I prayed to be FEARLESS & I SLEPT ON THE STREETS OF INDIA

We have the resources to fulfill the Great Commission.

                                                                                                           We have the the people to fulfill the Great Commission. 

                           What is holding us back?

                                       FEAR

May the Lord grant us faith that cultivates courage and courage that is propelled forward by fearlessness.

There are still a billion people who have yet to hear the name of Jesus. I challenge you to find your calling in being a part of global evangelization specifically among these unreached.

Jesus says, to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). We have been given much and thus, we are responsible to help those in need. 1 John 3:17-18 says, “…If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 

My account of a day in India-summer 2013. 

I wake up with an urge to pray for a spirit of fearlessness.

                                                                        Lord, make me FEARLESS
                                         give me COURAGE
                                                                                     Mark me with your BOLDNESS
                                                            make me FEARLESS. 

All day long I pray this, as India is a fearful place...My roommate and I are traveling around this vast country…and India is a man's world. We really have to trust the Lord for everything. We do not know the language or culture. It is fearful to step out and share the gospel and pray for the sick. I am afraid of the overwhelming heat. I am afraid of going to the place of Hindu worship. I feel so much darkness, I can hardly handle it BUT in the midst of this darkness, the Lord fills me with the most awesome fearlessness and power.

So I pray, Lord, make me fearless, and give me courage. Mark me with your boldness and make me fearless. All day long I pray this and that night my friend and I actually end up sleeping on the streets of India! (Not on purpose)

As I lay on the dirty blue bench I cry to the Lord in desperation, “God, You are my Father! How could you let this happen to me?! My earthly father would not approve! In fact, he would do anything to get me off the streets of India to a safe place.” 

I feel the Lord, speak to my heart, “Holly, didn’t you pray for fearlessness? Didn’t you pray for boldness and courage? Yes, I am your Father, and I love you more than your earthly father and this is exactly where I want you.” 

I look up from the bench I am laying on and see a bird land in its nest. I actually think it would be nice to be that bird, safe and at home! I remember Jesus telling those who want to follow him, “Birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” 

I feel the Lord asking, “Holly, are you willing to follow me? I want you to be fearless of the darkest night. I want you to see all these people who sleep on the streets. Do you to see all these young mothers and children who I love and died for? You are responsible. The Church is responsible.” 

There are 2.2 billion children in the world and 1 billion of them live in poverty. UNICEF estimates that 22,000 children under the age of 5 die every day from starvation or preventable diseases. This is equivalent to 1 child dying every 4 seconds and 14 children dying every minute. 

The Lord calls us to a radical faith. Are you willing to follow Him? 

David Platt says it well, “For the sake of more than a billion people today who have yet to even hear the gospel, I want to risk it all. For the sake of twenty-six thousand children who will die today of starvation or a preventable disease, I want to risk it all. For the sake of my life, my family, and the people who surround me, I want to risk it all.”

Help me help them...this fall 2014 I am planning to move to Nepal. I will also be very involved in missions in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. 

Support my mission: 

http://oasischurchlive.com/online-giving/

(Type "Holly Liedstrand" in the memo)

or

          Make check out to "Oasis Church"         

(Memo: "Holly Liedstrand")

Address: 1008 Biltmore Ave. Lynchburg, VA 24502

For more info about India-Nepal:

http://hollyliedstrand.blogspot.com/2013/10/india-nepal-mission.html

Illuminate Nations

The Lord given me vision to see the church unite to fulfill the Great Commission. A few friends and I are starting a ministry called Illuminate Nations. 

We are unswervingly devoted to express a living and tangible response to Jesus’ greatest commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Illuminate Nations desires to be a catalyst for the body of Christ to unite as one, and so use our gifts and talents to put this LOVE into action. We eagerly endeavor to participate in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth in every aspect, especially among the poor, the destitute, the lost and the broken-hearted.

Currently we are sponsoring local pastors, church-plants, women coming out of sex-trafficing and children homes.

We are sponsoring children homes in Nepal and helping start one in Bangladesh and Varanasi, India.

Here is a video of the children:

Nepal-India Christmas Mission

I step off the low class train, encountering a world like never before, a place of utter darkness, woe and doom. Shiva, the Hindu god of death reigns over this city. The stench of filth penetrates the air; poverty and sickness make for an austere welcome. Small street children glare with wide eyes. There is an acute darkness that looms in the air. The very ground I walk on seems to be cursed. I enter the gates of hell.   
Varanasi, India

I tremble as I touch the small dirty hand stretched before me, dark and beautiful. "Grace, God's grace over you, Beloved!" 

