I was 25 before I truly understood that God was not American. Two months later I boarded a plane to North Africa with Cafe 1040. I found Cafe 1040 while fasting in order to seek the Lord’s guidance on my next step of obedience and God providentially bringing me into the life of one of Cafe 1040’s staff.

As I climbed the ladder to the roof of the flat I would spend the next several months of my life in, I realized a gnawing dread was growing inside me. So, with heavy heart and burdened mind I turned to the LORD for understanding.  What started as a simple prayer asking for wisdom swiftly turned into a struggle with God over the course and direction of my life.

CROSS exists to see our generation live for the most loving cause in the universe: bringing people from every tribe, tongue, and nation into the everlasting joy of knowing and worshiping Jesus.

One of the biggest challenges for students once they return home from their overseas missions mentorship is re-acclimating to Western culture. Talking about their experience can be a challenging experience. Here are five open-ended, insightful questions that will get to the heart of their time overseas.

From the outside, the New Year could appear as simply a time of parties and fireworks and really good food, however there is a heaviness in the air which cannot be denied.

Recently I had the most incredible opportunity to go visit a village in the middle of the mountains about four hours or so from where I live. It was the most beautiful place, full of orange trees and rolling hills, but the most beautiful part was that this village is made up of mostly believers! Isn't it crazy and so exciting to know there is a village in the middle of nowhere Thailand full of people who are following Jesus!?

Do you ever feel like there are so many books you’d like to read, but then you go to pick one and you never really know where to start? Did your friend share a long list of podcast recommendations and you have no idea what to download first?

“Jesus delivered the Great Commission. In it comes the command for all the peoples of the earth to be reached with the good news. But who was Jesus speaking to? Was it to the original apostles only? To the church at large? To particular local churches? To frontline, missions-minded people? Or is it given to each and every Christian?”

Leverage your charitable giving with give unique and easy ways!

As I stood, waiting for my departure to Southeast Asia, the reality of the next three months hit me.  For three years I had waited for this moment.  I had spent three years preparing, yet I felt completely inadequate for the task ahead of me.  Why me?  Why was I being called to go?

The saying is true, “its so much better being in the passenger seat than driving.” Before I came on this trip, my perspective of missions was limited to building houses, giving out medicine, or handing children gifts. Not to diminish those things, but my perspective of missions has expanded.

We often pass down heirlooms, trades, skills, or maybe businesses. We want to pass down a generation of “Look, what God is doing. Now, be a faithful vessel that continues the work.”

This Christmas, let’s celebrate a God who traded Heaven to gain us. May that joy fill our hearts, so that it overflows into the 3.1 billion people who won’t be celebrating Christmas this year.

Our team just began a homestay. You can read more about what these are here.

On our first night, we ate with our friend Sam who was a devout cousin. Our conversation with him was very direct. He loved to discuss religion and what he believed. He began to discuss the duty of his belief and how Allah was the one true Father.

If I’m honest, I really had no idea what this program was about until I got here. I had a vague idea that it would help prepare me for future work overseas, yet I didn’t even know what I needed preparation in.

Meet Iris – A Grad from South Asia

Q: Give us a little background about your testimony/story and how that led you to looking for an organization like Cafe 1040. 

A: I grew up going to church, I was saved when I was six years old and I can remember telling my mom that I wanted to be a missionary. I don’t even know where I got that vocabulary or where it started. I just knew I wanted to go and tell people about Jesus.

“I’m so impatient.

Sometimes I really hate the pressures of time because my personality always has me dreaming of the future. This creates an urgency in me to get the most out of where I’m at.”

n my 18 years with Cafe 1040, I have had the privilege of hearing and seeing stories of lives changed from students who participate in our missions mentorships.

For our students, the people living inside the 10/40 window are no longer an unreached statistic on a page. (3.1 billion to be exact) They are friends they text for coffee dates, they are families they have shared a meal with, and they are people, just like you and me, longing for meaning in this life.

Within the first weeks of being in Asia, our team was already eager to meet local friends and start fostering relationships with the people here. One guy that my roommate and I met was named Evan.

But that day she heard for maybe the first time in her entire life that there is a God who loves her and who has made a way to be with her, and I’m thanking the Lord that He let me be a part of it.