bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, and feet. We prefer ground travel for the adventure and price (flight or train for comfort).

Dustan and Darlene Stanley from The Revolutionary Life's tech tools - Laptop, Quad-band Smartphone, Amazon Kindle, and a Sony point and Shoot camera.

Over the past four years we’ve learned a thing or two about moving about lightweight. One of which is that technology can make your life MUCH easier, if used in moderation and correctly. It is a gift from God, but can be used by the enemy if it consumes you. That being said, there are five tools that I suggest every traveler have, and especially the traversing missionary. For those of you who are prepping for your own Revolutionary Journey, read these and heed.

1. A VISA or Mastercard Debit Card and a Backup.
   We learned this one in Laos. We thought we had pulled enough money out, but soon realized (after going through a pretty bad rip-off) we had not. We had a Mastercard, but as we searched the little town we found two ATMS, and neither one of them worked. The next few days was spent in a $2 a night Guesthouse (don’t even ask) as we worked to contact home and get some money Western Unioned to us. The transaction cost $29 and was SUCH a hassle.Always have a VISA or Mastercard debit with you, preferably VISA as it is used in more places around the world. Lately it seems Mastercard is catching up, but VISA is accepted almost everywhere. It’s best to have one from a large bank, but most are part of larger networks that will work just fine. Also, bring a backup from a different bank – maybe a credit card (beware the foreign transaction fees!). Sometimes networks have trouble and a backup is your failsafe. Keep it in a safe, different place in case of theft. Also, if no ATMs are working or if you are going to take a large amount out, go inside a reputable bank and do a cash advance on your debit card instead of using the ATM. Often we get better exchange rates and no fees (unlike Thailand’s CRAZY $5 per withdrawal fee).
2. A laptop.
   If you have saved your own money and just want to disappear for a while, this one doesn’t count for you. There are thousands of internet cafes that you can stop at whenever you wish to come up for air, but if you are supported and on mission, communication is a must, and communication is easiest with a laptop. That’s why we carry a Macbook Air with us. We can do anything from video editing to email and banking on our on secure computer. We create our own newsletters and even buy music from iTunes and ebooks from Amazon (more on this later). Besides if you are doing mission work, you NEED TO BLOG for the good of those back home. We choose the Macbook Air because it is light, fast, and MAC. You choose whatever you like, just keep in mind, I warped a 17inch laptop in my backpack on our first journey. It still works, but kinda rocks back and forth now and the battery exploded in a way. lol Point? Get a small light one that can fit in a daypack easily. You don’t want to destroy it OR leave it in a guesthouse to be stolen.
3. A Quad-Band Smart phone.
   You can buy one of these on the road, but if you are going to travel the world you need a QUAD-BAND smartphone not locked to any specific carrier. The quad-band means it will work everywhere, and the smart means you can listen to music, worship, and sermons while on those LONG bus rides. We use an unlocked iPhone 3g, but there are just as good of options that are not Apple. If you have an Android phone and a Mac computer, awesome. You can still sync most things with it using Winamp for Mac syncing with iTunes.GSM is the band we use and is available almost anywhere around the world. You go buy a sim card at a local phone shop, have them install it and activate it, and top up. It’s easy and the best part? No contract. You get to keep your first-born.
4. A Pocket Camera
   If you are a videographer or a photographer I’m sure you will have a DSLR, as we do, but if not, a good high pixel pocket point and shoot camera is just fine and best. You are going to see things you need to remember and share. That’s what the camera is for. Memories fade, so journal and snap, and share it with others on your BLOG. Yes, that was another hint to a blog.
5. An e-reader.
   My last essential is an e-reader. If you are a traveler that will read one book a month, you don’t need this, but if you are a missionary you MUST feed yourself on the Word of God and good teaching. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve searched entire cities for good fiction and Christian books, only to be disappointed with sore feet at the end of the day. Lifeway has not yet expended into the Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu world. Just saying. We MUST feed ourselves Faith filled biblical teaching because no one will feed you spiritually in the unreached world but you. If you don’t feed yourself through sermons and books you will starve and quit and go home to never return.An ereader makes my life SO MUCH easier. Once, in London I counted the books I was carrying. It was somewhere around seven or eight. I had more books that clothes, because I always buy when I find them as there is no guarantee they will be available in the next nation. Now, I use the Amazon Kindle. I saved a TON of space and weight, and I can almost find any book in ebook Format on Amazon.com. It is purchased and downloads instantly over Wifi. No more searching for Dustan and Darlene. Praise the heavens for my Kindle! Now, my bag is lighter, and I save money by not frequenting those overpriced second-hand book shops in Southeast Asia.Also, I bought the OCTOVO light for the top. I LOVE this thing. I had three Kindle lights die within weeks of purchase. This one is a beast!

