FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU

Ps Paul Silvanus - AO partner in India

Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God has a plan for each of us. We may not always understand His plan, but we still need to be obedient as we try to fulfil it and as the prophet Micah says (Micah 6:8) "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"

The middle age couple had been childless for many years. Desperate, they turn to the only god they knew at that time and vowed that if they were granted an heir, they would dedicate him back to the god. After some time, the wife conceived and bore a male child whom they name Munirathnam, after the Hindu god they prayed to, and true to their promise the child was dedicated back to the god.

According to Hindu custom, a child dedicated to a god is not allowed to cut his hair until he has reached adolescent. Hence, when Munirathnam came of age, his parents held a grand ceremony and took him to the temple for his first haircut. After his head was shaved, they noticed a big lump protruding from the base of his neck. Later, doctors confirmed that it was a tumour but they were told that nothing can be done about it. Once again, they sought the help of their gods and took Munirathnam to many temples and mediums but to no avail.

At that time, Munirathnam’s grandmother who is a born-again Christian persuaded his parents to let her take him to church. She also started to read the Bible to him every day and fasted and prayed fervently for God to heal him. After one week, the family noticed that the tumour had reduced in size. By the end of the second week, it has completely disappeared! It was then that Pastor Munirathnam Selvaraj and his entire family accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Desiring to serve God, Ps Muni attended the Chennai Mission School. After graduation, he was posted to the village of Dalit in Pannur which is a substation of Andha Pradesh where he grew up. As it was a pioneering ministry, conditions were extremely challenging. The church, which is also his dwelling place, was a small thatched roof structure which he built with his own hands.

One day while he was fasting and praying for God’s guidance, a woman with a big stomach came to him and requested for prayer. At first glance, he thought she was pregnant but she explained that she has been living with a huge tumour in her stomach for some time but could not afford the long trip to the hospital to seek help. To make matters worse, upon the discovery of her illness, her husband left her for another woman. Filled with compassion, Ps Muni prayed for her and immediately she fell to the ground, rolling and vomiting blood until she passed out. Eventually she woke up and left.

The next day, he heard a big commotion outside his house and upon checking, was terrified to see a large mob marching towards him. He stood there trembling with fear, trying to figure out what went wrong. Suddenly, the crowd parted and the woman he prayed for the day before came forward and pointed to him saying in a loud voice “This is the man who prayed for me and his God has healed me”. That day 75 people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

Ps Muni’s testimony is a classic example of God’s divine and unique plan for each of us. Who would have imagined that a child dedicated to a Hindu god can one day be used by the Lord in such an awesome way? Trusting that God will make a way, Ps Muni obeyed His calling and took the Gospel to a place where no one went before and God honoured his faithfulness by making ‘rivers appear in the desert’.

God has created us for a specific role in this world. All He requires from us is to trust and obey. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths”. And therein lies the secret of all the notable men and women of God. They trust Him explicitly.

Prayer Points

1. Pray for the cultural barriers of the caste system and Hinduism to be overcome
    by the Gospel.

2. Pray for justice and hope in a nation plagued by oppression, poverty, and disease.

3. Pray for missionaries to stay focused on God and His plans above all else.

THE LONG UNAI REVIVAL

Ps Benny Ng - AO Sibu coordinator

Long Unai is the last village of the Belaga District in Sarawak, about 3 km from the border of Kalimantan. The people there comprise of the Penan and Kenyah tribe. The Penan there were the very first Penan tribe to have settled down from their nomadic lifestyle 40 years ago. The nearest town from here is Kapit (3 hours away from Sibu by speed boat) which is a 9-hour drive through the timber trails and 5-hour ride in an express ferry. Almost 75% of the people here are without any birth certificates or National Identity cards due to the long journey and high cost to travel to the main city to register the birth and secure an identity card.  I was in Long Unai 6 years ago for a pastor’s retreat and went back 2 years later to help to start the Christian kindergarten there under the Borneo Evangelical Church. A month after the school was started, government official came to ask the church to hand over the kindergarten to them but the church declined the offer even though the financial gain would be very much higher and future development will be guaranteed. The church – when first started – were strong in their faith but there were not many evangelist or pastors willing to go regularly to mentor them due to the remoteness of their area, so eventually they fell back into their old pagan ways.

