Asians for Christ: 2020

A Time of Thanks and Joy

As we get to the end of the year, people are becoming more cheerful and festive. Harvest season is at the peak moment; churches are busy having their thanksgiving or harvest celebration events. As usual, each village will invite their neighboring villages and churches to celebrate thanksgiving together. Similar to every other year, Stephen had been invited to share the message at some of those thanksgiving gatherings where over 500 people attend. At one of the Thanksgiving gatherings, Stephen, with Mary, Isaac went up to Huay Ko village, where they invited over 30 different churches (of course from different denominations and groups) from 3 different provinces. Because of the agricultural background of the village churches, it is easier to link Thanksgiving to the Feast of the First Fruits in the Bible. As usual, after the message some people came up to Stephen with tears of gratitude for the message; sadly, a rumor also went around against Stephen saying that he’s wrong to not be under a specific denomination. What should we do? To whom should we represent? This was the only thing that was discouraging about the trip. However, overall, it was a great trip. Isaac really likes these trips! At every village, we feel very blessed to see many faces which we have not seen for many months. A great sigh of relief and a sense of joy as we see many people in good health and safe from Covid. On the other hand, there are many cases of Chikungunya going around in these areas. Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne virus that affects the joints and causes fevers. Many will be bed ridden until the body can fight it off. There are no standard treatments or cure for Chikungunya except for rest and pain relievers. Unfortunately, Mary’s mother has this illness at the moment, so please be praying for her. This year we will not be hosting a thanksgiving event at our home because traveling for many people is still a challenge.

Stephen preaching at Huay Ko Thanksgiving

More than 500 attended

Thanksgiving at Kong Nguen Lisu Church
in downtown Chiang Mai

Beside these thanksgiving events, almost every weekend, Stephen had been invited to preach at different churches and villages across the denominational spectrums. One of the villages Stephen preached at was at Lin Luang, about two hours north of Chiang Mai. Stephen preached on what it means to be heavenly citizens. As many anthropologists have called the Lisu people a border-traveling people (not citizen of any one country/being citizen of many countries), many of the Lisu villagers were very encouraged by this message. Many of them have requested Stephen to teach the Bible when Covid is under control. By the way, we have also started recording Stephen’s sermons so we could share them on the internet to the Lisu people throughout Southeast Asia and China. Currently, we have been using our smart phone to record since we don’t have a proper camera yet. Also, we are still learning and figuring out all the ins and outs of videography.

Stephen preaching at Lin Luang Lisu Church

Recently, Nick went to Sam Muen, a very remote village where there is neither electricity nor a water system. The roads going to this village is among the toughest. The red clay roads are very tough to go up especially when it rains, even for four wheel drive vehicles. Nick took his Chinese student Herman to this village. The main goal of this trip is to clear up some land and prep the land for growing coffee. This coffee project is set to be a model for churches in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos (where the people used to grow opium) to be a sustainable and environmentally friendly crop. During the weeklong trip, Nick learned lots and spent a lot of time with the villagers. The best part about the trip was teaching the kids and Herman Bible stories and praying with them. What a successful trip as many people asked about what it means to follow Christ. Herman is interested in Christianity and does not bow down to idols even at Buddhist temples anymore, he says he wants to know Jesus more before getting baptized. Nick encouraged him to pray and read the Bible. It was a great trip!

Had a little party for the kids in Sam Muen Village

Group pics with host family
and some of the village kids

Sam Muen Village

A cozy little home during the cold nights

Herman, Gunn, and Nick having lunch
by foraging the coffee field

In our neighborhood, the soccer kids have been practicing soccer about 3 times a week. One of the kids was recently in a fight at a fair. Nick discussed with the kids about avoiding gang related risky situations. You see, many Shan teenagers in Thailand love to form groups and fight each other at fairs and festivals. In the news, very often, you hear about groups of Shan kids causing problems and this is one of the reasons Nick started coaching soccer for the kids in our neighborhood. Besides telling Bible stories, Nick teaches the boys to pursue good. Asides from this, Nick recently ordered some team jerseys for the kids. With the help from his friend in America, Brett Wagner who designed the logos, the shirt is almost completed. The kids will get them for Christmas!