1. Because we’re flying out of the Kuala Lumpur airport (tomorrow) for India
2. Because we have a list of things to find while we’re here before we leave SE Asia for good (at least for several months….or however long God leads).

This for us officially begins our next mission: shopping for boots in Kuala Lumpur. Sounds easy right? Yeah, I thought so to.

For most people, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia along with Bangkok Thailand and Singapore are the SE Asia shopping hubs and capitals. They have a host of shopping malls with floors that go up and up until you’re dizzy. However, no matter how great shopping in SE Asia is and can get, it’s NEVER easy. For any of you who have experienced what I’m about to tell you, you know how crazy and how a needle in a haystack it can be when looking for anything in Asia malls & marketplaces. One thing about over here, the stores are much smaller, more plentiful, much busier, and ALWAYS seem to carry many of the same things. So if you’re out of luck with one shop, usually you’re out of luck with the next shop too because everyone seems to carry the same inventory. However KL was our last hope. There’s not many places we can find good boots and camera equipment on this side of the world, and KL was our only promise of finding these things before we’d be flying to India.

Only little did we know what we were in for….

Our first day in KL we literally hunted all day long for one thing….boots. Sounds ridiculous, but we have recently come to the conclusion that boots are the “over all world traveling multipurpose shoe.” You can literally wear them with just about anything. So here we were hunting down the perfect boot that would suit our needs in one of the biggest cities in SE Asia.

Dustan’s were actually not so hard to find. He’d researched out an American brand shoe that made the kind of boot he wanted, and only in KL could we find it. We walked in this mall and right there was the store, Timberland. Sure enough, there was the EXACT boot Dustan had researched, and they had exactly ONE last pair in his size. It was great. I hadn’t seen him that happy and giddy over something in a long time.

We bought the boots. Now it’s my turn. We checked one of the cheaper malls first where I tried on this perfect style boot that I wanted, (alot like a military boot) but worried it might be too snug and too cheaply made. I was hoping I could find maybe the same thing in real leather. You see….we’d saved my birthday money and our Christmas money for this. So let the hunt begin….

We go searching up and down the KL malls, store after store after store after store and no luck. All the boots for women have either these ridiculous heels on them, are not lace-up, have no grip, or are too small for my feet. It’s insane. I’m literally in any shoe lovers dream world and I can’t find the boots that I need. After all day of this, I am fed-up and tired. I resent my too big foot (I wear a 8 1/2 or 9 in the US) and am growing bitter at all the “petite footed” women in Asia. Of all the places I thought this would be where I’d be able to find them. Why couldn’t any of these nicer shops have the same type boot I saw at the cheaper shop?

After all day of looking, Dustan who was encouraging me the whole time and not giving up, decided to take me back to the first place we looked. The cheap mall we FIRST went to. We’re literally limping at this point cause we’ve been walking for around 8 hours straight on hard cement/tiled floors and streets. I’m ready to give up, but with Dustan’s encouragement, he coaxes me to keep trying. So I go and I try the same boot on with a pair of socks. It’s in their “BIGGEST” size (which is a size 40 in European/Asian sizes).

