THANKSGIVING IN THE MISSION FIELD!

Thanksgiving is a time for the family and a time to thank God for all that He has given. The Lisu people also have a thanksgiving and that’s usually right after they’ve harvested their crops for the year. Thanksgiving, in many different cultures seems to include food. In America, the painting “Freedom from Want”, by American artist Norman Rockwell, portraying the elderly woman placing a gigantic turkey on the long table filled with what appears to be family members gathered around smiling happily. The Lisu thanksgiving is a church service. The villagers would bring their first of their crops and place it in front of the church as an offering to God. These crops (cucumbers, rice, corn, potatoes, etc.) are then given to evangelists, church leaders, and preachers, and some of these are even used in the food that is provided to everyone after the service.

Myanmar

During the week of Thanksgiving, Stephen and Nick traveled to Myitkyina, Northern Myanmar. The trip was incredible. They were able to join in the Lisu Thanksgiving services which happened to be on the same week as USA Thanksgiving. Away from family, no turkey, but a lot of great Burmese Lisu dishes, none the less.  Stephen spent the majority of the time preaching, teaching and answering questions about the book of Revelation; many of the Lisu leaders in this area had read Stephen’s commentary on the book of Revelation and requested a workshop in order to further understand the meaning of the text through historical and literary and many other context. Stephen offered two different workshops: one in Wain Maw and the other in Myitkyina. Each workshop lasted for two days. It was very intensive, but well worth it; it’s worth it, even to sleeping on mats on the floor with few thin blankets below freezing temperatures. Most of the Lisu churches hold the belief that Revelation is a book of prediction for the end of the world. For them, if anyone wants to know when or what happens at the end time, one must read the book of Revelation. Many Lisu Christian leaders were shocked when Stephen pointed out to them that the book of Revelation is not a prediction of the end of the world. It is indeed God’s Word giving a warning and exhorting people to follow His Word. We need to understand what Revelation meant for the readers in the past so that we can understand what it means for us today; and we have to say what the Revelation says and not to say what the Revelation doesn’t say. Rather than holding to what is written in the Scripture, many of Lisu churches held on to one commentary which was written by the early group of missionary among the Lisu in the early 19th century. Overall, the leaders from several churches in northern Myanmar stated that they are refreshed and encouraged to understand the Word of God. They requested Stephen to go back and offer a longer and more detailed teaching seminar during this coming summer of 2017. Many Christian leaders will fly to Chiangmai to intensively study the book of Revelation with Stephen at the end of this December.   

Stephen preaching at Sanka's Thanksgiving service
The congregation at Sanka

The villagers at Sanka literally offer their crops
Nick preaching at Bethany Christian Church in Myitkyina
Nick preaching at Malikah outside of Myitkyina

Stephen teaching how to understand
the book of Revelation at Wain Maw

The Revelation workshop at Wain Maw
Revelation workshop at Bethany Christian Church
in Myitkyina


Another aspect of this trip was in order to help the Lisu people in their daily living. Our team believes in the “wholistic” approach in our ministry. We believe that people are made of the physical and also of the spirit. We teach and preach the Word in order to help with the spirit of the people, and we also try to help their physical aspects in life, if or whenever we can so that they would become a healthy church for carrying the Great Commission to the lost souls of the world. The majority of the Lisu people in Myanmar are living way below the poverty line. Many gather and scrounge for money in order to have food on the table for their families, and there are no government programs to aid the people at all.

A great amount of the Lisu people grow opium in the mountains of Northern Myanmar; they have no choice but to grow opium as their cash crop because they do not know how to grow other crops. On top of this, the Lisu that do not live in the mountains but closer to the outskirts of the cities will often grow corn as their cash crop. The ones who grow corn were cheated by a Chinese company who came in and provided the Lisu with “fake” corn seeds and “fake” fertilizers. The thing is that a certain Chinese company came to the Lisu many years ago and sold them corn seeds that the Chinese said was good like American corn that you see in Midwest USA. The Lisu in Myanmar, being that they had very little education and very little knowledge of the outside world, believed the Chinese company. They bought and planted these “fake” seeds and even bought the Chinese fertilizers. You see, the Chinese company promised that once the Lisu grew and harvested these corn, this Chinese company would buy it from them. The Lisu trusted this Chinese company, and when it was time to harvest the corn, the Chinese company disappeared without a trace. Throughout the years, Stephen has on many occasion been to the Lisu villages that still bought corn seeds every year from China and sold them at an extremely low price. Stephen, through experience of seeing corn almost every day in Illinois, saw the corn that the Lisu were buying and growing from the Chinese companies, who claimed they were seeds from America, were not the same; the corn from the Chinese company that the Lisu were growing were very small and had various faded pigments, contrasting to the big yellowish orange corn that you see driving down the roads of Midwest states in America. The Chinese company had taken advantage of the Lisu in Myanmar. At this point, the Lisu have no choice but to continue to grow these Chinese corn because they don’t have any other options.

