Fuel for Revival: FaithCamp Winter Blessings
This winter's FaithCamp speakers with some of the Jesus for Asia team.
Our team spent dozens of hours in meetings to plan for our winter FaithCamps this year. A lot of the time, we felt like we were getting nowhere. We would meet and devise a plan, and by the next week, everything had changed. It was, admittedly, exhausting. We had no idea why we kept running around in circles. But once this FaithCamp season started, God made the reason very clear. He had arranged everything according to His plan and timing.
Below, our missionary speakers have shared some of the ways they saw God work throughout this FaithCamp season:
Ramon and Shandy Tengkano, Indonesia
God gave Ramon and Shandy, along with other JFA team members, the blessing of seeing the Northern Lights in Alaska
During February and March of 2023, we have been in the US for a series of FaithCamp meetings with the Jesus for Asia team. Along with Gayle Haberkam from Thailand, Tim Maddocks and Natalie Howell from Cambodia, and Jon and Natalie Wood from JFA headquarters in Tennessee, we toured for four weekends in Minnesota, Alaska, Texas, and North Carolina. The enemy of souls desires God’s church to stay lukewarm and unprepared for Christ’s soon coming. Satan does not like spiritual revivals, and he placed every obstacle to discourage us from having FaithCamp. But God is victorious as we are seeing families recommitting their lives to Jesus and desiring to participate in missions.
Since the beginning of our trip, we have seen God’s approval. The road in front of our mission post in Indonesia has been under construction since early January. We had to park our cars about a mile from where we live and walk to and from our house. When we booked our flight to the U.S., we made strategic plans to haul all our suitcases, backpacks, and winter clothes to the car and drive to the airport. We were overwhelmed at the thought of going through that process. On February 3, we were told that paving work was paused, and the road was dry enough to drive on. The next day, we were able to put our luggage in the car directly from home, and the day after that, the road was closed again!
The results of FaithCamp were awesome, and the enthusiasm for the shorter events paralleled that of the longer ones. We made several new friends that we will keep in contact with. We pray that the work continues despite the challenge and overwhelming travel. God has kept us safe throughout the journey so far, and we will be home soon. Thank you for praying with us; we keep you all in our prayers too!
Gayle Haberkam, Thailand
When God says: “Who will go for me?” and I say, “Here I am, send me!” where do I find myself? Well, I found myself in the coldest places in North America during the coldest time of year! I came straight out of the 95-degree tropics to zero-degree weather, piles of snow, and ice! I haven’t entered America during winter for 14 years, so no clothing layers could keep me warm! However, what warmth I received from others! First, the love, unity, joyfulness, and friendship between us missionaries cannot be explained in words. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit was upon us. Together we prayed, got exhausted, laughed, preached, and were drawn closer to one another and Jesus. Our messages just got stronger and stronger with the trumpet making that loud and certain sound! Such a spirit of power and joy is contagious, and to our delight, we found the churches waking up to their great need to surrender all to Jesus, listening to His voice, and finding out what He wants them to do in reaching the lost during Earth’s final hours. I pray that the sparks that were kindled in their hearts will not die out but ignite into full flame for the Master till He comes!
Our FaithCamp team realized an exciting new dimension in El Paso, TX. Jon posted the meetings on Facebook. This resulted in reaching some people in the neighborhood! We are inspired to widen our circle of influence to the communities.
Time is running out! There is a great urgency to our message. Oh, let us pray and work with all our might wherever the Lord sends us.
Tim Maddocks, Cambodia
As a career missionary of 38 years, missions is my life. FaithCamp is one avenue for me to inspire fellow believers in Christ to think mission. To me, whether in the USA or a foreign country, mission is working in partnership with God to grow the Kingdom of Heaven. This year, as I have toured with our fellow missionaries and presented at each FaithCamp, I have realized that mission is also fuel for revival. As we have shared what God is doing through our ministries, we have seen the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts and minds of church members and visitors, inspiring them to a closer walk with God.
It is not easy to leave Cambodia, my mission field, and come to the USA for five weeks, but providence has encouraged me that I am where God wants me to be at this moment. Getting here required many miracles. While here in the winter, we have seen real miracles with God manipulating the weather to be as kind as possible to us missionaries from the tropics. The weather warmed while FaithCamp was on, and storms were moved to open a path for our travels. But the most incredible miracles have been what God is doing in the hearts of those we have ministered to.
It is easy to get lulled into a Laodicean lifestyle of attending church every Sabbath, returning tithe, and being completely disengaged from the mission Jesus passed on to each of us. During these FaithCamps, we have seen the Holy Spirit take our simple testimonies and use them to re-engage people in the mission. That is what FaithCamp is all about. That is why I am willing to leave my mission field. Growing the Kingdom of Heaven is what life is really all about.
Natalie Howell, Cambodia
How has FaithCamp 2023 Winter impacted me? First, it was a miracle that I was able to make it, and I am so thankful to God for opening doors so my daughter and I could be here. The second miracle was about the weather. My biggest fear about coming back was the cold. Two weeks before we left, the temperature at our first location was -37, while the temperature in Cambodia was 94. I texted all my friends and asked them to pray. When we arrived at our first location, the temperature was 7 degrees, and it just got warmer after that. The third miracle was when we were all jet-lagged. Tiredness hit us in waves, and sometimes we could hardly keep our eyes open. I was a little nervous at my first speaking engagement because I was exhausted. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to talk or what I would say, but my God showed up and showed out. He gave me the energy, strength, and enthusiasm I needed to share the burden He placed on my heart. He did that same miracle for every FaithCamp, and I am so grateful; it was all Him and not me.
FaithCamp was an amazing experience for me. Hearts were convicted of the great need in the Master’s vineyard. In every location, people were answering the call. They had some obstacles, but we encouraged them to surrender and go forward in faith. What amazed me the most was that after reading the Great Commission, many hesitated because they did not think they were qualified to go to the mission field. This broke my heart because it showed how Satan uses our insecurities against us. We make our insecurities bigger than God and tell Him we are not qualified instead of asking Him to qualify us. My favorite location was Alaska. It was so beautiful. My favorite FaithCamp was all of them. My ultimate favorite thing about FaithCamp was that some people said, “Yes, I Will Go.” Please pray for those who said yes and those who want to go but do not think they have the skills to work in God’s great vineyard.
We invite you to join us in praying for those whose hearts God touched at FaithCamp this winter. Please pray that many more people will be impacted by the message of surrender and service and that more laborers will be willing to go into God's harvest.
If you didn't have the opportunity to go to any of these FaithCamps, click one of the buttons below to watch the recordings from each location. We also invite you to visit FaithCamp.org for information about this summer's FaithCamps.