Guess what? It’s too tight.

Frustration threatens to take hold, but low-and-behold there was another boot that was the same size, but that somehow fit “Bigger” than the other one did (one thing with Asian sizes is they are inconsistent. So the same size could fit while another same size doesn’t). You could hear angels singing; it was the last of the last boots I’d tried on in all of Kuala Lumpur and FINALLY I’d found the perfect fit! It was like a scene out of Cinderella. The shoe actually fit!! And it fit WITH socks on!! It had a low heel, had a side zip, had good grip on the bottoms, had laces, and was brown (the color I’d been wanting), and was fake imitation leather instead of real leather, but so what…I didn’t care; I’d found my boot. They were perfect. The price was definitely a bargain as well which made it all better. I was so happy.

Just for anyone’s future reference who may be a size 8 1/2 or 9 in women’s shoes who may start traveling and thinking of buying shoes over in Asia…. let me warn you. You want to have the RIGHT shoes before leaving your home. Even tho Asia has literally tons of beautiful shoes, it’s all for not when they’re all made for women with smaller feet. So to all my “big-foot-women” out there who live in SE Asia, I feel your pain.

After the battle of finding our boots was over, the rest of our shopping was a breeze in comparison.

The rest of our shopping list went as follows: boots, double CHECK! Socks for boots (CHECK), shampoo (CHECK), bag for camera & computer (CHECK), new lens for camera (CHECK), screen protector (CHECK), viewfinder for camera (CHECK), contact solution (CHECK), toothbrush (CHECK), wet wipes (CHECK), laundry getting clean (CHECK), and a partridge in a pear tree (CHECK).

And now…… Drum roll please

We are ready for India.

Here is a picture of our actual boots we got. Dustan’s are the one’s on the left, and mine are on the right. At first I felt a-little unsure, but after wearing them all day they seem great and I think they will definitely do the job.

[mappress mapid="2"]

2011 has been an amazing year, with many victories and a ton of hard work. We’ve seen The Revolutionary Life TV program completed and it is now being broadcast to over 100 million homes world-wide! We’ve established our RLI-House in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and completed the mission to lead a team from the United States on a five-month extended mission.

We’ve been BUSY, but now we’ve began yet another mission journey. 2012 is here, and we wanted to quickly communicate and let you know what we, Dustan & Darlene, will be working towards this year. More, longer information, will be released soon – but below we’ve given you a run-down of the Revolutionary Life 2012 vision and goals!

Here are our top five goals:

1. To Plant at least two Revolutionary Life Churches/Outreach Bases in the unreached world. One in India and one in Ghana.
   
   When people say CHURCH all types of different things pop up in the mind of the reader. So, we’ve compiled a paper to define what a Revolutionary Life Church will look like. You can read a rough draft online, here.
2. To tape Season Two of The Revolutionary Life.
3. To establish an online resource/partner center to unite and equip other revolutionaries to reach the world for Christ.
4. To write the initial training course materials for training apostolic missionaries in our Revolutionary Life Churches and future USA Training Base.
5. To add two full time team members that we can train to help expand the mission revolution for Jesus Christ!

Each of these steps help us build the framework of what will become a great world-wide missions movement. The goal: The Harvest!

Our 2012 budget to accomplish this $150,000. That includes yearly budget to get the churches going, travel expense, production equipment, support for Dustan and Darlene, and pay for our office manager back home (Thanks Mom!). It takes a lot to do all that we do from here to the USA, but together (Us and You) we ARE doing it! A Revolution for Jesus Christ can only be accomplished as a massive group of Christians began to live revolutionary together. We are all different, but we are all one!

As you prepare your year end giving, would you please consider helping us to accomplish these above goals by donating financially? We are currently in Thailand, prepping for a mid-January extended trip to India where we will start the groundwork for our first major church plant. Our budget includes the possibility for a third church plant in Southeast Asia, but our goal is to plant these two first. Each will cost $15,000 for the first year, after which we will work to make them self-supported.

