God is in the Business of Transforming Lives

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever – Psalm 136:1

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family in Canada! If I attended a Thanksgiving celebration today, I would thank God for butterflies. Butterflies are so beautiful. Each one, a testimony of God’s transforming power. Transforming ugly crawling caterpillars into majestic flying butterflies. Transforming ugly sinners into saved saints.

Here in Southeast Asia, I am most thankful for how God is transforming the lives of the TransformNation (TfN) teacher trainees. These are university-aged students from villages all across Southeast Asia.  They are, through your generous support, currently being trained to become Christian teachers equipped to impact remote communities. Some have already begun teaching in these under resourced areas and I want to encourage you by sharing a few testimonies to remind you of how God is transforming people's lives:

God gave Lionel, a third-year TfN teacher trainee, a dream. In that dream, Lionel was sharing God’s love in a foreign land in a foreign tongue. God was showing Lionel his future. With the dream in mind, Lionel (along with others), began going to local shopping centres to directly and publicly share God’s love with people. God spoke to Lionel in visions and showed him a man who was holding a mobile phone and wearing a blue hat. Lionel went searching for the man, found that man, shared what God said, and the blue hat-wearing man was spiritually open. That's amazing!

God, thank you for transforming hearts.

God told Pina, a second-year TfN teacher trainee, that He chose her. Pina is from an impoverished area and a tribe of lower cultural status. As Pina shared what God said to her, tears were pouring down her face. The God of the universe, who created the sun by speaking four words, talked to the “lowly” girl and restored her honor.  Pina, now, walks with a spring in her step. She knows that God chose her and loves her. That's incredible!

God, thank you for transforming hearts.

Mario, a fourth-year TfN teacher trainee, was completing a teaching placement in a remote island of Indonesia. On that island, like many places in Indonesia, physical abuse is rife. Teachers regularly, without reprimand, viciously and cowardly hit small children with wooden poles. Physical punishment is common cultural practice is remote schools in Southeast Asia. Holy rage overwhelmed Mario's heart as he witnessed this daily injustice but he did not know what to do about this. So, in desperation, he cried out to God. God spoke to him and showed him how to rebuke the local teachers wisely and how to teach differently. That blows my mind!

God, thank you for transforming hearts.

I close by thanking you for your prayers. The problems that we face on a day to day basis have spiritual roots. Therefore, we need spiritual solutions. Prayer is our weapon against the prevailing evils and injustices of our times. Prayer brings heavenly transformation.

God's transforms ugly caterpillars, sinners like me, into beautiful butterflies, saved saints.

Thanks be to God that He is in the business of transforming hearts!