The ASAP Missionary Newsletter - 2024, Issue 1 by ASAP Ministries

The

MISSIONARY ISSUE 1, 2024 NEWSLETTER

A Day To Remember Pg 2 From Death to Life Pg 7 Heart Missionaries Pg 8

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A Day to Remember BY JULIA O’CAREY

love those nights when I close my eyes as my head hits the pillow and I think to myself, “I have the best job in the world!” Last December, I experienced one of those amazing

days while traveling in Southeast Asia.

It was early when we climbed into an old Toyota truck and headed for the river. We carefully made our way down a steep bank and clumsily found our seats in the back of a longboat. I pulled my light jacket closer to my body, my heart beating faster with excitement as I thought of where this little boat was taking us. Our first destination was a bamboo and thatch-stilted home situated in the middle of the jungle! The home

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was filled with happy, smiling Karen people. Pastor Jimmy Shwe said excitedly, “They all came today to celebrate!” Surprised, I asked, “Celebrate what?” Looking at me as if I was supposed to know, he said “We are celebrating the future vocational missionary training college that we plan to build close by!” Although I knew we were visiting the area to check out the land and dream together, I had no idea that the news had been announced to the villagers!

Celebrate we did, with beautiful music, sincere faith-filled prayers, and of course, lots and lots of rice! “Yes, God will provide a school here for young people from across this war-torn West Border Region. There’s nothing too hard for God,” I thought as we prayer-walked through the land. After this faith-inspiring experience, we headed to a nearby ASAP mission school. What a joy to get to hug Lah K’Paw* and see such courage in her sweet face. She is a precious girl whose family tried to beat the demons out of her. She not only survived, but through attending our ASAP mission school, learned about Jesus, and after an unusual dream, was baptized. In the afternoon, at the next ASAP mission school, I could not hold back the tears. Over 500 beautiful children from kindergarten to twelfth grade, lined up to greet us with flowers and smiles. It felt like a taste of heaven to me! They respectfully filed into a huge assembly hall, eager to hear what we had to say. I said a silent prayer that the Holy Spirit would take my words and encourage each one. Just the previous week, 43 young people, mostly from Buddhist homes, had decided to be baptized, despite the difficulties they will face. I tried to encourage them and affirm that this is the most important decision they can ever make. Then they sang. Boy, did they sing! They sang from their hearts, and I didn’t want them to stop. Each student wanted to personally greet us and enthusiastically shook our hands, thanking us for making it possible for them to have an education. Before we left the school I asked the teachers and principal about the biggest challenges they currently are facing. It saddened my heart to hear that the well didn’t work and they don’t have adequate clean water for all the students. They also lack enough paper, pencils and textbooks. I prayed for them and let them know I would share all these concerns with their family, the family of God in America. Please pray and help support the needs of not only this amazing school, but over 90 ASAP mission schools, all set in difficult places.

Help Marginalized Children Experience God’s Love

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Miracles Among the Marginalized BY COLLEEN LOUW

od is doing amazing things in Cambodia through ASAP Medical Missionaries. Lives are being transformed as they move among the poorest of the poor,

demonstrating the love of Jesus to them in word and action, through lifestyle counseling, natural remedies, and prayer.

The Power of Prayer. Feeling sick and not knowing what to do with himself, little Toun Searng cried and cried. Worried and desperate, his parents took him to the witch doctor, but it didn’t help, and he didn’t stop crying.

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Noticing that Toun Searng was sick and crying, ASAP Medical Missionary, Duong Sovannlyda, asked his mother if she could pray for him. She shared that Jesus was a powerful God who could heal her child. In faith, Duong knelt and prayed, asking God to work

a miracle so that the villagers might know He is a powerful God. When her prayer ended, Toun Searng stopped crying and his sickness was gone. The villagers were amazed at Toun Searng’s miraculous recovery, and stated that when anyone was sick, they would bring them to Duong so she could pray for them. Eager to know more about God, they listened intently as she shared about Jesus, His love for them, and His power to heal. Duong continues to visit this community and we praise God that she has seen many of the villagers healed physically and spiritually. Miracle in Kampong Thom. Keo Sang, a devout Buddhist, never experienced the love and power of Jesus until she fell ill with type 2 diabetes. Bedridden, her blood sugar level dangerously high, and so weak that she could barely move, her husband and children were distraught.