Soccer strength conditioning

Nick takes a few of the soccer kids out a month
to make deeper connections with them

In Laos, our partnering evangelist is doing wonderful! Covid cases there are very low so now villages are starting to open up. During one evangelistic trip, our field team-worker went into the villages and provided reading glasses for the elderly. This was a successful trip. We are also waiting to send some clothes, toys, and over the counter medication into Laos, but at this moment, the land borders between countries are still closed. There is also wonderful news in Laos. Evangelists have now received official minister cards from the government to permit them to openly preach in Laos. This is a great beginning for Christianity being more accepted in the country. Praise the Lord! There are lots of ministry opportunities to be done in Laos. If God is willing, our mission works will extend further into Laos and eventually all the way to the border of China and to the northern part of Vietnam. Your prayers for this ministry would be much appreciated!

The elderly trying out glasses

They can see clearly now!

The family is doing well. When Stephen isn’t making any village trips, he spends his time in the office studying the Bible and prepping to teach the next Bible course. In fact, he is almost finished with his research on his new exegetical commentary. Isaac is on break and we are trying to find some time to take him camping. Mary is busy with managing house work and making everything run smoothly at the home front. Becky and Nick are still teaching English online to Myanmar students. They will begin teaching the students in Laos again at the end of the month. Thank you for your continued prayers and support! You are an important part to the mission field and we praise God for you!

Nick, with the help of our friends in Hawaii,
having Bible study/ English lessons
with students in Myanmar

Becky with one of her Thai students

*** Note: we will begin doing an update once every two months in order to focus more on the mission field and provide more details in our updates. During this time, as lockdown eases, we have been flooded with countless meetings and evangelism. Thank you for your understanding and prayers. ***

Prayer for Thailand

Thailand needs your prayers at this moment more than ever. Yes, Thailand is coming back to life. People are going out more and some businesses are opening up again, yet the political crisis is escalating daily. Many groups are protesting for a whole government system reform while others just want a change the current government leadership. Many thousands are gathered in the midst of this COVID pandemic. Please pray for Thailand as anything could happen. Over all, Thailand has contained the virus pretty well with all of the necessary steps such as quarantining on arrival and tracking all of the people that may have been exposed to Covid 19 positive individual. For the most part, the majority of the people comply with wearing masks in highly populated areas. The land borders are where the majority of infections are occurring. Pray for the political issues to be solved peacefully and pray that Covid 19 numbers stay low even with the political demonstrations.

The Wong family is doing well, making a lot of trips to villages in the mountains in order to visit different churches and the sick at the hospital. In this newsletter, we would love to share with you at least three trips at three different villages: Huay Ko, Pa Bong Ngam, and Sam Muen. First, Huay Ko has been the epicenter of evangelism since the 1960s, when the first pioneer native Lisu missionaries came all the way from China (passing through Myanmar) and setting up base at this village. After setting up camp, they would carry out the Great Commission to the lost in various villages throughout northern Thailand. Through these native evangelists’ endeavors and dedications, many Lisu villagers (even other ethnic groups) accepted Christ. In fact, this is where Mary's father set up base while evangelizing to other villages (also, where Stephen first met Mary). Praise God for such a legacy! At this village, Stephen and Mary continues to encourage the new and young generation to carry on this legacy, shining a light to every corner of northern Thailand and even neighboring countries as the past generations have done. In order to set an example, Stephen and Isaac shared His message side by side. Isaac’s message on Job related well with the challenges we are facing during this pandemic and how we need to continue to trust in God and we will one day receive His immense blessings.

Stephen and Isaac sharing
the message together

After coming down the mountain from Huay Ko village, Stephen and Mary visited the hospital in Chiang Dao where they prayed for the sick. This is a government hospital so the majority of the people admitted here are very poor. The sick would lie on beds next to each other in a big room. The people who could meet the expenses of private rooms were very rare. Stephen and Mary prayed for Mary’s father who has an irreversible heart condition (He is not eating much anymore). When they finished praying, many in the same ward asked for prayers as well. One single mother who had just given birth also asked for prayers. After they finished, Mary went out to buy diapers for her child. There were many more who asked for prayers that day. In Thailand, it is not a custom for village preachers or pastors to visit the sick; usually it’s the duty of the family to visit and take care of the sick. For some, like the new mother with no relatives, she had no one. We felt deep compassion for her and many others.

