Greetings to our friends, supporters and prayer partners, and once again my sincere appreciation for your support and encouragement in so many ways, especially for your prayers.
It is the “silly season” in South East Asia again and the summer climate and weather brings very different concerns for those who live and serve the Lord in different countries. Our brothers and sisters in Myanmar are experiencing flooding from very heavy monsoon rains and those in Tamil Nadu, India are still experiencing severe water shortages and high temperatures. As you pray, please pray that the Lord’s people – leaders and church members – in all the countries we are interested in, will know the Lord’s provision and protection and that their ministries will not be hindered by these natural events.
INDIA
The temperatures in Metro Chennai have dropped a little since the last update, and there have been light drizzles of rain on a few occasions, but the city is still very hot and very short of water. Those who have lived in Chennai for a long time say it is the worst water shortage since the early 2000s. One of the large reservoirs which serve the city’s 9 million plus residents has dried up completely. Immanuel has been able to obtain water to keep the families on the mission compound going – thank you for praying about this matter. Please continue to pray that our YJM families, and indeed all the residents of this huge city, will somehow have sufficient water as their summer continues.
Thank you for faithfully praying for the sale of the Guindy land – it seems that the “Lord’s buyer”, who we have been praying for for many years, is indeed at hand. Immanuel and our lawyer Ravi Paul, and officers of the AC Conference are continuing negotiations with the joint venture of a large Indian vehicle manufacturing company with a large, very well-known British company who are so keen to purchase the property that they have now offered about 6.6 % more than our asking price!! Documentation is being prepared for the purchase of our land, and for privately-owned land along the road frontage which was sold to independent Christians many years ago. There is a way to go yet and discussions with the Tax Department and the Land Registrar are ongoing, and there are still potential “fish-hooks” to be dealt with – one of these involves public advertisements required by law, making the forthcoming sale known and seeking objections. Please pray that this will not bring false claimants forward – as is often the case in India, and this of course causes delays, sometimes very long ones.
The sale would bring the possibility of much needed financial stability for the Advent Christian Conference of India and its ministries and would allow YJM/AAM to greatly extend our ministries, and Immanuel is also working on downstream matters concerning the proceeds of the sale.
Please continue to pray that this enquirer may finally be the Lord’s chosen one and that the sale will be completed as soon as possible.[clear]
YJM ministry partner Pastor Ahaj Kumar Pani in Odisha, continues his busy ministries and continues to express his appreciation for our financial assistance and our prayers. He sent the following report of outreach ministry to unreached areas, carried out in early July.
“We are doing Outreach ministries – we are preaching the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to these poor people. We gave New Testament and Gospel tracts to these village people. Please pray for these village people who for the first time heard the Gospel from us.”
The Village people who for the first time heard the Gospel
Bread of Life
Later in the month, Pastor Pani, along with others, received a further gift from ACGC’s “BREAD OF LIFE” program, which raises funds for feeding the poor and hungry in several countries. He was once again very grateful for this assistance to enable him and his helpers to minister to the many poor and needy folk in his area of Odisha.
He sent the following pictures, with the comment “PRAISE THE LORD.”!
ACMissioNZ was recently able to send some funds, given by a generous donor, to another of our ministry partners – the Christ Special High School at Sangkarapuram – which is a residential school for children with physical and intellectual handicaps.
Since 1991 the school, originally founded by Pastor Paul Nilivan’s mother but now led by Pastor Paul, has educated, mentored and loved as beloved children of God, children who have health, physical and intellectual disabilities. For several years they have seen the need to assist children who are deaf and unable to speak and they are praising the Lord that in June last year they were able to start their SCHOOL FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED. They were able to purchase some of the specialist audio equipment required and they have employed a specialist trained teacher to teach the eleven deaf children who now live at the school. They are presently planning to seek government recognition for their school. Please pray that sufficient funds to continue this ministry will come to hand and that the government will recognise and assist the school.
Pastor Paul wrote as follows…
“We have purchased an AUDIO METER & VOICE TRAINER for our Hearing Impaired School. The purpose of the Audio Meter to find out the hearing level of students. With the help of the Audio Meter we can make graphs for student’s hearing levels. After that only we can divide the students. The voice trainer with digital lamp will indicate the student voice level. At present we have 11 Hearing Impaired students, some more students are expected to join in the school.
In the month of June we held 3 days of VBS and 3 days Catering & Tailoring Training. We are sending the photos.
Thanking you.”
Audio Equipment pictured below:
VBS, tailoring and catering training pictured below
THAILAND
The six young ladies who are the members of the leadership team at Christian Mission Naratchakwai, like most young people these days, use many social media forums to communicate! During their summer break from school and university, five of them – Ploy, Parn, Lita, Job and Guitar – decided to make their first “Music Video”.
