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OUR
FAVORITES VOL. 9
MISSION STORIES
FROM ASAP MINISTRIES
What s Inside PINKY PROMISE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 IT SHALL NOT RETURN VOID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 LINKS IN THE CHAIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 CHINA IN HOUSTON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 CHIEF PHONSAI’S PRAYER OF FAITH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 REDEEMED TO RESTORE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 FROM THE VAN TO THE PULPIT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 CLAIMING NO MAN’S LAND FOR CHRIST . . . . . . . . . . . 18 THE GANGSTER MEETS GOD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 FROM MOURNING TO JOY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 COVER: A young Laotian man shares the gift of music (photo by Anthony Isensee) THIS PAGE: (at left) Andrew and Daniel Hosford on a Mission Matters shoot; (below) Pastor Saeng Saengthip, ASAP Associate Director
JOIN PASTOR SAENG EACH WEEK FOR INSPIRING VIDEOS FROM THE FIELD! DO YOU LIKE MISSION STORIES? Subscribe to our Mission Matters video series, and we’ll send you a fresh story from the front lines each week in your inbox! Hosted by ASAP Associate Director Pr. Saeng Saengthip, these short videos share amazing testimonies of God’s work in the 10/40 window. Sign up at asapministries.org/subscribe. Each story in this issue of Our 10 Favorites is based on a Mission Matters video. To watch, scan the QR code at right or visit asapministries.org/videos and search for the title of the story. Here you’ll also find short videos on each sidebar in this issue that has the camera icon. 2
Mission Matters I will never forget my first morning in Thailand. My colleague, Bill, and I had decided to take a sunrise walk around the town of Mae Sariang. As I waited outside the hotel for him, I noticed an elderly woman with a container in her hands standing behind a gate across the street. What was she doing? Moments later three Buddhist monks in bright saffron robes came walking down the road and stopped in front of the gate. I watched as the woman came out, bowed low, and offered them food from the container while they chanted a blessing over her. I was familiar with the statistics about the unreached. I knew there were more than 60 million unreached people in Thailand alone. But it wasn’t until I saw that woman kneeling in the dirt along the roadside that I began to understand what it means to be unreached. To live in fear of evil spirits. To live every day trying to earn merit, not knowing what Jesus has already done for you. Perhaps what I felt in that moment was similar to the apostle Paul’s experience as he walked the streets of Athens. Scripture says, “… his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry” (Acts 17:16b, KJV). Ellen White explains that “… (Paul’s) heart was drawn out in pity for the people of Athens, who, notwithstanding their intellectual culture, were ignorant of the true God.… his mind was deeply impressed with the importance of the work before him” (Acts of the Apostles, p. 234). What stirs your spirit? Is it the more than 3 billion unreached people in the 10/40 window? Is it the 22,000 children who die every day simply because they are too poor to live? Is it the plight of persecuted believers living under oppressive regimes, or the 68.5 million refugees and internally displaced people around the world who have fled their homes in search of peace and safety? Eighteen months ago, ASAP Ministries launched Mission Matters, a weekly video series featuring stories of God’s work among the poor, persecuted, unreached and refugees from the 10/40 window. In this edition of Our 10 Favorites, we share a few of the stories that have touched us most deeply. We hope you’ll be inspired to watch Mission Matters weekly. But more importantly, we pray that these stories will stir God’s people to action. Because Jesus is coming soon! Now, more than ever, mission matters!
John Press ASAP Communications Director 3
Pinky Promise By Esther Louw
Are you praying for a lost sheep? Don’t lose heart! This story proves there is always hope. Thomas Vu* grew up in an Adventist home but as a young man, worldly influences drew him away from God. Although his family never stopped praying for him, he showed little interest in religion. After graduating, Thomas returned home, but he continued to slide further away from God, eventually joining a gang. His father was heartbroken and feared what would become of his son, but there was little he could do except pray. Then one day an ASAP youth evangelist named Bao* visited the highlands where Thomas’ family lived. “Sister Bao! Could you visit my son?” Mr. Vu pleaded. Along with her friends, Bao went and visited Thomas. She shared her testimony and gave Thomas some sermon DVDs. “If you continue to live a wild lifestyle, you will eventually ruin your life!” she warned him. Thomas enjoyed his lifestyle and didn’t plan on changing, but somehow Bao’s words reached his heart. Even though he didn’t know why, Thomas agreed to visit church that Sabbath. “Pinky promise?” Bao asked. Thomas laughed and made a pinky promise with Bao. That Sabbath Bao and her friends watched for Thomas, but he never showed up. The next day Bao visited him again. “I had some business to take care of but next Sabbath I will come,” Thomas told her with a sheepish smile. Before Bao left, they made another pinky promise.
