Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings! Sorry for the delay in this update. I wanted to give all of you an update
on Launch and introduce it to those of you that I have not been able to contact
directly. During the course of this school year, I will be participating in a 9-month
apprenticeship called Launch. Launch exists to awaken young adults to discover
Gods will, develop as multiplying disciples, and deploy to strategic opportunities
impacting unreached peoples. Unreached peoples are those who will live in an area
where they have never had the chance to hear the gospel of Jesus. During this time
we will increase in our knowledge of both the Scriptures and missions as well as
grow in a deeper passion for our God. I have been excited about this journey that
God is taking me on for this next year.

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to finally get to you. Ive wanted to let you
know about Launch and all that God has been doing through it, but I have been so
busy with my schoolwork as well. Over the past 10 weeks in Launch, I have been
learning so much about God and His heart for the nations.

I honestly do not even know where to begin as I write this. I should start by giving
God the glory for so much that is going on. In the picture that you will see below is a
list of many of my Launch communitys international friends and American friends.
Currently, there are 98 names on our Big Blue. Beside the names of our friends is
the country each one calls home. There are 16 different countries that are being
represented. If their name is underlined then that means that we are doing a Bible
study with them. Right now we are doing Bible studies with 47 different
international students!! There are also crosses next to some names. Those are the
people that have committed to follow Jesus! So far this semester we have seen 7 of
our friends come into the Kingdom! Yall, God is doing some amazing things here in
Auburn! Praise the Lord for all that He is doing!

While in Launch, we have been reading all kinds of materials and learning about
evangelism, Gods heart for reaching the Muslim people groups, and spiritual
multiplication. God has opened my eyes to so many different things about His heart
and His plan to bring back His lost sheep. It has been a huge blessing to read and
see Scriptures that point back to all that I have been learning that shows how God
intends to reach the lost and how He goes about being on mission. I am learning
about making disciples who make disciples (spiritual multiplication). This theory of
multiplying our lives for the purpose of the gospel has also been such a blessing. I
have been able to take what I have been learning and teaching those that I disciple,
so that they can go tell others, just like Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2. It says,
And now what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust
to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. I have been able to see this in
the way that Jesus made his disciples and sent them out to reach and tell the good
news to all nations.

We have also learned about a Bible study tool called Discovery Bible Studies (DBS).
These are Bible studies that we use to help those we read the Bible with to discover
for themselves who God is. We basically walk them through major parts of Scripture,
but the entire time we let them learn on their own about God so that they can
reproduce these Bible studies to others easily. We ask questions like, What does
this passage say about God? What does it say about man? How can we be
obedient? and Who can we share with? Through this we let people see what they
see about man, about God, how they can obey, and who they can share with. These
Bible studies are a chance for the Word to pierce their hearts (Hebrews 4:12). It is a
chance for God to speak to them. By them being obedient to the Word, it changes the
way that they live. By sharing it is showing their faithfulness with what they have
been entrusted with (2 Timothy 2:2). We always ask, What verse did you see that
in? whether it is right or wrong, just so that they can see the in Scriptures where it
says whatever they say. This helps confirm what they learn or correct what they
thought was true. It is so easy, and they learn on their own. They do not have to have
been growing up in the church for many years, like most of us, to have
understanding of who God is. We are not teaching them. God is teaching them and
revealing Himself to them! And then they can easily walk someone else through the
same study. This has been one of the best tools for evangelism and discipleship that
we have had the chance to use.

One of the biggest blessings for me over the past few weeks though is that God has
led me to two Chinese guys, Kevin and Owen, to read the Bible with. This has been
such an incredible experience. Several weeks ago we had Kevin and Owen and a few
others come to my house to grill some burgers and other food. While we were there
we prayed over the food. A few weeks later, I was riding the bus back to my
apartment and they got on the bus with me. We started talking and Kevin asked me,
Are you a Baptist? I said, No, I follow Jesus, but I do go to a Baptist church. I was
so confused how he knew this, so soon after I asked, How did you know that? He
told me it was because we prayed a few weeks earlier. I asked what he thought
about it and he said it was so good and that he had never felt like that before! That
began an incredible journey that I have been blessed with. A couple weeks after that,
I had the chance to open the Bible with them and read through the story of creation.
This was the first time that they had ever read the Bible. It was such an honor to be
able to be a part of this. I am so thankful to the Lord for entrusting these guys to me
to walk through the Bible with them. We have a long journey ahead of us, but I
believe that they will come to know Jesus. I am praying that they will come into the
kingdom before this Thanksgiving. I am also praying that through them 2 other
Chinese will be able to come into the kingdom. All for the glory of our good Father!!

One of the most exciting things about these two guys is their eagerness to learn and
share. Through our DBSs, Kevin has been able to see so much and has been able to
dig deep into the Word. Owen has been sharing with his parents who are currently
in China!! We are able to reach nations through these guys and I really believe that
God will use them in many ways. Will you join me in praying for them what I told
you above?

I want to thank yall for your prayers. For lifting up the nations to our good good
Father. Will you join me in praying for our God to send more laborers to go out to
the harvest? Will you join me in praying for those in Auburn and for our friends who
do not know Jesus yet that He will quickly reveal himself to them? Will you pray for
those who have decided to follow Christ for boldness to share the great gospel of the
kingdom of God to those in their communities? Thank you guys so much for your
prayers. Thank you! Love you guys


Your brother in Christ,
Patrick

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

Big Blue




























My friends, from left to right, Chao, Mengyan, Henrique, my discipler Samuel, and
Xiao



















Spiritual Multiplication