The Lisu, living in the cities, have no jobs. Some of the families may have a little business that will help them, day to day; other families may go rent land outside of the city to farm. Even preachers and church leaders living in the city will go out to farm because the church doesn’t have enough money to support a full time preacher. Some Sundays, the preacher won’t even be at the church because he didn’t make it back in time from the fields. Even further, many of the youth have no hope and turn to heroin, meth, and alcohol. At each village that Stephen and Nick went to, the main problem in the youth was that many of them were addicts and several had recently died from drug overdose.

Lisu leaders from Wain Maw explaining about the problems
they are facing in their daily lives and farming

Lisu leaders from different parts of Kachin state
hold a special meeting to discuss how to improve
their churches into healthy churches by improving
the standard of living of their members  

During the trip, Nick went to various villages and met with some of the kids that didn’t have either a mother or a father and also kids without both parents. The purpose of this trip was to survey the villages and to provide some immediate help for the kids. Nick went and spent time with them and encouraged the kids. There was one particular boy that touched Nick’s heart a lot. The boy’s name was “Marina”. Marina is 5 years old, very small for his age. His father died from an illness when he was an infant, and his mother died while going to find a job on the Chinese side; Marina currently lives with his grandfather who was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and is being treated with the help from IDES when Stephen previously arrived in the village last year to help with TB and Malaria problems in Myanmar. Marina lives in a small village of about 20 people, in the mountains, about an hour from the city of Myitkyina. Nick had been spending the time with the people in the village and asked Marina what he wanted to be when he grew up. Marina replied with the Lisu words, “Jaa Ja” which meant “eat.” It was a funny comment but there was something deeper to those words. Most kids would say firefighter, police, doctor, even superman. The fact that the boy just wanted to be able to eat when he grew up was absolutely heartbreaking. Nick then gave Marina a bag of candy and he began sharing the candy with the other kids in the village… how does a 5 year old boy living day to day with barely any food or clothes, be so selfless? Nick visited about 10 other kids on the trip. Many of the kids had little clothes and some didn’t even have a coat for the coming winter season, so Nick was able to buy coats for the kids with the leftover funds that Nick’s college friend Tiffany Bayless raised for aiding the orphans in Myanmar from a Vacation Bible School in Indiana last summer.

Nick giving Marina some candy from Thailand

Marina shares the candy with other children in the village

The orphans at Sanka

Yabahu is happy to receive coats for the winter

Immediate Need at Hand in Myanmar

While Stephen and Nick taught and spent time in Myitkyina and many surrounding villages, off in the distance, gunfire and bombs were going off; the fighting between the Burmese soldiers and Kachin rebels sounded the whole time. During the week, a group of Lisu representatives from the eastern part of Wain Maw, Myanmar, now battlefield, came to the teaching sessions and asked for help. They said that 400 households fled for their lives, leaving their homes, farms, and even families… during Thanksgiving. These Lisu people are from the area in the mountains where opium is heavily grown as a cash crop. Actually, the reason they grew opium in the first place is because they live at such an altitude that, with their knowledge, they can only grow opium. Now that the land is riddled with bullets and shards of bombshells and burned ashes from the supposedly banned Napalm bombs, the Lisu fled down into Myitkyina where they are being fed and sheltered by the already poverty stricken churches. No one knows how long these churches would be able to help the displaced people since there are so many in need. The displaced people know that they can no longer go back to the battlegrounds and to the opium because there is nothing left, they are searching for a new hope and a new home. They seemed to be losing morale since winter is coming and some of the families are separated because the churches can’t house everyone. The churches in the city area suggested that there is land near the city that the Burmese government would sell that could house about 200 households so that they could have farmland to grow crops like corn since opium would no longer grow at this lower altitudes. The cost of the land that will be able to house 200 households is about 30,000$. Please pray about this immediate need and if you feel a calling from God to help, please let us know. We know that God is great and God is able.

Representatives of the displaced Lisu
from the battlefield-opium field

Another group of representatives of the displaced Lisu 
from the battlefield-opium field

Family Update

Isaac is doing exceptionally well at school. He is being challenged to think critically in class and we can tell that he is learning a lot of new knowledge. Becky is doing well. She is very excited because one of her speech therapist Lisa of Cleveland Clinic, from when she was ill, is in Chiang Mai at the moment. Mary is doing alright. She had just finished harvesting the rice from behind our house with help from her family and some of the neighbors. Mary loves gardening and farming so she just couldn’t resist to be out harvesting the rice, while Stephen and Nick were in Myanmar. Stephen and Nick, had just returned from Myanmar; they are exhausted but are blessed and glad to be able to shine the light of Christ in Myanmar.
Please pray for Stephen and Nick as they plan on heading to China for the Lisu Cultural Conference. Stephen will be presenting about how Christianity and Lisu culture do actually go along together really well. Please pray for them because many Christians have gone to China in the recent months and were arrested, but so far Stephen has been blessed because God has always opened a door for him, even when there were many close calls. The mission field is not always safe, but it’s a definitely a must because Jesus commanded in Matthew 28 to “Go! Make disciples.”