Duong arrived at her door with a Bible in her hand and a heart full of compassion. She sat down by Keo Sang’s bed and began to pray for her healing. She read to Keo Sang from the Bible about Jesus, the Great Healer. Keo Sang was deeply moved. She had never heard anything like it before and asked Duong to teach her more about Jesus. Keo Sang’s faith began to grow and soon she experienced miraculous healing. Her blood sugar level began to drop, and her strength returned. Knowing that Jesus had healed her, Keo Sang and her husband accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and were recently baptized. Just as He did when He walked this earth, Jesus walks with our missionaries today and is bringing spiritual and physical healing to His beloved children in Cambodia.

Help sponsor a medical missionary or provide medical supplies. Please visit https://bit.ly/MedicalMissionary.

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ASAP Launches a Landmark Project BY DARRYL HOSFORD

once traveled across Myanmar at highway speed for over eight hours without passing any Seventh-day Adventist churches or church members.

In fact, along that route, I did not pass one Christian church, or even a single Christian. Vast throngs of people in Southeast Asia do not know the gospel or understand how it could benefit their lives! The majority of Southeast Asians are adherents of Buddhism, a world religion with a quite different perspective, or worldview, from Christianity. To effectively communicate with someone of a different worldview, you must first understand their worldview, then tailor your message accordingly.

A few years ago, I visited the headquarters of the local Adventist mission in a Southeast Asian country. When I asked to see their resources for Bible study interests, I was shown a collection of what looked like 1950s-era lessons from a wellknown ministry. They had been translated word-for-word from English into the official language of that country. While these old lessons had good content, they were written for the Western worldview, not the Buddhist mindset. ASAP Ministries believes an entirely new series of Bible study lessons is needed to introduce Buddhists to Jesus Christ. We have made this a key initiative for 2024. Pastor Scott Griswold, who has vast experience 6 asapministries.org

working with Buddhists, is leading the development of the series. The lessons will have an attractive design and be engaging and easy to use. They will be translated into Burmese, English, Hmong, Karen, Khmer, Lao, Thai, and Vietnamese and made widely available in print and digital formats. It is no easy task to produce Bible study lessons that can bridge the gap between very different worldviews, but ASAP is committed to helping the people of Southeast Asia know Jesus. We have intentionally chosen to focus on this part of the 10/40 Window not because it is easy, but because it is difficult. The conversion rate from Buddhism to Christianity is very low, the laborers are few, and resources are shrinking, as certain divisions of the world church withdraw mission funding. (As I draft this article, the president of one Adventist mission just informed me their budget has been cut by 25%.) Despite these challenges, we aim to publish this new Bible study series by the end of 2024. This is a major undertaking, and there are many ways for you to get involved. Would you pray for the writing, translation, field testing, and production of these lessons? Would you fund the production of the series for an entire language group or come help behind the scenes as we film the presentations on location in Southeast Asia? Please consider partnering with ASAP Ministries to share the good news about Jesus with the people of Southeast Asia so that one day soon, they can stand on the sea of glass, giving honor and glory to the King of kings and Lord of lords!

From Death to Life BY JOHN PRESS

ale Hong* was a dead man walking. Everyone in the village knew it. Both of the young man’s kidneys were failing, and the local doctor could do nothing more to help him.

“Go to the hospital in Yangon, and bring a lot of money,” the doctor told him. But this was impossible. Dale had already spent what little money he had on medical care. Even if his mother sold her land, it would not provide enough money to get the care he needed.

“I felt very hopeless, with no money and no one to trust,” Dale recalls. In desperation, he turned to God. Though two-thirds of the people in Dale’s village are Buddhist, he had been raised a Baptist. However, he had not personally experienced the power of the gospel. Betel nut and smoking addictions had ruined his health, and he felt powerless to overcome them. But now, facing death, Dale realized God was his only hope. “If I stop [these bad habits], You have to heal my kidneys,” Dale pleaded with God. It was a simple prayer, but God answered. In the weeks that followed, Dale discovered new strength. He gave up betel nut. He quit smoking. He started eating better. After three months, his kidneys had healed and he received a clean bill of health from the doctor. “Everyone in [the] village was surprised because they thought I was going to die,” says Dale.

