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.”

The Foot Soldiers of the Himalayas

Ram Prasad - AO Partner in Nepal

Asian Outreach Malaysia supports some 11 Foot Soldiers in Nepal, serving in the remote areas on the Himalayan Mountain Range. They are dedicated men and women who have experienced God in a powerful way and have given their lives to serving Him. They do not choose where to go but go where they are called to go and even though they face numerable challenges their faith never wavers. Some of the areas they serve require walking for days on foot up the mountains and even on dangerous terrain but their love for God surpasses every hardship and challenge that comes their way. This are their stories.

Testimony of Basudev Thing

My name is Basudev Thing and I am 45 years old. During my childhood, my family was very poor and my father struggled to put food on the table for us. Many a time we went to bed hungry and life was so difficult. Attending school was simply out of the question for me and my siblings. My father was a farmer so all of us at an early age had to help in the farm. When I was 11 years old, my mother fell ill and as we were too poor to take her to a hospital she passed away and our life became even worse as my father was unable to really care for us but he did try his best.

In my twenties I married and now have three children of my own. But the vicious cycle of poverty that I experienced in my childhood my children now were experiencing. I could not afford to send them to school so when he was old enough my eldest son got a job as a public bus driver in the city and my daughter got married. Now I am trying to send my youngest child to school but financially it is hard but I trust God will provide for all my needs.

I was not a religious man and no idea about Jesus or salvation. I enjoyed drinking even though I could not afford it and eventually drinking and smoking became part of my everyday life. This was my escape from all the hardships and challenges I had to face daily. For a while, I could forget all this as the effects of alcohol took over. However, I loved my wife and children and I did work hard trying to provide for them. My wife and I used to work hard in the field cultivating seasonal crops and grain and because of this my family never went hungry and we always had food on our table.

There was a time, when my eldest son got very sick and we could not find out what was wrong. He could not eat and lost a lot of weight. His condition got worse, I took him to the hospital but his health continued to deteriorate. I took him to Hindu gurus and Buddhists temples and yet his health continued to worsen. Finally my family lost hope and accepted that my son was going to die. Our neighbour came to see my son and asked us to take him to church. She persuaded us that we had nothing to lose and although the church was 20km away we took him. The Pastor prayed over my son and his prayer was so effective that it gave us hope again and I immediately felt this Jesus could heal my son. This was my first time ever in a church but this place became a place which gave me assurance and I started coming as often as I could. There were people in the church every day and they would always lay hands on my son and pray for him. As a result, within days we could see changes in his health and within a few weeks he recovered completely. This was the turning point in my life and in 1991 my whole family accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

It’s all about Christ's love that fascinated me to get involved in his ministry and I continued serving in the church and attending Bible classes. As I grew in His word I began to understand the significance of fulfilling the Great Commission. I felt the call of God urgently on my life and I committed my life to serving God. I now have my own church in the village and God has blessed my ministry. God has provided for us a piece of land to build our church but in April 25^th 2015 the building collapsed during the earthquake while we were having our service in church. However, God has been faithful and kind towards us and although the church’s walls and roof collapsed, we were all safe. It was indeed a miracle that not one of us was hurt although looking at our collapsed church one would think not many would have survived.

Praise God I now have planted 6 churches in various villages in our district and we trust that God will provide all the finances needed to rebuild our church. We face new challenges with the present political situation and the anti-conversion law but nothing will stop me from sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I will keep pressing on to ensure the salvation of my people. Kindly uphold me and my ministry in your prayer.

Testimony of Purna Bisunkhe

I was born into a staunch Hindu family but my family was going through hard times because my mother used to faint every day for 7 years. We took her to the doctors, traditional healers and offered religious ceremonies by sacrificing animals so that my mother could be healed. My father spent all the money he had until he lost hope and decided to let her die. I used to question why this was happening to my mother. We were a pious Hindu family following all the traditions and rituals, even offering animal sacrifices why did God not answer our prayers. One day a man who had accepted Jesus came to us and said, “If you took your mother to the church and believe in Jesus then He would heal your mother because there is a freedom in Jesus Christ.” However, we did not believe him because we had tried all sorts of religious rituals. But this man kept badgering us to take my mother to church and so one day I decided to take her.

