East Asia Update

Mending Shattered Dreams Measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, it altered forever the lives of millions of Chinese people. The government statistics tell part of the story. 69,000 dead . . . 18,000 still missing . . . 5,500 children orphaned . . . 5 million homes destroyed . . . 15 million people evacuated . . . 35 "quake lakes" formed . . . 8911 aftershocks in the first 16 days. But only God can measure the number of tears shed, the agonizing screams of parents who lost their children in school collapses, the puzzlement of children suddenly orphaned, the numbers of Chinese people who walked for days to rescue their loved ones, the pain and fear of those who survived only to find that they lost so much. Only He can know of the prayers that were lifted up to Him by Christians all over the world who grieved as one with the Chinese people. Only He can mend the broken hearts and provide for the phenomenal physical needs of the survivors.

"On Monday, May 19, 2008, flights resumed from our town to Chengdu. It was exactly one week after the 8.0 earthquake had hit, rattling all of us who live in Sichuan Province. Approaching Chengdu from the mountains, it looked like it always does until we landed. The airport was full of military and transport planes bringing in supplies and troops. Time had run out for survivors still buried in the rubble, but there was still hope maybe just one more would be found. The military and medical personnel were still working round the clock. Reporters in the area frequently broke down in tears as they reported the news, but then so did the military and the medical personnel during interviews. On the way to the hotel, we saw the earthquake's impact on the emotional condition of Chengdu's residents. The whole of Chengdu looked like a colossal campout. There were few tents, but people were mainly camped out under tarps tied between trees. They had hauled out their beds and tables, pots and pans, and settled in. It's understandable. In the week since the main quake, there have been over 3000 aftershocks reported." Go to: http://easia.imb.org to read more of the journal » Change of Policies In response to a national outpouring of grief, China will waive its one-child policy for those who lost their only child in the earthquake. Many thousands of children were crushed to death in the 7,000 classrooms that fell on them when the quake struck. More than 10 million Chinese students took exams to compete for 6 million available college placements early this month. But for the 9,000 university hopefuls living in the earthquake areas, the exams were postponed. Summer Prayer Focus The long-awaited Beijing Summer 2008 Olympics will begin at 8:08 p.m. on 08/08/08. Pray that Christ's love can be shared effectively with many thousands of Chinese people during special events surrounding the international event. Hot summer weather always comes in combination with warm-hearted volunteers who take their vacation time and pay their own way to share Christ in locations throughout China. Pray for God's protection to be upon them, for His Spirit to lead them, and for Him to use them mightily. On the Web Go to http://easia.imb.org to • Follow the Olympic torch as it is routed through China cities. • Join in our Monthly Day of Prayer and Fasting. • Learn about East Asia volunteer opportunities.

Preachables

CHINA. A believer who is a member of an ethnic minority group traveled far late last year to find someone to tell him how to share the gospel. He found someone more than willing, not only to tell him, but to show him by doing. Since then, the newly discipled believer has been instrumental in leading more than 40 members of his minority group to Christ and has started several Bible study groups. Recently he also received official permission to travel into some normally restricted areas where his minority people live. He fully intends to take the Good News with him and share it in with people who have never heard.

CHINA. She was only ten-years old when she was kidnapped from her Lisu minority village 70 years ago and taken to another minority community. There she grew up and eventually married. She learned to speak the dialect of the local people, adopted their culture, and even grew to accept their religious traditions. Early this year, a group of Lisu believers visited the village where the aging woman lives. When she heard the Lisu dialect, she recognized it immediately as her mother tongue. Memories flooded her heart and mind as she told them her amazing story of exile. In return, they told her a story that was even more amazing, the story of God's love manifested through Christ. As she knelt in prayer to accept Jesus into her heart, she knew that she had truly been found.

