Singapore Sunday Night

Well, my time in Singapore is just about over. In the morning I start my way back to Los Angeles via Tokyo. Our meetings over the last few days have been tremendously productive. What a blessing to get to work with such capable godly men. I was just reflecting today that being with our leader from India and China the last few days represented two countries that account for over half of the world's total population. The enormous opportunities for the good news to spread is powerful.

The picture is of a hawker's market in Singapore. Think of it as an outdoor food court. They are all over the place in Singapore, on almost every block. They are incredibly cheap. So much so that a significant % of Singaporeans don't cook the dinner meal at home, but just eat at a hawker's market. They say it is actually cheaper than cooking at home. A family of four can eat for about $10.

Today we joined a church here in Singapore for worship. I've blogged before how amazed I am as I travel around the world to be able to walk into a church anywhere on the globe and find the Spirit of Christ the same. I ran across this devotional today which resonates with me:

"In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord." (v.21)

There can be little doubt that meeting together with other members of God's family is a powerful way of bringing about a changed perspective. Another thing that happens when we go to church or meet together in Christian fellowship is that we are reminded that the very existence of the Church in today's world is proof positive that God is on the throne. Voltaire, the French infidel, said: "It required eleven men to build the Church; I will prove that it needs only one man to knock it down." He was wrong on two counts: first, it was not eleven men who built the Church, it was one man, the Man, Christ Jesus, and second, no one can ever knock it down, for its omnipotent Founder declared: "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matt. 16:18). The mere existence of the Church is, I submit, decisive proof that the living Christ is in the midst of it. Voltaire is dust; Christ lives on. Think of the tempests the Church has weathered through the centuries. Think also of the persecutions through which it has victoriously come, and try, if you can, to account for this extraordinary phenomenon apart from the fact that its Founder and Protector is Jesus Christ. The next time you meet together with your fellow Christians, reflect on the fact that, although every generation has produced people who have predicted the downfall of the Christian Church - it is still here.

--Selwyn Huges

I ask for your prayers as I travel home--safe flights, health, and some rest.

God bless,
Elliott

Singapore

It is Chinese New Year, so the festivities are in full swing here in Singapore. I arrived in Singapore early this morning, around 1:00 AM. Got to the hotel and to sleep about 2:00 AM. Our meetings started today at 9:00 AM. Add jet lag to that and you will understand why I really appreciate your prayers for strength and energy!

The flight itself was great. United rewarded the amount of miles I flew last year by upgrading me for free to business class the whole way here and probably the whole way back! I can't even begin to describe how much nicer that was. It was a real treat after just flying a couple of weeks ago all the way to Cape Town. The trip to Singapore is long, but not as long as Africa. Singapore was about 18 hours flight time and a short layover in Japan. Maybe only 20 hours or so total.

Meetings today went very well. We are strategizing new countries we will open, our leadership summit in March, etc. We all sense this new decade will be very important for the growth of the church in Asia. We are working hard to be in a position that God can use us however he chooses.

Again, thank you for your prayers!

A2 Board Meeting

Lori joined me for the Board dinner on Monday night (pictured with Joe and Silk Handley). Thanks for your prayers for the board meeting. It went very well and I think there were a lot of good insights coming out of the meeting that will help us position Asian Access to increase focus on Japan and our 2020 vision for that country over the next decade.

Tomorrow I get on the plane for Singapore. Please keep the trip in your prayers and Joe and I (and Joe's son John) flight the 20 hours or so across the Pacific. Also keep the meetings themselves in your prayers as we meet with our leadership team for Asia.

More updates from Singapore!

Images from my Cape Town trip

I had an 8 hour layover in London, so went into the city and spent a couple hours at the Winston Churchill museum and WWII underground war room. It was fascinating enough to keep me awake and to get adjusted to the time zone before flying 12 hours almost due South to Cape Town.




Cape Town is a beautiful city. This is a picture from the V&A Waterfront looking toward Table Mountain. Other pictures below are from the Cape Town International Convention Center where I was in and out of most of the week as we prepared for the October Lausanne Congress.

Back from Cape Town

Thanks for your prayers for me over the last week. I finally made it back, a much longer trip home than expected when my flight from London to LAX was canceled. But, the week in Cape Town was very, very productive. I'm excited about the third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, and being able to help facilitate it by coordinating the logistics of the convention center. With around 4500 participants possible, plus staff, we need to maximize the use of every square inch of the space. So a lot of my time was walking the halls, and drawing out possible ways to use every nook and cranny, literally.

Just before leaving Cape Town I had a couple hours to enjoy the city. The congress director, Blair Carlson, and I went to lunch on at a beachside cafe, and then we stopped by the memorial to Andrew Murray, one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend in particular his book on Humility. He is South African from the turn of the 20th century.

As you know, I need to hit the ground running. Time to focus on Asian Access for the next several weeks as we have a board meeting a week from today followed by a planning meeting in Singapore. So I have one week to get back on L.A. time before traveling the other way around the globe. I'd appreciate your prayers for health as my body catches up with me, and God's guidance as we work on positioning Asian Access for this new decade.

Travel Update

I'm in London. My flight to LA is indeed canceled. Unfortunately, the plane I was supposed to be on is stuck someplace on the East Coast. So now I sit here half the day before catching a flight to Chicago and then hopefully from there can get on an overbooked flight to LAX. Just adds an additional 8 hours to my trip.

Thanks for your prayers, and continued prayers for a safe flight home and no more delays.

Finished in Cape Town

Thank you for your prayers this week. I've finished in Cape Town and am at the airport waiting to start my journey home. A quick prayer request for the return home as my flight from London to LAX has been canceled because of the storms on the East coast. Apparently the plane I was to get on is grounded in Washington DC or someplace. So I will have to see what happens. It will certainly mean a longer more grueling flight home. So pray for God to open up the best possible option.

Meanwhile, my time in Cape Town has gone great. I spent Friday and Saturday mostly at the Convention Center working out more of the details. One of the key things is how we will use the space in the center to accommodate all of the program needs. That is coming along well.

Can't wait to get home!

Mid-Week update from Cape Town

The week is going great. I spent all day Monday and Tuesday observing a conference at the Cape Town Convention Center called the Mining Indaba. It is for natural resource professionals from around the world. The size of the group was about 4800, so roughly equivalent to what we anticipate for the Lausanne Congress in October. I had a chance to watch the CTICC staff in action, monitor traffic flow, see how crowded the restroom facilities got, etc. Lots of valuable information as I think about how to manage our own group.

Today I woke up to a beautiful rainbow over Cape Town. It reminded me that "the future is as bright as the promises of God" (Adoniram Judson). I trust that will be the case for what we are preparing for here this week. The rest of the day was quite productive as I met with a few of the Arrangements team, mostly the technical crew. We prepared a detailed agenda for our meeting tomorrow with the Program team.

So, the prayer request is that we could come to agreement and decision on several important matters over the next two days. We must balance vision with reality, desire with cost. Thanks for praying!

Prayer Requests from Monday

I arrived safely in Cape Town today, albeit late. The plane was delayed 2 hours in London for deicing. I knew if felt cold in Westminster!

Once I got in, I scurried down to the CTICC (convention center, see picture on right). I'll be there all day tomorrow. I need your prayers for keen insight into how God wants to use the space for His kingdom purposes as 4000 leaders from around the world descend here in October. I need His eyes to see tomorrow. Please pray for that.