Since late September, a revival took place here when some church members started to repent and stop activities that displeased God. Some of the young people still smoke and drink and the older folks went back to animistic practices. The peak was in early October when a group of pastors went over to conduct a revival meeting. That night, one of the pastors, who used to pastor them here a few years ago started to apologize and ask for forgiveness from the church for all the wrongs he had done and for all the rights he has not done during his time there. There was silence and people started to cry and ask for forgiveness among each other and from God. Many were confronted with idolatry issues during that night through the power of the Holy Spirit that enabled the pastors to see things beyond their abilities.

People were told that they kept charms and idols which were hidden in certain secret places.  Initially they tried to deny this but when the places were revealed through the Holy Spirit they confessed and repented. One person was told that the wok in his household was used before to cook human heads but he strongly protested and denied that. However, when asked where the wok originated from, he confessed that his parents dug it from an ancient ancestor’s grave! The wok was traced back to the head hunting period where it was used to cook human heads that was chopped off from their enemies.

Other signs were that many started to receive special gifting such as speaking in different languages. Two young men could pray in Arabic and fluent English which they couldn’t even speak before that. Others received gifting like seeing signs, wonders and dreams.  Borneo Evangelical Mission sent a team to do some documentation and they too were ministered by the Holy Spirit there. The team also conducted meetings to teach them to differentiate true spirit and gifting’s that came from God. They stressed unity in diversity as there were signs that some of those who received the gifting started to be confused and some became proud.

The people there were so hungry for the Lord and would come to the church for the Prayer Meeting hours before the meeting started because they felt the anointing of God was in that place and they wanted more and more of it. Only a handful of people remained disobedient to the Holy Spirit and continued to live the pagan lifestyles even though they called themselves Christians. Although this revival stated first in September 2016, God is still manifesting his glory and awakening in the people there today. I was told that there will be 10 young men and women who have dedicated themselves to serve God and will be enrolled in Belaga Bible School next year.

July 2016 marked our 13 years of ploughing in Sarawak, East Malaysia. I still remember back in early 2005, when God first showed me an indigenous people group and asked me to serve them. Daily, I saw them toiling under the sun in construction sites, many of their children did not attend school, in the evening after work, they drank and gambled at the makeshift living squatters that was without electricity and clean running water but worst of all they were lost without Christ! For six months, I wrestled with God during my devotions in the morning walk to a point that I began to bargain with God. How could I serve them, I am just a poor missionary! His reply was, “Do not be afraid for I am with you. Step out by faith like Joshua, cross into the promise land but take the step of faith to venture into River of Jordan.“

From the beginning of 2016, we have adopted the attitude of waiting upon the Lord’s leading in His ministry. God has revealed more hidden treasures in this land as we gained more talents in hands and are commanded to earn more talents in areas that we never thought we were able to do. He revealed to us to move and embark on another level of ministry that is to delve deeper into the indigenous ministry. The needs and space to develop this were enormous, like the verse ‘the harvest is plenty but the workers are few’! Today, there are many places without shepherds and the Gospel needs to be preached. There are many pastors and faithful servants of God labouring in the interiors with small salaries; serving without pension or social security fund and even insurance! The Bible schools in the interiors also lack hardware and software. Over the years, we have experienced many new graduates leaving the ministry or struggle in their ministry due to inadequate training and counselling of healing and deliverance. 

I realised that many uphill tasks are needed to see change happen! The importance of partnership with churches and Christian communities to help them to grow and be able to self-sustain and help others is part of the plan.  Setting up of more social ministries like kindergarten, drug rehab, children and old folks homes among the native Christian circles are vital judging from the proactive actions of other zealous parties and religious groups. Join me to pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers into the remote areas of Sarawak to spread the fire of revival to other villages and towns. Many in the remote interior have still not heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we must endeavour to rectify this. We need to rise up as there is an urgency to fulfil the Great Commission in Sarawak.

