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.

Lighting up the Darkest Area

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said let there be light and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3)

God spoke, and His Light was established.

The Foot Soldiers/church planters have gone to places devoid of church and believers (light). Through the preaching of these Foot Soldiers, God poured out His grace into the void, and the Holy Spirit has ignited a spectacular church-planting movement. The Foot Soldiers are men and women who boldly and obediently agreed to answer the call to be soldiers in the Kingdom of God effecting change throughout the nation.

Foot Soldiers are trained believers who are thought to have captured the vision to evangelize in unreached villages devoid of Christian (light). They are challenged to evangelize and to undertake personal responsibilities of nurturing or discipling all who receive Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Despite persecution and life threatening situations, these evangelists are undeterred, having surrendered their lives to the Lord as martyrs. They go where they are called to go, to the most remote villages, some high up in the mountain areas, deep in the jungles, long hours of walking from village to village and even hostile areas where they face harassment and rejection.

 We are now supporting 82 Foot Soldiers/church planters in eight countries reaching out to hundreds of thousands of people in the farthest ends of the earth where most of these areas are void of believers and churches. During the times when they feel alone, discouraged and when they feel like they are labouring alone, the words of the Great Commission hold one magnificent promise.

Matthew 28:20: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The Great commission is great because it comes with the promise of God’s enduring presence.

In 2014, by God’s grace, we were able to channel enough financial resources to support all Foot Soldiers and their families. In the last two years, cost of living has escalated not only in our country, but also in the third-world nations in which the Foot Soldiers are working. We came to be aware of the prayers of the Foot Soldiers asking God to allow an increase in their salaries in order to cope with the cost of inflation. A prayer that was direct to God and not asking us, and since then we too have been asking for His provision to sow more into the lives of the Foot Soldiers, as well as recruit new ones as He is the source of any and all resources who works through His people.

Knowing how much you have already been giving sacrificially into the work, we dare not ask for more. Instead, we only ask God to multiply your seed to enable you to sow more into the Kingdom of God. This year and the years to come will be very crucial for the preaching of the Gospel. As we discern the unfolding of current world events, we sense the urgency to spare no effort in our evangelism with the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ’s eminent return.

Joel 2 28-32 Speaks volumes of the last days where He will pour out His spirit. As much as we see a spiritual awakening in our midst. Let us take heed of these events as we prepare ourselves of His return. Let us be mindful of what we are called to do during our life time whereby all of us are called to make an account of what we have done and what we have not done. To me, I will simply put it as the SIN OF COMMITMENT and the SIN OF OMISSION.

2 Cor 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Would you consider empowering the Foot Soldiers in their effort to carry the Gospel to those that have been blinded by the enemy and have yet to experience Christ’s love? We can demonstrate the love of God toward the world in three ways: going, giving, and praying. We would love to have you join us in service in any of those areas. Our vision is to establish the Kingdom of God among every person in the nations of Asia and throughout the world. Together we will work toward the goal of Reaching, Touching and Changing lives through preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we start this New Year, I am looking forward to your partnership with God through Asian Outreach to fulfil the Great Commission and seeing thousands being ushered into the Kingdom of God, fruitful and above all glorifying to the Father in Heaven.

FLAMES OF FIRE

Ps Jiwan Rai-AO coordinator Glory Place Prayer Tower Siliguri

Acts 2:3-4

And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

Twelve years ago, God called my brother, Ps Joel to preach the Gospel in the most remote places in the Eastern part of Nepal where they have never heard about Jesus Christ. The Eastern part of Nepal is an untamed frontier, surrounded by the majestic Himalayan Mountains.

Joel loved the Lord but he had been there and knew that area to be a poor area. How was he going to support his wife and two children? He worried about this and prayed to the Lord one day while walking home. Right there on the road Joel heard God speak to him clearly, asking him to read Matthew 6:25-33 “Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life………” He had his answer.

Obedient to his calling, Joel and his wife went to Llam, a small district in Eastern Nepal near the mountains and there he planted his first church with just four believers. He had no financial support but trusting God completely to provide for him and his wife he continued to preach the Gospel. He faced many challenges in the rural villages as people here were set in their ways and eyed him with suspicion.  But Joel persevered and God blessed him. After four years he had planted three churches with a total of 150 believers and another church in the neighbouring village of Jhapa which today has 110 believers. What would have happened to these souls if Joel had not been obedient to God’s call?

Due to the remoteness of this place, Joel had to leave his two children behind with their grandmother in India.  It was a heart wrenching decision for any parent to make and a sacrifice many would be unwilling to make. But they knew they had to be obedient to the Lord. If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be because God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end.

Four years later God called Joel into the Prayer Ministry. Prayer is so essential in the life of a Christian. Without prayer your witness will be far less effective and you will be far more vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. Prayer brings the blessing and support of the Lord. You need to be in fellowship with Him. Prayer makes all this possible. Starting with nine believers in a small cramped rented room, the ministry quickly grew to a larger group. It was amazing to see 30 to 40 prayer intercessors coming from the towns, villages and mountains to mobilize prayers for their nation. As the group grew and the room became too small the local pastors got together and raised funds to buy a small piece of land and a Prayer House was built.    

                                                          It was a simple bamboo building on the outside but a powerhouse of prayer and intercession inside. I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit all around us, such a powerful anointing and I was excited in my spirit. As we stood outside the Prayer House ready to dedicate it to the Lord, we began to pray and some of us started praying in ‘tongues’.  Suddenly someone shouted for us to look and as we looked up we saw a flame of fire shoot down and rest above the heads of the pastors. Everyone there was shaken by the strong presence of the Holy Spirit. Never in my 21 years serving God have I ever seen such an awesome sight.  One hundred and fity over believers witnessed this and I praise and thank God for sending us the Holy Spirit to encourage and strengthen us.

When you share the Gospel you plant the seeds of the Gospel, but it is only God who can cause the seed to take root and grow.

 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”