In spite of his promise, Thomas did not come to church the following Sabbath either. Still, Bao and her friends continued to visit and they connected well with Thomas. Every time they invited him to church he made a pinky promise that he would come, but then he would never show up. He always found a different excuse. On the Sabbath after their fourth visit, Thomas went out with his friends as he usually did and got drunk. On their way home from partying, he and his friends got into a fight with a rival gang. One of the men pulled out a machete and swung it at Thomas. He cut off the finger that Thomas had used to make a promise those four times to Sister Bao.
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“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20
Today Thomas works as an ASAP youth evangelist, sharing his testimony and supporting two house churches with more than 125 members.
Thomas’ friends rushed him to the hospital where the doctors were able to reattach his finger. Bao and her friends visited and prayed with Thomas in the hospital. They could tell this traumatic event had prompted him to think about the way he was living. He realized how empty his life had become. For the first time, Thomas wanted to change. The next Sabbath Thomas went to church. He began attending Bible studies and listening to the sermons that Bao had shared with him. One year later he was baptized. Today Thomas works as an ASAP youth evangelist, sharing his testimony and supporting two house churches with more than 125 members. Before all this happened, his life lacked purpose. Now he lives to serve the Lord!
You can help young Buddhists experience the life-changing love of God! Watch “Transformed by Love” to learn how sponsoring an ASAP ethnic missionary can make a difference for eternity.
ASK GOD TO GIVE YOU A HEART FOR THE LOST. Jesus, You came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). Please give me a love for wandering souls, and teach me how to reach them for You. Amen. 5
It Shall Not Return Void
By Brenda KiĹĄ
Who knows how it got there? How long did it lie in the dust before Mai Inthavong* discovered it? Life was beautiful and prosperous for Mai and her family. With a thriving business, her whole being was wrapped up in living well, having enough, maybe even more than enough. Then one day it all caved in, and she became desperate! Her business went bankrupt and they lost everything. She and her family faced an uncertain future. What will happen to us? How will we survive? Questions swirled around in her mind as she wandered aimlessly through the marketplace. Every thought led her to a dead end. It seemed that no one and nothing could restore what they had lost. Would suicide be the only way out, she wondered. As if in response to the unspoken question, suddenly something on the ground caught her attention. Mai reached down to retrieve a dirty, crumpled GLOW tract! Picking it up and reading its message, Mai thought about the better life portrayed in the words of hope. How she longed for such hope! When she got home, she called the phone number on the back of the tract. The next day she and her husband and young child visited with the local Adventist pastor. He told them about a loving
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Today Mai and her family attend church regularly and are taking Bible studies in preparation for baptism.
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.� Isaiah 55:11
Savior and offered encouragement from the Bible. This was just what they needed and hope sprang up in their hearts. In this closed country of millions, four out of five people are still waiting to hear the good news that has given Mai and her family new life. The only way many of them will find this hope is through the literature that ASAP youth evangelists and church members sell or distribute as they go door to door, person to person. ASAP Ministries is training and sponsoring these young evangelists to heed Ellen White’s 1903 counsel, “There are many places in which the voice of the minister cannot be heard, places which can be reached only by our publications – the books, papers, and tracts filled with the Bible truths that the people need. Our literature is to be distributed everywhere. The truth is to be sown beside all waters…. We know not what may be the results of giving away a leaflet containing present truth” (Manuscript 127). Today Mai and her family attend church regularly and are taking Bible studies in preparation for baptism. One small tract in the dirt made the difference between life and death for them. They know that the material riches they had before cannot compare to the riches of Heaven, and now more than ever life is beautiful and prosperous for Mai and her family!
You Can Support a Translator! ASAP seeks skilled translators to share the hope of the Gospel in the heart languages of the unreached. Your love gift of $5 to $500 will advance this important work.
PRAY FOR THE OUTREACH EFFORTS OF ASAP YOUTH EVANGELISTS. Dear God, bless the words of life being spread in dark places by these young missionaries. Amen.