Romans 10:13-15

How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

TESTIMONY OF PASTOR NENA

Ps Nena Ibanez/AO Partner in Tacloban Ministry, Philippines

I was born in Lloilo City, Molo, in the Philippines and my parents were saved and accepted Jesus when an American missionary came to our church to preach. I was about 7 years old then and when I heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ I knew I wanted Jesus in my life. My parents were so excited to share the Gospel to everyone they met so at a young age my siblings and I often followed my parents when they went out evangelising. I grew in the Word and in my love for God by listening to them as they shared with others.

We were not rich and our parents worked hard to support us but we were happy. All this ended when my dad passed away suddenly followed by my mother just 4 years later. Our whole lives changed then. My brothers, sisters (8 of us siblings) and I moved to live with my older married sister in Cebu as we were too young to support ourselves or live on our own. My sister and brother-in-law were both in Bible school then. The stress of having us all live with them and having to support us was too much for my brother-in-law and he started to back-slide, quit Bible School and began drinking alcohol every night. It was a terrible time for us as he came back drunk every night, filled with a rage against us and would threaten us with a knife. It was a nightmare experience for us and I prayed and cried out to the Lord to help us. Often my siblings and I had to run for our life and hide in the streets at night till my brother-in-law fell into a drunken sleep. But I felt the presence of God always protecting us. When he tried to force my sister to give up serving God or have anything to do with Christianity she finally left him taking her son with her rather than give up her faith in Jesus Christ. 

The Lord answered our prayers and sent us an American missionary couple who took me and my sibling under their wing, helped us to finish our elementary and high school education so we could pursue God’s call in our lives. Out of the eight of us, four of us went to Bible school and entered full time ministry. But our trials were not over yet. Within a period of 4 years I lost 3 brothers to cancer, my youngest brother at only 23 years old. It was a sad time for us but I found comfort in the Lord and found my peace in Him.

I always knew I wanted to serve God full time so after finishing my High School I entered Bible school and then entered the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in Baguio. I thank God that He provided my every need and supplied all the finances I needed to finish my studies. I sought the Lord earnestly asking Him what was His plans for me as I wanted to be totally obedient as to where He wanted me to go. In 1987, after graduating, God opened a door for me to teach in a Bible school in Leyte. I was going to a place far from my family where I did not know anyone but I responded to God’s call and went. I knew the Lord would be with me and I was not alone.

I was a full time faculty member of Zion Bible Institute, Palo, Leyte and was also involved in outreaches, bible studies and children ministries. Together with a team in Bible School we planted a church in Palo, Leyte. After many years, I started pioneering a church in Sta. Fe, Leyte by doing children's ministry and not very long the parents of the children also wanted to have Bible studies. 

Thank God that after a year He provided a church building and I became the full time pastor. Later the Word of God continued to spread and we were able to start a second church in barangay. San Roque and now the Lord also provided a church building in this barangay.

Besides my pastoral duties at my church I also teach Bible Study and lecture in conferences and seminars for pastors, teachers, women, youth and children. Praise God he has given us an opportunity to teach Christian values in an elementary school and high school. The Lord has also put a special burden in my heart to minister to children abandoned by their parents. In the Philippines, of the 1.8 million children in the country, more than 1% of its entire population are “abandoned or neglected”, according to the United Nations’ Children's Rights. Some are victims of extreme poverty; others of natural disasters and armed conflicts in the country’s troubled south. Yet the country’s adoption bureaucracy is so tangled up in paperwork that scores of aspiring adoptions take too long to be approved and abandoned children are left to grow up without parents. I have personally taken in two kids to live with me since they were abandoned at one month old (a girl) and a 1 year old (a boy.) These two children have been such a blessing to me and I thank God for them every day. They are now 12 and 14 years old!

Praise the Lord for wisdom and knowledge and strength that he gave me to be able to cope with the demands and problems in everyday life. Though sometimes I feel weak physically with the needs around me and discouraged, but I know I am not perfect and I know God doesn't expect me to be perfect. Praise the Lord he always reminds me that though I am weak he is strong and His power is shown best in my weakness. Every day I remind myself that my ministry is to be the hand of God to reach out to those who are hurting, to the weak and needy people around me. God is really good and every day is a miracle seeing that He provides for our needs and protection. God continues to heal the sick, mend the broken hearted and heal relationships. What a blessing to know that God is working in our midst.