Stephen and Nick will also plan to go to Laos in the near future because the government of Laos has requested them to go and help the university in the capital, Luang Prabang. As many of you may already know, Laos is a closed country when it comes to religion; Laos actually persecutes Christians who have come into their country. Dozen of evangelists from Thailand had been jailed in the past year alone. So, please pray because if God opens a door in Laos, this may be one of our first government endorsed Christian ministries in Laos. 

Family picture

Mary harvesting rice

MORE CALLING!

Recently, mornings seem to bring in a cool crisp air that takes us back to a memory of autumn in America. The temperature in Thailand is starting to drop as we are approaching the “cold” season, but there will be no color changes in the leaves or snow fall. The days are getting shorter and another year is coming to an end in a couple months… but God remains ever-powerful, ever-loving, ever-wise, and ever-present. God is working and we are excited and blessed that He chose to let us be a part of His Great Works!

Mission to the Lisu in China

As you may know, recently, Stephen was invited to go to Toeng Chong and Ying Jiang, China by the local leaders. Stephen felt God working and opening doors during the trip. For this trip, the local Lisu Chinese leaders in these areas had asked Stephen to come and talk about how the Lisu Culture has a place for our Living God. Originally, the Lisu thought that to be a Lisu, you must be Animist, but Stephen described that the Lisu, anthropologically, actually believe in a Creator God, and so he presents our Living God to them. Through building relationships with people, sharing the Message, and showing them Christ’s love, our ministry is growing abundantly in Southeast Asia and China. In the past several years, many non-Christian Lisu in China, Myanmar, and Thailand are left to contemplate their beliefs through this teaching and many have asked us to pray for them, and some have even announced their faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! God is good!

The trip was also special because Stephen was able to visit the place in Toeng Chong where he could trace back his ancestors all the way to the year of 1520; even today, in that area, his relatives still remain and are leaders among the people. Most of his relatives, in this area, are non-Christians and some are even the Shaman, or witch doctors, of the village; an interesting fact about the Lisu people is that only the Shaman are allowed to do the ritual climbing of the ladder of swords. When they climb up these ladders, most of them invoke the power of the evil spirits and are able to climb up without being cut from these sharp blades. After meeting Stephen and finding out that he’s a man of God, these leaders (both Shaman and government authorities, which are relatives) stated that they are now accepting of relatives who are Christians. This is wonderful because in the past, these people in this area were really against Christians, and even persecuted Christians; now, they are open to relatives who are Christians as well because they said that whether the Lisu relatives are like them (Animist) or Christians, we are the same clan of Lisu… basically, we are family. This is the work of God, the One who opens doors for us when we least expect it. This trip, Stephen even found out that some of his distant relatives (within the same clan) are still living in Mongolia today.

Stone carving of the Lisu Culture center in Ying Jiang


Lisu Cultural Exhibition


Stephen with the Lisu Cultural leaders

Stephen sitting with a government leader

The head of shaman 
who is Stephen's "brother" (English-- a Cousin)

Stephen with the head of shaman

Climbing sword ladder ceremony



During this trip, Stephen was asked by several churches in the area of Yin Jiang to come and preach to them. It was a bit scared at first because usually the Chinese frown upon people from a different country to speak about Christ in China. But since he was considered as a family, Stephen went to preach and the people were encouraged to hear the Word of God taught to them exegetically. The Christians in the area were requesting for Stephen to come back and offer them a Biblical conference. The non-Christian leaders in the area also requested for an English teacher to come and teach to their government schools in the area as well. Again, God is opening doors where we are least expecting. When Stephen returned, he was extremely tired but was glad that God is working! China is calling for deeper understanding of the Word of God; they even set up a group on WeChat (one of the most popular messaging apps in China) in order for Stephen to preach to Christians in many parts of China through this messaging application.


Furthermore, Stephen has been invited to a larger Lisu conference in China this upcoming December where he will be a guest speaker. As a guest speaker, he will be speaking on the topic of Christianity in Lisu; Stephen will be showing how our Living God is what the Lisu people, who believe in Creator God, have been worshiping indirectly all along.

A choir at church in Ying Jiang

Stephen preaching at Ying Jiang church


Bible Commentary in Lisu

Stephen’s exegetical commentary on the book of Hebrews will be finished once it passes the proofreading stage done by several Lisu scholars from different parts of Asia. Hopefully it will be ready for publishing in this upcoming November-December. Originally, the plan was to provide these texts at the price of the print but the majority of the people that want to study the Word come from below the poverty line. So, we are praying that God will open doors in order for us to be able to continue to print and distribute to the people who seek to study the Word of God and aren’t able to go to a Bible school. Praise the Lord for providing the need for His Kingdom’s sake! At this moment, we have already received a gift that will go into the cost of printing the commentary of Hebrews. God is good and faithful!
The Lisu commentary on the book of Revelation was a huge success, because now, even Lisu in China, both believers and non-believers have requested for copies of the commentary. Please pray that God will use this ministry to bring more people to Christ.