My heart burns for this nation. I feel the Father's mighty hand of love place in my heart a holy ambition to shine with the light and love of Christ among these people. 



I am at the frontline of battle, armed for war. Both hands soaked with the scarlet blood of Calvary. An invisible host of warring angles are marching all around proclaiming, "Glory, ♫ glory ♪ to God in the highest!" I step forward, my feet shod with the shoes of the gospel of peace.  Not I, but Christ in me speaks with the double-edged, fiery Sword of the Spirit coming out of my mouth, calling the Kingdom of Heaven to invade the gates of hell. All at once, the breath of heaven floods this darkest darkness ... shalom ... peace ... I have never experienced such peace, such power of the Holy Spirit as I feel at this moment in the darkest place I've ever been.

L.I.G.H.T.
                 L.O.V.E.
                               L.I.F.E. 
                                               "Jesus Christ brings life to the dead." 
                                                                                         -my account of Varanasi, India Summer 2013

Operation World says this place, "represents the most intense concentration of unevangelized people and groups in the WORLD, and thereby is THE GREATEST MISSION CHALLENGE."

Our Mission- This fall 2014 I endeavor to take this holy ambition and put it into action as I move to Nepal. I will also be working in India and Bangladesh. The TASK lay before me, to love courageously all we encounter with a Christ-likeness. I go to feed the hungry, to heal the sick, to care for the distressed, to set the captive free, to bind up the broken-hearted.

Partner for the Kingdom Sake- I am seeking a team of people who will be willing to faithfully cover me with PRAYER as I endeavor to shine for Christ among the darkness. I invite you to partner with me as I "Go"; whether it be through prayer or financial support.

Online Giving: 

http://oasischurchlive.com/online-giving/

(Type "Holly Liedstrand" in the memo)

or

Make check out to "Oasis Church"         

(Memo: "Holly Liedstrand")

Address: 1008 Biltmore Ave. Lynchburg, VA 24502

I pray for you, my dear friend, asking that our Father bless you, keep you and clearly reveal how he would have you partner in this global expedition. 

May the GRACE and PEACE of Christ be with you,

House of LOVE

 Robert and Sheikha Baidya (Right), a Bangladeshi couple, have had a dream for eight years. They live in Dhaka, Bangladesh amongst the Bihari refugees who were left in Bangladesh (previously known as East Pakistan) after Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan. Their ministry is to these Bihari children living in the slums surrounding their apartment complex. They teach bible lessons and provide food and other necessities to refugee children who live in a home with one small room and their family of often 15. Some of these children are forced to survive on their own on the streets, stealing food and being forced to become "grown-ups" when they are barely old enough to attend school. We were told heartbreaking stories of neglect, abuse, disease, and broken families.
Eight years ago God told Robert and Sheikha to start a children's home to care for Bihari children from the slum. Since then the vision has stirred within them as they have prayed, envisioned, and planned how to take in these children. As they shared the dream with us this summer and as I interacted with the Bihari children and saw the conditions they lived in, I couldn't help but catch their dream. I could see in them a readiness, a maturity and a seriousness about the burden God had given them as they shared their heart with tears in their eyes. I believe they will start a children's home and help change the lives of many of these kids with the love of Christ!

There is just one problem. Money. This couple lives by faith, trusting God will provide thier every need for ministry in the midst of a nation that does not believe in support. They have small ways to raise money such as making peanut butter from scratch and selling it for $3 a jar, but it just doens't cut it. They need the support of America to make this dream happen and even that seems impossible. That's where you and I come in. As the church, it is our responsibility to support each other and serve the God-dreams of our brothers and sisters, no matter where they are in the world. If you feel the Lord burdening your heart to support this dream and these children please email me (holly.liedstrand@gmail.com) and I will give you information so you can support them. 

Written by my friend and travel partner-

Shawna Jerch 

Beholding God's GLORY

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What does it mean to live in light of the risen Lord? It means beholding the fullness of the GLORY of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

700 B.C.

Isaiah foresaw the fulfillment of the glory of God coming upon mankind when he prophesied, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you...And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” (60:1-3)

Isaiah saw the glory of God arising on people from all nations. God would put His glory upon His people to reflect His beauty and majesty.