I would like to thank Asian Outreach Malaysia for coming into my life through God’s divine appointment at the right moment when my need was greatest. It was after Typhon Haiyan had struck and left its trail of havoc and destruction in Tacloban  that Ps Eric came to see how he could help my people. Thank you AOM and the donors so much for all of your prayers, financial support and for extending help to us. May the Lord richly bless you in return and prosper the work of your hands.

ISAIAH 58:10-11

“…and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always.”

GOD’S PLANS FOR HIS CHILDREN

Pastor Zacchaeus Tran

I was born in 1965 into a family of 12 children and I was the 8^th child. In my hometown of Ky Phu Commune, my parents were the richest people in this community. We lacked nothing and there were servants to do everything for us but my parents did not know God.

When I was 9 months old I became seriously ill. My body was very skinny; my belly was swollen as I had difficulty moving my bowels; my whole body was filled with scabies... My parents took me to the biggest hospital in Da Nang with the hope that doctors would heal me, but as days passed my condition became worse and my parents were told to take me home. The doctors had done all they could but there was no hope. They told my parents that it would be better for me to die in my home surrounded by my family.

My mother was heartbroken to see my ravaged body, lifeless and in pain. She cried out daily, “My God! Please save my son! Please save my son!” She did not know which God she was crying out to but believed there was a God out there who could help her son.

That night, my mother had a dream that she was attending service in church. After the service was over, she saw the deacon of the church by the name of Quang walk up to the podium and introduce a new pastor, Pastor Le Van Tu, who would be taking over the leadership of the church. My mother woke up wondering why she was dreaming of a Christian church when she did not believe in Christianity. Believing it to be a sign she took me to church on Sunday and was shocked to recognize that it was the same church as in her dream. She had never been inside before so how could this be! She was so amazed and excitedly she took me to the pastor to relate her dream to him. The pastor said: “This is the will of God for you to know that He can heal your son. I cannot do any miracles, only God can.” Then the pastor laid his hands on me and prayed for healing as well as for my parents to know the Lord.

After the pastor prayed for me, I went home and the next day I began to feel healing taking place in my body. The scabies gradually dried up; I started having regular bowel movements and this helped make my belly flat. I no longer cried much and could sleep well. One month later, I was completely healed and I could play like other children.

 After God healed me, my parents led all my siblings to church to receive Jesus Christ and made a commitment to worship God alone, and then my mother requested that I be dedicated to the Lord. I lived a happy Christian life filled with joy and peace but there were difficult days ahead with the coming of the Vietnam War in 1973. As the war continued, we had to move to a different province where we found a church which my family and I attended regularly.

However, all this changed in 1975 when the communists won the war and united North and South Vietnam. Christians were told that they were not allowed to worship God and soon the persecution of Christians became violent. Many believers gave up their faith and sadly so did my parents. Going to church, praying to God or reading the bible were all forbidden; eventually Christ faded from our lives.

As time passed, and growing up in a communist culture, Jesus Christ was replaced by Marxist political ideology and I no longer trusted in God and all His works. We were taught that “only man is lord of the universe, anything that took place in the universe is the effort of man not God".

As we drew away from God and relied on ourselves and our own efforts, our lives changed drastically for the worse. Our business failed, our culture and language changed and there was an emptiness inside me that I filled with drinking and gambling. In 1990, desperate and broke, I moved to another town where I lived with a friend who taught me lacquer art.

Living away from home, I was homesick, especially when Christmas came and I heard Christmas songs like "Holy Night”; I remembered my childhood and the times when I used to worship God. I realized how much I missed God! How happy I was then. But I felt ashamed to face God now having abandoned Him a long time ago. I was sure He, too, would reject me now.

On the night of December 23th, 1993, I had a dream that I was walking in the church in my old hometown. As I stood there admiring the decorations, I suddenly heard voices echoing in the church, saying, “Destroy this temple and rebuild.” This statement was repeated three times. I looked around but could see no one. I asked myself, "Why must such a beautiful church be destroyed?”