Family Update

Isaac started at his new school, Sarasas, and he’s loving the school. He first attended school this past week and immediately excelled; he’s even asked to stay after school to play with his new friends. Sarasas is a school that teaches the kids to think critically and be able to understand what they learn, but Isaac’s previous school seems to just drill information and have the kids memorize the answers. At Sarasas, Isaac is learning yet another language, Japanese. Isaac now knows Lisu, Thai, English, Chinese, and soon Japanese. Becky helps Isaac with homework and is also typing dad’s notes on the Old Testament Survey into computer form. Mary continues to fight with her up and down emotion, every day. John seems to be busier now because he hasn’t had as much time communicating with us, but he seems to love Boise Bible College and the people there. Nick continues to teach and help out at the international church in Chiang Mai; he has also been prepping for the trip to Myanmar and China, with Stephen, in the next couple months. Please continue to pray for our family.

Isaac with his friend
 in his new uniform at Sarasas

God is amazing and ever loving. We thank God so much for everything that He has provided. We thank God for friends and Churches that love us and encourage us. And through the God’s love and the love that we receive, we want to share this love with the Lost in Southeast Asia and China. Please feel free to ask us any questions about our ministry (e.g. if you’re interested in teaching English in China) or if you’d like to partner with us in our missions at stephenwps23@gmail.com

Please also pray for Thailand during this time of mourning for the loss of our beloved king.

Love in Christ,

The Wongs

MORE MISSION FIELDS!


First and foremost, we praise God for being wonderful in providing our mission with more ministries. We thank God for your partnership and love for us as we spread the love of Christ to the people in Southeast Asia and China. Recently, we were approached by a group of Christian leaders from Laos who requested for an orphanage and university dormitory to be built in Luang Prabang, the ancient and former capital of Laos. In Luang Prabang, there are many students, who originally come from the rural and remote villages and study in the university in the city and the problem is that they don’t have a place to live during their studies.

Anyways, we still are a bit timid because if you didn’t know, Laos is a Communist country and so there is no such thing as religious freedom. The country of Laos has been known to oppress and persecute Christians. There’s more to praise God! We found out that these group of leaders happen to be connected (through family ties) to the government officials in Laos and would officially invite our team. The group said that in the future, they would also like for our mission to go in and teach English and even the Gospel. In the past, we could only dream about spreading the Gospel in Laos, but recently we believe God is opening a door for us. Please be in prayers for this new frontier to Laos.

On top of this great news, Stephen has been turning his lecture of the First Corinthians into a commentary. The First Corinthians is actually a great book to teach the Lisu people because the context goes well with the Lisu culture. For example, the text about food sacrificed to idols hits close to home for many Lisu because that’s in their culture and many non-Christian Lisu still practice this today. Besides 1 Corinthians commentary, Stephen’s Hebrews commentary is in the proofreading stages. In this proofreading stage, there needs to be 2 groups of Lisu people from different locations of Thailand and Myanmar to come and proofread it in the Lisu language twice. The Lisu language, depending on the location, can vary a lot; so in order for all Lisu people to be able to read the commentaries, the Lisu text of Hebrews must be in the common Lisu language.

Each book costs about 2-3 dollars for publishing. Now we need 4000$ for printing cost of the commentary on Hebrews. If you are called by God to help specifically with the cost of the printing and would like to send a check, we just ask that you write somewhere that it’s designated to literature funds. Please pray for all the processes and costs of making the commentaries and pray that the Lisu people will be blessed by this ministry.

The commentary on the Book of Revelation in the Lisu language has been passed out to the leaders and those that want to study the text in depth. We had originally sold them out at the price of the printing cost because we seek no profit from people wanting to learn God’s Word; however, we found out that very limited number of people were able to buy these books, so we generally lower the price to about a dollar or even passed them out freely because their request touched our hearts deeply, seeing people strive to study God’s word. At this moment, dozens of leaders from various denominations in Myanmar have read the commentary and called Stephen to ask if they could study in Thailand for 2 weeks to go further into the text through discussions and questions. They are so on fire with passion to study the Word that they said they will pay for their own plane tickets (which is a lot for most people in Myanmar) but just request us to feed them and provide a place to stay for them while they come and study. If it is in God’s will, we will have them come this coming January. God is good!

Furthermore, the Lisu Christians in Myitkyina has invited us to teach at their Leadership Conference in November. At the moment, it is still being planned; the church leaders are looking at schedule to find the best week that the majority of people can come, they are also raising money for the cost of the meals during the week. If these two things are addressed and solved, then they will send us the official letter of invitation. The conference is the one we had been going to at least once a year in the past; they have requested Stephen to give a lecture on the book of Revelation and Nick to teach on the pastoral counseling to the group of 200-300 Christian leaders. Please pray for this conference, again if God’s willing, we will go and teach at this conference in November.