Less than two years later, Dale’s first church plant has 20 baptized members, nearly three dozen people attending Sabbath services, and five families taking Bible studies. Dale and his friend, Luke,* a fellow ASAP church planter, also started reaching out to three neighboring villages where the people follow a syncretized version of Buddhism and animism. They went from house to house, passing out pamphlets and copies of The Great Controversy, and following up with those who showed interest. Recently, after many months of Bible study, two members of one family were baptized, becoming not just the first Adventists but also the first Christians in their entire village! Dale was penniless and near death when he discovered the power of the gospel and a new life in Christ. Today, he is a soul-winner, introducing the poor and unreached to their Savior and helping them take hold of Christ’s promise: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24, NKJV).

Following Dale’s miraculous recovery, a pastor from Myanmar’s Yangon Adventist Mission (YAM) visited his village. Dale listened eagerly as the pastor explained truths from the Bible that he had never heard before. After further study, Dale became the first Seventh-day Adventist in the village and began enthusiastically sharing about the seventh-day Sabbath and studying the prophecies of Daniel with his family members. One by one they, too, joined the Adventist Church. Seeing the Holy Spirit at work, YAM recommended that ASAP Ministries hire Dale as a church planter in this district. asapministries.org 7

It is Heart Missionaries That Are Needed BY EMILIE CARR

“T

his trip doesn’t make sense. This is a medical missionary trip. We cannot serve without an entire team of medical doctors and dentists. There is no way! God, why did you even bring me here?”

These were some of the thoughts running through my mind as the reality of the mission trip began to physically unfold before me. At the beginning of 2023, I took the leap of faith to apply to go to Thailand with ASAP Ministries and, within a few months, watched God open every door possible for me to go. I had never seen God work so fast in my life, so naturally my expectations going in were high, my eyes were wide open, and my heart was eager to seek and receive the blessing I knew was waiting for me in Thailand.

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Halfway into the trip my heart began to quiver with doubt that there really wasn’t a purpose for me, and I feared I wasn’t making a difference in a country where less than 1% of the people are Christian. We had spent the first week helping Pakistani refugees in Bangkok with free medical, dental, vision, and counseling services, but I feared we weren’t making a difference. I had an expectation in my mind of the way God was going to bless me on this trip, and I became discouraged when we encountered challenge after challenge. It was clear Satan didn’t

want us spreading the gospel in Thailand. It was difficult to build a full medical team, even though we had a few professionals, and it was challenging to serve in various areas while trying to protect the refugees. Despite these setbacks, people were thankful after their massages, smiling after their dental cleanings, excited after receiving their new pairs of glasses, informed after their health checkups with the nurses, and encouraged after their prayer and counseling sessions. However, the fear and doubt remained in my heart, and I questioned God and His exact purpose for me there. I felt helpless not having doctors to refer the people to and not being able to perform certain procedures the people needed because we lacked specific personnel. At home, I am a dental assistant, and it was hard to see such a great need that we couldn’t meet without other dental professionals. However, God was at work and had something special in store for me. I just had to be patient. During the latter part of the trip, our team traveled to the Thai-Myanmar border and split into two groups working at two different Adventist schools. On the first day, as we arrived at the school, my heart was immediately broken over the love I was shown by students who didn’t even know my name. They had been waiting for us for months, preparing for our arrival, and all 500 children greeted us individually

with pure joy and genuine love. That feeling and experience continued on throughout the whole week, and the lesson and purpose God had for me became clearer. “Our job is to show up and be there for these people,” said one of the pastors on the trip every morning before we went to the school, and it really stuck with me. This was the seed that helped me see what God had wanted to teach me all along— to serve and live as a “heart missionary.” On the last day, the children prepared an entire ceremony for us, thanking us for our service with traditional dances and special gifts for each one of us. We sang them one of their favorite praise songs in their heart language and hugged each one goodbye, but as we walked away, they all followed. You could hear them crying saying, “Please don’t leave.” One girl wrapped her arms around me and hugged me to the point where she couldn’t follow me farther. With tears in her eyes, through her broken English, she whispered words that would change my heart and life forever. “I don’t want you to go. You have changed my life. I love you. You are my mom.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. How could I have changed her life? How does she not only love me but see me as her mother? I felt I had done nothing special. I felt as if I just showed up, cleaned teeth, and did my best to interact with them and show them I cared. Right then and there, I began to see the

