Prayer | Beyond

“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 …

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

“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

Seedlings

Jan 25, 2019 | Stories

He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself, the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” ~ Mark 4:26-19

The Himalayan village of Sky Cliff is both physically and spiritually remote. The nearest Christ follower or church is a two day hike away. And those believers speak a different language from that of Sky Cliff! These precious people, however, are on God’s heart.

In the spring of 2018, Beyond missionaries made the trek into Sky Cliff in order to share the good news of Christ. While there, Beyonders gave two young men a Bible and taught them the principles of Discovery Bible Study (DBS). When they returned in the fall they were pleased, but not surprised, to meet two others from that village who wanted to know more about Jesus.

That’s part of the beauty of DBS – reproducibility. Right from the start seekers are taught to obey and to share what they have learned from scripture.

For remote villages like Sky Cliff there is further good news. DBS acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is the teacher. This is key when there is no regular contact with a Christian. Further discipling, coaching or leadership will likely be needed, but the spiritually hungry need not wait to be fed by “qualified” teachers. The Holy Spirit teaches them as they immerse themselves in scripture.

Praise God with us for the way God is moving in remote villages. Pray that a movement of disciple making would sweep through these mountainous regions calling all hearts home to God.

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NEW SEEDS OF FAITH
Frank and his team have been praying for their friend, Job. Through many conversations read more …

WE CAN PLANT SEEDS …
One day she received a text from Celia* saying she had started a Discovery Bible Study(DBS) and read more …

WHAT KIND OF DIRT …
Matt lives and works as a movement catalyst in a remote region. He wanted some of his local read more …

Having Conversations that Matter

Jan 18, 2019 | Stories

When *Jia was invited to join a group learning how to share God’s stories with others so they might become Jesus’ disciples, her eyes lit up and she asked, “Do you really think I could do that?” “I most certainly do!” her friend, Amy, responded. “After all, God’s Spirit is alive in you and it’s His desire to see more people not only knowing the Gospel but following Jesus in trusting obedience.”

Thinking for a moment Jia replied, “I am excited about joining together to practice and share God’s stories. Learning how to better engage with those who don’t know Jesus is something I need help with because I’m not very good with social skills.”

“Jia, I’m not very good with social skills either,” Amy said. “But I’ve found that there are many low pressure, yet effective ways to come alongside others with God’s Word. Most importantly, the Holy Spirit lives in us and delights to do this work as long as we are willing to be used by Him.”

“Then I will be praying for new understanding and a breakthrough of boldness!” Jia declared. A month after this conversation took place, Amy shares that it has been a joy for her to watch the Holy Spirit open her friends’ eyes to ways they can interact in authentic and intentional ways with people who don’t yet know God’s truth and love. In one “ah-ha” moment the women felt that as they shared with others the specific ways God had answered their prayers, they should also ask what the other person (mostly likely Daoist or Buddhist) has experienced in prayer.

By listening to the other person’s spiritual journey the women might hear of a need and be able to share a story from the Bible for that need. Praise God that these young women are seeking ways to have conversations of eternal significance.

Pray that they would find many who are open to hearing the living, active word of God and that many would come to trusting obedience of Christ Jesus and begin to share within their own relationships.

*pseudonym

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SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS OVER TEA
“That song sounds nice, and it’s wonderful to hear new songs in the Tibetan language and style . . . but who is this Savior Jesus read more …

A BOLD WITNESS
*Yeng is Khmer (most Khmers are Buddhist) who comes from a big family. Her husband, Pouch, is blind; her 97 years old mother-in-law read more …

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Two of Jane’s* young children were watching and hearing about Susi’s* openness to Isa (Jesus). read more …

Hope in the Midst of Disaster

Oct 7, 2018 | Austronesia, Stories

A Kairos moment- a Sovereign God-ordained opportune moment for a window of time which provides crossroads moments for His glory to be demonstrated and declared among the peoples.

Between July 29th and August 12th, our workers in Indonesia walked through earthquakes of 6.4, 7.0, 6.2, 7.0 magnitude.

Unprecedented? Yes.

Unexpected? Not when we have prayed and labored for Disciple Making Movements in this part of the world since the early 1990’s. A Kairos moment? In the hours and days since the earthquake struck, our teams have reported walking through many Kairos moments, here are a few:

“Mrs. Reina, you and your husband have been coming to visit our family for many years. And yet, this time, as you bring medical clinics, trauma counseling, and material supplies, we see something different. Others have come to help our flattened homes in the village. They look, shake their heads, and say, ‘Too bad.’ But you and your friends come, and it is like you bring hope which shows that you feel what we feel and you suffer this with us.”
“Do you remember me?” one of the villagers asked. “I was the little preemie whom you prayed for healing in Jesus’ name 17 years ago.” (Our team on the field is facilitating a Discovery Bible Study with her household and friends as she discovers the reality of the God who rescued her.)
Sri and her husband have lived in their tarp evacuation home since the first 7.0 magnitude crushed their home. After having walked their family through the trauma debrief process, our team offered to pray for them in Isa Al Masih’s name. The next day, God answered that prayer…Sa’ul had been hired. There would be a source of income, for now. Sri reflected, “We feel so cared for by you both. Why would you even take time to spend time with us?”
A team of mural artists was drawing murals of their cities rising up from the ruin of the earthquakes. When asked by one of our team members what the paintings represented. “Hope,” they said. “It is our cry for a source of hope.” Pray that the Lord continues to work in the hearts of those who have lost so much . . .

People here continue to build their lives despite the ruins that surround them. They are hungry for hope. Pray that we don’t miss the opportunities to guide and direct them to the one who gives us eternal Hope.

For the next few months, as our team helps with medical care and lessons on how to cope with trauma, please pray that Jesus would be the focus and that people would experience the joy of loving and knowing Him in the midst of their suffering.