It is entitled “Share” and is based on Mark 16: 15 (NIV) “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.” The wonderful thing is that this video reflects the hearts and commitment of these young ladies and is a reminder of the time and effort they put in each week to plan, prepare and present the ministries of CMN. Please thank the Lord for these young people – the five named above and Kaew, and for Sister Maeo and Brother Boontaa, and pray regularly for them as they seek to share their faith and the Gospel in and around Nakhon Phanom. They commented as they put the video on their Facebook page…
“Our first created music video. Thank you God for blessing us, thank you everyone who are praying and helping us. God bless you all.”
They did a wonderful job – please take a few minutes and watch their video.
On 23 June, the Naratchakwai Elementary School, which is just a few hundred metres from Christian Mission down the main road to the village, where Maeo spent her working life as a teacher, was destroyed by fire. Christian Mission has had a close relationship with the school and John Middlewood spent many, many hours there teaching the children English.
On 30 June, the team from Christian Mission took their Soup of Love to the many people who had gathered to assist with the demolition of the ruins following the fire, to make the site ready for rebuilding the school. There were many people from the village present to assist, and there were many large pots of the Soup of Love and many helpers, and another opportunity for Christian Mission to show care and compassion for the people of the village!
Ploy wrote as she put the pictures on Facebook…
“We went to Naratchakwai School; the school that was on fire. We offered the soup there. There were so many people who came to help to demolish the buildings that burnt down. Thank you God for that and please pray for this school.”
On Sunday 9 July Ploy wrote…
“There are 33 people here, 21 children and 12 adults. Today was a good day. We were preparing Mother’s Day in the afternoon. (We will celebrate Mother’s Day on August 13th) We decided to make a short movie. After finished the church’s activity, Uncle Dtee took our students back to their home; on the way sending the last student the van was stuck. Thank you God for sending some people to help us. God bless you all.”
MALAYSIA
Kluang Advent Christian Group’s ministry
Please continue to pray for the small group of faithful Advent Christian believers who gather weekly for worship in the home of Sister Ruth Devairakkam and Brother Wilfred in Kluang and who gather in members’ homes for Bible study and communion during the week. Christian ministry is not easy in Malaysia, but Ruth and Wilfred faithfully continue their one-on-one ministries of friendship, practical assistance and counsel to friends, neighbours and other contacts.
Sister Ruth recently wrote as follows…
“PRAISES TO GOD.
PSALM 66: 2 “Sing forth the honor of His Name, make His praise glorious.”
We want to thank you for your fervent prayers that have caused results in our lives and those we are in contact with.
For Easter, we had Easter fellowship in the morning with relatives of my husband, Wilfred from overseas. We had a time of sharing, strengthening and encouraging one another in the Lord.
We exalted the Lord for His forgiveness upon our lives and the victory won through the blood of Jesus, that has brought us this far, the amazing Grace of Jesus. We enjoyed the presence of the Lord.
My children are witnessing to some of their friends. Praise the Lord, these friends are taking their lives seriously for God and making their decision for Jesus. There is an inner hunger and thirst for God in their hearts.
We praise the Lord for our contacts who approach us for help. They are seeing the manifestation of miracles in their situation as they surrender themselves to God.
We praise God for a lady who loves Jesus but suddenly had to confront spiritual attack. She was unable to think properly. She felt God so distant. For three months she did not give up worship and praising God. God gave her new strength to rise up. God rewarded her tolerance, endurance and perseverance in Him. She learned that God was bringing her to a new transition. Her prayer life is now soaring higher than what it was before.
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST.
This lady has a suicidal tendency. She is suffering from depression. We have advised her to go to a Christian psychiatrist. Please pray that God will direct her to the right one for her. Pray that God will give her new strength to take spiritual responsibility for her deliverance and be a testimony for others.
We want to praise and honor God for His way in dealing with situations and doing things beyond our five senses. You are part of all the blessings we are experiencing over here.
God bless you.”
MYANMAR
Pastor Timothy, leader of the Advent Christian Church of Myanmar, has for several years been running the “Doors of Hope” teaching classes to give some education to children whose poor families cannot afford to send their children to state schools. He has been doing this in the neighbourhood around his house and children’s orphanage, but has recently moved the undertaking and increased the number of children he is able to assist with their basic education. He convinces teachers from the state schools to give their time after school hours, at no cost, to help these children.
He recently advised that the school has been inundated by the rains – it is the rainy season in Myanmar at present. He wrote…
“Our Doors of Hope teaching place is full of water and students are walking in the water every day. So I am trying to do a concrete way at farm. Please pray for the cost of this path.”
