This past winter Deer Creek Campers’ Church has helped to sponsor
Joshua Smith from Cochrane, Alberta to be part of an East Asian Team. They have just finished their first week and here is an update.

The Teams Have Landed
Noah, Ryan, Sophie, Kelsey, Samuel, Jake, Maddy, Angel, Sophia, and Joshua have all landed safely in East Asia! They are really excited to get settled but first they need to recover from the jet lag.

Hello! My name is Jacob Willebeek-LeMair, if you are receiving this email you have either supported one of these students on their mission to East Asia financially or have signed up to be updated on their adventures. In order to help them better focus on their mission, I will be sending their updates to you. The students are so excited to be updating you on all their adventures, and so am I! Please feel free to email me back with any questions at jacob@challengecsuc.com.

How it will look from here forward.
After this initial message, you can expect to receive an update from the teams anywhere between Friday and Monday every week. There will be small discrepancies in when the update is sent out due to the time difference between us and them, it is normal! In addition, the updates in the future will come from the perspective of the students over there. Everything will be written by them and sent by me. Thank you for participating in what God is doing in East Asia!
Jacob Willebeek-LeMair
Christian Challenge

Our First Week

Ryan
We made it to East Asia! Thank you for yarping and helping with this journey! It is very encouraging to see the fruit from Father over the years. We are learning the language and making new friends! It has been challenging connecting with students since I do not know the language; however, that has not stopped me from using the translator app and trying! I am relying on Father in conversations, ordering food, leading, and much more! There are so many opportunities to meet new friends playing basketball, skateboarding, in class, and even eating food at University. Joshua Smith and I shared with Ryan (another one). He is warm and wants to learn more! Ask Father that Ryan would PRC and that he would follow J. We are planning another meet up soon. Here are some friends I have met that I want help lifting up: Phil, Ren Yihan, Jenny, Ryan, Hè jùn mīng, Joshua, and Eayson.

PR:
That I would take initiative with sharing Father with my friends.
That I would constantly encourage my teammates.For patience with communicating with friends.
There is a language barrier between us.
That Father would provide lasting energy during my time here. My body is sore from connecting with students through various activities.

Shoutouts:
Mom & Dad – I will chat soon about my time here!
Jared – CP is going to be awesome! I’ll yarp for you.
Aryanna – Hi! I met your friend Crystal on the first day. My favorite baoza is chicken…soooo good. Thank you for driving to SF early in the morning 🙂 I miss you!

Sophie
We’ve only been here for a week and have already had so many great opportunities to connect with students! They have been so kind and generous in helping us as we’ve gotten settled in and have been such a blessing to us. I’ve loved getting to spend time with the girls here and getting to know them. Please lift up my friend Maggie. She is a new believer as of a year ago and I really want her to get well connected to an M here. Ask Father that she would grow in her faith and that she would stand firm when faced with opposition. Thanks! On Monday (05/27) we had our first Morning English class where we helped students practice their English. It was so fun and I got to connect with a group of 11 girls! I see this as being a great opportunity as I will get to assist in two classes every week. Father is good and has helped me to push myself outside of my comfort zone in order to connect with the students. It is difficult at times but it is worth it! I look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks to come. See you later!

PR:
For my friends Zhou Lin, Dan Ya Jun, Chulinjun, Lisha, Simon, Jiang Xiaotong, and Maggie.
I’m going to reconnect with my friends Annie and Ruth from my last visit. Please ask Father that I would be able to encourage them during our time together.
For our morning English class; that I will be able to set up appointments with the girls and share with them.
That we would be able to encourage our brothers and sisters who we’ve met here in their relationship with Father.

Joshua
How great it has been to be in East Asia for 5 days. Please lift up 3 new friends for me. First a student named Joshua who does not know Father but has been very welcoming and I have grown to be good friends with. Another student named Rory who is a believer but does not know many others and that I can encourage him. The last student who’s name is Kevin. He has heard the good news and knows Father loves him and that J was sent to save humanity but does not believe. Yarp that I may have another time to share more with him.
Finally, shout out to my brother Andrew who just graduated and happy birthday to you too man! Happy 18th man!
With a joyful heart I write this to you and am excited to see what is to come.

Here is a pic of Joshua’s brother Andrew Smith

Maddy
The first few days in East Asia have been such a blessing. The people here are so nice and welcoming. One of the campus’s clubs called Global Club have been so great in helping us to get food, get supplies and show us around the campus. They’ve really made it easy to adjust. Please yarp that I would connect with the girls in the Global Club like Sabrina, Melody, Crystal and Shannon. I’m also starting to meet with girls from my English class like Sika and Summer, so please yarp that my friendships with them would grow strong as well. Father has been extraordinarily good to us. We are already seeing the fruit on this campus through the students who are already believers. As we go throughout the weeks, we hope to encourage them through hardships so please yarp for them and their individual walks. For me please yarp that Father would give me endurance and strength throughout the long days, and that I would rely solely on Him in everything I do. Thank you everyone, love you all!

Angel
So far my time here as been interesting and different. Having a language barrier to overcome makes things hard sometimes but Father is helping me push through it. After finding ways to communicate I have had an easier time connecting with people. Some of the people I want to get to know and yarp about so far are Charlie who happens to be a little more articulate with English. He like history and geography which I am also very fond of. During a lunch period I met Wang Qin Jun who helped me order food and then hung out with me for a while as we both ate and communicated through our cellphones. Father has also blessed us by showing us some of the fruit that has come out of the work here so early in our time here. It is encouraging to see how He has worked in the hearts of people here.

PR:
That father will give me discernment of who He has been preparing.
That I will take up opportunities to connect with as many people and share our Father’s love with them.
That the language barrier will not stand in the way of building friendships and sharing the good news with others.
That my focus will not shift away from others.

Please pray for this team as they make connections, build relationships, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the youth of East Asia.

We will try to keep you informed as we receive new updates from the group.