Stephen stopped at the hospital to pray for Mary's father
and relatives (every time, we traveled in that area)

Another patients mother asked Stephen
to pray for her sick boy

Another village that Stephen headed to was Pa Bong Ngam. Most members from this village and nearby villages are related to Stephen. Indeed, they are his clan or his family. Originally, Stephen’s clan came from Mongolia. Stephen still has over ten thousand relatives still living in Mongolia (of course, in China and Myanmar as well). During the early 1500 A.D, many migrated from Mongolia and settled in the Southwestern parts of China and later scattered throughout Myanmar and at last to Thailand during the 1940s. Stephen’s clan is the biggest clan amongst the Lisu people in Thailand. However, the majority of the members of this clan are unbelievers. Please lift them up so that their hearts will be opened for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, a lot of mission works still needs to be done!

Pa Bong Ngam villagers and many villagers
from the surrounding areas

Stephen preaching at Pa Bong Ngam Church

The village we headed to at the beginning of October was Sam Muen. In Thailand, this place is one of the few villages where power lines have not reached and the water system is very poor (we did not get to take a bath during our stay). In order to get some electricity, some of the villagers have solar panels. Others have to use oil lanterns at night. We came here to help encourage the villagers to turn back to Christ. As you may have read from older blog posts, this village used to be very on fire for Christ but recently without much Christian leadership, many have left the church. Our goal is to rekindle the fire that was once here. On this particular trip, Stephen and Nick met up with farmers to talk about farming. Many farmers came together and discussed about life. The most memorable moments that we had in this village were in the early morning and late evening when we all, believers and non-believers, gathered together talking about life and farming, hunting and faith, while drinking tea together. This is what Stephen calls “The Tea Theology.” Nick is planning to help the farmers there grow coffee organically. Through Nick's coffee expert friends, the plan is to help educate the farmers there in growing coffee and also preserving the forest. The elevation and the history of the village is perfect for coffee. Prayers for ways to help the village be more sustainable and come back to Christ would be much appreciated.

Morning Tea Talk at Sam Muen

Stephen hammering some small posts
for coffee plant nursery

After several days, the coffee nursery is finished

More talks over tea

We thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. Even through these tough times, many of you have reached out to us to encourage us. We praise God for the fellowship we have in Christ.

A group of Lisu leaders visiting our house

Nick's group of soccer players is growing
and they are learning about honesty (sportsmanship)

***Note: If the situation escalates, there is a good chance that internet service may not be readily available. In such case, our blog posts may be delayed.***

His Kingdom Will Prevail

As the Bible says “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Matthew 5:11, NASB). While many of us comfortably spend time with family and friends, several Christian leaders and new converts in the country next to Thailand recently have been arrested and imprisoned because of their faith in Christ. The most recent arrest occurred on August 31^st. So, please keep praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ! Pray without cease. Pray for their release, if it’s in His Will. Pray especially for their faith as they are chained. Pray for the people in their communities as this has caused much fear.

Joy in New Life

Many believed and were baptized

This imprisonment happened in our mission targeting area. One of Stephen’s students is working in this area. In fact, this is the area where Stephen had planned to go in the past June and it is also the place he is planning to go and evangelize as soon as the country is reopened. Stephen is planning to invite the high level of the central government officials to go to this area. Actually, in the past, some of those high level of the central government invited Stephen and his team to visit the area but the project was postponed due to the lack of funds and the unfortunate timing.

In many areas of Southeast Asia and China where we are called to go into, many people who accept Christ are harassed and even have their possessions taken away. Some will be shunned by their own families. Others are jailed, tortured and even killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ. In some of these places, when you accept Christ, you have already accepted that you could very likely die because of this very decision. Pray for people here to have faith and cling to Jesus.