The next morning, I walked into a church and asked the pastor about my dream. After listening carefully to my dream, the pastor told me that it was the voice of God. He said, “God wants you to destroy your sinful life and rebuild your Christian life.” I suddenly found myself trembling before God. The pastor cried and prayed for me.  I knew God had forgiven me and from that day on, I went to church and rededicated my life to Him.

In 1995 I married an unbeliever. My wife was an ancestor worshiper who would burn incense to worship her ancestors and other gods. I was very sad and prayed to God every night that God would save my wife and her family. My mother-in-law was against Christianity and would always refuse to eat anything I had bought. I was patient and loving towards her, and one day, she asked me to take her to my church so she could see who my God is.

I was overjoyed and brought her to church and on that Sunday she received the Lord. Later on my brother-in-law also received Jesus Christ. Eventually my wife and her whole family gave their lives to Christ. In 1996 after receiving bible training, I gave my life into the service of God as a pastor.

In summary, God knew me when I was a child and He knew the plan He had for my life. Even though I abandoned Him, He never abandoned me. Throughout my life I know now that God never once gave up on me but was waiting patiently for me to return to Him. Like the prodigal son, praise God, I did. I thank the Lord for His mercy and grace!

I want to thank Asian Outreach for their financial support that has enabled me to reach out to so many who are hungering after God.

Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

I WILL BE JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOUR

On 28 November 2016, as I stood at the foyer waiting for the pastors to register for the Retreat  I was approached by the Indian concierge on duty who asked me what retreat are we organizing and why it was all Indians only. I told him it was a Christian Tamil Speaking Family Retreat for the Tamil pastors and their families. Looking into the foyer he then asked me who was the ‘Chinaman‘ there that I was talking too so I told him that was the organizer of the conference, Pastor Eric Fung and you should have been there to witness his facial expression “What! A Chinaman organizing something like this for Indians! I told him we are Christians and we are all one  in the family of God. 

 27 pastors and their families attended a 3-day/2-night Tamil Speaking Pastors Family Retreat in Penang at the Rainbow Paradise Hotel. The participants were pastors from small churches with a membership of 50 and below. AO Malaysia has always had a heart for pastors of small churches and have wanted to encourage and to bless them for their faithfulness and diligence in their pastoral ministry despite all the discouragement and hardship they face in the ministry. Most of these pastors have made great sacrifices for their congregation at the expense of their families sometimes. The pastor carries the responsibility to take care of himself, his family and his church.

The response we received from the two previous retreats in 2009 and in 2012 was overwhelming and every one of the pastors who attended with their families were so encouraged and blessed and many shared that it was the first time they could have a holiday as a family. It was so heart-warming to see how the families enjoyed their time together and draw closer as a family. One of the best things a church can do for their own spiritual health is allow their pastor the time to take care of his family. The retreat gave the pastors quality time with their families and at the same time be encouraged, challenged and motivated.

The Tamil pastors and their families were excited and happy to be there and there was an air of comradeship and a family atmosphere prevailed. Some knew each other and those who did not quickly forged friendships and the gathering was very informal and warm. The pastors themselves organized a praise and worship team and what an awesome praise and worship it was. Praise God for the worship leaders and musicians. The anointing of the Holy Spirit was very evident. Thanks to donors who partnered with us for this retreat, we were able to bless each child there (15 children) with a love gift and reimburse the pastors for their transportation. None of them expected this and many were so overcome emotionally when we handed them their gifts.

Our speaker for the camp was Ps Paul Silvanus, AO partner from India and an anointed and gifted speaker. Familiar with the struggles of small churches, having over 110 church planters that he has sent out to the various mission fields in India, he encouraged, motivated and challenged them. As one participant told us “He rekindled the fire within us for God’s work that we had allowed the fire  to slowly die down as we became overwhelmed dealing with the challenges facing us. Our focus had shifted from what God has called us to do.”

Ps Persis, one of the participants  shared with us that when he received the invitation he prayed about it and the Holy Spirit spoke to him and told him to go promising him that he will be refreshed and blessed. Obediently he signed up to attend and he felt the peace of God in his heart. After the retreat he felt so blessed and thankful to Asian Outreach for honouring these Tamil pastors in such a way, something no one had ever done before for them.