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blessing unfold that God had in store for me all along. Amidst the warm, humid Thai air and the sound of tropical birds in banana trees, I understood what God was teaching me and the life-changing power of being a heart missionary. It means to show up and be there for people wherever they are, in whatever condition, and to love them as Christ would. This is the work that will really change lives. “It is heart missionaries that are needed. He whose heart God touches is filled with a great longing for those who have never known His love,” (Ministry of Healing, 150.2). It is a practical mission that you and I can be a part of every day, no matter where we are, and at all times. We may not have had a team of surgeons, optometrists, dentists, or medical doctors on our trip to Thailand, but we had a team of heart missionaries who showed up and loved those people as Jesus would’ve. I believe that it was us being

Join the Team! ASAP Mission Trip Schedule Cambodia — May 2024 India — October 2024 • Share the gospel cross-culturally • Collaborate with local ethnic missionaries • Minister to persecuted and unreached people of Southeast Asia • Create relationships that last an eternity • Become an ASAP missionary and turn the world upside down for Christ

To learn more about our mission trips, visit asapministries.org/go

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heart missionaries that changed their lives even more than extractions or cataracts surgery ever could, and I’m forever thankful God called me to be a part of this trip and to take this life-changing lesson of being a heart missionary, wherever I go.

TRIBUTE GIFTS IN HONOR OF

IN THANKFULNESS FOR All the young people who turn to Jesus, by Joseph Caruana | Another year of life, by Daniel Hosford | Benjamin’s continued healing, by Sylvia Sesay | Charlotte Park, by Jake Park | Christian Ministry, by Consolacion Becerra | Ella Neall, by Harriet Clark and Jonathan Riddle | Great family, by Kevin Jepson | Jesus, whom the Father sealed for our salvation; our Savior, Jesus Christ, by Adoracion Aranas and Wyman Kingsley | Jo Anna Smith, by Mark Bucherl | Liaja, by Candice Burton | My granddaughter Malia’s 5th birthday, by Carol Hildebrand | Nathan Tin, by Gillan Gajradge | Nora and Zoe Buchholz, by Joy Buchholz | Our Father in Heaven, by Marla Santiago | Regina Rippel, by Nathalie Vasiliou | Robert McCoy, by Ericka Quesada | Sengthai Suon, by Sengthai & Lovely Suon | Soe Nay Hsee, by Byron & Carol Reynolds | The Shady Point Junior Sabbath School, by Eldon Lynch | Watertown Seventh-day Adventist Church Junior Sabbath School Class and Wisconsin Seventh-day Adventist Homeschoolers Group, by Austin & Marie-Lys Bacchus | Yolanda Ortiz, by Fernando Orozco asapministries.org 11

Impactful Initiatives BY COLLEEN LOUW

“O

nly one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” This inspiring quote by C.T. Studd reminds us to live with a different perspective than the world’s. It encourages us to live

not for ourselves, but for the kingdom of God. Can one person make a difference? Yes, each one of us can help impact the world for Christ.

HEALTH OUTREACH TO BUDDHISTS AND MUSLIMS

The Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar are difficult to reach through traditional means. However, health outreach has proven to be an effective way to connect with them. This project aims to reach out to two villages through an afterschool care program for 40 children. This will provide ASAP missionaries an opportunity to connect with the students’ families and the wider community. Health screenings, health talks, and cooking classes will be conducted throughout the year. Once the trust of the community has been gained, members will be invited to attend weekly church services.

ASAP Project Cost $7,984 DEEP WELL FOR TA TON SCHOOL AND VILLAGE

The village of Ta Ton, Myanmar, faces a severe water crisis during summer. Due to the wells in the area drying up, villagers are left with no access to clean drinking water. This has forced teachers and students at Ta Ton School to carry heavy buckets of water, in the scorching heat, from more than 10 miles away. For the villagers, it leaves them with less time for other tasks like caring for their families and working in the fields. With a deep well in place, the villagers will have access to clean drinking water year-round, even during the hottest months of the year. It will also enhance the reputation of the school as a center of influence in the community.

ASAP Project Cost $5,244 12 asapministries.org

SPECIAL APPEAL FOR CAMBODIAN SCHOOLS $26,100

$28,750

$62,300

$71,800

$88,400

Samroang Adventist School

Toul Chan Adventist School

Chamreoun Phal Adventist School

Takong Adventist School

Cambodia-Vietnamese Adventist School

ASAP Project Cost $277,350 During 2024, help us provide Christian education to over 600 marginalized children in Cambodia through five ASAP-funded schools. Your gift will help provide a safe environment for students to receive quality education, come to know Jesus, and to learn how to avoid the dangers of child trafficking. It will also help provide teacher stipends and school supplies.