1446 B.C.

            With a mighty hand, God delivered Israel from the yoke of Egyptian slavery. In the wilderness He gave Israel instructions to build the Tabernacle so He might dwell in their midst. Inside the tabernacle were two rooms, the holy place and the most holy place. A very thick curtain divided the two rooms. Inside the most holy place God’s Shekinah glory dwelt. There was only one item in this most holy room, the Ark of the Covenant, which held the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. It had a golden lid called the Mercy Seat. Two golden angles were on either side facing each other and in between these angels God’s presence dwelt on the mercy seat.

            Once a year on the Day of Atonement the high priest would come in and sprinkle the blood of a lamb on the mercy seat to atone for the sins of the people. The priest had to be holy before the LORD and if they were not holy they would drop dead when they encountered God’s holy glory. The high priest had bells sown into his garment (Ex 28:35). If the Levites did not hear the bells ring they knew the priest had died. Year after year sacrifices had to be made to atone for the people's sin.

 A.D. 25

            Nearly thirteen hundred years later, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry during the Passover feast Jesus told the Pharisees to destroy the temple and he would raise it up in three days (John 2:19). The Pharisees were enraged saying, "It has taken forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?" No one understood that Jesus was talking about His body resurrecting as the new temple. 

            Three years later, on Passover, Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross. Symbolically, He became high priest and entered the Most Holy Place just like the priest did on the Day of Atonement. He was the perfect Lamb who was slain and his blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat to atone for our sins once and for all. Jesus died at the 9^th hour, the very time the Passover lamb was sacrificed and the same time the curtain in the temple tore from top to bottom exposing the Most Holy Place. No longer would God’s presence dwell in the temple, for three days later, Jesus rose as the new temple fulfilling his word spoken to the Pharisees at the beginning of his ministry. Now those who follow Christ are the temple of the Lord. Now Jesus' most Holy Spirit, presence and glory dwell in His followers!

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “…Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
 

2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1 says, “…For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”

We are the temple of Christ. The glory of God has risen upon us. As we bring holiness to completion in the fear of God, we are transformed into His image from one degree of glory to another. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Indian-Nepal Mission Summer 2013

Greetings friends and family!

I pray the Lord’s blessing upon you.

Missions begins and ends with worship. By God’s great mercy let us practice our spiritual act of WORSHIP by offering our bodies as a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy and pleasing to God…Let us DIE to our own wants, needs, desires…let us lay down our lives so every nation, tribe and tongue will see how GREAT our God is! In Genesis 22 Abraham sacrifices his beloved son, Isaac. In verse 5 he tells his young men, Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and WORSHIP...in other words, Abraham is saying, stay here while I go sacrifice my son, whom I love. WORSHIP in all its fullness is sacrifice! Let us follow Abraham's example and lay down our Isaac. Let us follow Jesus who said, "If anyone would follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and come after me." MISSIONS begins with SACRIFICE...Missions ends with SACRIFICE. Are you willing to worship? Are you willing to sacrifice?

As many of you know, I have been to Nepal twice in the past year to further the Kingdom work. We have since been able to financially support a few children homes through selling Nepali gloves, hats and purses at local coffee shops (For more information about the children’s homes see our website: http://lighthouses4children.wix.com/light ). It is our mission to be directly involved in reaching the most un-evangelized people groups through prayer support, financial support and short-term missions.

As I still have one year left of seminary, I believe the Lord is leading me to spend another summer (2 ½ months) among the least reached peoples of India and Nepal.

My roommate, Spencer and I will spend a few weeks working among the poor in Varanasi and Kolkata, India. Varanasi is the spiritual capitol of India, often referred to as the “city of temples”. We pray the Lord will use us to SHINE the LIGHT of Christ in this very dark place. We will bus up to Kathmandu and connect with a few children homes. We will trek with a small team of Nepali pastors through the Himalayas sharing the Gospel in many villages.

 
God is doing a mighty work among the people of India and Nepal. I ask for your prayer for Spencer and I as we share the Gospel. Pray for open eyes and open hearts.  Romans 10:10 says it is with the HEART that one believes.

Pray for all the HEARTS we will encounter.

I will be sending out more informational updates and prayer requests.

If you would like to sew financially in God’s Kingdom by supporting my trip or the children homes send a check to:

1008 Biltmore Ave.

Lynchburg, VA 24502

·      Make the check out to: Gospel Community Church

·      In the Memo, put “Nepal trip” to sponsor me, or “Children Nepal” to support the children homes.

In Christ,

Holly Renee