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Mission in Focus June 2010 via Email |
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Mission in Focus
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Written by Stephen and Mary
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June 1, 2010
Dear Christian Friends,
First of all, I would like to ask you to join with me in prayers for Thailand . Perhaps at this moment, you may already have heard that the result of a military crackdown of the protesters in Bangkok which left 88 people death (most of them was massacred with military snipers), 1885 wounded, 217 hospitalized and 17 of them are in ICU and several hundreds of protesters are arrested. Several provinces are still under the state of emergency and hence curfew is applied.
Second, I would like to ask you to join with me in praising our Living God and Lord. In the midst of political turmoil in Thailand , God has blessed our ministry immensely. Because of the non-stop endeavored serving God in carrying out the Great Commission to the lost souls by my teammates particularly Kalep, Saka and Jabo, and because of your faithful partnership in prayers and finance, and because of God who is working, up to this point out of 12,000 Wa people at Mai Tung area in Burma (about 60 kilometers away from the border of Thailand), 4,300 of them have been baptized into His Kingdom through out the years (Photos attachment). Praise the Lord! Of course, still many more people are eager to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and many villagers are calling for us to come. Please pray that more workers will be sent to the area and more souls will be harvested. Hopefully through out the year of 2010, we will able to purchase 1,000 Bibles and contribute to the people at this area of Mai Tung. So far in the past year (2009), we have given 700 Bibles and 200 hymns. Mai Tung area in Burma is the area that we are now sending a relief fund to help stop the out-breaking of the TB disease. Some of our teammates were affected by this out-breaking disease. Currently it is restricted and unsafe area so I have not had an opportunity to go into this area yet. The farthest point that I have been, recently, was watching over the area from the border. Hopefully, one day God will open the door for me personally to go and visit those Christians.
Third, I would like to ask you to keep our Bible conference in your prayers. Starting from this past Sunday, May 30, we have had 20 elders from several Lahu churches attending the Bible conference. This is the first Bible conference we have ever held at the new site of the Gospel center of Asians For Christ (Photos attachment). In fact, this is the trial run classes for Asia International Seminary.
Finally, today we have started a campus ministry at Rajchapat University , containing over 10,000 Thai students and faculty. Perhaps, you may remember Dr. Sripun, who was baptized over a year ago. Through her connection, since she was an academic dean of this university, we want to bring the good news about Jesus Christ to the Thai students at this university. This is a new and rather challenging ministry for us. If God is willing, we hope to harvest some souls from students and faculty of this university.
Every one of the Wongratanamajchas is doing great. Nick is here in Thailand for the second summer of mission field experience. John is on summer break while Isaac is barely starting head-start education program. He enjoys going to school very much. We wake up every morning at 5:30 and see his eager to go to school. Sometimes, we have to hold him back for such over-enthusiasm. Mary and Becky are doing great in helping out preparing food for the Bible conference for the elders.
Please also continue keep our field teammates in your prayers. These faithful men of God include Yasa, Jeremi, Abe ( Thailand ), Kalep, Saka, Jabo ( Burma ) and Petru, Talee, Tin Jalong and Ahjong in China .
In Christ,
Stephen and Mary |
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Mission In Focus Feb 2010 (via email) |
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Mission in Focus
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Written by Missy Slatt
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February 2010
Dear Christian Friends,
Greetings to you all in the Name of our Living Lord and God, Jesus Christ!
In this letter I would like to share with you some of theological problems that I have to deal with during my village evangelistic trip to Maehongson province in the past month so that you will be able to grapes some of our ministerial experiences. This was my first my mission trip to the area since 2000. Approximately 10,000 Lisu people live and spreading throughout 6 villages in Sop-pong or Pang Ma pha. Though there are a handful of Christians in the area, church buildings are located at almost every village. Those Christians are very hungry for God’s Word. Even though my teammates helped me in preaching, I still preached consecutively 4 times on one Sunday at four different churches. I was so exhausted at that evening. It seems to me there are many backsliding Christians at this area. They turned back to their old traditional belief, of course, animism and reestablishing a spirit altar inside their houses. Many of these people came to me and discussing their problems and struggles and some of them are willing to repent and come back to faith in Jesus Christ and burning out their spirit altars. The theological question came out among some Christians in the area is whether these people should be re-baptized or not.
I, Stephen, have just received my new passport replacing the expired one. I will apply for my Chinese visa and buying a flight ticket soon. Hopefully, everything will go well. This weekend our house will host a sent-out-mission service to Burma and China . Next week, I will drive to the border and drop out the Burma mission team at Mae Sai. This group will make an evangelistic trip throughout Northern Shan state in Burma and if God is willing, they will go and meet me somewhere in China and we will work together inside China . The following week, then, I will depart to China . Your prayers for our family, safety and soul-harvesting are most appreciated.
