Open Hands.

Dear friends! I have something very exciting to tell you and also ask of you! My sweet, sweet boyfriend Austin Taylor has cultivated a huge heart for missions over the past few years. He has been on missions to Mexico, South Africa, and Taiwan (twice) serving and loving the people in these countries that are thirsty for the living water Jesus offers! This summer, he has an incredible opportunity to travel with an organization called Global Infusion. He will be traveling to Egypt and China this summer to serve with them! The first mission will be to China. Here's an outline of the work they will be getting to do there! (Taken from GI's website.)
"When visiting China you will have the opportunity to help with our contact's 5 focuses of ministry.
Caring for Orphans: The orphans at the Foster Home all have special physical needs and were brought into our contacts care from orphanages all over China.
Teaching English: This is an exciting way to build relationships with Chinese people.
Visiting Elderly: Elderly people are sometimes the most neglected and forgotten members of society, working with our contact you will have the opportunity to visit them and offer a caring hand.
Serving the Poor: Our contact reaches out to the neediest families in their community with the goal of helping restore dignity and hope to these families.
Provide Medical Care: Your volunteer work would vary, based on your level of knowledge and experience in your field of health and your fluency in the language, and would be a tremendous blessing to our contact."
Sounds incredible, huh? Many of you may not know that Austin has also been studying Chinese as his minor at OU. This means he will be an even bigger asset to the team! The second trip, to Egypt will be somewhat different but nonetheless lifechanging! Here's a little about that trip:
"Team members will be participating in a "Health Carnival," which is essentially a mobile medical clinic. Supervised by our contact, who is a licensed medical doctor, the team will assist at many levels including preliminary diagnoses, pharmaceuticals, medical education, and spending quality one-on-one time with the people. Those who have no medical training or background will participate in several basic medical-training sessions. Everyone will have the opportunity to help at the clinic. Health-care professionals will certainly be utilized to the extent of their training and abilities. Not only will the team be able to work with under-privileged Egyptians, but also Sudanese refugees who have fled their war-torn nation and are desperate for medical care. In addition to participating in the medical clinics, team members will participate in a 1-2 day training session where everyone will learn more about Islam, what it means to be a Muslim in the Middle-East and how can we as Christians share our faith with them in a culturally-sensitive manner. Team members are encouraged to learn as much as possible about this area of the world, their culture, and their religion previous to the trip. Global Infusion will be providing each person with adequate and approved material."
Those two opportunities, will impact hundreds of lives. They need a passionate heart in their midst! Here's a little bit from Austin on how you can help him make these opportunities a reality! =]


"For those of you that know me, you know that MISSIONS IS MY HEARTBEAT. The amazing experiences God has blessed me with sharing the love of Christ in Taiwan and South Africa have molded me into being globally Kingdom-minded and burdened for the people of our world who are suffering from gross social injustices our culture often overlooks (like the AIDS pandemic, a solvable lack of clean water, and the worldwide sex slavery industry). THEY NEED TO KNOW HIS LOVE!

This summer, I’ll be continuing to act upon the passion God’s made run through my veins by serving Him again in Asia and Africa. In China, I’ll be partnering with an amazing missions organization named GLOBAL INFUSION (www.globalinfusion.org) to minister to the poor, diseased, elderly, and orphaned in a country that, despite being the oldest continuous civilization on our planet, has so long been blinded to the Truth of our Savior! In Egypt, I’ll be partnering with the same organization to provide medical care to lower-class Egyptians and Sudanese refugees from Darfur, Sudan (yes, the Darfur you’ve heard about!) who occupy the slums of Cairo and are in desperate need of medical attention, hope, and freedom from a scarred past. We’ll also be doing a college outreach program and learning how to effectively minsiter to a Muslim in a culturally-sensitive way. AMAZING.

Obviously, missions come with a hefty price tag. In the past couple of years, I’ve been able to completely pay my own way for my last 3 international missions experiences. This year, I’m working two jobs to ensure that I can contribute as much as possible to making this happen…But I’m still gonna need a little help.

***HERE’S WHERE YOU COME IN:

You know my heart, you know my burden…Now it’s time to put some action behind your faith. Global Infusion has set up an online donation system where people like YOU can contribute to making this summer a reality for me. I want to make this as tangible as possible for you, so I’m asking that each person that reads this donate TEN DOLLARS. $10, that’s it! Of course, if you feel led to give more (and I’m praying for those of you out there that do!)…That would be awesome. =]

All you have to do is go here:
http://www.justgive.org/giving/donate.jsp?charityId=11923&

Type in the amount you’d like to donate, write “Austin Taylor” in the “Designate my donation” box, click “Add to basket,” and follow the next steps. What’s awesome is that everything you give will be TAX-DEDUCTIBLE (you’ll receive a receipt at the end of the year, or right way if needed).

I can’t tell you enough how much your support (even if only through prayer!) means to me. Helping me in this journey is helping to spread the amazing John 3:16 news that our world needs to hear. THANK YOU again, friends, for everything! WHOEVER FINDS GOD, FINDS LIFE! –Austin M."

“I almost wish I had a hundred bodies; they should all be devoted to my Savior in the missionary cause.” –J. Hudson Taylor (戴德生), Missionary to China.