Family Update

The Wongratanamajchas are doing well. John is really enjoying studying at Boise Bible College, and he has even been asked to lead a group of students to do a short term mission trip to Thailand or Myanmar next year. Isaac is growing very fast, he actually needs to get braces now but so far he’s not complaining. Next year, Isaac will actually transfer from Varee Chiang Mai School to Sarasas School because there has been a lot of problems in Varee’s educational system and it seems like the education standard because have transferred their good teachers to their international program. At the parent teacher conference, many parents are noticing that the students aren’t learning and have a lot of homework that many of the students didn’t remember learning in class. As a result, many students are transferring out of the school. Please pray for Isaac as he transitions to Sarasas, but he’s glad his best friend is going with him. Becky is doing well, she has been studying Chinese on her own and seems to be getting really good. Nick has been teaching the Youth at the Gathering Church and has been helping the Youth leaders plan a curriculum; he has also been counseling two people, whom he meets every week to help them deal with problems by using the Bible and also talk therapy. Nick was also invited to go up to a Thai school of about 4000 primary and secondary school students and was asked to preach at a staff meeting. Mary is still going to the Doctor regularly to have her checkups and seems to be getting better and better. Please continue to pray for her. Stephen has been in the office everyday working diligently on his commentary on the First Corinthians and studying through the whole Old Testament, even finished his first draft on the Old Testament Survey. During breaks, he still enjoys watching classic American cowboy movies.

Once in awhile, Nick is asked 
to teach and preach at various Thai schools

Nick preaching at a staff meeting at a Thai school in Fang 

Mary enjoying her farming chore 

Stephen working at his office


Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and the ministries that God has blessed us with. We miss and love you all very much.

In Christ Alone,
The Wongratanamajchas

P.S. By the time you are reading this, Stephen will actually be in China for a Lisu Conference. It was requested that Stephen talk about the culture of Lisu and how Christianity doesn’t destroy the Lisu culture. Please pray for wisdom and safe travels for Stephen, and also pray for more lost souls to hear about the Good News during this trip. 

GOD’S GRACIOUS BLESSINGS!


August has brought rain of blessings. The rice patty behind the house has received a lot of rain and is refreshed by the hydration. As you may remember in our previous posts that last rice season was very dry and so we lost that season’s harvest of rice, but God remains ever so generous by providing plenty of rain this season and the stalks of rice look beautiful as ever. We praise God for the amazing gift of rain so that we may be able to have rice and to share it with the ministers and students that come to our place.

Rain was not the only blessing that came this August; this month was Stephen and Becky’s birthday (15th and 23rd, prospectively). We had a joint birthday celebration on the 20th to celebrate both of their birthdays on the same day. This was a special day because we invited Lisu from the surrounding areas; many of the elderly Lisu, retired evangelists and former preachers and their families and even one of the first native evangelists who brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ from China to the Lisu in Thailand in 1958 came and blessed Stephen, Becky, and also the family.  It was a very remarkable day for our family. By the mercy of God, we humbly thank God that we are able to celebrate Becky’s birthday because as many of you know that if it were not for God’s healing, Becky would not be with us today. This birthday celebration was also very special because it was the first time that Stephen revealed his real birth-date (as opposed to the birth-date on his ID card set by the government). Stephen has had only one birthday in his life about 20 years ago but at this time he was thrilled to have local Lisu people come and celebrate this day with us. Mary gave him the best present ever, a wild rooster that Stephen has always wanted since he was a little boy. All in all, the celebration was focused on how great God’s love is for the family through friends we have, through churches that love us and partner with us for carrying out the Great Commission to the lost souls.

Mary, Isaac are helping 
Stephen to light the Birthday candles

An Elderly evangelist 
giving a word of blessing

Prayers for Stephen and Becky

Stephen's favorite pet, 
the best birthday gift from Mary

Jeremi (sitting), the first native evangelist
to Thailand-Lisu

The story of the first evangelist from China to the Lisu in Thailand

The most elderly evangelist that came to the birthday party was Jeremy. Jeremy was one of the first Lisu evangelists to come to Thailand in 1958. He came from a church in the South Western parts of China. Along with 4 other evangelists, Jeremy was sent because the churches in China found out that there were Lisu living in Thailand. The team of evangelist came to Thailand and was imprisoned at first because the Thai police thought that these were a group of Chinese Communist trying to spread Communism into Thailand. The whole time they were in captivity, they sang Lisu hymns; through the love and grace of God, they were released because the Thai police finally came to a conclusion that these evangelists were probably not Chinese Communist coming to spread propaganda. The group walked from China to Thailand and surveyed the Lisu villages in Thailand for a total of about 3 months. They realized that none of the Lisu in Thailand were Christian; so, they began telling the Gospel to all the villages they visited.