Praise God! We’re already receiving support for this cause, but we still have quite a ways to go.

God bless you this year. Thank you for all you do for the Kingdom of God! May 2012 be the most blessed, fulfilling, wonderful year of your life, and may you, even in the cold struggles, prosper in everything you set your hands to do, be fruitful in every season, and never wither from the storms! (Psalms 1:1-12)

Together we CAN reach the world for Christ and bring in the Harvest of Souls that He, our Lord, died to rescue.

In His service,
Dustan & Darlene

The pictures below are from an outreach to very poor Islamic community on the Border between the nation of Burma and Thailand. Many of these people have no nationality and must live in this buffer zone (provided by the Thai government) their entire lives. The guys at Life Impact have been loving this elementary school for quite a while now and just recently were allowed to come and share the Christmas story with the children.

The amazing thing is that the children that were rescued are now the ones sharing the Gospel. The guys and girls from Life Impact’s Rescue home performed skits, sang, and shared about Christ.

Afterwards the team gave the children and their parents some hygiene packs and snacks to celebrate. The kids were so thankful! In fact a few hours later the team ran into one of the kids at a local market. He was freshly showered, hair still wet, squeaky clean. He had gone home and immediately used the soap, shampoo, and ‘smell-um-good-um’ he had been blessed with.

It was a great time. Many kids responded to the message of Jesus coming, living, dying, and being resurrected for our salvation.

For more information about Life Impact, watch Episode #5 of The Revolutionary LIfe here.

Dustan and Darlene Stanley in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This year we would like to praise God for the AMAZING things we have seen him do. Not only have we seen many people experience God through our ministry, but in November 2011 Revolutionary Life went from reaching a few thousand to hundreds of thousands through our weekly television program on JCTV. We are already receiving emails from numerous people who have been inspired through the program to follow Christ to the mission field! That was the plan — more laborers! Praise God!

This Christmas we (Dustan & Darlene) will be ministering on the border of Burma and Thailand while we prepare ourselves for the next step of this mission journey, India. In early January we will fly to Tamil Nadu, India for an extended mission. The goal is to plant a model church with the purpose of raising up national apostolic laborers. This will be the first of two church plants we have planned for 2012! While we plant these fellowships we will tape Season 2 of The Revolutionary Life!

Would you please consider, in your End-Year giving, helping us accomplish our 2012 mission. We need an additional $4,800 to begin our mission in India. With this money we will be able to get the equipment we need, travel, live, and minister for the first month. Also, our monthly budget for the Church plant is just over $1,000. If we can raise this money we will be able to plant a church that will greatly effect its region with the Gospel. You can give by sending a check to the address at the bottom of this email or by clicking the donate button. It will take you to secure paypal donation page. And don’t worry, you don’t need an account with Paypal to donate this way, just click the area on the right that says “Don’t have a paypal account?”

Thank you! Through your gifts and support we are able to continue impacting the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We love and are praying for you. May you be blessed this Christmas season!
Please, feel free to email us personally at info@revolutionarylife.org.

God Bless You and Merry Christmas!
Dustan & Darlene Stanley

Revolutionary Life International
PO Box 1600
McComb, MS 39649 U.S.A.

And LIKE us on facebook at www.facebook.com/revolutionarylife

Dustan on his cell-phone with Bishop Emmanuel in Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa

In this day and age there is no reason that we as missionaries are not consistently speaking into and communicating back to those who have joined with us in this mission. Now, I know life can get busy out here, but no one is asking you to blog everyday. We just have to face it that the days of disappearing for five years without a newsletter are over. Missionaries MUST communicate. There are a few places out of reach of cell service, but not many. In fact, once, in Tibet, I figured out how to use my cell phone to update my Facebook while riding on horseback ministering to nomadic yak herders (yes there are a few ways to access Facebook in China – but that’s a different post).