Another participant, Ps Zech who was in the music team shared, “Sometimes we pray and think people will answer our prayers or maybe the church will because we are overwhelmed by the challenges we face. During the retreat we were reminded that only God can answer our prayers and bless us and we need not depend on people because He is all we need.”

One of the pastor’s wife shared another powerful testimony; a few months ago when she and her husband visited Penang they were invited by their friend who was staying in Rainbow Paradise Hotel (The same hotel where we had our retreat) to visit him so they went up to his room for a chat. The minute she entered the room she fell in love with the wonderful view of the sea from the balcony. As she and her husband stood soaking in all the beauty of that scene she whispered to her husband that she wished she would have an opportunity to stay at this hotel and have this same view. Her husband told her to pray and God would give her the desires of her heart. She had forgotten the name of the hotel where she had visited her friend but when she and her family stepped into the foyer of the hotel on 28 November she immediately recognized it and was so excited. Silently she thanked God and continued being excited. They checked in and were given their room key on the 24th Floor. As they entered their room it suddenly dawned on her that this was the same room where her friend had stayed and rushing out to the balcony she immediately recognized the view. That night after they had retired to their rooms the family sat in the balcony and worshipped the Lord, giving thanks for answering her prayers.

Asian Outreach would like to thank all of you who partnered with us to give these 27 pastors and their families from Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang a refreshing and wonderful time. Many felt renewed and as one pastor mentioned he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and he felt transformed. Overall they felt the tangible love of God and were comforted that they were not alone. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Alex Ooi, the event planner and Ms Belinda Ong (Director of Sales and Marketing) and the Rainbow Paradise Hotel staff for their dedication and service to ensure all our participants had a wonderful time during the three days. All the participants felt pampered and enjoyed overflowing food. Thank you Rainbow Paradise Hotel for a job well done.

Proverbs 11:25

A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

The Pastors having a time of fellowship during dinner

The youngest member of the music team:Ekroy, 8 years old (Ps Joseph Sivakumaran's son)

                                           

Atime of praise and worship

                   

         

A HOPE AND A FUTURE/by Rev Eric Fung

At 10, Maung Aih Oo is like any other girl her age. She loves to draw and dream of becoming an artist one day. Such dream would not have been possible 5 years ago. She was living on the streets, had no recollection of who her parents were and don’t even know her own name. A kindly policeman found her scavenging for food at the marketplace and brought her to the New Generation Home run by Pastor Abraham and his wife. Under the loving mentoring of the Pastor and his wife, she slowly blossomed into the lovely young girl she is today, full of hope and joy. At the Home, she found something far more precious than just a full belly or roof over her head – she found Jesus Christ. In Him she found forgiveness, freedom from sin, a hope and a future.

Maung Zin Min, now in Grade 5, shares a similar story. She was abandoned in a train before her first birthday with signs of abuse and a deep cut in her neck. No one has any idea where she came from or who her parents were. She was sent to the Women’s Federation Centre but, being not an orphanage, they cannot keep her. She was then brought to the New Generation Home to be cared for by Pastor Abraham and his wife. When she first came to the Home she was frightened and insecure but one day she encountered the redemption power of Jesus Christ and it transformed her life.

 

     

13 year old Cing Sian Huai lost her beloved father and her home during Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and her whole life changed drastically. Two years later her mother eventually remarried and her new step-father did not want her so one day her mother took her far away and left her at a preschool. Teachers took turns to look after her but they themselves had families of their own so she was sent to the House of Hope. The love she received there and having come to know the Lord has changed her life and given her a new purpose. She is a good student and studies hard winning the prize for best student last year.

Sarah Cing Cing, a 12 year old Muslim girl is also another victim from Cyclone Nargis. She lost both her parents and her neighbour took her in but could not afford to keep her so she too was sent to the House of Hope. She knows that it was the Lord who brought her to this Home so she could come to know Jesus as her Lord and Saviour. She declares that she is now a child of God.    