After the 3 months, they went back to China but sadly during the 3 months they were away, Jeremy’s wife had passed away. After some time, Jeremy married Leah and had 2 little girls (including 1 son from his previous wife). In August of 1966, the Chairman Mao Zedong launched his Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution severely impacted Christians in China. Many Christians were killed and others were imprisoned and tortured. During this Cultural Revolution, Jeremy took his family and fled in the night amidst gunfire. They had to hide in caves and ate raw corn from the stalks until they arrived in Myanmar. After spending some time in Myanmar with the Christian churches there, Jeremy and Leah had another son.

As time passed, the church in Myanmar sent Jeremy and his family into Thailand to evangelize and start church planting. Jeremy and his family finally settled in a Lisu village in the mountains of Chiang Dao, about 2 hours from Chiangmai. Today, Jeremy is the only living evangelist from the group of 5 that came to Thailand in 1958. Jeremy and his family have been through a lot in their lifetime and made it because of the grace of God. Even now, Jeremy continues to evangelize. In the story of Jeremy, Mary, Stephen’s wife, is actually one of Jeremy’s daughters. Mary can still recall the memories of when they fled China. Isn’t God ever so wise and awesome in how everything unfolds? Ironically, today, Stephen has to go back to China to evangelize to those areas of Southern China where Jeremy was sent from back in 1958. 

Update (continued)

Once in awhile, the Lisu people from China would call Stephen from the airport in Chiangmai and inform him that they are in Chiangmai and want to visit him. Through Wechat, the most popular internet communicating channel for the Chinese, Stephen has been informed that there will be a group of Lisu people who are preparing to come to our site to study how to read the Lisu language. The group are nonbelievers, but they have been demanded by the local authorities to study the Lisu language since many of them are illiterate in their own language.  We believe this is God’s plan so that the group will be able to read the Bible after they know how to read in Lisu. Here is a cultural information for you: most Asian people, the Lisu in particular, will not inform you the date of their arrival or departure. Indeed, it is considered rude to ask the guests when they will arrive or leave. When they come, they come! This is the reason why many times Stephen was called from the Chiangmai International Airport abruptly to pick them up or to prepare for their visitations.  

In order to avoid traveling due to the land slide, flash flood, road blockage during the monsoon season, Stephen has been in his office, studying through the whole Old Testament in order to prepare himself for the upcoming teachings at Bible conference in Myanmar.  He went through some of his Old Testament exegetical notes which he studied under Dr. Gary Hall at Lincoln Christian Seminary and revisiting his biblical Hebrew language. Stephen, Nick, and the team will go to Myanmar for another teaching week, as we have done in the past. Currently, we are waiting for the Lisu leaders in Myanmar to confirm the dates, but at the moment it seems they are facing big floods. Actually, in our surrounding areas in Thailand, there are also floods. Please pray for the people affected by the floods. Speaking of Myanmar, Stephen’s commentary on the book of Revelation is being passed out to many churches in those areas. The flood has put a hold on some of the areas that have requested the commentary. Please pray that the people will be able to learn and understand the Word of God even more.

Commentary on Revelation in Lisu

Please continue to especially pray for Stephen. In the traditional culture of the Lisu, all children are required to have a godfather. Stephen, when he was young and before he was Christian, due to the fact that he was a son of a Lisu leader, actually was dedicated to have a godfather that was of the evil spirit. Very few people have such a godfather! In such a case, almost all of them turn to be a shaman at their proper ages. Because of God’s grace, Stephen is exceptional by becoming God’s child. So he needs to continually be in the Word of God every day in order to have peace in his mind, heart, and spirit. The power of God prevails always! Continual prayers for the spiritual battles in our works is much appreciated.


Mary is also feeling better and regaining strength from what all women eventually go through in their lifetime. Please continue to pray for her. Becky has been teaching English using the Bible and Christian songs at the house to her students. Isaac is still as studious as ever and is waiting for a short break coming up soon. Nick has been preparing bible lessons for the youth as well as evangelizing to Chiang Mai University students. Nick and Stephen has been talking to a former United Nations staff in order to discuss the possibility of projects that will help not only the Lisu but also other people groups in Myanmar as they fight poverty, drugs, human trafficking, and other problems. Please pray for this as we approach the mission field with a Wholistic ministry: providing the people with both the physical and spiritual needs in order to become healthy churches.

Mary with her serving heart

We are very much appreciated for your prayerful and financial support for the sake of His Kingdom.

In Christ Alone,
The Wongs


WONGS IN JULY

It has been about a month since John went back to the States with the Voorhees and about a month also since the Myanmar students went back to their homes and ministries. John is enjoying the American experience and meeting new friends. As for the Myanmar students, they have returned to their churches, ministries, and families. They stated how blessed they were to be a part of the Seminary and blessed to have the opportunity to learn the Bible with Stephen, Dr. Derek, Isaiah and others who taught at the Seminary.