I carried my mother in my arms and walked for an hour to get to the church but on reaching the church the members were suspicious of us and told us we could not come in but could sit outside and follow the service. We kept going for nine months but the church members never accepted us and we always had to remain outside the door, never being allowed to set foot inside. It was so humiliating but we never gave up because my mother and I listened attentively to the Gospel being preached and we found peace and joy in the praise and worship. After a few months we began to notice a change in my mother. She gained her strength and did not pass out as often as she used to. She told us that Jesus would heal her completely and that we had to trust in Him. Praise God He granted her complete healing and my whole family accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

Eventually we got help from another church and my brother and I became Pastors and started our own church. God gave me a vision to start a church in Dura Gaun, a two hour walk from my home and when I shared the Gospel in the village four people come to the Lord. But as time passed the Maoist insurgency started and churches were closed. They kidnapped us and we were taken to the jungle. Once we were freed I stared going to the believer's houses at night to encourage and nurture them in their faith until the Maoist found out. Fearing for my life I left my family behind and fled to another area. After hiding for 7 days I was informed that my wife was very ill and disregarding my safety, I rushed home. God healed my wife and I repented for not trusting God but fleeing instead. My wife and I rededicated our lives to serving God and standing firm on our faith. I went back to Dura Gaun and kept on preaching, teaching and building the body of Christ and the Lord protected me and blessed my ministry.

I always thank the lord for choosing me to become His servant to expand His kingdom. Now I am also involved in training disciples which takes me to different places to share the Gospel and train and build disciples.

Samuel 12:24 “But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”

There are so many more testimonies out there some told and some untold and you who have partnered with us in our Foot Soldiers Ministry played a part in each soul that was saved. Although you were not physically there, you did not preach or share the Gospel with them but you empowered the foot soldiers to go and that was the first step in reaching those souls saved. Many of you pray for these nameless, faceless foot soldiers whom you do not know and this is a vital part in any ministry. As one in the body of Christ we are working together to ensure the Gospel is preached to every soul.    

Romans 10:14-16 “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!”

PERSECUTED FOR THE GOSPEL.

Apostolic Faith Mission–Paul Silvanus

Pastor Praveen Kumar was born into a Christian Family and from an early age he learned to love God. His father was a pastor and Praveen watched his father face many challenges and even persecution and yet his father never complained but kept on praising God in all his circumstances. As a young boy growing up, he too was determined to follow in his father’s footsteps and serve God. In 2010 after graduating from mission school, Praveen chose to work in the mission fields of Maharastha rather than the comfort of his own state, Kerala. The dialect here was different and being far away from home was a challenge to the young man but like his father he was determine to preserver for the glory of God. He started a mission field here but just when he was beginning to be fruitful the Holy Spirit told him to move to the Theni District of Tamil Nadu, an unreached place where people’s resistance and intolerance toward Christianity was well known. A little apprehensive but trusting God he went there with his wife and child.

He started the first church (the only church in the area) in a small village with 5 adult church members and 15 children. Encouraged by the children he started a Sunday school for the children which blessed the children greatly. A few months after he had been there Ps Praveen was called to pray for a Hindu man, Mr Annadurai who lay dying in his home. Mr Annadurai met a major accident in Madurai City and was very badly injured. He was admitted to the hospital there but his family was told there was no hope and the authorities asked the family to take him home. Ps Praveen visited him every day to pray for him and each day Annadurai began to recover slowly. He was supposed to go for surgery but as he began to recover he did not need the surgery. Praise God he has completely recovered and has accepted Christ. When news of this miracle spread people wanted to know Praveen’s God and after 6 months his church had grown to 50 people. People here however, were still afraid of the Hindu neighbours and 30 of them took water baptism secretly. A lady who had received healing for her ailment donated her land for a makeshift church to be built and the church began to grow. The Hindus there began to resent Ps Praveen.

Perumayi was well known in the village for her special power to help Barren women conceive and many women would come to her and they would be able to conceive after she performed some rituals over them. One day Perumayi fell ill and could not sleep at night. She tried everything but to no avail. Desperate she came to Ps Praveen and was delivered from evil spirits. She was healed and accepted Christ and this angered the Hindu extremist. They made a police report that Ps Praveen was converting Hindu (anti-conversion law) by giving them money and they brought with them false witnesses to confirm their story. Police came and arrested Ps Praveen and he was taken to the police station for interrogation. After questioning him for a few hours and taking his statement he was released but had to attend a court hearing four days later.