Nevertheless, in the midst of this severe persecution, God is continuing to move; many people are accepting Jesus Christ, many souls are continually being harvested, many spiritual alters and images are being torn down and literally set ablaze as it happened similar to Acts 19:19, where “many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone…” (NASB). Even in these trying situations, we can praise God. The Good News of Jesus Christ is being heard and many people believe and are walking several miles down to the river to get baptized. This is absolutely incredible! Where there is persecution, God’s Kingdom will continue to grow! There is nothing that will stop us from preaching His truth as long as we live! Of course, Yes, His Kingdom will prevail no matter what!

Walking many miles to get baptized

The terrain of their land

Baptism at a small creek

Taking down evil spirit alters

Burning their idols and spirit alters

A new house church is formed in this village

Family

The family is doing well. Isaac is getting taller and taller. This past month, he gave his first sermon at a Lisu church in Chiang Mai and he did a great job. Also, Isaac was chosen by the school to represent the class speech team. Becky and Nick started another English online course, this time, for the university students in Myanmar; they are still in contact with the students in Laos, but right now the students are on break. These are free online classes for the students which happen to be one of our outreach programs. Furthermore, Nick continues to reach the Ethnic Shan kids at the government school through the sports ministry. For one week, we switched up the sport and Nick taught them how to play (two hand touch) American Football, they really liked it. The soccer jersey colors are all picked out; we are waiting as the kids have a mini competition to come up with the best logo so we can put it on the jerseys. The young adult males in the community have now started to join in small games with the kids as well. They are aware and have complied with the rules of good sportsmanship and absolutely no smoking or alcohol on the field or even before coming to play. Slowly, the sports ministry has grown to almost 30 people. Off the field, Nick has been investing in several of the kids that are interested in talking about Jesus Christ. Mary has many projects around the house, including her vegetable garden. Stephen, Mary and Nick continue visiting the sick and praying for them. Almost every weekend, Stephen and Mary make church visits. Besides mobilizing our teammates in the mission fields, providing Bibles for a prison ministry in Chiang Mai, and training Isaac for a mission works for the coming generation, Stephen is at the final phase of his exegetical work on the book of Romans. Hurray!

Isaac's first sermon with his dad

A great atmosphere to play soccer and grow in character

Trying out American football

Teaching English through Zoom to students in Myanmar

This man used to persecute Christians
but has since changed because of our outreach
and now he asked to study the Bible
(we gave him his first Bible!)

Please also keep Thailand and our neighboring countries in your prayers! The COVID infections in our neighboring country, Myanmar for instance, is getting worse. Though there is no documented case of COVID patient in the past 2 months in Thailand, the country’s lockdown and full government/military emergency decree is extended until the end of September. We don’t know what Thailand will be like in the coming months, but political unrest is very apparent. No matter what happens, God’s Kingdom prevails.

Peace in Christ

Rain pours down, as water rises. A large tropical storm Sinlaku hits southeast Asia, with more expected to follow. Much of the devastation is impacting Vietnam but the tail of the storm swept through Thailand at the end of July/early August. We sit inside, watching as the rain splashes our window like we were going through a car wash. Some of the water finds its way through tiny spaces where our window pane meets the edge of the wall. Mary watches the rain pummel our rice field, which had just been planted a couple days ago. Rice is able to withstand excess amounts of water for only a week before they all start to die. Boy! It must have been intense for Noah and his family (and the animals) on the ark… or even for the twelve disciples as they faced a storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee. What a tremendous force of nature; but even as scary and powerful a storm is, it falls flat against the mighty authority of Jesus Christ! There are so many storms in life and many challenges but praise God for His presence and deliverance.

Our neighbors in the Shan community came to help us plant rice

The rice field turned into a pond after many days of rain

Oh no! The emergency decree in Thailand has been extended to the end of August; therefore, many of our evangelistic and teaching trips have been rescheduled. However, during the month of July, Stephen and Mary made church visitations almost every weekend. They stayed in the mountain village and joined different church services where Stephen was invited to preach. What a true blessing to visit churches full of people worshiping God. Being with people is such a blessing for us, especially after going through Thailand’s intense lockdown for several months. When they aren’t on a trip to visit churches or the sick, Stephen is back in his office working thoroughly on his commentary on the book of Romans.