John with the Voorhees in America

The Wongratanamajchas are slowly adjusting to the different shift in the ministry. Stephen is working on turning his lecture on the book of Hebrews into a commentary and then he will have to translate that into the Lisu language. After this is finished, he will need to raise money in order to publish the book of Hebrews in Myanmar. Praise the Lord! Finally, the process of printing Stephen’s Lisu commentary on the book of Revelation has been completed. Now it is on the stage of delivery those books to churches throughout Myanmar and Thailand. This Revelation commentary is also being requested to be published in China by some Christian leaders, please pray that God will move this to happen. The Lahu people have already made a request to translate Stephen’s commentary on Revelation into their language. To clarify to everyone, the commentaries that are being printed or will be printed will be handed out to churches and to people interested in studying the Bible at an extremely low cost (or even free) rather than being a means to acquire money because the Lisu Christians in Myanmar and China are mostly, what the world would say, poor. Before the people had even received these commentaries, many are already requesting Stephen to go into Myanmar and offering a conference or seminar in order to further learn about the book of Revelation.

Revelation Commentary in Lisu

Mary is getting better from her health problems after getting some medication. Please pray for her as she is still a little weak. Becky is doing really well, she is actually teaching herself how to cook by watching videos on YouTube. Nick is doing many things including helping an international church with their youth program. Nick was also asked to be a guest host a Thai radio station. Recently, Nick was asked by several friends to go to the town called Mae Sot, 6 hours, to visit a friend named Thi that was going through depression; on that trip, he was able to encourage and share the gospel with the 3 guys there. Thi even began praying before his meals. Through friendship and constant talks of the bible, one of Nick’s Thai friends named Kojii was baptized last month as well. God is good! On top of all this, Isaac has been very enthusiastic in sharing the gospel with his classmates in 4th grade. He even took the Bible and the Bible stories with him to school so at their free time, he reads those books to his friends. Now all of Isaac’s friends want a cross necklace even though their families are all Buddhist. Culturally, all Buddhists have their little Buddha’s images as necklace since they were young. To take those images out is very offensive according to their faith. Because of the kids’ requests, Mary and Stephen had to meet each individual parent in order to ask their permission. Praise the Lord! Every parents gave permission to do so.

The annual routine of planting rice before the Rainy Season

Isaac with his Bible stories

Stephen and Nick are also in the process of helping the Lisu people in Myanmar to overcome their poverty and drug involvement. For example, due to the poverty and drug problems among Lisu people of Thailand, many of the young generations both Christians and non-Christians have been involved in drug and human trafficking. In order to avoid the problems like such in Thailand, we have seen that providing new alternative crops and teaching a new agricultural system with an environmental sensitivity in replacing the old system of slash-burn will help churches become self-supporters, preventing the young generations from drug and human trafficking businesses. There was a call from a Korean company that wanted to enter into Myanmar in order to start a coffee business. Stephen believes that if this works, the Lisu people will be able to have legal jobs and the churches be able to become healthy churches. Stephen and Nick and some of the other Lisu are representing the consultant team for both the Korean and the Lisu people. We are keeping both sides in check. This way both sides will be fair. Frankly speaking, we are helping the Lisu people from being cheated. Also, a corn company from Thailand wants to invest the corn business with the Lisu people in Myanmar. Please pray for this ministry that Stephen and Nick are requested to help, even though they are not being paid to do this task. Because of our lack of agricultural knowledge, we do really need someone who has an agricultural background to carry out this ministry. Please pray for the need of this ministry!

May our Living God bless you all!

In Christ Alone,
The Wongs



EMPOWERING CHRISTIAN LEADERS!


Praise the Lord! Asians for Christ’s hopes and dreams of equipping leaders for the furthering of His Kingdom has indeed made much progress in Myanmar. Through several years of teaching and equipping leaders from Myanmar, we are coming to an end with a new batch of leaders ready to be empowered by going back into the work field with the Word of God that we have given to them through the Love and Grace of our Heavenly Father. They have only one last project to work on for the next year in order to complete their studies.

This final term consisted of classes taught by Stephen, Dr. Derek Voorhees, Professor Isaiah, Nick, and Becky. Stephen started the term with a Revelation class and is now wrapping up the term with an evening class in the book of James, while Professor Isaiah teaches on the Doctrine of God during the day time. Dr. Derek Voorhees taught the book of Matthew. Nick taught a class on pastoral counseling, while Becky taught English. It was a great blessing from God to provide the teachers and the classes that the leaders from Myanmar learned and will take back to their people.

Isaiah's class on Doctrine of God

Nick's Pastoral Counseling Class

Stephen teaching on James

During the week, teaching would occur; during the weekends, the teachings were applied in sermons and worship songs in the various Lisu churches in the mountains of Northern Thailand. On the trips to the villages, Nick helps drive the students and the team. Thanks to you all for participating in this equipping and empowering ministry in prayerful and financial supports. Without your participation, this ministry would not be accomplished in this fruitful way! 


