ASAP Newsletter, November/December 2011

He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.

Proverbs 22:9

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects

SCRIPTURES TO CLAIM FOR THE ULTIMATE MISSION CHALLENGE: (see inside for details)

 He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

 The generous soul will be made rich (Proverbs 11:25)  He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD and He will pay back (Proverbs 19:17)

Bountiful Blessings

BY PING SOTHY

“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble. The LORD protects and preserves them—they are counted among the blessed in the land—he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness” (Psalm 41:1-3 NIV).

“

W

here is everybody?” I asked as I approached an elderly woman squatting in the cool of a shady palm tree. “They are all harvesting in the fields,” was her hesitant reply. She spit out a wad of red beetle nut chew onto the ground. With a skeptical look that silently questioned what a stranger like myself wanted from her village, she asked, “Who are you looking for?” I smiled warmly at her and said, “Do you know a Mr. Oeun Nen? My friend, Sunmon told me he was from this village and I would like to meet him.” With the mention of Oeun Nen’s name, the grandma’s face lit up and she pointed me in the direction of the fields where I could find him.

As I made my way by foot down the middle ridge of the rice paddies I prayed, “Lord, please send the Holy Spirit ahead of me to speak to Oeun Nen.” My heart and footsteps quickened as I neared the workers. I greeted them with a friendly “wai.”

Oeun Nen, busy with the harvesting got right to the point.

“Why have you come here?” he asked. I explained, “I am a Seventh-day Adventist pastor and I heard from a friend that you do not have a shepherd for your church group. I have some good news to share with you that I think you will be

DID YOU KNOW? In Asia, the most effective way for people to accept Christ is to see His power with their own eyes. (See 1 Cor. 2:4-5 for this Biblical method of discple-making.)

excited about. I’m happy to come teach your group.” Oeun Nen seemed surprised, but he was open and friendly. “I’m interested to learn more, but we cannot stop working now.

Even the children are helping to harvest.” “I’ll give you a hand and then can I share during lunch time?” I offered. He agreed.

After lunch, Oeun Nen gathered everyone around me. We sang songs and then I shared a story from the Bible and prayed. I felt the presence of God with us as we praised our Creator in that open field under the vast blue sky. Oeun Nen asked me to pray specifically for his wife, Yin Yoeun, who had uncontrollable bleeding for over a month. A dark hopelessness and fear filled his eyes as he explained that they spent much money on a doctor, but the medicine did not help her. I prayed that through the Holy Spirit, God’s healing would come, believing that it was so. After I returned home at about five in the evening, I got a call from Oeun Nen. “God heard your prayer! My wife is healed,” he excitedly said, “My wife’s bleeding has completely stopped!” After this amazing healing, Oeun Nen went around the Tasu Village sharing his testimony. Hearing of the prayer in the field and witnessing the miraculous results opened the

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011

 Give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:38)

Thoughts From: JUDY AITKEN ASAP DIRECTOR

“Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).

Have you been counting your blessings lately, naming them one by one? Each ASAP national missionary featured in this issue shares some abundant blessings they received from God. Catch the common theme running through each story; the more one gives, the more blessings return.

They know the true meaning of Jesus’ words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

I have interviewed these dedicated workers, and while listening to their stories I could hear each one expressing in their own way the joy that comes from an abiding, deep friendship with Jesus. I have also witnessed this joy spilling over into the lives of those they come in contact with. Blessings never fail to result, both to them, the givers, and the receivers. Their fervent prayers for the lost are being answered. With much rejoicing they are bringing many precious people to Christ’s Kingdom. When these people are our very own family members, such as in medical missionary Wichien’s story, the blessings are ever so sweet. I invite you to partner with our national missionaries in prayer for lost souls and then experience the blessing of knowing that many will accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.

ASAP desires you, our donors, to experience greater spiritual blessings in your life. This is why we encourage you to join the “Taste and See” Ultimate Mission Challenge (see inside for details).

villagers’ hearts to what I had to say. When I returned to the village and shared more beautiful truths from God’s Word,I was glad for their good response. When they learned how the Bible teaches the seventh day is the Sabbath, they decided right away to switch to worshiping on Saturdays. In the beginning I visited the Tasu Village every Sabbath, but since I have eight groups I am witnessing to, I decided to go every other week. Oeun Nen, as head elder, leads out when I am not there.