Ps Praveen called me in Chennai and asked the church to pray for him and I immediately sent out urgent prayer requests to all the churches and also to AO Malaysia who has a powerful intercessory group to pray for Ps Praveen, that the truth will prevail. Our team members and I also prayed and cried out to God to save Ps Praveen from false imprisonment. On the day of the court hearing, Ps Praveen was there on time but after waiting for half an hour, not one of his accusers turned up. To his amazement, 50 of his church members who were new converts turned up to declare in writing that they had converted of their own free will and were in no way forced. They did not want to hide their conversion anymore but came boldly to declare that they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and saviour. Now neighbouring villages are inviting Ps Praveen’s to come and pray with them.

Prov 21:31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord.

                                                    Perumayi proud to be Christian now

Ps Praveen

                                                                                                                

                                                     

THE CHALLENGES IN MISSIONS WORK

Ps Lau Tak Siong –AO Leadership Trainer

 

  

There are many challenges in missions work ministry, but let me preface it by saying that it is always a privilege to serve the Lord Jesus. In my 40 years of ministry it is encouraging to see the good fruit after many years of labour in different third world countries of Asia. Some of the challenges of missions work include:

1. The challenge of leaving your family

At the early onset of my ministry I made up my mind that my family would be my priority and I knew that God would give me wisdom to prioritize my time and travelling schedule so I would not neglect them. My children are all grown up now and I am blessed to be a grandfather so I can be away for longer periods but I still try to spend quality time with my family. It is a blessing too that my wife is strong (both spiritually and mentally) and fully understands my call to the mission fields. She is my greatest supporter and encourager, even following me sometimes to help me with the training too.

2. The challenge of ministering in rural areas

Decades ago when I first ventured into remote villages, communication was very poor. To keep communication with our loved ones, we had to go to a post office, book a call and after a 2 hour wait you can only talk to your family for a few minutes. At times, it was a challenge not to be in contact for the whole duration of the ministry. Now, even with advanced technology, there are still many poor remote villages where we go to that have limited or even no Internet access. Furthermore, one has to be willing to bear with the lack of basic amenities, be it the extreme heat without a fan, or a toilet that is just a hole in the ground, no running water or a bed that has the smell of the sweat of the previous person who slept on it. But that's sometimes the best the host can provide, and we are thankful that the discomfort is just for a short duration.

Sometimes we have to keep going back for further training in these remote areas as the local pastors in their own country are not keen to go to these poor remote places. Most people prefer to have ministries in the bigger cities where all the amenities are there. Coupled with this discomfort, the long bus or train rides (sometimes 20 hours or more) is definitely not appealing.

3. The challenge of serving others without "ownership"

Unlike pastoring a church where one can see the growth of the church in terms of the number of people or the maturity of the sheep, in the work of missions, it is unlikely that we see the participants "growing". We train them, build them up and encourage them so they can return home to their respective ministries and churches to serve. This is a challenge to keep on serving without having something tangible to hold on to, but we are serving Him, without seeking glory for ourselves.

4. The challenge of not always seeing good fruit

Although the trained leaders are not accountable to us, it is certainly a joy to see many that we have trained and ministered bearing good fruit. I am filled with inner satisfaction when a brother or sister would come up to me and say, "You trained me twenty years ago and through your strong encouragement, I have persevered in the ministry and did not give up. I now have pioneered four churches!" Inevitably, however, there are some leaders whom we have trained who have not been fruitful but have backslidden in their walk or have fallen into scandals of sexual immorality of financial impropriety. We can only do our part, and leave the rest to God.

5. The Challenge of finding teaching partners

Networking with other pastors, leaders and bible teachers is necessary and biblical. We can see in the book of Acts that Apostle Paul teamed up with Barnabas, Silas, Priscilla and Aquila, etc. Unfortunately, most pastors are very busy with their own churches and ministries, and understandably cannot be easily released. Furthermore, the places we go to are not the most comfortable of places; therefore to get teachers to come along to help can be a challenge.

6. The challenge of fundraising

Unlike other ministries where a fee is charged for each participant, in this particular ministry, we have to pay for the full cost of training and even pay for their transport cost from the inner villages as most of the participants are very poor. Thus this involves a lot of cost. (However, in recent years, we have been challenging some leaders to try to raise a part of the cost of training). Seeking funds for the ministry can be difficult as most churches have their own missions focus and will usually support what lies within their vision. Furthermore there are many ministries and mission agencies that are also seeking support from churches. Asking for donations is always a humbling challenge.

 Let me just conclude by saying that the above are just some of the challenges that we face from year to year. However, we are very thankful that God's grace is sufficient for us at all times for all that we need: 2Cor 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." We are indeed thankful for friends who prayed for us and partners who supported us financially. Together, we can be a blessing and win Asia for Christ.