CHINA. A group of six Christians who were facilitating an English camp at a local school were called to the principal's office. There they were joined by six nonbelievers who were also helping with the camp and had also been summoned. The Christians knew that the principal was a believer, but felt a bit awkward when he asked them to sing some songs together. They did so anyway, even as they wondered what was going on. Then all of the sudden, he blurted out to the Christians, "Tell them." No longer puzzled about his intent, the believers began to share their testimonies and respond to the probing earnest questions of the nonbelievers. The sharing lasted for hours, and even though there were no salvation decisions right then, doors had been opened wide through the determination of that one principal.
(Courtesy of IMB heart4china)

Church Planting in Ecuador

The following is an excerpt from Guy Muse's website. More information on the work in Ecuador can be found at http://guymuse.blogspot.com/

Starting House Churches in G..., Ecuador
(July 2000-January 2006) following Luke 10:1-9 patternWe call our church planting, "La Iglesia en Tu Casa" (The Church in Your House). LIETC began in July 2000. Our team at that time was composed of seven Southern Baptist missionaries (IMB-SBC) - all assigned to church planting. The team now consists of two IMB units, one SIM couple from New Zealand, and two national brothers who fully participate in all plans, teaching, decision making, etc. Our team is led by one of the national brothers.None of the missionaries actually plant churches; rather, we are catalysts for church planting. The reason for this is that, if we set out to plant a church, we individually might plant 1 - 2 new churches a year. But as church planting catalysts, the only limitation of church starts is the number of people who respond to the Lord's call to go out and plant New Testament churches.

Lay leaders, whom we call "servant-leaders," lead all the house churches. At nearly any given moment, we are training between 20 to 30 men and women who are likewise in various stages of training and starting new house churches. Most of them tend to come out of established traditional evangelical churches and thus carry a lot of baggage with them in their seeking to begin new works...We feel there are four requirements for anyone who wants to start a house church:

1) Willingness to win-disciple-train at least eight others each year.
2) Willingness to be trained in the basics of evangelism, discipleship,
teaching, etc.
3) Willingness and commitment to visit, evangelize, and minister to the
local community where the church is being planted.
4) Willingness to lead in the house church meetings (especially in the
beginning as they are being started with non-believers.)

While there have been well above 250 new churches started since July 2000 , less than half are currently meeting and functioning as churches...While this "short shelf-life" of more than half the churches started is a source of great concern, we are nevertheless encouraged in that those won through the ministry of the new house churches tend to have had genuine salvation experiences...

Updates from China

From IMB-East Asia website

Planting seeds, reaping the harvest
The timing was uncanny. The two believers were sitting in a traditional tea house as the guests of two Buddhist monks whom they had befriended for the sake of the gospel. One of the believers had witnessed to the monks several times. As the server began to pour tea, one of the monks introduced the foreign guests as "people who study the Bible." The waitress looked directly at them and said, "I want to become a Christian." The believers began immediately to pray silently for the waitress. After the visit was over and the monks had left, they remained behind to share the plan of salvation with her. She accepted Christ that night.

The power of prayer
As a student in China, the radiant Christian used every chance she had to share Christ with her language teacher. If the assignment was to begin a sentence with "I", for instance, she would say, "I love to read my Bible every day." One sentence led to another, and most of the class time was spent talking about Jesus. During her vacation, the student prayed daily for her lost Chinese teacher. When she returned to class, she was thrilled to hear the teacher say, "I had a dream last night. God told me that He was God and that I need to believe."

Sharing the same Father
CHINA. The American Christian understood all too well how her Chinese friend had suffered. Even though they were from different cultures, both had seen the marriage of their parents severed by divorce. Sitting by a pond one day, she told her Chinese friend about God's love. As the friend began to cry over the thought of a Heavenly Father who loved her, the American joined her in shedding tears over the sovereignty of God who would allow her to share out of her own pain of the past. Then she heard her Chinese friend say, "I believe in God. I just want to know more." The Christian was all too glad to share much more about His saving grace. Now the two ladies share the same Father.

'Why is this the first time I’ve heard this story?’
Soon after the Christian worker arrived in China, he found himself talking about God to a Chinese man who seemed to have countless questions. Then he gave his testimony, and the next thing he knew, he was using a tract to lead the man through the plan of salvation. The Chinese man accepted Christ and then he expressed disbelief that bordered on anger. "I'm thirty-something years old. Why is this the first time I've heard this story?" It was a great question -- one that cut to the heart of the Christian worker who has since led a team in distributing tens of thousands of pieces of evangelistic material in the China megacity where he serves.