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Links in the Chain By Sandra Stebenne
Many years ago, a missionary’s kindness to a refugee family sparked a chain reaction that continues today, spanning two continents and more than three decades! In the early 1980s, the Sihavong family made the difficult decision to flee their homeland of Laos and seek asylum in the Napho refugee camp in Thailand. The Laotian government had been taken over by a communist regime that brutally oppressed its citizens. The Sihavong’s possessions were seized, and they were forced to labor in a rice field; Mrs. Sihavong’s uncle was killed, and she and her family were afraid they might be next. So, despite having four young children and a fifth on the way, the Sihavongs chose to flee their homeland and seek asylum in Thailand. Life in the camp was better than it had been in Laos, but not by much. The Sihavongs lived in a single room packed with ten people, and necessities like clothing, blankets, and even food were scarce. But it was there that they crossed paths with Judy Aitken, founder of ASAP Ministries. Judy was serving the Lord in the refugee camps in Thailand, ministering to spiritual as well as physical needs. One of the things she provided for the refugees was Bible lessons in their own language. At Christmas, there was a celebration in the camp; Mrs. Sihavong was seated in the back row, and as she listened to “Mother Judy” tell about how Christ came to Earth to die for our sins, she burst into tears. The idea that the Creator of the earth loved her so much that He chose to die for her touched her heart, and she became eager to learn more about God. Eventually, she and her husband accepted Jesus Christ into their lives, and they and their children were baptized. This was an answer to Judy’s persistent prayers. After nine years in the refugee camp sharing their faith with their fellow refugees, the Sihavongs resettled in Sacramento, California. They soon began reaching out to other Lao refugees “He who becomes a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost.” The Ministry of Healing, p. 105 8
in the area, and eventually planted a church. However, in 1994 God impressed them to move to Holland, Michigan. There they reconnected with Mother Judy and began visiting and ministering to other members of the Lao community, some of whom were eventually baptized. It wasn’t long before a small group of Lao Adventist believers were meeting for Sabbath School in a small classroom of the local Adventist church. The Sihavongs didn’t limit their ministry to those within the Holland community. In 1998 Mrs. Sihavong went back to Laos to visit her relatives. They noticed the difference Christ had made in her life and were amazed. She told them about Jesus, and since they wanted to know more, the pastors and Bible workers from the Vientiane church came to give them Bible studies. As a result of this outreach, two house churches were planted on the outskirts of Vientiane, and an additional ten families have since joined the group. By 2014 the Lao Adventist community in Holland had grown large enough to require its own place of worship. By God’s grace and through the support of ASAP Ministries and Lao Adventists around the world, funds were raised to purchase a small building. Today the group continues to minister to people both in Michigan as well as in Laos. So much fruit has come from that small, simple seed planted in a refugee camp more than thirty years ago!
PRAYER MAKES A DIFFERENCE! ASAP Ministries is fueled by mission-minded, faith-filled prayer warriors all over the world. Watch “Always Say a Prayer” to learn why we’re so passionate about prayer. Then, visit our website to submit a prayer request or sign up to join the ASAP prayer team! ASK GOD TO MAKE YOU A DIFFERENCE MAKER! Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for working through us to make a difference in the lives of others. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit and lead us as we do the work that You have called us to do. Please help us to connect with others and form a chain that spreads Your Word throughout the world. Amen. 9
China in Houston
By William Chen and Rachel Teng, as told to Sandie Gross
What does God do when He sees 445 unreached people groups among 1.4 billion people in China? He finds a willing Taiwanese couple and sends them to Houston, Texas. This is William Chen and Rachel Teng’s story. “Our goal has always been to take the Gospel to the Chinese,” explain William and Rachel. “After a short time at Andrews University, we enrolled in the Reach the World Next Door (RWND) cross-cultural missionary training program. We discovered that Houston is home to more than 200,000 Chinese-speaking people, but not a single Chinese-language Seventh-day Adventist church.” William and Rachel determined to plant a church. “We were excited to discover that the Houston International Seventh-day Adventist Church hosted a small Chinese Sabbath School group,” they recall. “We started attending and encouraging them. We found out some members had not attended for years, so we hosted a Chinese New Year celebration. Former members, realizing their brothers and sisters in Christ still loved them, started coming back to church.” During the week, William and Rachel were busy with mission classes, gardening, and helping Buddhists and Muslims at multiple Houston outreach sites. “Our English is not perfect,” they admit. “But God gave us an opportunity to make friendships with unreached people by teaching English. A mission family visited RWND and shared about their work in China with the Uyghur, a persecuted Muslim people group. By searching online for Uyghur restaurants, we discovered members of this people group living in Houston. During one visit to an Uyghur restaurant, the manager asked us to help her workers learn better English. God sent local church members, Pastor John and Phyllis MacFarland, to help us. One friendship is leading to others throughout the Uyghur community in Houston.” Though William and Rachel’s focus is on reaching the Chinese, they eagerly share Christ’s love with everyone, no matter their ethnicity. Cambodians who were hit by Hurricane Harvey opened their hearts to them as they saw their concern and helpfulness. One mother, Kim, was distraught after learn-
Would you like to be a missionary to the unreached? The first step may be closer than you think!