Dustan on horse back in the grasslands of Sichuan, China (Tibet) with camera.

It reminds me of this scene from a chick flick named, “He’s Just Not that Into You.” The main character is making out with this guy. Something or another happens where she ask if they can hang out next week, but he says, “I’m sorry, I’m going out of town and I’ll be out of touch.” This sends a red-flag, so she goes to the bathroom and calls her friend.

“So,” she says, “I’m making out with this guys, PG stuff, and he mentions he’s going out of town so he’s gonna be out of touch–”

“Run,” says her friend.

“But, maybe he is going out of town.”

“To where? New Guinea? Where’s he going that he’s gonna be out of touch?”

Get my point?

Now, why? Why do we as missionaries sometimes suck at communication and how can we change it? I’m glad you asked. This will be one of the areas of focus of a few future technology blog entries I plan on writing. I think it’s very important that I take the skills God has given me to help those laboring so hard in the Great Commission, but before we begin I think we need to know why we need to communicate in the first place. Here are a few reasons…

1. People give you their hard-earned money so you can reach the world for Christ.
   This is not to be taken lightly. Seriously. You owe them the communication back because they are just as involved in this work as you are. They don’t have to support you, but they do. They hear from God and write you a check while praying. That’s HUGE. We can not take their love for God and His mission for granted. When they hear from you it tells them how to pray, keeps you and your ministry in their minds, and let’s them know how they are blessing the world through you.
2. It’s not 300 A.D. anymore.
   Once, it took six months to get to the field, but these days you can fly to America from India in 15 hours (direct, mind you).   God has opened of the minds of man for such a time as this. Using Skype you can talk face to face with your loved ones back home, with a debit card you can pull money out almost anywhere in the world. Times have changed. Change with them.
3. You have a responsibility.
   To me this is a BIG one. Mission sending and giving has dropped over the years. We, as missionaries and apostles, have a responsibility to promote the Great Commission. One of the main ways we do this is through showing the need for missions and by communicating what God is doing to those back home. If we do not communicate then the anti-christian-missions culture that has bloomed in the West will keep sprouting. However, when we do communicate we see an increase in laborers and givers to the Great Commission. How do I know this, because my wife and I, and about thirty other people I know all received the call while watching or reading or listening to a missionary communicate with those back home. Just as Paul reported to the Churches, so should we. The results are more than just money.
4. The Christian World-View depends on You.
   If there is any office in the Christian world that would help people understand different cultures, religions, and nations in a positive loving way, it is the Missionary/Apostle. The news is so slanted and often times I, as a much traveled missionary, see the good hearts of my brothers and sisters manipulated. We have a job to help those at home to see people in foreign nations as people and not numbers, friends and not enemies, folks to love and not to attack. We can help people see both sides of the coin and through our communication and stories help them realize that God’s image is stamped on every person in every nation. Perhaps if we did better Politics would not be able to twist peoples good hearts to support evil ideas. 
5. It’s Cheap.
   Almost everything I am going to teach you through these blogs is free. Some may cost a few dollars, but most do not. To have a successful and professional email campaign, blog, and online giving will take nothing from your pocket-book.  For the small to medium ministry there are communication tools that rival the big boys and cost absolutely zilch. Even if you do not have a computer (if not – it’s time to get one – see point #2) you can do this through one of the thousands of Internet cafes spread all over this planet.
6. It’s Easy if you aren’t a Defeatist.
   To tell you the truth, you could teach yourself these things with the help of a few web-pages and the Holy Spirit. You are NOT computer illiterate. You CAN do all things through Christ who gives you strength. Don’t be defeated before you begin. In this time, saying “I’m computer illiterate” is almost the same as saying “I am illiterate.”  It’s time to bow up to the challenge.