Stephen preaching on the weekends

The request from Laos and Myanmar for Stephen comes almost weekly. Nevertheless, he is planning to make a trip to these countries as soon as all the lockdown regulations subside. Through Stephen’s correspondence, we have found out that there are many unreached ethnic groups of people in Laos, for instance, the ethnic groups called Bik, Bru, Lolo, Noi Kui, Sida, and many others. So far, there are no believers, no Bible and no evangelists among these unreached people groups. Now, if God is willing, we have a vision and a precise strategic plan to reach out to these ethnic groups in Laos for Christ, as soon as possible. Your prayers are much much appreciated!

We all, including our field teammates, are excited for this vision! Yes even though we all have loads on our plates already. For instance, Xia is a traveling evangelist and a youth Christian leader. He has over 400 Christian youth from eleven different churches under his care. In fact, he had just recently founded two new house-churches. Most importantly, Xia has been authorized by the government for his pastoral and evangelistic works. On top of this, he is currently studying the Bible with Stephen. Such a native minister is much needed in this restricted and one the most Christian persecuting countries in order to reach out to many unreached people groups. To fulfill his calling, each week he has to walk about 30-50 kilometers to evangelize to non-Christian villages. At the moment, Xia desperately needs a scooter for his evangelistic works so that he will be able to reach out to more people for Christ. If God is moving in your heart and you would like to support this new evangelistic frontier, a scooter costs roughly $1,500. (Several months ago, we were able to provide a scooter for evangelist Mr. Herr in another part of Laos, which has been an awesome tool for His Kingdom).

The village where Xia helped plant a new church

The house church in the village

Becky continues to type away at her computer, working on her next grammar lessons for our online English class as an evangelistic tool for the university students in Laos. Both, Becky and Nick, have a day during the week where they teach about 6 students per class. Speaking of classes, Isaac has also started going back to school amidst this Covid 19 pandemic. Apparently, Thailand has done a good job in keeping Covid 19 under control.

Also, thank you deeply for the extra monetary gift for Nick’s sport ministry for reaching out to our neighboring dislocated kids. This means that the kids will finally get team soccer jerseys. It’s a great start! The kids will be so excited! Praise God! The kids are doing awesome. This is the first batch of kids who haven’t dropped out of school, or gotten in trouble with the law. We have seen that many kids, in the past, drop out of school to deal drugs and also take drugs. After Covid 19 dies down, Nick plans to set the boys up for friendly matches with other teams.

One of the kids named Pai, who has been occasionally roasting coffee with Nick, has been searching for the Truth. He lives with his single mother who is Buddhist. When Pai was younger, he was often sent to live in the Buddhist monastery as a Buddhist monk apprentice. He does this in hopes that his mom would be blessed and would go to heaven. The Buddhist believes that if you have lots of merits (by doing good) you go to heaven, and if you do bad then you go to hell. Then after some time in heaven or hell, you are reborn at a better richer status (if you did good) or as a poor/handicap/animal (if you did bad in the previous life). If you lived a “perfect life” abstaining from everything, you enter Nirvana. Pai says that everyone, even the monks who mentored him, does “bad” sinful things. He has doubts on his faith in Buddhism. Nick told him about Jesus. He told Pai, “we all have done sinful things and we will probably continue to fail throughout life, that’s why we need Jesus.”

The Soccer Kids

Thank you also for all of you who lifted up Mary’s father Jeremy in your prayers! Jeremy is among the first group of Lisu Christian missionaries from China to Thailand in the late 1950s. Throughout his life, he has always been a straight shooter especially when it came to the teachings of the Bible. He loved meeting with people and loved to tell people about Jesus wherever he went. God gave him this personality where he could talk to anyone, anywhere. Jeremy has been a great servant for His Kingdom. After many decades of evangelism, Jeremy was recently diagnosed with an enlarged heart. He can barely breathe and his blood pressure is at an all-time low. When these conditions persisted, he was sent to the local government hospital where he was just given oxygen. Mary and Nick went to visit him. It was very hard to see an old frail man struggling to breathe the air around us. It was especially tough when the doctors came and asked that if he was ever in a critical state where he couldn’t breathe on his own, would we want him to be resuscitated and intubated. Mary’s father, with a slow shaky voice, said, “No… I’m ready at any moment to go and be with Jesus.” This is the man that has seen many storms in his life, and even in this storm, he is ready for peace with Jesus. His conditions did improve and he is back at home, but he could go at any time. Please continue to pray for his faith as he is nearing the end of his life. Also, pray for the family as they are sad but also joyful in his faith and hope in Jesus.