Manicurist learns about Jesus' hands
Miss K, a Chinese manicurist, spent long days working on the hands of customers. So, when over a period of several visits a Christian friend explained to her how God had created her right down to her fingers and toes, Kelly was intrigued. Then when she heard how the hands of Jesus were pierced by nails so that He could purchase her salvation on a cross, she understood His love and asked Him to enter her heart. She will never see hands in quite the same light as before, nor will her life ever again be the same.

Family receives Christ
The Chinese believers were surprised when they shared the gospel with a hospitalized boy and his family, and the entire family immediately responded that they wanted to receive Christ. The evangelists asked the family why they were willing to accept Christ so readily. The family members replied that they had found a packet containing a JESUS film and some gospel tracts in front of their home several months earlier. They had long since viewed the film and read the tracts. They just hadn't been sure how to proceed from there. So when the offer was made, they were more than willing for someone to lead them in a prayer of salvation

News from the Big Country

The following is taken from reports from China (the Big Country) published by the IMB.

PREACHABLES Volume 79: February 8, 2007

CHINA. “See this is the Bible you gave me! I have read it many times over. The Lord has helped me plant new churches!” So exclaimed the Chinese man as he welcomed back to his city the house church trainer who had given him his first Bible six months earlier. He could hardly wait to tell the trainer that through the power of the Holy Spirit, he had since begun six new congregations. He and several dozen others in his training group baptized 1,000 new believers in 2006.

CHINA. Most of the members of a particular house church were elderly. Although they worshipped together regularly, they weren’t very evangelistic. They hadn’t added to their numbers in quite some time. One day their gathering was interrupted by authorities who made them promise never to meet together again. So they didn’t. Seven of their members went out and started seven new house churches! Those unfriendly to the gospel had inadvertantly catalyzed its spread.

CHINA. Last Thanksgiving a worker in China looked forward to hearing from all 14 of her family members. She knew that they would call her after their traditional Thanksgiving meal at her parents' house. But since China time is a half day ahead of U.S. time, she wasn't expecting the call until that evening. In the meantime, she eagerly joined in a Thanksgiving outreach to 30 lost Chinese friends. During a time of decision, 14 of them accepted Jesus. The young worker was touched to realize that the Father, who knew how much she missed her large family back home, had given her just as many new family members that very day.

CHINA. In his work as a health professional, the Chinese man heard a recovering patient singing. He made a point of talking with her and she invited him to church. He accepted Christ, became active in a house church, and later on even began to co-lead the group. When he heard a presentation on the importance of exponential church growth, he was inspired him to leave the house church to start new worship groups. Within four months time, he helped start five new house churches in a previously unreached area. What started with a song has grown into a chorus of congregations praising Him.

East Asia Update

It's About Him, Not Us
An Extraordinary God Working through Ordinary People
A Christian worker had spent the day coughing and clearing his throat. Hardly able to speak, he was nevertheless determined to share a gospel message with those visiting in his home. As he concluded his short presentation, a particularly resistant seeker opened her heart to receive Christ. He was keenly aware that in his weakness, God's strength had been perfected.
Another worker felt that his well laid plans had been thwarted. The lost man whom he had traveled far to visit was not at home. After engaging in what could best be described as a pity party, he once again submitted his hopes to the Father. A short time later, he had opportunity to share, not only with the man he had come to see, but with several of the man's friends.
Yet another worker showed up to lead a training group on behalf of his student who had fallen ill. As he struggled to teach the session in Chinese, he realized that the student's mother was very familiar with the material. Although the mother had only been a Christian for four months, she had already read through the Bible three times! He moved out of the way and listened with amazement as the new believer, empowered by the Holy Spirit, presented the lesson with clarity and understanding.
Those who have committed to making Christ known in China are constantly reminded that they are simply called to make themselves available and give their best to Him. He is the one with the power and the plan.
To read more stories from East Asia, please go to: https://my.newsletter4fun.com/index.cfm/fa/ct.go/LID/12007/m/2276/sID/6802JA445A4E6450A0A060441.cfm





(Left) The holidays provide some of the best opportunities to share the love of Christ with the peoples of East Asia. Happy Thanksgiving!