At present, there are 55 children in the House of Hope and 76 children in the New Generation Home. Majority of them are from the neighbouring states of Kachin, Chin and Rakhine where prolonged warfare has torn the land apart. Many have been abused, forced into drugs and slavery and the list goes on. Myanmar has the largest number of child soldiers in the world and this number is growing at an alarming rate. Both the national army and opposition recruit children as young as 11. Over the years, many Christian organisations have worked hard to rescue as many boys from this environment as possible. All the children that came to the Home were broken beings – emotionally traumatised and physically underdeveloped.

It took a lot of patience, love and discipline to help these children overcome their situation. Above all, it is faith in God that kept us going. Many have accepted Jesus Christ and it is a humbling experience to witness the transforming power of God at work in them and through them. Some excelled in their studies, coming out among the top 5 in their class; others hope to enter universities and one even dream of becoming a future leader where she can give back to society by helping to eliminate poverty and hunger. They are excited about their futures and now dare to dream about their futures and thanks to you they now surely can. More importantly, all of them hunger for the Lord and is eager to serve Him.

During worship time in the evening, watching these children with their eyes closed, smiles on their faces and hands lifted up in praise to God, I am filled with a sense of God’s immense love for us. It is truly an awesome sight. Every child deserves a “safe haven”, to be free and to grow up without fear. It is thanks to your support and generosity that we were able to offer this to so many children. My prayer for these children is that every one of them will have the opportunity to have a good future and live Godly lives so they will be powerful witnesses to others around them. As I mentioned before not all the children are orphans and those who have family have been witnessing to their families and some of them have also come to the Lord. Will you continue to partner with God and together with me help to transform a whole generation for the glory of His kingdom?

I was in Myanmar in December and the children have insisted that I convey their thanks to you for all that you have done for them.They are indeed grateful that in Christ you have given them a hope and a future. 

Matt 18:2-6

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

FROM THE HEART OF ERIC FUNG / Executive Director, Asian Outreach Malaysia

The Lost Story 

Cambodia once known as the ‘Killing fields’ is one of the poorest countries in the world where 80% of the 9.3 million population live in poverty up till 1994. Although the standard of living has improved, the people still live with the painful memories of the radical communist Khmer Rouge's time in power under the leadership of Pol Pot between 1975 and 1978, when two million people died in the regime's brutal pursuit of power.

Today, Cambodia still lags behind their Asian neighbours in their progress being one of the most impoverished and worst countries in the world to grow up in. Nearly half of all the children are malnourished largely due to lack of proper medical attention. In the villages they have no access to healthcare and there is no social system in place to care for the poor, the old and the vulnerable. Children are the ones who pay a heavy price, often falling prey to child traffickers and paedophiles and sadly it is not that uncommon for children to be sold into the sex trade for a few dollars when their family can no longer feed or support them. One third of the prostitutes in Phnom Penh are very young and children as young as six years old have been discovered in brothels, starved, beaten and horrendously abused. Thousands of children have become orphans due to AIDS and thousands are HIV infected.

Looking Back
In 1991, I was invited by a Malaysian businessman to visit Cambodia to access the possibility of preaching the Gospel to a population of 9.3 million with an estimate of 400 known Christian. On the next day after my arrival I was taken to a village along the river banks when a group of children saw me, a stranger, and out of curiosity they surrounded me. All the children were barefooted and many were naked except for a few older girls who had their underwear on. Upon a closer encounter with the children I noticed many of them had mucus running down their noses and their hair was unkempt and dirty. As they drew closer to me and as I looked into their innocent faces, their big round eyes stared back at me and I could not resist reaching out and touching one of them. The very next moment they grabbed on to my fingers tightly and some of them were clinging to my legs causing me to stumble as I walked. They climbed at the back of me and some in front of me, all fighting to touch me but at the same time smearing their mucus on my hands, all over my clothes and eventually my face. My immediate reaction was to regret touching them.