Please join with us in praying for one of our evangelists, Kalib, who is suffering with TB disease. Kalib is doing cross-cultural mission works by leaving his Lahu village in order to carry out the Great Commission to the lost souls among Wa people. Indeed, God has blessed his ministry tremendously, over 100 people among Wa people have accepted Jesus Christ and been baptized in the past year. Since January, Kalib has been diagnosed with TB. We are now intensively working out in helping Kalib and other 45 new Christians, who have been diagnosed with the same disease, from his mission field to receive a proper treatment from a hospital whether in Thailand or Burma .
Also, please join with us in praying for Yasa, my co-worker, who was sick since October 2009. He may receive a surgery soon if the physical therapy does not work.
Praise the Lord that Mary and I have a personal time for few days at Phuket, one of the most beautiful island in Thailand before my mission trip to China . Our appreciation should go to our small Bible study group and fellow Christians in Phuket for arranging the trip and taking care of most of our expenses and guiding us for the sight-seeing tour around the island. It was indeed the first time in my life. It is an awesome place!
In His Services,
Stephen and his co-workers |
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A brief report from China (via email) |
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Mission in Focus
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Written by Stephen W
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Dear Christian Friends,
Everything is going well with us here in China. So far, there is no great concern. At last, the local government authorized us to conduct a Christian leadership conference. Over 1500 attended at the opening ceremony last night. But around 200 people would be selected to attend a week long conference due to the limitation of the building. It was a great honor to me to speak such a crowd with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We rent a down town church building for this conference. The ficilities are so limited. There was no water since yesterday.
In this email, I would like to share with you some of my personal exerience while doing a village evangelism. While I was waiting for the local government authorizing a Christian leadership conference, I set aside myself with Yee Ho Kui, a young Lisu evangelist, to go to villages on the mountain that I have never been and spending nights there. We visited several churches and non-believer villages on a motorcycle. It was the high-light of the week. It was not only for me to have a chance to share the gospel of Jesus to non-believers and encouraging believers with His Word, but walking along at mountains and viewing the beauty of the nature were a great ideal to me.
After spending a night at Christian village, I went to see Dhu people. The Dhu people are very new people to me. I have never met the Dhu people in my life. The Dhu people worship a tree spirit. There are several huge trees at their village which they setting altars under those trees. Non of the Dhu people at this village is a believer yet. While I was at the Dhu village, Yee Ho Kui received an urgent call from Wa people from the other side of the mountain. On the phone, the Wa people told us not to have a lunch at any other place since they had prepared and ready for us. About 2 o'clock at the afternoon following the request without lunch, we arrived to the Wa village with an empty stomach. I was so starving at that afternoon. I assumed that food were on table and ready for us. It turned out that there was nothing on table. They did even make any lunch for us. As soon as we arrived at their house, they told us that they would not cook any food unleast I finished 3 sermons and having a special prayer for them. They did really mean that!. The request reminded me about Jacob's request to the angel of the Lord at that night for the blessing. I was so starving even my hands were shaking. Finally, I tried to make a compromise with them by asking some of them to cook while I was preaching and praying for them so that the food would be ready after I had done speaking.
The irony was about their prayer's request. They told me to pray about a bee hive at their farm. For the Wa people, having a bee hive at the farm is an omen of cursing. First when I heard about it, I was really chuckle. I hardly got such an mentality. I thought that they were making fun on me. Then I realized that they really meant it. So, I did pray for them and reasoning with them that many other people in the world would consider such a incident as a blessing. In Thailand, they can sell the honey and make some money from it. I challenged them that why did they thought this incident as a sign of blessing rather than a cursing. And I prayed that God would turn a curse to be the blessings so that the villagers will know Who this God is.
Again, thank you deeply for your constant prayers for our mission works in China.
In Christ,
Stephen and his teammates |
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Thailand Update (via email) |
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Mission in Focus
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Written by Stephen W.
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Dear Christian Friends,
Again, praise our Living God and Lord for adding more souls to be harvested! The past Sunday July 19, 2009 another 5 people accepted Jesus Christ and were baptized into His Kingdom. Nick’s first baptismal performing was very great. Nick also decides to go to China for a week of mission trip. While I will continue to do more mission works there in China he will fly back by his own to Thailand and the USA in the following weeks. We will leave on July 29 to Kunming. Your prayers are most appreciated.
In Christ Alone,
Stephen |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 August 2009 15:54 )
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