|
Mission in Focus
|
Mission In Focus Feb 2010 (via email) |
 |
 |
 |
|
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 |
|
|
A brief report from China (via email) |
|
|
|
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 |
|
Thailand Update (via email) |
|
|
|
|
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 |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 August 2009 15:54 )
|
|
|
Mission in Focus Email 6/27/09 |
|
|
|
|
Dear Christian Friends,
My family and I are doing so very well with Nick being home this summer. Particularly Mary and John; they are thoroughly enjoying every second together. We hope that Nick is treasuring his uncountable experience in order to well prepare him for his future ministry here in the Southeast Asia and China. At the moment, it is a monsoon season here in Thailand. The monsoon brings a lot rain to us. It rains days and nights. Sometimes it lasts over a week, nonstop. However, the monsoon is time for farmers who have been busy growing their new crops in the farms. This is impacting our ministry. As situational oriented, our ministry has to shift from outdoor evangelistic mission to indoor church related ministry, particularly in teaching, preaching and visiting churches. Mission fields among church denominations are also widely opening here in Chiangmai. Many of them are hungry for the truth of His Scripture. As I have heard, many of them have complained about their denominational teachings that are not faithful to God’s Word. However, I have seen this as the great opportunity in reaching them out for the sound doctrines. For instance, there is a Thai church here in Chiangmai. Most members of this church are third-generation Christians. They grew up in Christian families and denominational background. They now know that they need to grow in biblical knowledge. As their request, besides preaching once a month, I am now offering them a bible study course at this church every Sunday afternoon for about an hour. We are now studying the book of Revelation. The class is going on very well, and over 30 people attend at every session. The great news is that through the preaching/teaching, the basic doctrine on baptism and communion are reinstated. Many of them respond to the call of immersion (in the past they knew only “sprinkle”). Communion is starting to hold at church services (in the past they had communion only once a year). But much work needs to be done with this church. Many doctrines are needed to be shaped. Like this church, there are many more churches in Chiangmai that are hungry for the sound doctrine of the Scripture. We are asking you to keep this ministry in mind whenever you are spending time with our Living God and Lord.
Our Bible study group offered to senior Christians at our house which is held twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, is promising. Adding to a senior judge, a lawyer, and a former university professor, we now have a doctor and his wife. They are really enjoying study the Scripture. Our program “college without a boundary” is reaching out more Christians to study God’s Word. With this program, we are turning church into a Bible class. Christians will be able to study the Scripture without taking time off of their daily normal life but still having a chance to study God’s Word. The college without a boundary will take Bible class room teachings and settings to local church so that every ordinary Christian in this region is able to learn His Word. The past week we have received calls from many Christians in Laos requesting us to offer the “college without boundary” to them. Since teaching God’s Word in Laos is very restricted and illegal, we need to find a church as a base at the border area on Thailand side. We are contacting one of the churches nearby Mae Kong River to let us use the church building so that Christians in Laos can cross over Mae Kong River and study the Scripture inside of Thailand. This is a crucial ministry so your continue prayers is most appreciated.
In Him Alone, Stephen and family |
|
Mission in Focus Email 5/30/09 |
|
|
|
|
Dear Christian Friends, Greetings to you all again from Thailand, the land of smile, in the Name of Jesus Christ! As I mentioned to you with my last letter that 200 Bibles was needed among new converts of Wa people at the border area between Thailand and Burma. In this letter, I want to update you on this issue. We had already transported 216 Bibles a week ago. We loaded them on pick-up truck from Chiangrai to Fang and crossing the border point at Doi Aungkung by horses (Photos attached). We hired 4 horses to carry those Bibles into Burma, crossing mountainous path which very narrow and steep up and down into the town of Poo-pa-jee, Burma. After that loading with another pick-up truck inside Burma and heading to Mai Tung, there our teammates contributed them to the people. The reason we transported them this way was to avoid the Burmese border check point, where the Burmese soldiers as their usual manner would confiscate all the Bibles and imprison our evangelists who go through with the Bibles. So, we divided our team into two groups. Those who are living in Thailand’s side of the border took care of all the needs on the Thai side and those who are living in Burma took all responsibility in the Burmese side. We handed all the Bibles to each other at the border point. A few days ago, I received a call from Matthew, the team leader who took care of those Bibles inside Burma. He informed us that all the Bibles have reached to the people. He expressed that many Wa people were very happy, some of them even leaping with tears of joy because they can now read the Bible in their own language. He also told us that they requested more Bibles (200 Bibles comparing with almost 10,000 Wa people that live in the area is almost nothing). They are also requesting some hymnal books in Wa so that they will be able to sing and praise the living God in their own language. We are now working on finding more Bibles and hymns in Wa language. After all, I am so relieved. Praise to the Lord! I am now very excited because I received a call requesting that I go visit them in person. By the way, Asians For Christ is now supporting 3 evangelists, who are working in this area and hopefully if the political condition at the border area become stable I will find myself in the area, carrying out His Great Commission to the lost souls in the area.
While we were busy transporting the Bibles to the people in Burma, Red Lahu people at the border area on the Thai side have heard the gospel of Jesus and have accepted Christ and were baptized. Again, this was possible only because of your partnership. Because of your prayers and financial supports, 13 people from Red Lahu are able to call Jesus as their own Lord and Savior (Photos attached). Our mission team really appreciates for the quick taking action on our financial request. We now have enough funds for making a mission trip to China and doing mission work there for this coming August. Our special thanks go particularly to Saxonburgh Christian Church, in PA, who shares this great vision with us in making disciples to the lost people in China. As you have already known, our mission team has made several successful trips, resulting in the winning of over 250 souls who were baptized from the year of 2007-9. This could only happen because of two things: first of all because of your prayers and second your financial supports.
As you may recall, my last mission trip to China which I mentioned to you that over 70,000 unreached Lisu people are living throughout 5 counties in Sichuang (Northeast of Yunan) with a total population of over 100 million people. We are now intensively planning to act in sending some of the native workers into the field. In the past, we have found that many souls have been harvested through our ministry because of the solid partnership with local leaders in China. We can support those workers because of the faithful support church such as Monroeville Christian Church, in PA. For many years, they have faithfully supported one of our key workers, beside of 3 other native evangelists that we have now in Yunan. By this way, of course, our mission works have been blessed abundantly. With this same mission strategic plan, we are now praying to see more churches become involved in supporting native workers to be our front runners at SICHUANG so that we will be able to harvest more souls there.
My family is doing well. Becky is still working on her therapy. She is doing much better but still needs a lot of prayers. Nick is now spending his summer with us here in Thailand. We hope that he will enjoy and experience the mission field in order to prepare him to be ready for the mission works here in Southeast Asia and China. John is happy for his summer break which starts this weekend. Isaac is becoming the family entertainer through his singing and talking.
In Him alone, Stephen, family & Teammates |
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 3 |
|