More praises from Colombia

Thank you for your prayers for the ""pied piper" an older gentleman who has
a heart for the children of one of the poorest and most dangerous parts of
Medellin. Each Sunday he rises early to go to the area and bring the
children down the mountain for church. Last Sunday 11 children traveled
down the mountain to attend church with him. Each Saturday he travels up
the mountain and stories the Bible with the children. There are an average
of 25 children, ages 3 thru 16, who attend each week. Two people went with
him one week, but they have not returned to help him teach the children.
Pray to the Lord of the harvest that someone can be found to help him teach
the children.

An audio CD is being produced of the 18 evangelistic Bible stories that
have been taught to the children at the Baptist School in Medellin during
their religion class. A copy will be sent home to each family. Pray that
many people will come to know the Lord through His Word.

Chinese Christians Give testimony

From CCSM "China Prayer Update" November, 2006
"The hardest people to reach are staunch atheists, staunch Buddhists and idol worshippers." That is what an experienced Chinese house church leader told us earlier this year. He thanked God that the Gospel is now impacting China, but shared his longing that many more people would come to know the Lord.
Yet another report shared the experiences of some Christian workers that, 'People have found no comfort from folk-relition, Buddhism or Daoism. Retired communist cadres often find that serving the Party all their lives has left them impoverished on small pensions, forgotten and unlived. Materialistic Marxism has no comfort to offer beyond the grave. (CCL)
When one Christian believer shared her testimony with us, she reminded us of the thousands of years of tradition of worshipping idols in China. She told us that she was in her twenties before she knowingly met a Christian. The Christian co-worker she got to know gave her some tracts to read and she had a lot of arguments with him. Finally she told him, "You believe your Jesus; I'll believe in idols." Yet as she contrasted Christianity and Buddhism, she realized, "Buddhism i sabout getting blessing for yourself; Christianity is about blessing others. They're very different." It took a number of months but finally she was ready to put her trust in the Lord Jesus. She shared, "I totally changed my outlook and professed openly that I was a Christian. I got rid of my charms and idols and was baptized."

Good News from Ecuador

This report is from the IMB's South America Website Previously titled "Good News from Colombia" Later I was informed that this took place in Ecuador. Thanks for the correction, Guy.

Meet Mango Updated 05.18.06
Mango is a 3rd generation church start. They were born out of the Churute church plant just down the road, which in turn was born out of the Duran house church. If you haven't had a chance to read the Churute story, please don't miss the blessing! What follows is, "the rest of the story" of what God continues to do...
Today my daughter and I drove an hour out into the rich farmland to Mango to be with them in their Sunday gathering. Mango is not really a "house church" in that there is no way they could possibly fit everyone inside the tiny home of Marino, the servant-leader. Instead they meet outside under the shade of a Mango tree on little plastic stools. There were about 20 adults and a dozen or more children in attendance.
We met for three and a half hours. Part of the time was formal, but most of the time it was informal sharing, singing, praying, eating, making plans for an upcoming Baptism service, sharing of the Word, and exhortation with everyone present taking part. Most of the time, however, was spent sharing stories of how God has worked in each of their lives.
When he became a new believer, Don Cueva raised chickens for a living. A couple of weeks after professing Christ as Lord, his neighbor poisoned over 200 of his chickens saying he was tired of Cueva's chickens crossing over into his land. All poor Cueva could do was pile the dead birds in a heap and burn them. Don Cueva was as hot as the fire burning and was out to get revenge. But his cousin Manuel (see Churute story, above) shared with him Romans 12 where the Lord says, "vengeance belongs to me; I will repay..." As a new Christian, Don Cueva decided to wait and see how the Lord would truly avenge him for the wrong done to him.
Cueva decided to grow rice in the 4 hectares of land he owns. The bad neighbor owned 12 hectares of land and also sowed seed for rice on his land too. When harvest time came, Cueva's 4 hectares produced MORE rice than the neighbors 12! To this day, Cueva's rice field continues to produce more rice each harvest than his evil neighbor! I questioned Pablo again today and he just shook his head and said the Spanish equivalent, "it beats anything I have ever seen, there is no earthly explanation!" Don Cueva has tried everything he knows to befriend the neighbor--"if your enemy is hungry feed him"--but so far all he has seen accomplished is exactly what Romans 12 goes on to say, "you will be heaping fiery coals on his head..." We talked about several ideas he might try to win over his embittered neighbor. Will you pray for this neighbor's salvation? Don Cueva is truly burdened for his neighbor's soul.
Pablo (on the right). The last time I visited Mango was a year ago. We had gone for a day of evangelism in the locality. Pablo had never witnessed so he was assigned to my team. We visited several houses and shared the Gospel at each. After that we told Pablo, "It is your turn now. You see how it is done. You do it." And do it he did! You'd have thought he was a pro going around house to house sharing Christ! When we got back to the "Mango Tree" church for a meal and gathering, he broke down weeping and shared with us that his daughter had been kidnapped six weeks earlier and begged us to pray for her. As he knelt in the dirt, the entire church of new believers gathered around him and cried out loudly to God asking Him to bring the girl back safely. A few weeks later, his daughter showed up completely unharmed. The kidnappers had tired of her and sent her home! This greatly strengthened Pablo's new faith. He, along with Marino, Cueva, and a couple of other men in the Mango church are looking to start new churches in every town and village in their area of the province!
Some people feel that churches like Mango are much too weak to survive on their own for long without a trained pastor to lead them. All I can say is if you had been there today, heard their stories, seen how so many of their prayers have been answered, listened to their testimonies of how they came to know the Lord, watched them interact with one another, you would no longer doubt that the Church of Jesus Christ truly is His church and He is able to care for her just fine!

