EAST ASIA UPDATE

Bibles in China Two American men were traveling in a location so remote that they claimed even the cows stared at them. There they gave a "linguistically challenged presentation" of the Gospel to a Chinese man and left him a Bible. When they returned to visit him two weeks later, he had accepted Christ! Once again God's sword had cut straight to the heart of man. Throughout China there is a great hunger for God's Word. An American summer teacher was amazed when one of her Chinese students asked for permission to just touch the teacher's Bible, not dreaming that she could hold it, read it, and even own it. A house church trainer was moved when he realized that several ladies in his group shared one Bible, not only in class, but in their daily life. Many others have witnessed the inexpressible joy of Chinese friends receiving a Bible for the first time. Tragically, China has long been known as a country where Christians and seekers have limited access to Bibles. It is true that Bibles can be purchased at government-sanctioned registered churches, and it is also true that Amity Printing, the publishing arm of the government churches, has printed 41 million Chinese Bibles in recent years. But the numbers pale as one looks at the needs of as many as 60 million Chinese Christians, and more than one billion lost people. Despite the dearth of adequate Bibles for her own people, China will produce one-quarter of all the world's Bibles by 2009! With Amity relocating to a larger facility, Bibles in 90 languages ranging from Slovakian to Swahili will soon roll off its presses and be exported to countries around the world, including the U.S. and Great Britain. To meet the demand of the world's most populous country, some are taking great risks to make large quantities of Bibles available. A house church leader was arrested last August in northwest China and charged with receiving three tons of Bibles from a source outside of China. In December of last year, the Chinese owner of a Christian bookstore near Beijing's Olympic Village was detained and charged with the illegal printing and distribution of Christian literature. Bibles are purportedly being illegally published, stored, and shipped in locations throughout China. Hundreds of thousands of Bibles are also being distributed popular tourist destinations worldwide to Chinese people with hands outstretched to receive them. Please join us in praying that everyone who longs to read God's Word will have access to a Bible. Go to www.peopleofchina.net for more prayer requests for China. What Volunteers Are Saying Asked about their most meaningful experience while in East Asia, recent volunteers replied: "Everything was meaningful. I loved my time inside China. I loved the people oh so very much. Every contact was amazing." "I was really encouraged by the Chinese believers there. It was amazing to see how much they do with so little, and how excited they are to come in contact with American believers." "Visiting villages of unreached people groups and putting a face on missions by experiencing the needs of the people. Also, I believe we were an encouragement to the team on the field." Are you ready for a meaningful volunteer experience? Go to http://easia.imb.org/jobs.htm to check out exciting opportunities or contact eavolunteer@pobox.com To the Ends of the Earth From Frontline Workers "We asked the Lord where He would have us go to finish the task of reaching unreached peoples. Our people gave us a list of the current needs and this group stood out. So I wrote back and said, 'Who are these people?' And the response I got was, 'They are a sub-group who live far out in the Northwest. They have not been engaged. They've been on our list for 10 years. No one has been interested.' There were no other Christians praying for them, advocating for them, living among them. And there were no known believers. And we know that the task is to bring the Gospel to every language, to every tribe, to every tongue. And to finish that task, we need to engage those people groups that are that isolated and unengaged. And we really felt the Spirit say, 'We want you to go there and help finish the task.' And so that's how we ended up living where we live." University Graduates China had nearly five million university graduates in 2007, but almost one-fifth of them had not yet found jobs in early 2008. Since China reopened its doors three decades ago, 1.8 million postgraduate degrees and 240,000 doctorates have been awarded. Tibetans Severe winter weather left 1.65 million people, most of them Tibetan, snow blind and frostbitten in the Qinghai province. Tourism in Tibet rose 60 percent last year following the 2006 opening of a direct train route into its capital, Lhas

Commission Stories

News from the Home Front--Vermont

As the second least churched state in America, Vermont cries out for spiritual assistance. Can you hear the cry of her heart? Does it call to your own heart? Why not join Terry Dorsett and his team of missionaries in reaching Vermont with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

A Word from the Director:

Watching your children follow the Lord is a blessing beyond description. The first Sunday of March I watched my 17 year old daughter lead a group of 9 teen musicians as they led over 100 adults in a time of praise and worship. It brought tears to my eyes to watch my daughter serve the Lord in such a way. Later that same week I had lunch with a Christian business man who was present for that service and with tears in his eyes he talked about how moved he was to see teens leading adults in worship. May God be praised as He allows us to see our children walk in truth.

Sadly, many parents today are seeing their children turn away from the church. My heart breaks for the next generation and I often ask the Lord to show me what I can do to pass the torch to those younger than I. Sometimes their styles are different than what I'm used to, but their hearts are on fire for the Lord and their spirits are in tune with the Holy Spirit. I see part of my mission as helping mature the next generation in a way that is godly and biblical without destroying the creativity God has put in their hearts. What is your mission? What are you doing to reach the next generation? You do not have to compromise the truth or follow the world's patterns, but you do have to be willing to listen and learn from the "mouth of babes." May God show each of us how to reach the next generation in our circle of influence.

Terry Dorsett (Contact Terry at this address: terrydorsett@charter.net)
To visit the Green Mountain Baptist Association website click here

Preachables from China

CHINA. The overseas couple only knew of one Christian in the ethnic minority group that they were seeking to reach for Christ. Her name was Rita. They had tried to contact her, but her phone number didn’t work and they didn’t have an address. Seeking the Father’s guidance, the wife faithfully lifted up Rita during times of prayer and fasting. One day the couple traveled to a remote area. They stopped in a market town and before they knew it, had been invited into someone’s home for a feast. As they struggled to communicate using their limited Chinese, the father of the home said, “Soon my daughter will arrive. She can speak some English.” A few moments later, the daughter showed up. She smiled at them and said, “Hello. My name is Rita.”

CHINA. While training a new believer, they asked her to lead in a prayer. She was reticent to do so, but with encouragement, overcame her fear and voiced a prayer to God. Several days later she led her sick niece to salvation in Christ. The niece died the next day. The aunt told the trainers that if she not had the experience of praying in public, she never could have told her niece about Jesus.

CHINA. An American mom and her children had accidentally gotten locked out of their China home. While they waited at the guard house of their apartment complex, the mom took the opportunity to tell their Chinese guard about God's love for him. When her husband arrived with the key a short time later, he joined in the conversation. After a short time, the guard opened his heart's door to Christ, receiving Him as Savior even before the family returned home to unlock their own door.

CHINA. For long difficult years they labored faithfully among an unreached people group that was uninterested and even resistant to the gospel. The Christian workers welcomed prayer intercessors, volunteers, and other partners to join them in the task. As members of the minority group began to turn to Christ, the workers and their partners rejoiced. But then they watched with heavy hearts as some of the earliest believers of the group underwent beatings, incarceration, and other forms of persecution. Through the years, the new believers have persevered. Last year 150 members of the minority group accepted Jesus into their hearts.