Scan to Give

Donate online at asapministries.org/cam-schools or call 269-471-3026

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Ordinary People, Divine Assignments BY PASTOR SCOTT GRISWOLD

pen Doors reports, “There is no freedom of religion in Turkmenistan. The dictatorial government uses a huge network of police, secret services, and local imams to closely monitor all religious activities.”

How will the gospel commission be completed in such a country? Here is one of God’s plans—to use people like you and me. Monte from America met Mr. D from Turkmenistan at the front desk of the Sultan Hotel while traveling through Turkey. They kept in touch through Facebook, with Monte planting seeds of friendship and truth. Weeks later Mr. D’s father needed a critical surgery and Monte’s father funded it. Mr. D was so appreciative that he decided he wanted

to attend the Seventh-day Adventist church near his workplace in Turkey. He is thrilled at the truths he’s learning. When Mr. D’s father came from Turkmenistan to visit his son, he was excited to have the freedom he doesn’t have in his country to also FaceTime Monte and his father to say thank you for his surgery. Through My Language My Life, MLML.org, Monte shared the Jesus video in the Turkmen language. Now God has someone in Turkmenistan who knows the truth about Jesus. Without ever leaving your town you may meet someone from a country with restricted access to the gospel. Thousands of international students study in our universities, and hundreds of thousands of international travelers pass through our hotels and tourist attractions. Pray and watch for an opportunity to meet someone from another country. Daiana and her family recently moved back to the United States after living in a Spanish-speaking country. As she learned about the Reach the World Next Door (RWND) cross-cultural training program, she remembered how she had felt

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when she first moved to the United States. “It was such a struggle learning the language and making friends,” Daiana said. “I want to help refugees who are also struggling.” Daiana and her daughter joined a group of volunteers doing children’s programs at an apartment where many Afghan refugees had arrived. They loved the eager children. They visited a Spanish-speaking church and spoke about the joy of reaching out to refugees. “We

understand what they have been through,” Daiana told them. “And we have the truths they need.” Be confident that just as God led Philip to the Ethiopian, He will lead you. Make a friendship and find a way to keep in touch online. Explore in advance the many resources on MLML.org so you will be ready to share the gospel in their language. We encourage you to visit reachtheworldnextdoor. org/training and learn how to connect with international students and local refugees.

The Smallest Hands Can Make A Difference

t had been a week since Micah, Chelsea, and Zoe* visited us, and with eager anticipation

took possession of three shiny ASAP Mission Savings bottles.

Now, to our amazement, they had returned with smiling faces, their bottles overflowing, and some definite instructions of what it was for. “I’d like my mission savings to help build the high school at Takong, in Cambodia,” said seven-year-old Micah. The younger girls quickly added, “And we want to help children like us at Takong School.” Almost $60 was joyfully given, and additional savings bottles were collected for friends before these three cheerful givers started out the door on their next adventure in missions.

ASAP Mission Savings bottles are available for pickup at our office. If you have a Sabbath School Class or live farther away please scan the QR code or visit asapministries.org/giving-for-kids to learn how you can get involved. asapministries.org 15

ASAP Ministries empowers local missionaries to restore and disciple the marginalized with the wholistic gospel. Be assured that 100% of your donation goes directly to the projects(s) you specify and the operation of them. 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 suffering where ASAP operates. Because ASAP is a §501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donations are tax-deductible in the USA. Canadian Donors: You can now give tax-deductible gifts to ASAP Ministries through Charitable Impact. Scan the QR code or visit asapministries.org/give/ canada to learn more.

EXECUTIVE EDITORS John Press, Colleen Louw GRAPHIC DESIGNER Robert Mason

COVER PHOTO Josiah Adams BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair: Dean Coridan, Christopher Carmen, Shirley Freed, Chan and Esther Hwang, Curtis Letniak, Denzil McNeilus, Richard Chadwick, Julia O’Carey, Byron and Carol Reynolds, Trudi Starlin, Lilya Wagner

*At times, photos are blurred and names changed to protect the safety of God's workers. If you wish to opt out of receiving ASAP newsletters, please notify us by phone or email.

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