The story does not end here. The miracle healing planted hope in the hearts of other sick villagers. Chhoun Theam, the seventy-year old mother of Yin Yoeun, was the first to raise her hand during prayer request time one Sabbath. She wept as she confessed, “I went to the shaman and spent a lot of money during the past four years, but I still suffer with a stomach ulcer, typhoid fever and TB. Please pray for me,” she desperately pleaded. I prayed, “Jesus, the Lord and Creator of all, please pour out your Holy Spirit to this daughter who has been sick for so long. Please give her your loving hand to heal her diseases. This will show all the people of the village that you are a mighty God. Cast out all the demons in her life so she can have the strength to work and walk again. In Jesus name, Amen.”

A week later when I returned to the village, Grandma Chhoun Theam walked up to me with a smile. She looked healthy and strong. She said, “Thank you, Lord, for healing me, and thank you, Pastor Ping Sothy for praying for me. I want to study to be baptized.”

Many more blessings have come to this village since they decided to obey God and His Word. A forty-year old lady named Soa Saen asked for prayer. She also heard of Yin’s healing and thought, “If God could cure uncontrollable bleeding, He can heal me, too.” She told me, “If Jesus is the true God and heals me, I will believe in Him forever. I have no one else to turn to.” We prayed and four weeks later, she was completely healed of her numbness, dizziness, stuttering, inability to walk, and pain. When the people in the village saw her going into the woods to pick up sticks to use for cooking, they asked her, “What medicine healed you?” (she had been sick for over two years). She answered, “Jesus is the most powerful medicine that healed me.”

Meas My is another lady who experienced the blessings of healing from this village. After God touched her, she no longer walks around humped over with anguished looks from pain. She is also a living, breathing testimony of the power of God to all the villagers.

I believe all those prayers were answered because “All things are possible with God.” I tell the sick that God IS healing them, and not God will heal you. The Lord is so good to me because when I pray, He never fails to hear and answer according to His will. John 9:31 says that he who obeys God, He will bless. I know that if I continue to obey God all my life that He will continue to pour out His blessings on my ministry.

We can’t wait to hear your story of how God came through for you.

PHOTO CAPTIONS (L-R): Meas My being prayed for, Ping Sothy (far right) with his church in Sen Village.

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT: Thailand

THAILAND

BY JULIA O’CAREY

W

ould you agree that reaching lost family members for Christ can be the most challenging mission field of all? Since Wichien Songsawatwong first became a Christian in 2004, he carried a strong burden in his heart for his whole family to accept Jesus as their personal Savior. The chances of that ever happening were slim, for his parents and oldest brother hated Christianity and wanted nothing to do with it. “I can’t consider you a brother if you become an SDA,” his oldest brother threatened. “If you work for God, you will be a disgrace to us because you will not earn any money. We won’t give you a single baht,” his parents said angrily. At one point, they asked him to leave home. Wichien reflects, “That was a lonely time. I cried and prayed a lot and I saw the Lord provide.”

God has been using Wichien in a mighty way to reach many in Thailand through medical missionary work. Nevertheless, his supervisor felt impressed that he should return home and dedicate time to reaching his family and those in his village. When he arrived home, he discovered his elderly parents were often getting sick. Though his father was vehemently opposed to natural remedies in the past, he seemed more open. Through prayer and administering simple remedies, his parent’s health improved. One day his uncle passed away and his family attended his Christian funeral. Wichien does not know what song, sermon, or testimony it was that the Holy Spirit used, but immediately following the funeral, both his parents came to him and said, “We want to become SDA like you. We want to eat like you, go to church with you, and live like you.” Two of his older brothers had also accepted the truth in God’s Word and had become Seventh-day Adventists. Wichien said, “This is the greatest blessing of my life, to see how God changed my family.”

Families in Thailand are strongly knitted together

by Buddhist beliefs. Pray for more young men and women to stand for truth as Wichien did, so they can lead their families to Christ.

NOTES from the field: THAILAND AND CAMBODIA

ASAP received sobering news from Cambodia and Thailand reporting recordbreaking flooding. Destroyed rice crops, lost livestock, and ruined homes are among the many losses church members and ASAP national missionaries have already encountered. Please pray that the flood victims will consider this trial a blessing in disguise, for ALL things work together for the good of those who love God. You may donate to ASAP Gift Catalog #404 to help your brothers and sisters during their time of need.

NORTH AMERICA

ASAP considers it a true blessing that the Lake Union has caught a vision for the mission on our doorstep, reaching refugees and those in need who God has sent to our country. The September issue of the Lake Union Herald features articles that will stir your soul. Particular must reads are the articles “Unto All the World”

by Ellen White and “Displaced People” by Terri Saelee. You can access this issue by going online: www.lakeunionherald.org or contact ASAP to request a hard copy of the magazine while supplies last.

