Alumni to Minister To A People-Group Studied in the Perspectives Class

The following is from Vince’s Ministry Newsletter

The Lord has been directing my thoughts increasingly toward Thailand. As many of you know, I will be going on a trip to Thailand in December. (The team is being lead by Altoona Perspectives 2008 Alumni Caleb Miller).  Our time in Thailand we will be assisting the local people in building a school for handicapped children. Three weeks ago I was praying about what purpose the Lord might have for me on this trip to Thailand. I prayed that the Lord would give me a heart for the Thai people and for the Lisu people.

 About a week after praying I got an email from a friend wanting to know if we could house a Thai exchange student in our home during his stay here in the United States. It felt too obvious to be a coincidence. So, on the 30 th of August Nitchan moved into our home for at least two weeks as we welcome him to the United States. This has been an amazing answer to prayer. We've come to deeply appreciate Nitchan and his wonderful sense of humor. I've also been able to get exposed to some Thai culture and have been able to learn the language much more quickly because of his presence in our home.

Father and Daughter from the 2008 Class Use Their Gifts in China

Bruce Muller and his daughter Elaine traveled to China this summer using their gifts to touch the lives they met.  Bruce, an engineering professor, spoke as a guest lecturer at a Chinese university.  Elaine acted as the official photographer for a Christian dance group performing in China.

Everywhere they went the were treated like celebrities.  The group that Elaine was photographing presented dance numbers set to Christian music.  They also conducted dance workshops with Chinese students. 

Many of the students were excited to have someone with whom they could speak to in English.  Having studied English in their schools, they were happy to have the opportunity to practice their language skills.