News from the New England area

The following is an excerpt from a newsletter sent out by Terry Dorsett, DOM for the Green Mountain Baptist Association (Vermont), part of the New England Baptist Convention.

"I had the honor of speaking at Concord Community Church this past Sunday. They do not currently have a pastor; yet seem to be moving forward as a church. Several new families were present since I was with them six weeks ago. They are voting on calling a youth pastor while they continue their search for a pastor. Pray for them as they move through this process.

The highlight of the past few days was the annual meeting of the association. Over 70 people from 20 churches gathered to sing, praise the Lord, share testimonies and hear reports of what God has been doing this past year. They also elected two new officers, passed the largest budget in the history of the association (with only a fairly small projected deficit!) and adopted a new strategy plan that will guide us through 2010. It is always good to see our co-laborers at annual meeting time and we enjoy being together as missionaries and pastors. Pray for the association as we seek to ignite spiritual passion across our state, engage our culture with the Gospel and raise up visionary leaders for a new generation."

Give thanks for those who serve the Lord in difficult places such as Vermont, probably the least-churched area in the USA. It is always good to hear reports from these areas. You may read more about the work in Vermont on the website:

http://www.vermontbaptist.org/

More Good News from the Big Country

Here are some excerpts from reports from the big country in Asia.

1. Seated next to an Asian stranger on an airplane, the young American decided to share Christ. He pulled out some postcards from recent travels to jump-start the conversation. Soon he and his seatmate were talking about important matters. The American told the Asian man that he believes in God and the Asian man responded that he believes only in money. "But what happens when the money is gone?" asked the American. Then he asked the Asian man if he would like to hear his story. When the Asian man consented, the American told about his life before Christ, how he accepted Christ, and about his life as a Christian. When he asked the new Asian friend if he too would like to believe, the man said yes. Before the plane landed, he prayed to receive Christ into his heart. The two set a time to meet again and parted as brothers in Christ.

2. An Asian man who viewed the Jesus film simply could not get the message out of his mind. Over and over, he retold the story of salvation to his father. Finally his father challenged him, "You already told me this and I now I have accepted Christ. Why are you waiting?" The son, who had inadvertently evangelized his father, decided to accept Christ as well.

3. A blonde-haired American lady who would stand out in any Asian crowd has been standing up for Christ in her Asian city for years. Her greatest desire is to see the people of her city come to know Him. Recently she invited eight Asian friends to supper. Four of the invitees showed up: among them a Buddhist, a Communist party member, and a man who was having an illicit affair. Within three weeks after the supper, all four of the friends had accepted Christ into their hearts. One of them gave her the following note, "Jesus is our bridge to God. You were my bridge to Jesus. If you hadn't come to share Jesus, I think we would still be in the dark."

4. Even though his wife and daughter had accepted Christ, he had resisted salvation for five years. When he was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 36, he finally received Jesus into his heart. Asked what made the difference, the new believer said it was the love of Christ. He realized as he lay in his hospital bed that it was not his unbelieving friends, but Christians who ministered to him.