 At that very precise moment I heard the voice of God telling me “Eric I do not want you to preach on my love alone but make my love tangible. So often we talk about the love of Jesus Christ as shown in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” But here God is telling me to make His love tangible. I was saved because of John 3:16. Growing up as a Christian I recited on John 3:16, when I started to share about Jesus I shared on John 3:16 and when I went into ministry I preached on John 3:16. But God wants us not only to talk about His love but make His love tangible, something people can touch and feel or benefit from. Praise God after ministering in the village, several souls was saved at my first meeting. That night I struggled to sleep because those words continued to pound my mind which led me to pray and eventually God gave me a vision and a strategy which was to provide free medical and dental care to the villages along the Mekong River banks which comprises of 85% of the population. God gave me a vision to start a medical boat that would ply up and down the river banks, reaching villages that were only accessible by boat.

After my one week in Cambodia visiting several villages and government departments I was informed by the local authorities that there are only 20 doctors and 3 dentists in the country of 9.3 million people. To me this information confirmed what the Lord wanted me to do for these people.  Registering Asian Outreach as a registered NGO in Cambodia was a bit of a struggle and after 16 months we finally got our licence to operate as an NGO.  We then started looking for suitable boats and saw God’s faithfulness in providing the funds. With great excitement and thankfulness to God, on the 21^st January 1994 the medical Boat was launched.

There were 22 pastors/leaders from Malaysia at the launching of the boat, and with a God given name, ‘The Boat of Hope’ was launched. Local government officials, foreign dignitaries and local pastors and leaders were also present and we had to hire two additional boats to ferry everyone to the first village. During the launch I shared how God gave me the vision of the boat and the strategy to give free medical and dental care as a tool to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way. We gave thanks to God and worshipped Him in the open, witnessed by hundreds of locals. After praising and worshipping 

God for half an hour the boat began its cruise to the 1^st village which took about half an hour.

On arrival at the village we began to look for a proper place to set up our Dental clinic which was a mere plastic chair and a place for our medical clinic. After having done that our Dental and Medical clinic commenced seeing patients and many were waiting their turn. We were fortunate that we found large shady places under the trees and a big house on stilts that shaded us from the midday sun. After an hour we deliberately stopped the clinic, telling the people that we would resume in half an hour. We then seized that opportunity to preach on the love of God in a very simple way. That day 4 adults and 50 children accepted the Lord in this village. While we were leading them into the Salvation Prayer we heard the sirens calling the villagers to pray. Only then we noticed that we had landed up in an Ishmaelite village and our Dental clinic was set up underneath their Prayer House.

I was taken aback and to a certain extent stricken with fear not knowing if there was any penalty to what we were doing. I immediately uttered a prayer to God for boldness and I continued with the Sinners Prayer. Although the siren was buzzing more frequently those who accepted the Lord remained and did not go with the others to pray. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and as I turned back I saw a man in a white robe telling me through an interpreter that we should stay on as he wanted to talk to me. But we already had an appointment in another village so I told him that I had to go but I promised to return.

We returned to the village a week later and the man with the white robe came to welcome us, particularly myself. While the Medical and Dental clinics were in progress I began to share with the man about God’s love and salvation through Jesus Christ. After I had finished he accepted Jesus as His Lord and Saviour and I led him in the Prayer of Salvation. In the duration of 8 days covering 5 villages we witnessed 390 children and 85 adults accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

This testimony became the ‘Lost Story’. Due to its sensitiveness it did not find its place in our magazine earlier.  However a month ago God revived this memory in me and I felt that the ‘Lost Story’ must be told for His glory. My Partners in Missions, your financial and prayer support for Asian Outreach has empowered us in many ways to reach the unreached and to touch many lives that has been bounded and blinded by the principalities of darkness. With your support, unaccountable numbers have been set free and today thousands upon thousands are enjoying an intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and an assurance of eternal life. There are many more ‘lost stories’ and upon revelation by the Holy Spirit I will be sharing it with you.

Never underestimate your contribution no matter how small or big it is. You have been a tool to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the most outer parts of Asia. Once again it is with deepest gratitude to God for using you to partner with Him to ensure that His Word is preached and His love made tangible. All Glory to God.

I know in this time of high cost of living and economic uncertainty the tendency to give less or not to give will pound our minds. My faith tells me that God Himself will encourage you to make sacrifices for His Kingdom sake. Let me end with a scripture verse.

Galatians 6:8-10

“Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

1 Chronicles 29:14

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

My prayer is “As you give He will give back to you a good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over.”