Deadly cyclones and repressive governments notwithstanding, our friends in mission based in southeast Asia continue to spread the love of Jesus Christ, not only through their actions, but through the written Word of God. Following is an update we received from Mark and Astrid of the Christian Far East Ministry. We met with them both, learned from them and contributed to their efforts during our Thailand Mission, earlier this year. Their work extends beyond the borders of Thailand into other southeast Asian countries ... as the following post will tell you.
We thank the Lord for all that He has done over the past months that prove that He is alive, that He is powerful and that He is love. We hope these reports encourage you and we share these stories all for the glory of God.
48,000 Burmese Bibles have been distributed to needy believers. One shipment was in a church in the area where the cyclone killed so many people and destroyed so many buildings. The church was destroyed, except for the room where the Bibles were stored. The Bibles were all safe. Praise God!
A lot of people are 'starving for the Word of God.' When we received these Holy Bibles we were trembling, and we thank God with our hearts and souls.
10,000 Karen Language Hymnals have been printed and delivered around the Thailand–Burma border region. It’s not nearly enough and people are calling for more. Entire churches are only getting 5 or 10 hymnals so that as many churches as possible can have some. The people say they have never before seen Karen hymnals made with such good quality. They are very grateful. The people feel closer to God when they worship.
20,000 Karen Bibles have arrived. This is the first large printing of this new common language Bible that is the first easy to understand version. When the truck arrived, it was too big to drive down the small street to the warehouse, and so it parked on the highway. The day the truck arrived it had been raining for two days. This was during the time of the cyclone in Burma. The moment the team started working the rain stopped. The team worked for three hours shuttling the Bibles to the ware-house. Ten minutes after they finished it rained again, and it didn't stop raining for three more days.
600 Jarai New Testaments were delivered to Cambodia. The Jarai people live in an area where the Vietnamese secret police rule the area. Recently, two Christian pastors were arrested. Muslims are moving into the area, and with money from overseas they are paying the police to arrest Christian pastors on false charges.
Please pray for these areas in Cambodia, that Jesus would be glorified!
About 1,300 Hmong Bibles and New Testaments have been sent to believers in North Western Laos. And the local route to bring materials to the Hmong in Northern Vietnam is working and several thousand NTs, Bibles, and hymnals are currently being delivered to persecuted Hmong Christians.
300 Vietnamese Bibles were recently confiscated from a courier team to Vietnam. The border was tighter than normal, and it may have been because the minorities in the Central Highlands had once again organized a peaceful demonstration to protest the lack of religious freedom and the theft of their ancestral lands by the Vietnamese Government. The Vietnamese Government sent soldiers to attack the protesters. Some were killed and many arrested.
50 Lahu Bibles and 1,350 Ahka New Testaments have been moved to Northern Burma. In one area of Burma we have been giving Bibles because they said if the people read the Bible they will be come Christians. And that’s just what has been happening."
Here are some testimonies.
"My name is Mitotaymoo. I was an Animist. I did not believe in God. I was not interested to believe in God. I heard the good news, but nothing touched my heart. When a Karen Evangelist came and opened a nursery school in my village I started to send my three-year-old daughter to attend. It was then that I started to hear the Bible verses through my daughter. When I heard it every evening my heart was opened and I started to believe. After one year I asked for a Bible. The first verse I read was John 3:16. When I read it, it changed my heart, so I received Jesus in my life."
"My name is PaDay Pa. I was a Buddhist. I was a drunk. All of my relatives are Buddhists. In my life I saw that the Christian people love the poor people. I got a Bible from an evangelist and I read it and I became a believer. I started to read the Bible in Romans 10:9-11,13. It changed my life. I started to know that when I have Jesus I will receive eternal life, but when I do not have him I will be destroyed. So I started to believe in Him, trust in Him, and live His words."
"My name is Aymyehaung. I am a Burmese and I was a Buddhist believer. I did not trust God, because I saw that the Christian life is like the Buddhist life. One day when there was an open air crusade with preaching I went to listen. The words heated my heart. The Christians gave me a Bible and I started to read it. I read Hebrews 9:22: I knew then that He can wash my sins away. So I believed."
"My name is Mo Gy. I was a Buddhist and worshiped idols. When I met with Mrs. Ehku, she was a school headmaster and I was a teacher in her school. She told me about Jesus. She told me to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John: the four Gospel books. I read them through four times and my heart changed. I felt so sorrowful that I was a false worshipper. I thank God that He changed my life and I am now a Christian."
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Mark and Astrid
To support the work of CHRISTIAN FAR EAST MINISTRY IN AMERICA, tax deductible gifts may be made out to "His Servants – Asia or Faith Community Church" and mailed to:
Christian Far East Ministry
PO Box 1411
Glendora, CA 91740
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