Watch “Come to Houston!” or visit reachtheworldnextdoor.com to learn more.
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“Thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand angels are waiting to cooperate with members of our churches in communicating the light that God has generously given, that a people may be prepared for the coming of Christ….Let every family seek the Lord in earnest prayer for help to do the work of God” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 129).
ing that her 25-year old daughter has cancer. Immediately Rachel began sharing fresh vegetables and teaching the mother about juicing and gaining the most nutrients from healthy foods. Rachel prayed for Kim, and the mother’s face visibly softened into peace. They earnestly prayed to find people from China who have never had a chance to know Jesus. “One of our friends told us about the Chinese Cultural Center,” they report. “We asked if we could help serve the Chinese community by presenting a health seminar. The center leaders gave us a trial run. Afterwards, they asked us to come back once every month. We usually have 25-30 guests who want to learn more about health and nutrition.” William and Rachel were looking for an apartment complex that was home to many Chinese, and a church member from the Bellaire Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church suggested her own apartment complex with a Chinese manager and many Chinese residents. “We visited the manager to ask if we could provide health education and children’s programs. She was very friendly and allowed us to post flyers and invite residents to a health expo. “That’s when things got really exciting. We asked our Chinese Sabbath School members to help us. Some thought they were too old, and others were unsure about what to say. But they came! Young people from the Houston GYC conference also volunteered. After the expo, the manager was so happy that she gave us keys to the gates, saying we could visit and host community services any time. God literally gave us the key to this apartment complex! We now hold community service programs at least once a month, and visit residents at least once a week.” It didn’t stop there. Residents began bringing their friends from another complex that has many Chinese families. The Chinese Sabbath School members were so excited to see how fun outreach can be that they asked if they could help with future community service projects. William and Rachel are now training them for leadership roles as new Chinese begin attending the small group and home church that meet in various Chinese church members’ homes. These developments have stirred the members to study the Bible. They are growing in confidence. “We are just two individuals. The harvest is ripe, but workers are needed. Funds are needed, students who can help us are needed, and church members’ prayers from around the world are needed,” William and Rachel urge. “It’s ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’ (Zechariah 4:6).”
PRAY FOR DIVINE APPOINTMENTS. God, open my eyes to see the people around me who need You! Amen. 11
Chief Phonsai s Prayer of Faith
By John Press
Have you ever witnessed a major transformation in someone you know? Be inspired by the Saul/Paul experience of Chief Phonsai! Chief Phonsai* and his family hated Christians. The villagers in the northern mountains of the closed country where they live viewed Christianity as a dangerous influence from the West. Consequently, Christians in the region endured constant monitoring and maltreatment from their non–believing family and neighbors, as well as local leaders like Chief Phonsai. Despite persecution, a small group of Seventhday Adventist believers formed in Chief Phonsai’s village through the labors of an ASAP church planter. As the group grew, ASAP built a church in the village. But the members faced frequent harassment from Chief Phonsai and the villagers. In 2012, when ASAP church planter Pastor Stephen
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“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44
Thid* visited to conduct a funeral service, Chief Phonsai’s father, the village’s head chief at the time, had him arrested and thrown in prison. Following this incident, Chief Phonsai became a frequent visitor to the church. However, he did not attend the services to worship with the other believers. As the deputy chief of the village, he’d been sent to spy on the church members and report on their activities. But Phonsai could not find any fault with the church members. Instead, he found that their activities were positive and encouraging. Then, one day, Chief Phonsai became very sick. The pain was excruciating, like a spear thrust through his chest. He visited a local witch doctor, who told him that someone had cast a spell on him. The witch doctor charged Chief Phonsai $500 to make the evil spirits stop harassing him, but his pain did not go away. He went to one witch doctor after another. Each one charged him large sums of money. Chief Phonsai sacrificed cows, goats, and chickens until he had nothing left. But the evil spirits continued to torment him. In desperation, Chief Phonsai went to visit Pr. Xai Fong Vang,* an Adventist pastor in a neighboring city. Pr. Xai Fong was surprised to see the chief standing at his door. He was well acquainted with the chief and his family’s hostility toward the church, so he was even more astounded when Chief Phonsai asked for prayer. “Why?” asked Pr. Xai Fong. Chief Phonsai explained his situation and his fear of the evil spirits that were tormenting him. “I believe that only God can help me,” he said. Pr. Xai Fong prayed with Chief Phonsai and told him that he must put his trust in the Lord. Then, he sent him on his way. For two months, Pr. Xai Fong continued to pray until he received a phone call from the chief asking him to come to his village. When Pr. Xai Fong arrived, he found that not only Chief Phonsai, but his whole family had accepted Christ as their Savior. The chief explained that after Pr. Xai Fong prayed with him, the evil spirits stopped harassing him. Little by little, his pain dissipated. Even before he was fully healed, his family became interested in learning more about the God of the Christians. Today, they are studying the Bible with a local church elder in preparation for baptism. We rejoice with all of heaven over the conversion of Chief Phonsai and his family! And we praise God, who is able to transform the persecutors of His church into faithful disciples of Christ.
