No Little
People December 2017 – January 2018 Dear Friend, American philosopher and pastor Francis Schaeffer once preached a sermon titled, “No Little People, No Little Places”. How encouraging it is to know, that in God’s eyes, every single person is important—no matter what our age, race, gender, nationality, education, or economic background. It’s amazing how God has reached out to people across the Asia Pacific. While we have tried to be faithful in making the life-changing wisdom of His Word understandable and accessible to all, we are constantly awed by how God has used our resources to draw people to Himself, often in the most unexpected ways. Walk with me through these few pages, and let our readers, ministry partners, and others tell you their wonderful stories of how God met them where they were.
Christopher Tan Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific Regional Group Country Director, Singapore
Printing this newsletter in large quantities has allowed us to bring it to you in full colour, cost effectively.
AP EN DEC17
In Christ,
God’s Word at
our fingertips
“You make a difference in the life of visually-impaired people by allowing our fingertips to understand more of God’s Word through Our Daily Bread in Braille.” —Marie Joyce Lopez, who was born blind, on the Braille version of Our Daily Bread distributed in the Philippines. It is produced by a local Christian ministry for the visually-impaired using the Tagalog-language version of the devotional.
Easy access: An innovative system allowing people to call up for Our Daily Bread readings was launched in Japan in April. Some 180 to 200 people call in every week to hear the daily devotions.
Not
alone
“I have just recently gone through an almost identical situation . . . It has been a hard time trying to move on and I have the exact same fear as you. Thank you for the article which has helped me feel like I’m not alone in this situation.” —Ryan, responding to an YMI article on dating. Some of the most widely-read articles on the website of the young adults ministry initiative (ymi.today) are testimonies about faith, struggles with sin, and relationships.
Never too young: Our young adults ministry initiative, YMI, reaches out to the young with resources written by their peers. Along with five language websites drawing over 450,000 views each month, it has rolled out several evangelistic booklets and a magazine for younger readers.
Walking with God,
in the mountains
“This is a good book for Christians. One lesson a day helps believers learn more about God and be encouraged to walk with Him every day.” —Pastor K’Loi of Trung Hieu Church, who ministers to the K’ho people in Vietnam. More than 1,200 copies of Our Daily Bread and Discovery Series booklets in Vietnamese have been shared with churches ministering to minority ethnic groups such as the Kinh, Thai, K’Loi, Jrai, and Ede in Vietnam’s rural and mountainous areas.
Nowhere too far: Some 3,200 audio devices containing Our Daily Bread readings and other resources have been distributed to pastors serving in remote areas in Indonesia. The devices enable those who cannot read or have eyesight problems to hear the Word of God.
Lives turned
around
“Our Daily Bread impacts the lives of believers and nonbelievers. One prostitute shared that God uses the Our Daily Bread readings to tell her to leave prostitution.” —A member of a church that reaches out to men and women working in Singapore’s red light district. Every week, members use readings translated into various Asian languages, such as Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and English, to teach people about God.
Ready to share: Some 5,800 Outreach Partners across the AsiaPacific share the gospel and the lifechanging wisdom of God’s Word at work and at home as they personally reach out to colleagues, customers, clients, neighbours, and friends with our resources.
A new
library
“Receiving your resources is a great blessing to us. Many people have been visiting the libraries. They like to read so that they can grow in Christ. It is very hard to get Christian books, as there are no Christian bookstores here.” —Iwan, a member of a team who started a plan to build six mini-libraries in Waingapu, Sumba Timur, in eastern Indonesia. It asked for Our Daily Bread Ministries resources to fill its libraries, which reach out to teenagers and children.
No one misses out: Under a “SponsorA-Book” project in Sri Lanka, Our Daily Bread readers are sponsoring Annual Editions for those who cannot afford the devotional. Pray for us as we work with churches, Christian organisations, and individuals to reach out to 10,000 people.
Sowing
a seed
“I often give copies of Our Daily Bread to patients and encourage them to read it. In this way, I am bringing the good news of Christ to them and sowing the gospel seed into their hearts. I pray that it will bear fruit one day.” —Dr. Yau, an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Hong Kong. Outreach partners like Dr. Yau bring God’s Word to the marketplace by distributing Our Daily Bread Ministries’ outreach materials at their clinics, shops, companies, schools, and where they work.
Being real: Seven new Looking at Life titles were produced this year, catering specially to readers in Asia. The evangelistic booklets introduce the gospel through life issues such as ageing, finance, and death. Translated into nine languages, some 1.1 million copies have been distributed.
Pray with us We are always seeking to find more ways to reach out to people in their own language and through new mediums. Pray with us for God to open more doors! • More local content: We aim to produce more resources specially for believers and seekers in Asia Pacific. • More digital content: We seek to roll out more online and mobile resources to engage tech-savvy believers. • More audio devices: We aim to distribute more audio devices to reach out to those who can’t read. • More volunteers: We are looking for willing and able talents in finance, digital content, and marketing. Please pray for us as we embark on these plans. We look to God for His provision and your continued partnership, with your support in resources and time.
How we are funded We are not funded or endowed by any group of denomination and are grateful for the support given to Our Daily Bread Ministries. Many people, making even the smallest of donations, enable us to reach others with the lifechanging wisdom of the Bible. Visit us online at ourdailybread.org/ donation for more information.