So here starts a new category on the Revolutionary Life Blog: Technology. Let me know what you think about the above paragraphs. Do you think missionaries shouldn’t have to communicate? Why? I wanna know. Challenge me.

I’ll do my best to write one of these here and there. Please, be kind and patient, we’re busy trying to plant a few churches in India and Africa, and over the next few weeks Darlene and I will be going out-of-touch. ;-)

I’ve worked for over five years on the book and the TV show took over 3 years (14 months taping and the rest learning post-production). For those who don’t know — Darlene and I, with the limited help of a few friends (THANKS GREG, WESLEY, JAMES, and NICK! And Kevin Macleod!), shot, wrote, edited, and produced this entire 11 episode season. There was no camera men, no sound engineer, no tech engineer, no head-editor, no writer, no one outside of Darlene and I and these few faithful friends. We had no outside funding outside of Revolutionary Life. And even now we don’t get paid for the work.

But we were not alone. No where near it. Period. Truth. We had a secret production partner that we must acknowledge. You knew it didn’t you? You knew we had some secret connection that helped it happen. You knew that we knew somebody rich and famous from the start, right?

You are correct! Honestly, I am not smart enough to do all this. I have a GED. No diploma. No college.

So, who is it? The Lord God.

He has been our teacher, advisor, encourager, and strength giver throughout this project. We had NO experience producing a TV show! We had no education. We had a few people that were nice to answer questions, but we had no team most of the time. And during post-production we traveled for eight months to SE Asia to continue the mission. But yet, somehow, he took five faithful partners (a few more but you get it) and two silly foolish kids and are now feeding a multitude (Mark 6:30-44). He told us to build an ark. We asked, “What’s an ark?” He answered, “I’ll show you. Just get some gopher wood.” (Genesis 6-9). He said get some jars and pour yourself into this project. We said, “But we only have so much oil Lord!” He answered, “Just pour.” (2 Kings 4:1-7)

In the end we did the work of an entire company. We stood in a field and fought off a thousand ignorances with the help of the Holy Spirit (2 Samuel 23). Amazing.

But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
(1 John 2:27 ESV)

So, let me boast for a second. No, not in me — in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31). I want you to know that if he can take a foolish kid like me and touch the world, he can do SO MUCH MORE through you. (1 Corinthians 1:27) I want you to know that if your dreams match HIS dreams He can enable you to do ALL THINGS! I want you to know that all things are possible for them who believe (Mark 9:23). I don’t think God pushes all of man’s dreams, but those dreams that he is pleased with get his blessing (Psalms 37:4). Our Father in heaven gets a thrill out of showing the world what he can do with a boy and a rock (1 Samuel 17)! All you need to get is belief and courage to move on that belief. Believe He can teach you all things (John 14:26). Believe that He can change you into someone he can use greatly. He made you especially for a purpose (Psalms 139). Find it. Live it. Love it.

It will be work. It will be challenging. It will be warfare, but you CAN do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Philippians 4:13)! Stay in Him, get your strength from His joy (Nehemiah 8:10). Delight yourself in the Lord and He will GIVE you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). He will mold your desires to match His desires and thrill you with the fulfillment of the dreams He gives you!

So now, the next mission is to plant two model churches in the unreached world in 2012 – ones that will train up laborers to preach the simple Gospel. We have a book to release in the next two weeks. We leave for India in January. We have to tape Season 2 of The Revolutionary Life.

That’s a lot to do. Man. The work continues.

Sound impossible? Hardly. I just have to call our secret production partner. He’ll know what to do. Heck, he spoke and produced the worlds in only one week! Not bad. (Genesis 1)

Yikes. My hair had gotten wild and my red beard was out of hand. That means it’s time for a haircut and shave.

Where & How Much?

On this side of the world one of my favorite timesis a shave and a haircut. For 100 Baht (just over $3) you can get a full haircut and a slick straight razor shave. The place I normally go is on the inside of the south side of the moat. Driving east inside the moat and you will pass a classic red and white spinning barber sign. They speak no English, play way too many cards in the back-room, but do a good job and are fair.