Stephen, Nick and the Myanmar students 
on a weekend evangelistic trip

Lisu village

A typical farming system at village

Derek preaches and Stephen translates

Church at Hui Ko 

Lunch prepared by Hui Ko Church

Church at a suburb of Chiangmai

Praying for family in their transition, 
moving into Thailand from the USA


 Family Update

After the Voorhees blessed us with their time to be with us, they went back to America; John went back to Boise, Idaho with the Voorhees and is staying with them until he attends Boise Bible College in the fall. Nick is preparing to teach the youth at an international church in the month of July. On top of these things, Nick was asked to host a radio program in Chiang Mai. The Wongratanamajcha’s plan for going to the States this summer has been postponed due to Mary’s health. Please pray for her as she’s going through a time of health related problems.

For the Sake of His Kingdom,
The Wongs

The Wongratanamajchas, the Voorhees, 
& the Myanmar students


Note from Dr. Derek Voorhees

Spending the first two weeks of June 2016 with the Wongratanamajcha’s and the Lisu believers was amazing! A blend of sweet harmonies when singing praise to God in their house and in two different village churches. Mary's blend of garlic, basil, and lemon made for one tasty meal after another after another. And then there was the special blend of cultures, languages, and nationalities (US, Thai, Burmese…and the Lisu tribe). These and other elements all came together by the Lord’s blessing to offer such a pleasant time together!

As you would expect, the Wong's hospitality was over the top. This is also seen in how they care for and serve the Burmese students by providing food, health-care and clothes. It is common seeing the students work around the house and rice fields for the Wong's to earn their keep, but they are well taken cared while away from family for 2 months. The Christ-like servant-heartedness of the Wong’s is special to watch.

Eating the Thai/Lisu foods offers a little taste of heaven. As a result, I learned a new Lisu word…bulio (it means “to be full”). I honestly think I used this word after every meal, every day…no exaggeration. The food cooked by Mary, or purchased at a shack down the road, or the meal provided in the villages we visited was always so delicious that I could hardly stop. ”Bulio!” But I also used the word with regards to the rich blessing by such amazing Christ-followers. Witnessing the Wong’s lead from a sincerely intentional devotion and deep commitment was good for my soul…I left the Wong’s bulio, my heart, mind, body & soul fully satisfied!

Besides going to edify the entire Wong family, my main purpose for going was to instruct the young Lisu students from Burma who are always hungry to study. They come to be equipped to shepherd the needs of the people in their churches and evangelize the lost in their villages, and train up the current and emerging leaders they serve alongside. This is the third consecutive year I’ve been privileged to instruct the students from a NT book. Two years ago we studied “2 Corinthians,” last summer was “Romans,” and this summer I led them through an exegetical study of “Matthew” for 9 days, 6+ hours each day. The overarching theme from Matthew highlights Jesus the Messiah as Son of David, the King of a new international kingdom of heaven. 

Derek teaching Matthew


I love hearing the students process Scripture for their lives and their Lisu culture back home. They take it very seriously because they are so honored and grateful for the opportunity to participate in Asian Christian Seminary by Stephen’s invitation, for the glory of God.

The teaching experience, combined with the devoted ministry of the Wong’s, compels me to ask you a question. If you're reading this report you have supported the Wong's and/or Asians For Christ in some form or fashion (financial gift, prayers, personal visits to Thailand…or all of these). For me as a first-hand witness of how the Lord is honoring, providing, and working through this family and the AFC ministry, I'd like to encourage you to consider increasing your prayers for them and your financial sacrifice…even making a trip to visit the Wongs. It is a fruitful investment! The Lord is counting this small part of his Kingdom as productive and faithfully obedient. He has given them much to manage and they do not bury it until the King returns, but by the Spirit’s power are multiplying God’s seed for the Kingdom! So for starters, tell someone about God’s work in SE Asia through the Wongs. Share this note and direct them to the blog. And then, if you haven't lately, write the Wong's a personally warm message of encouragement about their family & ministry (you can email it directly to Stephen at stephenwps23@gmail.com). 

Lastly, what made this trip extra special (my 6th to teach alongside Stephen) was that my wife Nell and college-age daughter Kaylee accompanied me! We flew to Beijing, China to spend a week with a recent alumnus of Boise Bible College before going on to Thailand for two weeks. I’m a privileged man to serve alongside my wife and daughter both in Beijing and Chiangmai. It was a true joy to watch them interact with, encourage and simply love on our host in China and Mary in Thailand (...and other women like Mary’s daughter Becky, mother Leah, and a newly married student Priscilla). They both loved it!! To have been given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve the King with my family, by loving fellow believers in an international context, was a memorable gift from God!

Well, thanks for reading all of this! So thankful to the Lord for his provision and grace!

Derek

PS. Teaching alongside these students in their own Burmese context would be a privilege. So, could I ask you something? Would you mind asking the Lord right now to begin revealing His will about a possible trip for me to teach other church leaders with Stephen in Burma in the next year? And continue to lift up the students and the Wong’s as they follow God’s lead for the most effect steps of ministry.