LAUNCHED! A NEW TENTMAKER MISSIONARY TRAINING PROGRAM Watch “Training Modern-Day Tentmakers” to learn how your support of our new program in Thailand can help ASAP ethnic missionaries take the Gospel to areas “traditional” missionaries cannot go. PRAY FOR THOSE WHO INCITE PERSECUTION. Jesus, even as we pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world, we pray also for their persecutors, for they are Yours, too. May their lives be changed, like Saul on the road to Damascus, through an encounter with You. Amen.
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Redeemed to Restore
By Sandra Stebenne
How did I survive? Why was my life spared? Is there some greater purpose I am meant to fulfill? Ko Ko* wrestled with these questions after nearly dying in a fight. Though raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home in Myanmar, as a young man he became addicted to alcohol and various drugs. He led a gang, became both a sniper and a weapons smuggler, and was hunted and feared throughout the entire region. There was not any crime he would not commit for the right price. After Ko Ko survived the almost-deadly fight, his uncle, a pastor, invited him to attend a medical missionary training seminar. He was hesitant, not quite ready to give up his lifestyle and not eager to be told that he should, but eventually he went anyway. Ko Ko enjoyed what he was taught and loved reading The Ministry of Healing. God gradually healed him from his addictions and in 2009 he began working as an ASAP medical missionary in Central Myanmar. In fewer than ten years, he planted four churches and established an Adventist presence in almost a dozen Buddhist villages! Hundreds of baptisms have resulted from the work of Ko Ko and his medical missionary team!
HELP OPEN DOORS TO THE GOSPEL IN DIFFICULT-TO-REACH AREAS BY SPONSORING ASAP MEDICAL MISSIONARIES. Watch “The Great Entering Wedge” to discover “... the very means of introducing the truth where otherwise it would not find an entrance” (Counsels on Health, p. 535).
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Following the death of their parents, Ko Ko and his siblings decided to honor their memory by converting their home into a small health center. The house is in an impoverished area, and most people cannot travel to see a doctor or afford to pay for treatment. So, even though the community is staunchly Buddhist, they welcome the health center and the work its staff is doing. In their first four months of operation, Ko and his team have helped dozens of patients, eight of whom have decided to be baptized!
“‘For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 30:17
Some of their patients experienced miraculous recoveries because of the power of the Master Healer. A 45-year-old Buddhist man came to them after being injured in a motorbike accident. They gave him physiotherapy treatments and applied poultices to his injuries; they also taught him some Christian songs and how to memorize Bible verses. When he went home three weeks later, his injuries were completely healed and he could recite Psalm 91 from memory with his whole heart! Another man came to them for help; he had fallen from a palm tree ten years prior and had a spinal injury. Due to his injuries he could not walk normally and because of his diet was suffering from digestive issues and hypertension. He was treated with ice massages and fomentations, and the workers did stretching exercises with him and provided health coaching. He liked to sing, so they taught him some Gospel songs. He left three weeks later, walking significantly better and with his hypertension under control! Through their wholistic approach, Ko Ko and his team seek not only physical healing but also the spiritual restoration of their patients. “It is our hope,” he says, “that every patient will be touched by the love of God during their time at the center and choose to give their hearts to Him.” SEEK RESTORATION FOR THE BROKEN. Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise to heal us! Please be with all those who need healing from mental and physical illness, injury, and addiction. May they experience total restoration so there can be no doubt that it is You who healed them. Bless those who minister to the sick and suffering, and help them lead Your lost children back to You! Amen.