Pastor Timothy’s church in Yangon, the Advent Christian Church of Myanmar, was started in 2001, after he had read a small ACGC booklet – This We Believe – which he had translated from English to Burmese. He found the tract in the library of the Bible College where he was studying and as he read it he became convinced that the booklet set out the Biblical explanation of the state of the dead and of the resurrection at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wrote…
“We thank God for our home Church’s 17 yrs. anniversary service. God is leading us wonderfully. Our president Kenneth and his wife came to the service, 3 American friends also participated
the service.”
Pastor Kenneth, the President of the Advent Christian Conference of Myanmar, recently wrote
“ We received the 2nd quarter gift of Bread of Life. We do very much appreciate and praise God for his great blessing through you. We also would like to say “thank you” to all the donors and we give thanks to the Lord for His blessing. The gift was divided equally to the four leaders on that day for the ministries that we are doing.
Now in Myanmar, there is too much rain every day. Fever is very common nowadays in Myanmar and some of our children are also getting fevers.
Again, I would like to say “thank you” to all of you who really care for us and concern for the ministries here in Myanmar.
May the Lord continue to bless you all abundantly in your ministries.”
PHILIPPINES
Sister Nely Gamayon, Director of Oro Bible College, has recently asked for prayer for several matters. We need to be often in prayer for their staff members in particular, as many of them are unwell. She wrote…
“Prayer Requests:
Health of Faculty:
Nely – lab test results after hospitalization showed SGPT is high. I am under medication for one month. Scheduled have Lipid profile and another CBC before seeing the doctor by the end of August. Doctor is a bit worried about my liver and the low platelet count.
Reniel – lab test result yielded blood sugar is a bit high, triglycerides still high, has consulted a nutritionist for his diet – strictly no rice.
Fe Laturgo – diabetic and high blood pressure.
Minda Lipanta – bronchitis – still on medication.
Jess Gawangon – allergic Rhinitis and asthma
Intern students – two in Iligan city – their movements are very limited due to the war in Marawi and there are plenty of evacuees in Iligan City as well as the terrorists posing as refugees. Students: our enrolment for the first semester is 35. We have 5 interns, 9 graduating students (4 are from the COEMA pastors enrolled.) Approval of the new curriculum for AB Theology, Pastoral Ministry, Spiritual Formation and Missions to be implemented by June 2018.
Pray for the war against terrorism in Marawi and other parts of Mindanao.”
The Philippine Advent Christian Conference recently sent the following report…
Three local churches report on recent baptism rites conducted to new believers for the period covering from the month of June up to the first week of July.
Photo below left shows Rev. Eleazar M. Comajig of the New Life Fellowship, Iligan City with his church leaders and 13 young people who committed to follow the Lord on June 3, 2017.
Above right: Rev. Jonathan M. Navacilla of Blessed Hope Christian Fellowship, Cebu City, with 17 youths, submitted themselves to immersion into water symbolizing their oneness in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus on June 26, 2017.
A recent baptism was conducted by Pastor Samuel Mahinay to five new believers on July 4, 2017. Samuel is the host pastor of Maranatha Bible Church situated in Mati, Claveria, Misamis Oriental.
May God bless you richly as you serve Him in Missions by your prayers and support.
Greetings to our friends, supporters and prayer partners, and once again my sincere appreciation for your support and encouragement in so many ways, especially for your prayers.
As you pray, please pray that the Lord’s people – leaders and church members – in all the countries we are interested in, will know the Lord’s provision and protection and that their ministries will not be hindered by these natural events.
Thank you for faithfully praying for the sale of the Guindy land – it seems that the “Lord’s buyer”, who we have been praying for for many years, is indeed at hand. Immanuel and our lawyer Ravi Paul, and officers of the AC Conference are continuing negotiations with the joint venture of a large Indian vehicle manufacturing company with a large, very well-known British company who are so keen to purchase the property that they have now offered about 6.6 % more than our asking price!! Documentation is being prepared for the purchase of our land, and for privately-owned land along the road frontage which was sold to independent Christians many years ago. There is a way to go yet and discussions with the Tax Department and the Land Registrar are ongoing, and there are still potential “fish-hooks” to be dealt with – one of these involves public advertisements required by law, making the forthcoming sale known and seeking objections. Please pray that this will not bring false claimants forward – as is often the case in India, and this of course causes delays, sometimes very long ones.
THAILAND
The six young ladies who are the members of the leadership team at Christian Mission Naratchakwai, like most young people these days, use many social media forums to communicate! During their summer break from school and university, five of them – Ploy, Parn, Lita, Job and Guitar – decided to make their first “Music Video”.
MALAYSIA
MYANMAR
PHILIPPINES