MYANMAR

Find out why Ruth (pictured above) and her son, Thoo Thoo, can’t stop praising the Lord. Hint: Something very special happened during the ASAP training 2011 that changed their lives forever.

www.asapministries.org

Read “In That Very Hour,” a testimony revealing the immediate blessings, which came in answer to the united prayers of His people.

tear and share

THE uLTIMATE MISSION CHALLENGE “God invites us to prove for ourselves the reality of His word, the truth of His promises. He bids us ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34:8). Instead of depending upon the word of another, we are to taste for ourselves” (Steps to Christ, page 111).

Are you BOUNTIFULLY blessed?

Meet Khampong Pisay*

Could you use a FREE iPad? Thanks to a generous donor, ASAP is giving away one new iPad to the person with the best “taste and see” story!

*Name changed for worker’s safety.

POSITION ASAP Lay Pastor LOCATION Laos HE CHANGED ME When I first became a Christian, my parents were not very happy. They were concerned that they would have no one to carry out the different Buddhist ceremonies if I became a Christian. But now they are happy that I am a Christian because of the way that I have changed.

I know that Jesus lives and so does my family because of the way He has changed my life.

FREEDOM TO WORSHIP When we tried to get permission to have freedom to worship for the past seven years, we encountered difficulties. We needed the Lord to touch the heart of the village chief. This year, the chief of the village asked me to donate an amplifier. Our members pulled our money together and with the help of LAF we were able to get a good amplifier. Amazingly, after the chief of the village got the amplifier, we were given permission to worship freely in our village. We thank the Lord for the way He worked it out for us to worship freely.

GOD MIRACULOUSLY PROVIDED My family faced severe financial problems this year. All I could do was pray.

For twelve days I prayed. God miraculously provided a way for us. There was a man who wanted to sell his land for 55 million kip. He asked me to help sell the land. He told me that if I could sell the land I could keep whatever was above 55 million kip. I told many people about the land. I also asked my brother-in-law to help advertise it. My brotherin-law found a man who bought the land for 65 million. I had to give 5 million to my brother-in-law and I ended up getting 5 million Kip. This money was a blessing from God right when we needed it the most.

Please Pray!

Pray that God will continue to pour blessings upon the churches in Laos so they can grow and nurture new believers.

Jesus says, “Give and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38).

We challenge you to prove that the following statement is true: “You cannot out-give God” FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE CHALLENGE RULES: 1.

Spend time on your knees asking the Lord what kind of sacrifices you can make so you can give more for missions to help reach the lost in Southeast Asia.

2. Obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit and give in ways you never imagined you could.

3.

Write up a short story (200-300 words) about how you were able to “taste and see” that you really could not out-give God. ONLY fresh stories that relate to ASAP and took place after Nov. 1, 2011 will count.

4.

Mail or email your story to: office@asapministries.org, along with sending the funds God blessed you with,

by December 25, 2011. Please also provide us with your full name, preference of published name, a photo and a short bio.

5.

During the first week of January 2012, the top stories will be posted on our website. We invite you go online to vote and choose the winner!

6.

The winner will be announced by February 2012. We will feature select stories in future ASAP publications.

www.asapministries.org

If you need ideas on what you can do to sacrifice for missions, visit our website and read “50 Ways to Save for Missions”.

Always Saying A Prayer

In Loving Memory and Honor

BY DU KY*

IN MEMORY OF:

Two and a half years ago I became a Seventhday Adventist Christian. I was so excited about my new-found beliefs, such as the gift of the Sabbath, I began sharing with church members in each group I led out in. I knew Satan would try to hinder me, so I spent much time in prayer.

The police attempted to stop me from entering several villages where I had worship groups. One village I needed to enter has five check points I must pass through. I silently prayed, claiming the blood of Jesus, as I came up to each check point.

I passed through the first, second, third, and fourth stops with no problem. When I got to the fifth check point a soldier abruptly motioned me over. I pleaded with him to let me through. With each appeal, he gruffly responded, “NO!” I turned around and started back home but kept thinking of the people in the village who were so hungry for the Word of God. I prayed, “Father, only You can help me find a way to share Your truth with the villagers.” God led me to someone who knew the back trails to this village and was willing to be my guide. Though it took money, courage, and eight times longer, God answered my prayer and I was able to arrive safely to this village.

Praise the Lord! Today four of my five groups in four different villages are Seventh-day Adventist Christians. Please pray for the five hundred Adventist believers. Pray for their safety as they worship each Sabbath day. Pray we can bring them much-needed Bibles. Pray also for another group of 100 members who now know the truth but refuse to give up eating pork. Thank you for your prayers.

*Name changed and photo blurred for worker’s safety.

