Dear friends, supporters and prayer partners,
There has been much activity in SSE Asia since my last update in mid February – prayers have been answered, needs have been met and new ministries and activities have been started. Your partnership in prayer and financial support has made much of this possible, but the faithful service of our partners at the front line in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar, and their commitment to share the blessings of the Christian faith with their people continues as strongly as ever or even stronger. Thank you for your partnership with us in this area of the world where there is so much spiritual need – where so many are still in the darkness of their sins – where there are millions, billions in fact who need to hear the Gospel.
Today’s newspaper says that a recently completed census in India puts the population at 1.21 billion people – that number looks like this – 1,210,000,000. Estimates (which I consider overestimates as they normally include those who claim they are Christians because they are from a “Christian” family) put the percentage of Christians at about 5% – that means that there are about 1.15 billion people in India who are not Christians. It is virtually impossible these days for westerners to practically assist within India in the ministry of the gospel, but we can do much from where we are – by praying and by giving. Please continue as you have in the past and encourage others, particularly young people, to partner with our Christian brothers and sisters in India in prayer.
The same newspaper tells me “Burma’s {Myanmar’s} junta hands over power to civilian Government” but the article indicates that the military members of the former junta have merely taken off their uniforms and now run the country as civilians – only four of the newly appointed 30 member cabinet are strictly civilian, the rest are former military officers who retired from the army in order to run in last November’s “sham” elections. This tells us that our brothers and sisters in the Advent Christian Conference of Myanmar, and other Christians in the country, will continue to minister under great pressure and persecution from those who run their country, who have a specific policy that “There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised…” Please continue as you have in the past and encourage others, particularly young people, to partner with our Christian brothers and sisters in Burma (Myanmar) in prayer. Pray especially that there will be a return to true democracy there.
In spite of what I have written in the last paragraph our people in Myanmar continue to fearlessly minister as the Lord has called them to do. Within the last month one of the groups that make up the ACCM has sent a church planter – a young lady who has just completed a four year B Th. course at a Bible College – back to her own home area to work primarily with children but with the aim of planting a church amongst her people. By God’s grace a couple in New Zealand have agreed to meet the monthly cost of housing and support for herself and her ministry.
Please pray for Th (her name and the name of the place she will minister is withheld for security). If you are willing to pray regularly for this young lady, and if you are willing to identify who you are and which church you belong to, and clearly understand and acknowledge that what I send you must not be published in any form at all outside your home or church I am willing to send you more information about this outreach together with a picture.
In the same area of Myanmar, a request for financial assistance to start a small business has also been graciously provided by the Lord through a couple in NZ who have given a substantial capital sum to allow a chilli farming venture to be started to provide income for Christians living in a remote area and ultimately to support the planting of a church in their village. The funds will be used to lease land, buy equipment and seed and pay the believers to plant and raise the chilli crop, with the income that is so generated being used to provide long term income for the believers to enable them to support their families and a church. The seeds for the crop are about to be planted this month – please pray for rain and all that is necessary to make this project successful.
I have details of five further College graduates in Myanmar who are ready and willing to go back to their home areas as evangelists and church planters – if you or your church or group would like details as to what is involved in sponsoring them, please contact me at ernie.schache@acmissionz.org.nz.
There was a severe earthquake (6.8 on the Richter scale) on 24 March in the northwest of Myanmar in the Shan State where the Burmese border with Thailand and Laos meets. News reports indicate that at least 125 were killed and more than 3,000 in Myanmar were made homeless.
This is one of the areas in which some of our Advent Christian Conference of Myanmar folk are involved in ministering to unreached people with the Gospel. One of our Conference leaders reported as follows…
“East Shan State has been struck by an earthquake on 24 March, 2010, 8:00AM. D is our church planter in East Shan State. D report to me that 125 people died and four places has been destroyed by earthquake. There are our four family member has pass away. Some our believers get hand broken and legs broken. They are in hospital right now. Some of our member’ bodies cannot find yet said D.. The earthquake area is the most that we do church planting in East Shan State. …. Please pray for their family those who are suffering for this earthquake. I believe that The Lord is speaking to this Myanmar people in East Shan State by earthquake.
1. Please pray for those who are suffering by earthquake from this areas.
2. Pray for our member who have [lost some] of their family for this earthquake.
3. Pray for those who has been broken hand and legs.
4. Pray for D, M and T. They are doing relief on days and nights. They are our church planters in East Shan State.
5. Pray that The Lord will make for me to go that place and do outreach. My prayer is that this earthquake is my opportunity to share the gospel of the salvation of Jesus. Jesus is our Lord. Amen.”
At least two of our AC folk have gone to the area to do what they can to assist and bring some measure of relief – please pray for safety for them and pray that the Christian love and care and compassion they show will touch the hearts of those to whom they minister.
