South East Asia

“I, Too will Follow Jesus”

Aug 2, 2023 | South East Asia

Lotus flowers dotted the beautiful pond – the perfect setting for a simple baptism in eastern Thailand. Buddhist-background Pastor Mii declared in Thai, “Today I have the privilege to reciprocate blessing upon a family that has blessed me!”

As most of the village watched, Mii prayed for and baptized a young American man, the son of the family he stayed with during his college days in America. They were a big part of Mii coming to know and trust Jesus.

After returning to his family in Thailand, Pastor Mii helped pioneer a new church in this unreached area. Now most of Mii’s family – and many other families – are disciples of Jesus!

After the baptism, Richard*, a Beyond field worker, noticed an older man hobbling with his walking stick and slowed to accompany him. Richard asked, “Pong, have you also been baptized like this? Do you know Jesus?” His answer was surprising. “I have been learning, reading in the Bible. My wife and daughter will be baptized soon, and today I have decided that I, too, will follow Jesus. I also want to be baptized!”

Pong explained that Mii’s older sister had prayed for Pong’s cherished granddaughter, who was paralyzed after witch doctors visited their family and did magic. Although Pong hung back when others in his family trusted Jesus, he could now see that God chooses whole families, including him!

Praise our God, who wants whole families to follow Him together. And praise Him for Pastor Mii, who wants to study disciple-making principles with Richard to help his church multiply. Pray that as Pastor Mii learns the biblical principles of Disciple-Making Movements he will immediately implement them and see the fruit of obedience.

*pseudonym

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FINDING GOD’S PREPARED PEOPLE
Disciples in SE Asia have seen many people come to Christ in the past few years and have helped establish many new village house churches. A BEYOND worker who relates read more …

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A Knock on the Door

Jul 12, 2023 | South East Asia, Stories

Kuts* is a regional team leader. One day, Kuts prayed that the Lord would lead him to a person or persons of peace. It was then he met Mr. Bee*.

Mr. Bee seemed eager to hear about Isa (Jesus) and began reading scripture with Kuts. After a while, Mrs. Bee and their daughter joined their studies. Over the course of a year, there were many obstacles to this family coming to faith. One barrier was that Mr. Bee saw Isa (Jesus) merely as a prophet, just as Mohammad was. His inability to see Isa as more than a prophet stalled his spiritual growth.

Several weeks later, Kuts and his team of workers met to discuss disciple-making principles and the importance of following up with promising contacts. They were ready to start their meeting when there was a knock at the door. Kuts was surprised to see Mr. Bee but felt he should welcome him in, even though the team had only a few hours to cover many important issues.

Mr. Bee took a seat, and Kuts asked if there was something he was thankful for. Mr. Bee shared about a portion of scripture he had read in the Injil (New Testament). He was confused by the use of sheep in the passage and by a vivid dream he’d had shortly after reading the scriptures. In the dream, he stood in an open field with hundreds of sheep. (Sheep are almost non-existent in this part of the country; there are only goats). He heard a voice telling him to care for these sheep. Bee asked Kuts what it could mean and what the Injil was describing.

In the team’s presence, they opened God’s word and read several passages where Jesus used sheep in illustrations and where He was mentioned as the Good Shepherd. After reading, Kuts asked Bee what he thought his dreams meant. Bee said it seemed clear that Isa was telling him to tell others about the salvation He offers and that he (Bee) should care for and lead these new sheep.

Before Bee left, the team prayed for him and said they would visit him at his house in a couple of days.

The Lord had convinced Mr. Bee of His deity and sovereignty and gave him a mandate to spread the Good News of the gospel. Additionally, what the team witnessed that night was a tremendous encouragement. God renewed their passion to find and disciple those He had prepared.

*pseudonyms

GO SMALL TO GO BIG
Then, about three years ago, God told them to separate. They obeyed, and each man gathered a smaller group in which they were the only follower of Jesus. read more …

BIBLE STUDY IN THE MOSQUE
Dowad*, the community’s leader and a new disciple of Jesus, brought them into the mosque where the local followers frequently study the Bible. read more …

NO MORE SEARCHING …
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Finding God’s Prepared People

May 3, 2023 | South East Asia, Stories

Disciples in SE Asia have seen many people come to Christ in the past few years and have helped establish many new village house churches. A BEYOND worker who relates to that network of church planters wanted to see their experience help newer church planters in a neighboring country where people speak a closely related language.

In January, a team came to the neighboring country. Daw, a local brother, was paired up with an experienced church planter. Each day before going out, the team asked God to alert them to spiritually hungry people. Daw, in particular, wanted to experience the Holy Spirit’s leading in this regard.

As Daw and his partner walked down the village road, a young man came walking toward them. He was obviously not mentally well. Daw felt they should pass by, but his partner felt otherwise: “We have come to tell people about Jesus. I’ll talk to him, you pray.”

As the brother began sharing the gospel, Daw noticed a woman coming from a nearby house asking if he was causing any trouble and generally apologizing for the young man. Daw immediately moved to engage her in conversation, which is what he had been taught to do. In this way, the gospel sharer can continue without an interruption in the flow of discussion.

She was apologetic and worried that perhaps the young man was causing a problem. She was an aunt and the young man’s caretaker.

“No, he is not causing any trouble. We’re walking through your village telling people the good news that God, who created the universe, loves and cares for you,” replied Daw.

A few years ago, the young man’s mind had been destroyed by excessive drug use, leaving him unable to function mentally — tragic in any culture, and more so in a rural southeast Asian village with no resources to help families care for loved ones with disabilities. The caretaker aunt was exhausted and at the end of her rope.

