V20 Conference – Seeing the Nations
We have returned from our whirlwind traveling spell to Sydney for family holiday as well as New Zealand for the V20 Conference, which we want to share about with you.
We had an amazing experience joining hundreds of students from around South-east Asia and Oceania to worship Jesus and learn about surrendering our lives to Him. It was really amazing to hear so many languages spoken and to see people of different colors and nationalities that we never thought we would see and meet. There were students and Student Life staff from countries including Figi, Samoa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, and Japan.
Roger Hershey (who Jason is writing the book with) was the main speaker at the conference, which was a treat for us to be with them and for the students to sit under his great Bible teaching. He spoke about the reality that this generation could see the fulfillment of the Great Commission in their generation and challenged them to be a significant part of taking the gospel to the world. The students also received training in evangelism and in leadership skills for back on campus. Here are some stories from students about how their lives were affected by this amazing conference:
On the evening of the 6th, a group of NSW peeps went to have some dinner down by the Auckland quay. I noticed the waitress had a slight Vietnamese accent, and turned out she was Vietnamese. We connected immediately. When she went back to the kitchen, i asked the team to pray for the waitress (Yen), that God would open her to the msg of the gospel and somehow use us to share with her about Jesus Christ. Long story short, she kept coming back to our table, asked why we were in Auckland. Of course, I said we were there for V20, and that, put simply, was a Christian conference about the saving reign of Christ and living lives for God and knowing his personal love for us. Throughout the night at random moments, she would come again, and she and I had great conversations and shared a lot about our lives and finally, i asked the question, “Do you believe in God, or have any beliefs about it??”
She responded: no, but I follow buddism cos my family does.
Me: Have you thought about Christianity before, or who Jesus CHrist is?
Yen: no, havent heard much. My husband is Christian but we dont talk about it.
Me: Oh, i see. Can I share with you about it? I shared gospel over about 5-10 mins By the end of it, I said: you can choose to trust in Jesus as your lord and saviour, and come to know God personally. I am here to share with you, but I cant make the decision for you. What do you think?
Yen: Oh yes, that’s great! Can i take this booklet and think it through?
Me: OF COURSE!!!!!
We exchanged details and by that time dinner had ended so we had to leave. But It was such a DIVINE appointment- no coincidence that God had been working in this lady’s heart, and that she was ready to hear the gospel, was also Vietnamese (so shared gospel in vietnamse for first time- which meant i had to totally depend on the Holy Spirit for words to speak!) I didn’t push for a response, but I am trusting in God’s sovereignty. Would love all your prayers for Yen! – Hong-An, Australia/Vietnam
I gave a KGP to my friend today 
and best friend says she wants me to share it with her too! Can’t wait! – Kahlia, New Zealand
It’s so great to see these stories and more of students committing their lives to Christ and stepping out in boldness to proclaim His name to the world! These students could really see the fulfillment of the Great Commission in their generation!
We have 2 other updates we wanted to let you know about. First, we are praising God that Jason has finish (the rewrite part) of the book! It’s not over, but he’ll have some more free time! Also, we have decided to move back to Pittsburgh after this year in Melbourne. We were considering staying longer but the Lord has made it evident that it’s best for us to move back for this time. We are excited for this continue on this adventure and we are looking forward to continue the work God has for us in Pittsburgh!
Prayer Requests
- praise the Lord for the hundreds of student at V20 from 20 different nations in Oceania!
- praise the Lord for helping Jason & Roger finish the biggest part of the book (it’s now being edited)!!!
- pray for wisdom for Jason as he and Jane lead the City Centre team this semester.
- pray for us & the students to walk with Jesus and keep Him at the center of our lives.