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From the Van to the Pulpit
By Brenda Kiš (from an interview with Paul Dinh*)
Do you feel too old, too young, too sick, too busy, too whatever to be used by God? Learn from Paul Dinh how God can use you no matter what your situation. Christmas Eve 1998 marked a turning point for me. At that time, I was a minibus driver for people traveling between two cities in my (closed) country. I had seats for 12 people, no more, but on this night a group of 23 believers wanted to attend a meeting and asked me to take them. “I can’t do that,” I told them. “If I get caught, I’ll have to pay a fine for the extra people, besides having my van confiscated.” “Oh, don’t worry,” they said. “We’ll be responsible for paying the fine.” Hesitantly, I agreed and the group squeezed into my minibus. It wasn’t easy! As we started our journey, the group began singing hymns – loudly. This was illegal. Besides carrying twice the number of people I was supposed to, now they were making noise that was sure to attract attention! My stomach knotted up as I drove. But something amazing happened. At each of the six police-staffed intersections, I noticed the police turning away from the van as if they didn’t see or hear anything. This was not normal! When we arrived at our destination, the people invited me to go into the meetings with them. I declined, adamant that I was not going in. I was interested in money, not religion. However, they told me I was their special guest and insisted that I enter. Ten minutes later, I followed them into the building like a cow being led by a rope. And that’s when the miracle happened! As the preacher spoke about salvation through Jesus and told His story of dying on the cross, my heart was stirred. At the appeal, I stood with two young persons and committed myself to Him on the spot. Unbeknownst to me, my wife had accepted the Lord two months before, but she had never said anything about it to me. At that time I was so opposed to Christianity that I would have beaten her. Now we were united in our belief! The Sunday church she attended sent me to study for the pastorate. But a few years later, God took me a step further. I came in contact
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“Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” Exodus 4:12
GIVE THE UNREACHED SOMETHING BETTER. GIVE THEM HOPE. SPONSOR AN ASAP CHURCH PLANTER TODAY. with the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was converted to the message of the everlasting Gospel. Oh, how I loved this newfound truth! I didn’t know then that I was carrying in my body a cancerous tumor, slowly leaching away my life. While giving Bible studies one day, I suddenly felt a pain in my abdomen. I was rushed to the hospital where the doctor immediately performed surgery on my large intestine. As I followed the chemo treatments afterwards, it became too much for me. I decided to stop treatment, go home, and pray for God’s healing. And God chose to heal me at that time. I am now 73 years old. I was supposed to die, but I’m still alive, a living letter for God! For nearly twenty years I’ve been sharing the Seventh-day Adventist message as an ASAP church planter, now leading eight groups. If the Lord could use Moses when he was 80 years old, I believe he can still use me. And He can use you as well!
“The people of the world are worshiping false gods. They are to be turned from their false worship, not by hearing denunciation of their idols, but by beholding something better. God’s goodness is to be made known” (Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 299).
PLACE YOUR PLANS IN GOD’S HANDS. Father, what are You calling me to do today? Please help me as I share You with others. Amen.
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Claiming No Man s Land for Christ
By Esther Louw
Can you imagine not having a safe place for your children to receive an education? On the border between Thailand and Myanmar sits a notorious stretch of land. Among the locals it is known as No Man’s Land. Here, outcasts, criminals, and refugees live in shanty towns along the Moei River. It is a lawless place where beggars roam the streets and violence and drug smuggling are the norm. Men, women, and children are kidnapped for ransom or sold into slavery and trafficked all over Southeast Asia. It is difficult to imagine a more desperate place. Despite these circumstances, there is a school for children from No Man’s Land with a vision to create hope. Naung Bo Den School was started thirteen years ago by local community leaders. Because the students are too poor to pay for tuition, the school relies on support from various sources. Several years ago, the person who was supporting the school was no longer in the position to do so. Although the community is Buddhist, they approached the Adventist church in the nearby city of Mae Sot and asked for help. Prayerfully, the church offered to do what they could, saying, “We will help you if we can operate the school as an Adventist school.” To their surprise, the community leaders agreed. Taking on the Naung Bo Den School was no easy step for the church members in Mae Sot. They were already giving sacrificially to support two other schools in No Man’s Land. It wasn’t clear how they could afford to support a third school. Despite their limitations, Mae Sot Adventist Church members stepped out in faith. That is when Pr. Jimmy Shwe, a former refugee from No Man’s Land, heard about their needs. Pr. Shwe is the Karen Refugee Coordinator for the North American Division. He had already been working to generate support for four other schools in No Man’s Land. Because he used to live there himself, he understands the impact these schools have on the students and their families. Eager to help Naung Bo Den school, Pr. Shwe reached out to ASAP Ministries for support. Through a beautiful partnership with believers in Thailand and the sacrifice and support of ASAP donors, Naung Bo Den School has been able to remain open! The teachers only receive
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“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
one third of the Thai minimum wage, but they believe in the mission. They gave up other opportunities because they want to do God’s work. As a result of this dedication, the school’s influence is not limited to its students. Now six community members have been baptized and more are interested. Pr. Shwe and the church in Mae Sot praise God for what He has done, but they have bigger dreams. With God’s help, ASAP can support more schools for the children in No Man’s Land and the border refugee camps.