But this week we headed to a different place down near Night Bizarre, just off of Loi Khor Rd. The lady there is nicknamed “Pinky” and she speaks really good english. Trust me, this is helpful. I’ve tried to explain what I wanted with sign-language. By the time I left I looked like Bruce Lee.

Anyway, Pinky, when she was seventeen was pressured to go to college. She tried, but instead she wanted to cut hair. Over the years she’s tried multiple things, but always comes back to her craft. She likes the people she says. Seven years ago she setup shop here and has gotten better and better with communication and hair since.

Pinky charges 120 Baht ($4) for the haircut and 120 Baht for the shave, and she does an excellent job. We dropped in at 11pm and was her last customer for the night. Forty-five minutes later I had lost ten pounds and five years.

Tips:

Now, there are a lot of great places to get a good shave and haircut. These are the two I’ve used, but wherever you are there are a few pointers that will make your life easier.

1. If you want to keep a beard instead of a clean shave, tell the barber how short you want it based on the razors guard levels.
   For example, I like shot stubble that can grow for a few weeks, so always tell them to trim my beard with the #1 guard on the razor. The Higher the number the longer the hair. This is helpful because most people know the English one, two, and three and it is a univeral way to explain. The guards may differ form place to place, so go one number higher than you usually would use. If it is too long you can always have them buzz your beard again.
2. Bring a picture.
   Trying to explain what kind of haircut you want with very little language can turn out quite interesting. Instead find a magazine or website with the style of haircut you want, and take it with you on paper on on your phone. A picture is worth a thousand words and ten thousand words lost in translation.
3. Enjoy.
   Even if they mess up your head enjoy. There are few masculine things left that are as pure as an old timer shave and cut, and it’s even rarer to experience it in a foreign land. Kick back, close your eyes, chill.

Also, if you think about it, please pray for Pinkey. We witnessed to her and prayed for peace for her, her two kids, and husband.

John, from SpreadtheFlame.com, declaring the Word of Thailand in Prayer.

So, four times a week, at 5:45am, I crawl out of bed and go unlock the gate at the RLI House here in Chiang Mai. Soon, John Lambert, a good friend and ministry parter will show up, followed by a few other missionaries that desire a great move of God in Thailand. The next two hours are spent in our little Thai living room seeking God, interceding for Thailand, declaring the Word of God over everything from government workers to local prostitutes, and binding the enemy from his continual work throughout this ravished nation.

For those who may scoff at the need for Christ is Thailand consider the recent story I heard of a single man that was ganged up on by a group of ‘she-boys’, kidnapped, and raped repeatedly for over ten days before being dumped out in front of the hospital, only to be turned away because of the nature of the crime. Consider the bar owners who make covenants with demons of lust to draw more rich foreigners into their bar so that HIV infected prostitutes can make their pimp some money. Consider this one church who helped a prostitute get free from the lifestyle she was living, so the Pimp hired a hit man to kill the pastor, but the pastor backed the Hitman down with the boldly spoken Word of God. Afterwards the pastor went to the police to report the event, but was simply told: “Who do you think runs this city? Stop messing with the ‘bar-girls’ or we will make fake charges of child prostitution on your church.” Consider the children that are sold, raped everyday, and tossed out to die when they are no longer desirable. Consider the men from America and Europe who fly here to have sex with these kids because they think they are ‘helping’ them by giving them the money. Consider that everyone looks away because it’s wrong to get ‘hot-hearted’. “Just let it be”, they say. “I mean they must have done something in their previous life that makes them deserve this. Let them suffer so the next life will be better.”

Really?