In Thailand it is, or should be, summer, and Christian Mission Naratchakwai has planned for their annual Vacation Bible School to be held on April 4th to 6th at their compound. It is a “live-in” school with children and young people from 5 churches in the area participating. They are expecting 50 to 60 participating and all the lessons – on the story of Ruth; three chapters in Thai and then the same three chapters in English – are being taken by teens from John and Maeo’s group of girls who are staying with them this year and are studying in English language programs at high school. Please pray for the VBS program and for the teenage teachers in particular, and for John as he supervises the program. Pray that many of the children and young people participating will have their eyes opened to the message of the Gospel.
I said “should be” summer in the paragraph above, because John has reported today that “on this morning’s news on the radio we were told that winter will be extended for another 2 months; the temperature right now is about 66 degrees F [19 degrees C] and that is COLD for us here. It is also raining and it has been raining for almost 48 hours. This is unheard of in this part of Thailand.” So pray for John and Maeo as they hold their VBS in “winter”, and pray that the extended cold and wet weather will not bring problems for crops and harvests for the people they minister amongst.
Rejoice with John and Maeo that they have had two interns join them in the last couple of weeks, to assist them with their ministry until February 2012. These young people are studying at Phayao Seminary, the largest seminary in Thailand, and will spend the fourth year of their five year course assisting John and Maeo as interns. This will be of great help to John, as it will not only allow them to take responsibility for some of the ministry and teaching and thus reduce John’s workload, but will also provide some Thai nationals to assist with outreach and liaison with the parents and families of the children and young people they are working with. One of the common excuses given by parents and wider families for not being involved with Christian Mission Naratchakwai’s activities has been that “Christianity is a foreign/American religion” – the presence of Thai nationals teaching the same Christian principles and doctrines will make this excuse meaningless. Thailand’s population is around 65 million and only about 1.6 % of that number are Christians.
Please pray for the interns – sorry I have no pictures yet – Sririchai, his wife and infant son, and Wah, a young lady. Both are originally from northern Thailand. Although they have only been at Naratchakwai for a short time, in Wah’s case just two days, they have both been well accepted by the young people, especially the teenagers who are staying with John and Maeo, and have fitted in well.
Please also pray that the experience of these two students will be such that in future years there may be a regular availability of interns from the seminary to assist John and Maeo, and that eventually there may be one (or more) who will know God’s call to minister at CMN on a permanent basis.
In Malaysia, Ruth and Wilfred continue their ministry among their neighbours and other contacts.
Ruth recently reported as follows…
“Here is an earnest and urgent request to be prayed for. We have been sharing Jesus to a Hindu gentleman. He is a successful businessman. He needs our prayer as he wants God to help him save his broken marriage. He is a father of three children. Please pray for the following:
1. For the Lord to heal him of his painful memories.
2. Healing of his withered mental attitude and transformation of his nature.
We have invited him to our home for tea.
A Chinese businessman who is a Buddhist has been visiting us since last year. Recently, when he came to our home for tea, he spent four hours with us, listening to testimonies of God’s goodness and miracles. We have given a Bible to him.”
Please pray for Ruth and Wilfred and their daughters Joanna and Jerusha as they witness and minister on a one-to-one basis, and pray also for the small group which meets at their home each Sunday for fellowship and worship.
I ask you to join me in thanking the Lord for the wonderfully generous response to our request to “Bring the Light to Myanmar” – for portable generators to allow our AC folk to have a reliable supply of electricity for their families and the orphans they care for. We have had gifts for 8 generators and the funds for 7 have already been sent to Myanmar and the money for the eighth will be remitted very soon. The leaders of the AC Conference of Myanmar are extremely grateful to all who have prayed and especially to those who have given so generously. I add my sincere appreciation to theirs.
Please also pray concerning our proposed WORK/ENGLISH TEACHING/MINISTRY TEAM planned to go to Thailand late this year and early next year. There is maintenance and painting to be done on the Christian Mission Ban Naratchakwai compound; John will have ample opportunities for those who wish to be involved with him and his young people in teaching basic English in some of the elementary schools nearby; and there will be many opportunities to interact with the children and young people involved in the ministries of the Mission. This is an ideal opportunity for a parent or parents with their child or children to come and minister together, and to enjoy the fun and fellowship that our Team trips bring and to visit a mission field and to contribute to its activities.
As you pray please make your family and friends and Christian contacts aware of this opportunity – for further details please contact Garry Schache at garry@acconz.org.nz or myself at the address given earlier in this update.
Finally, please visit our website – www.acmissionz.org.nz – and look at the NEW MISSIONS PRAYER CALENDAR
which has a prayer item for each day of the month, covering Advent Christian Missions and personnel and activities around the world. The calendar can be downloaded and printed to act as a prayer reminder each day, or, if you prefer, you can receive each day’s item by daily email or sync. it with other applications. If you would like to receive it by daily email please contact Tarnya Burge at tarnya@acmissionz.org.nz and she will “invite” you. (This will involve you joining Google calendar and setting your alerts – Tarnya can help you with doing that).
My sincere thanks to you for your prayers and partnership with those in SSE Asia who serve the Lord under the Advent Christian banner and of course to the Lord for hearing and answering those prayers in wonderful ways.
In His service,
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