ANNA R. SOURA by Ruth Kirby • AUNT RITA LAMBERT by Dennis and Pamela Barthle • BARBARA FRIESEN by Victoria Berecz • CARL COFFMAN by Douglas and Rosemary Waterhouse • DAVID D. MILLS by George and Elaine Mills • DR. RICHARD ORRISON

by A.J., Julia and Kaila O’Carey • EDITH LAWRENCE by Noel Lawrence • EDWIN EVERETT by Joel A. and Mary Everett • FRANK W. PUTNAM by Clare Putnam • GRAHAM MAXWELL by Jane Barker Banta • JACK DANFORTH by Todd and Julia Danforth • JAY CAMRON WASHAM by Clint and Sandy Washam • JOSE AND SOL ORTUOSTE by Joselito Ortuoste • JIM NAILOR by Dean and Mona Jennings • JUANG NGUYEN by Lilliam L. Alderman • JOHN AND EMMA TONN, MY PARENTS by Loella Kennedy • THELMIRA JONES-RILEY by Merna A. Riley-desVignes

IN HONOR OF: GOD by Timothy and Pamela Perenich • JESUS CHRIST by Terry Woodall • AIDEN AND CORA, MY GRANDCHILDREN by Bonnie Rhoby • AL NELSON by Christian and Betty Christianson • RUTH TAYLOR by Matthew T. Peterson • SAM AND GLADYS ROBINSON

by Arthur and Carol Moffit • ELMER AND MOLLY MYAING, 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY by Peter and Christa Ahnert, Dorothy Brennwald, V. J. and Jill Charles, Allan and Sonja Dansie, Alfred and Julia Dun, Emma Ghanney, Willard Hackett, Margaret Jean Harris, Melvin Hass, Saw Johnny Htoo and Ma Aye Aye Thein, H. S. and H. E. Johnson, Kang Song Koh, Julia Lobotsky, Robert and Myrna Manley, Kathleen Mundt, William and Ruth Murrill, Edward and Tlangchangliani Poey, Alva Roda, Marvin and Harriet Roth, Valerie French Samuel, Kyaw Shinn, Chor-Kiat Sim, Charlene Starlin, Chakarat and Kanchana Sukachevin, Tin Thaw, Nyunt Thein, Delmas Whitlock II, Raymond and Challis Woolsey, Chan Phong and Julie Yee, David and Ida Zan, Nunu Zan

WHO ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR? You can give a lasting gift to ASAP in thankfulness of that special person this holiday season. We will send a thank you card for you, which will express your gratitude. Simply include the individual’s name and address in the giving envelope.

JOIN ASAP IN THANKING GOD FOR HIS BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS A few highlights from 2011 are featured below: The “Perfect Gift” ($77,777.77): which paid off the mortgage for ASAP’s office building and helped to support other needed projects.

Faithful ASAP Donors: The human channels through which God’s blessings flow to reach the lost in Southeast Asia.

Over 1200 Prayer Partners: Grateful for those who help to multiply the blessings through their prayers.

Over $1.8 Million in Donations During the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year: Praising God for doing immeasurable more than we can ask or imagine!

Ten Days of Prayer: The privilege of petitioning our heavenly Father who longs to bless us with the Holy Spirit and all other blessings in its train (DA 672).

Baptisms & Disciples: Rejoicing over many who have made the decision for baptism and turned into effective soul-winning disciples.

Partnership with ARME Bible Camp: Visit www.armebiblecamp.org for more info and join us: Pine Springs Ranch, CA Jan 12-16 Pacific Union College, CA July 4-8

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects is fueled by mission-minded, faith-filled individuals whom God impresses. Be assured that 100% of your gift will go directly to the projects you specify.

However, in the blessed event that the project you chose is fully funded, ASAP will use your gift for a similar project or where most needed to help spread the gospel and ease the suffering in Southeast Asia. Because ASAP is a §501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, your donations are tax-deductible.

ASI MEMBER ASAP has been a member of ASI (Adventistlayman’s Services and Industries) since 1996 and is grateful to be an ASI grant recipient.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR/DIRECTOR Judy Aitken EDITOR/ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Julia O’Carey COPY EDITORS Wayne Labins, Linda Bauer DESIGN/LAYOUT Sarah Lee www.ambientlightstudios.com ASAP BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair: Bruce Bauer, Judy Aitken, Steve Chang, Denzil McNeilus, Mary Ann McNeilus, Byron and Carol Reynolds, Trudi Starlin, Kenneth Straw, and Max and Linnea Torkelsen.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects P.O. BOX 84, BERRIEN SPRINGS, MI 49103

TOLL FREE 1-866-365-3541 PHONE 269-471-3026 FAX 269-471-3034 EMAIL office@asapministries.org WEB www.asapministries.org All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version® copyright ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ASAP serves people from the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

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