Thailand needs Jesus and the Ways of the Lord. Period. This is what we are facing here, Satan pure and simple. So a ton of our prayer time is spent ‘binding the strong man’. And what is that? It is declaring the Gospel to the Devil (Remember ‘Preach the Gospel to every creature?’ – Mark 16:15). Yes, even to Him. We are arriving and saying to the evil spirits, “The Lord has made an open shame of you and stripped you of all your authority, now by the power of Jesus name, we bind you from doing harm and command you to open up the prison doors and let God’s creation free!” (Colossians 2:13-15)

Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.
(Matthew 12:22-29 ESV)

Why? Because before we go into any area we must bind the enemy. We must ‘bind the strong man’, THEN we GO into his house and plunder his goods. Before we go preach the Gospel to a people, pray for the sick, and cast out demons we must spend time preparing ourself, seeking God, and rebuking the enemy.

The other day John shared some research he had read. The report said that a very honorable group on Indian (not Native-American, but from India) missionaries did a test. They chose two very similar villages. One they prayed over, binding the strong man, releasing the power of God over the area. The other they devoted no prayer towards. After a while they went and preached the Gospel in both. In the one where they had spent the needed prayer time they had a GREAT harvest of new believers and planted a church. In the one that they did not pray over they were literally thrown out of the village.

I used to work at a church where we had Encounter Weekends. On those weekends covered for months before in prayer many people were set free from drugs, curses, and MANY were saved. On the weekends where prayer was not as focused on everything went wrong.

John also shared with us that he once had the opportunity to speak with a visiting minister from India that has seen hundreds of thousands of disciples of Christ made. John asked, “What is the one thing I need to know when I consider church planting?”

The reply, “Bind the strong man before you preach the Gospel. You must bind the strong man in prayer.”

As E.M. Bounds says, ‘The Preacher who does not pray does not realize how utterly useless he is without God.’ 

So, as we go, will you join me in intense prayer for India and Thailand and we get ready to rock these nations with the Gospel. And, in your life, will you consider binding the strong man before taking him on on his turf? If you are struggling with something you can not defeat it’s time for some private (and with a partner) prayer meetings.  It’s time to bind the enemy THEN confront the problem. Pray then go to your Celebrate Recovery class. Pray then go Evangelize. Pray then preach. Pray then go to that interview or meeting. Bind Him first in the name of Jesus and then go take his goods. If you are in Christ you have the authority, but you must exact your authority.

Now please, don’t get crazy. Not everything is a demon or the devil I’m talking about real strongholds (not excuses to why our flesh is all crazy. Sometimes the devil sits back while we give him credit for our foolishness. That’s truth.

Get it? Any questions, comments?

P.S.

A book John and team are using is this - Prayers That Rout Demons: Prayers for defeating demons and Overthrowing the Powers of Darkness. It’s scripture you can use in your prayer time.

Also to understand your authority in Christ, my best suggestion is to read The Believers Authority by Kenneth Hagin.

The event took place at Thae Pae Gate on the East Side of the City.

It was amazing, and honestly Dustan and I had never seen anything like it happen in Chiang Mai before, let alone right in the city square, outside the entrance to the old city. It was simply beautiful, and amazing to hear them singing old hymns to modern praise songs, to some of their own traditional ones I’d never heard. I couldn’t help but wonder if we are witnessing the beginninng of a major breakthrough for the nation of Thailand. Thailand for many years has had missionaries in it, but has always been very closed off to the Gospel. It definitely goes beyond saying that if you are a missionary here you have to remain in prayer and steadfastness because often time it takes years to see any real fruit. The exciting thing tho is once the Thai believes, many of them are rock solid in their faith. Dustan and I interviewed several Thai people who came to know the Lord asking them how they became followers of Christ. Their testimonies have all had the same common response. They simply felt the true, genuine, LOVE of Christ, and it was His love that drew them to Him. So I believe in order for their to be a great awakening revival in Thailand like the world has never seen, there must be a deluge of God’s impudent love and Grace. It’s not our methods that will reach the Thai people, but His love through us reaching out to them.