Mary visiting her father at the hospital

Whether rain or shine, we know that Jesus is victorious. He is our hope, our everything. Through the Good News of Jesus Christ, many lives have been transformed. For many missionaries like Jeremy, retirement isn’t really an option. There is no such thing as social security benefits for elderly native missionaries in Thailand. The reason we all do this is because we see His Kingdom grow every day and we are so glad to be a part of it. We thank you all for being a part of it as well. Together, we are making great impacts in Southeast Asia and China. Together, we are offering peace through Jesus Christ to a world full of storms.

ALL FOR JESUS

“Why? Why? Why?” This was the response we got from many people as we distributed food to the needy in several countries. The people in Laos, the poorest and one of the most high risk countries for Believers in Asia, asked: why would they help us? They are not our relatives and they have never even met us and yet they help us? Many, filled with joy, cried after receiving a bag of rice. For many of us, we take lots of things for granted; most of the time, the many things we look over are sought after or prized by many people. Now, because of the love of God that the lost people experienced these past several weeks, many of them have accepted the gospel and some even gave their lives to Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord! A small yet impact deed of love can transform the lives of many people. They are able to see the light and experience the love of the invisible God and the hope of eternal salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, God is moving in Laos. We have a dream that God will transform this country. At the moment, we have various essential evangelistic strategic plans for this country that would bring many souls to Jesus the Messiah. Due to the sensitivity of our work in high risk areas, we won’t share these on the blog (if you’d like to know more in detail, let us know, we’d be happy to share through email).

The needy in Laos

The needy in Laos were surprised
and joyful to receive rice

Due to certain matters, distributing rice at night

Distributing food packages in Myanmar

Joyful smiles

The people in Myanmar have hope

The disabled and elderly in Myanmar
receiving food packages

In Thailand, our efforts covered the areas with displaced people from Shan state and Rakhine state of Myanmar, the disabled, the elderly and children. Some were non-believers and some were believers from several churches and denominations. Several people asked us why we helped many from different churches and denominations. We told them that we are representing Jesus Christ, not churches or denominations. We are Christ’s ambassador! We do our best to represent Christ to all!

Food distribution in a Shan neighborhood in Thailand
(thanks to Thai brothers and sisters in Christ for their help)

After giving out food packages, praying for those who asked
and are open to prayers

We, Asians For Christ, always give thanks to God for allowing us to be a channel of His blessings to those in need, especially during this pandemic crisis in Southeast Asia: Thailand, Myanmar and Laos in particular. We thank all of you who are partnering with us through your prayerful and financial supports. Also, we thank those who helped us with on-the-ground works, packaging and distributing the food. Without everyone doing his/her part, it would be difficult to accomplish many responsibilities we are given. Thank you for serving God by doing your part for His Kingdom.

Family Update

The family is doing well. Since there are no new local Covid 19 transmissions, Isaac’s school has reopened (no more online classes). Becky and Nick are teaching a free online English course to Laotian students; they have built a great relationship with the college students there.

Becky's time to teach grammar to her
six Laotian college students

Furthermore, the emergency decree in Thailand has been extended to the end of July where the government will have full authority to expressly pass regulations, for example limiting the amount of people at gatherings. However, regulations have been eased to the point where many areas, especially rural villages can now have gatherings. Churches in the mountains and remote areas have reopened. So, we have taken this liberty to visit the sick, help the poor, have fellowship with God’s people, and share His Word. We are so excited to see people again! We are filled with joy to see people laugh, the sick smile with hope, the needy being encouraged and comforted, and the message of hope in Jesus Christ continue to shine a light into this dark world. We see lives changed and people worshiping Jesus Christ; this is why we do what we do.