COULD YOU ADOPT A SCHOOL? IT’S MORE DOABLE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK!
Fifteen schools in a wartorn region of Myanmar were on the verge of closing. By faith, ASAP’s board voted to adopt them, and since then we have adopted many more! We need your help. Watch “Battle for Kayin” to learn how you can support these schools and help children escape poverty and find freedom in Christ.
PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF NO MAN’S LAND. Heavenly Father, please protect the refugees and displaced people living in No Man’s Land. May they come to know You and the promise of the heavenly home that You are preparing for them. Amen.
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The Gangster Meets God
By Brenda Kiš
What does the fact that Jesus bore your sins and died for you mean to you personally? Find out how this precious truth impacted Meng. “When my fellow inmate hanged himself, it was a wake-up call for me. He had only one year left to serve, but Thai prison life was too miserable for him. Until now, I had spent seven years of my 46-year sentence unrepentant for my gangster life and a subsequent murder. I hadn’t cared if my actions hurt anyone or not, even when the prison guards nearly beat me to death, but now I spiraled into despair. Deep sadness and regret overwhelmed me. I, too, wanted to die.” Meng describes his journey into darkness with candor. As a Buddhist young man, he believed his experience in prison was karma for all the bad things he’d done in his short life. After his friend’s suicide, Meng was transferred to a larger prison where God had arranged a personal encounter with him. At the time these events were taking place in prison, Pastor Sone Faraimo, ASAP’s field supervisor in Thailand, was pondering Christ’s words “I was in prison and you came to Me.” Prison ministries were basically non-existent in Thailand, but Pastor Sone could not shake the thought that prisoners needed to hear the good news, too. He himself had been a prisoner once and he knew the needs in the hearts of shackled men and women. Approaching the non-Christian prison officials, he was met with skepticism and resistance. Inmates with whom Pr. Sone and his wife Suwadee attempted to share Bible studies reacted similarly. At first, only Christian inmates of other faiths expressed interest in these studies, but eventually Buddhists started to join the group as well. Soon they had a crowd of 50-60 prisoners in regular attendance.
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“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten….” Joel 2:25
The scene was set for Meng to meet Jesus. One day he was looking for a quiet place to write a letter home. Leaving the noisy areas of the prison, he headed for an upstairs room near the cafeteria. A small group of Christians quietly chatted near a fan blowing cool air. This was the perfect place, Meng thought as he sat down to write. Soon their conversation drifted his way. They were discussing Isaiah 1:18 about God’s ability and desire to wash away our sins, making our lives white as snow and wool. How can this be? Meng murmured to himself. Can my sins be washed away? Who is this God who can do such a thing? He voiced his question aloud to the Bible teacher. “What happens to my sin of murder when I become a Christian?” The teacher’s answer amazed him. God will bear the consequences of my sins? He will give me a new life and I’ll have hope to go to Heaven? His mind reeled with the news that he wasn’t doomed. That was the day Meng met and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. From then on, he was part of the Bible study group, growing bit by bit in his spiritual walk. But there was more excitement to come. Now that he had met Christ and learned what true love is, God arranged for him to be released from his long sentence! On July 5, 2017, Meng walked out the prison doors a new man with a new mission: to share God’s love with his friends still incarcerated. Even though he cannot enter the prison to encourage them, he can write letters. And his letters have been a source of great encouragement, because Meng knows what it means to be on the inside. He understands what prisoners need to hear and how they need to hear it. Meng’s past now serves his present because this gangster met God!
YOUR SUPPORT FOR ASAP MISSIONARIES AND PROJECTS CHANGES LIVES.
Watch “The Transformation of Tany Village” to see the dramatic impact of ASAP donors’ prayers and generous gifts on an entire village in rural Cambodia.
PRAY THAT GOD WILL TRANSFORM YOUR PAST TO BLESS SOMEONE ELSE’S FUTURE. Dear God, You know my past and my present circumstances. Now please redeem even my mistakes to glorify Your name! Amen.