Daw went through the gospel presentation and closed saying that God gives love, comfort, and wisdom through Jesus. Would she like this? Yes! She wanted very much the help of God Almighty to cope with her life.

Follow-up teams will visit her to start a discovery Bible study group in her home. If she is able to gather friends and family, that group could grow into a functioning church community.

Daw was surprised at how God led. He shared, “I wouldn’t have talked with [that man] but because my partner insisted, the aunt had time to come to the street. She really was God’s prepared person, but I would have missed her.”

Sometimes our “guidance from God” is nothing more than a willingness to stop and talk to someone. We can’t turn away or be afraid to interact just because we think, “Doesn’t look like they’d be interested.” It may be so, but then again, there might be someone else just out of sight seeking for hope.

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SHEEP NEED A SHEPHERD
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WORK IN THIS AREA

“How do You Express Your Faith in America?”

Jul 6, 2019 | South East Asia, Stories

GOD USES A THIEF TO ANSWER PRAYER

*Thui was a Thai Buddhist when he got his job at an international school in Thailand. He began participating in a Bible study, and soon some believers told him he should remove all the idols from his house. He knew he should do it, but he was afraid of angering the spirits. Together they prayed, and Thui asked for God’s help. Not long after, thieves broke into Thui’s house, and, among other stuff, they stole the idols!! Thui feels that God helped him by answering their prayer in this unusual way.

QUESTIONS THAT OPEN DOORS TO SHEMA STATEMENTS

Once a week *Elena meets for English club at the local mosque. Sitting on the porch’s cool tile steps, the participants discuss current events in small groups. One day the discussion topic was about religion. Someone asked a perfect, door-opening question of Elena, “How do you express your faith in America?” Immediately, she thought of her ongoing Disciple Making Movement training where she had learned to use the great commandment as a “shema statement.” Elena responded, “Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is how we should all express our faith, and, of course, we must love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”

After further discussion on the topic, Elena invited them to study the Word of God for themselves. Two Muslim men, *Ardin and *Rukmat, showed interest in reading stories about the prophets, so Elena is handing them off to Gerald, a teammate she is coaching in Disciple Making Movements. Rather than challenging Ardin and Rukmat to believe as they do, Elena and Gerald are trusting the Holy Spirit to lead them into truth through their examination of the Word. Pray for lasting fruit from their studies.

AN ANGEL COMES TO THE AID OF A BIKER

*Khampan had lived a dissolute life using drugs in dirty places. He grew sick and lay for months, pale and unable to get up. Everyone thought he had AIDS. One day, however, Christians came to his neighborhood and told him Jesus could heal him. He believed and prayed with them. Immediately, Khampan knew he would get better. It took several months, but now he is fully healed, working full-time, and supporting himself and his mom. Recently he was riding his motorbike on a broad, high-speed road. A pickup forced him off the road into sharp rocks. He panicked and instinctively wanted to brake, but a voice said, “No! Give it gas!” He did. His front tire found a deep rut that launched him up and over the rocks. He landed on flat ground, both he and the motorbike unharmed! Khampan believes that, as God’s child, an angel protected him.

*pseudonyms used

ORDINARY PEOPLE MAKING DISCIPLES OF JESUS
Achara, a shy woman with a fourth-grade education, embraced Christianity two decades ago. Despite faithfully attending , read more …

“DO PEOPLE TURN INTO DEMONS WHEN THEY DIE?”
Heather quickly responded that she wanted them to gain a new understanding about two of their former Buddhist practices and, ultimately, to turn read more …

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“Do People Turn into Demons When They Die?”

Jun 20, 2019 | South East Asia, Stories

Thankful to be riding an air-conditioned bus on what was proving to be a scorching day, Charis* and her teammate, Heather, were on their way to meet with some new believers in another village. Turning to Heather, Charis asked, “What are you hoping to see the Holy Spirit do in their lives this month?”

Heather quickly responded that she wanted them to gain a new understanding about two of their former Buddhist practices and, ultimately, to turn away from them. First, she wanted them to no longer “feed their parents’ spirit” and second, she hoped they would come to understand that people do not become demons when they die. The two women prayed together and proceeded to review the Bible stories they had prepared to speak into these essential issues.

On the second day, after reading the prepared passages (Acts 19, Hebrews 9), one older woman’s eyes suddenly grew wide with horror and she exclaimed, “If we don’t become demons when we die, and the spirit that comes to enjoy the offerings is a real demon, then we are just like the people in the Bible who worshipped God and worshipped demons! We have been doing that four times a year! We must stop and take everything down, how do we do that?” Heather and Charis noted that the other believers also showed signs of repentance and a willingness to follow the older woman’s declaration.

Later, Charis and Heather were able to model for the new believers how to take down their idols, and then to help them do it themselves. After seeing it modeled, the villagers expressed confidence in their ability to do it for new believers in the future.

Heather was clearly touched by the Holy Spirit’s prompt answer to prayer and in the villagers’ evident growth in the month since she had last seen them. Together Charis and Heather rejoice at the beauty of seeing how the Spirit works and grows His people in the way they need!

*pseudonyms

FINDING GOD’S PREPARED PEOPLE
Disciples in SE Asia have seen many people come to Christ in the past few years and have helped establish many new village house churches. A BEYOND worker who relates read more …

LIVING OUT LOUD
Grace* had recently returned to Southeast Asia when she was flagged down by a familiar face: Her house helper’s husband ran across a busy street to greet her. He insisted that read more …

LEARN ABOUT OUT WORK IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
There are 235 million people in Southeast Asia. The region is complex, with numerous languages, ethnicities, and variations on religion … learn more