Before I left for Korea and Mongolia, friends and passionate followers of Jesus celebrated Delight Petersen's celebration of life. We returned to East Hill to worship with friends and honor Jesus. It was wonderful to meet and greet friends I have not seen in over 10 years. It was an overwhelmingly positive experience, and Carlene and I were grateful both for the years we served there, friends we made, and the journey we are on now!
I want to thank you for praying and supporting my trip, especially as I had to endure three wonderful visits to my Korean dentist for my temporary crown. I guess we all are contending for temporary crowns this side of eternity! Our Passover Seder dinner was outstanding in every way... both with the way our team worked together and we made it entirely a worship experience. Carlene served as the hostess with the mostess.... while maintaining our household including two trips to Port Townsend to tend to her mother now in assisted living.
Although I have been to Mongolia several times before, this trip was definitive, confirming and different in many ways from other assignments. Joining forces with our Canadian prophetic team was God ordained and very productive. I have mentioned several times I learned more about kingdom and apostolic and prophetic fathering this trip than ever before. A summary:
- A very distinct change from speaking to large groups and giving information to listening, asking questions, and asking the Lord what is the breakthrough song... and then singing it!
- Rather than giving answers to questions, the Lord began to reveal to us deeper issues at the root of both personal and corporate challenges.
- Purposely, we kept the schedule open enough to allow the Holy Spirit to fill it.
- There are some 6000 North Koreans working in dangerous, difficult, and dirty jobs in Mongolia. North Korea has an embassy in the capital city of Mongolia, and I sensed God is going to open up avenues of Ministry yet to be revealed with North Koreans in Mongolia.
- Mongolia is like the American Wild West. Many countries are coming to take advantage of the rich deposits of high-grade coal and gold within the land. Kingdom leadership must take the initiative to understand how to protect and yet profit from these untapped resources.
- While in Korea and Mongolia, I began to sense a shift in leadership from building churches to building people. Koreans are beginning to understand it is not how many people come to your church or how many books you publish or how many years of seminary or degrees you accumulate... but it is your obedience and heart for the way the Holy Spirit wants to build His Kingdom. I met many young men and women who are willing and have taken radical steps in this direction... really encouraging!
- Businesses, politics, education, architecture and construction, arts and entertainment, and churches are beginning to understand they all play a vital role in Mongolian Kingdom culture and practice.
- Young Mongolian believers have a passion to take the gospel back to Jerusalem through Muslim and Islamic countries and spiritual strongholds. We believe the Lord will use them in a mighty way in these last days. The most important thing we can give to them is not our books, information, and teaching. It is our friendship, our listening ear, our fathering and mothering them, and our encouraging them is what is important.
We both fly to Los Angeles later this month to attend a 90th birthday party for our mentor and friend Jean Darnall. I will speak at a Korean gathering of intercessors who are contending for North Korea.
I'll also join our Cascadia team from Canada, Washington, and Oregon in Spokane on May 9 and 10th.
Bless you,
Darrell