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From Mourning to Joy
By Ashley and John Press
Have you ever wondered what inspires people to give to missions? Discover why one family is so passionate about sponsoring ASAP students. “Please let her be okay! Please let her be okay!” They were the only words I could think to pray as I sat on the floor outside the operating room. Inside, my wife Ashley was undergoing an emergency C-section. It was two o’clock in the morning and my mind was racing but not yet fully awake. Moments earlier we had woken to nurses rushing into our hospital room. Ashley had gone into labor the night before, but her contractions were mild. It would likely be several hours before she would deliver our daughter, whom we had decided to name Maia. But during the middle of the night, Maia’s heart rate disappeared from the monitor. Now the doctors and nurses were racing to save her life. “Please let her be okay! Please let her be okay!” I repeated the frantic prayer over and over until a nurse finally emerged from the operating room. “You can go in now,” she said. As I stood up, she stopped me and added, “Before you go in, you need to know that the baby is not okay.” Her words extinguished my last flicker of hope.
DOES SPONSORING A CHILD FOR $30 A MONTH REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Watch “When I Grow Up” to see how the loving instruction of the teachers at an ASAP school changed one young girl’s life. Sponsorship DOES make a difference!”
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“For I will turn their mourning to joy, will comfort them, and make them rejoice rather than sorrow.” Jeremiah 31:13b
I walked into the operating room in a daze and watched as the nurses futilely performed CPR on our little girl until the on-call pediatrician arrived to pronounce her dead. A few days later, we left the hospital with empty arms. The following week we carried Maia’s little white casket to its final resting place, where nine months of joy and anticipation disappeared beneath shovelfuls of cold dirt. After Maia’s death, life lost its meaning. Every “first” we had looked forward to became a cruel reminder of our loss. The holidays were especially difficult. Shortly before what would have been Maia’s first Christmas, we received a red envelope. It contained a check and a note from my parents, explaining that they were giving us the money they had planned to spend on Maia’s Christmas gift. They encouraged us to use it to help someone in need as a way of honoring Maia’s memory. And since then, each Christmas and every year at Maia’s birthday, we receive a red envelope with a special note and a check inside. At first, we did various things with the money. We never found a cause we wanted to support consistently until two years ago when we learned about ASAP’s Vietnamese Feed and Read School in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We loved the school’s mission to educate at-risk children and teach them about Jesus. What better way to honor Maia’s memory than to improve the life of another child? On the sponsorship page of ASAP’s website we read about a young girl named Thao Vuong who attended the school. She was exactly the same age Maia would have been. We signed up to sponsor her and soon received her photo and a prayer card in the mail. God has blessed us with three children since Maia’s death. Every Friday night we open the Sabbath together with a candlelight dinner and singing before reading a mission story or watching a mission video. At the end of our worship, we get the prayer cards for Thao Vuong and Nita, a new student we’ve begun sponsoring, and the kids say a special prayer for them. They look forward to it all week! Sponsorship is a blessing that God has used to turn our mourning into joy. There are many ways to spend $30 a month, but very few of them will make the eternal difference that sponsorship makes. Losing Maia was the darkest moment we’ve ever experienced. But we’re looking forward to the day when we meet her and Thao Vuong and Nita in heaven! SEEK GOD’S GLORY IN SUFFERING. Heavenly Father, thank You for walking with me through life’s trials and disappointments. Please use them for the blessing of others and the enlargement of Your kingdom. Amen.
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EXECUTIVE EDITOR/COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR John Press ASSOCIATEEDITOR/DIRECTOR Julia O’Carey COPY EDITOR Brenda Kiš DESIGN/LAYOUT Robert Mason BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair: Dean Coridan, Christopher Carmen, Steve Chang, Shirley Freed, Darryl Hosford, Chan and Esther Hwang, Curtis Letniak, Denzil McNeilus, Mary Ann McNeilus, Carmelo Mercado, Amy Montevilla, Julia O’Carey, Byron and Carol Reynolds, Saeng Saengthip, Trudi Starlin PHOTO CREDITS Daniel Hosford, Anthony Isensee, Susan Liu, Joella Meyer, Jean-Ires Michel, Kalu Hser Paul, Saeng Saengthip
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ASAP serves people from the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and beyond!
*For the safety of God's workers, in some instances names have been changed and photos do not depict the actual individuals involved in the stories.
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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 Ministries is fueled by mission-minded, faith-filled individuals whom God impresses. Be assured that 100% of your gift goes 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 suffering where ASAP operates. Because ASAP is a §501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donations are tax-deductible in the USA.
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