Bhutan - A Closed Country

This week I want to introduce you to Bhutan, a nation that is closed to the gospel and a young man with whom I have been in contact.  For his safety I will call him Joe.

Joe contacted me regarding mission trips and ministry some time ago while he was away from home and his country getting an education.  He had many questions and wanted prayer support and encouragement.  After graduation, he returned home keeping in communication with me for a while.  Suddenly he dropped out of contact for quite some time until this last week.

Bhutan is a closed nation in many ways even beyond religion and evangelism.  Another man that I have also been in contact with even longer than Joe, told me that an outsider can only visit Bhutan as a tourist with one of the Bhutan owned tour guide companies and you are limited to their agendas and locations.  In further conversations, I was told something that really struck a cord in me.  You know how many young people, and I was one of them, would go camping or back packing to get away to do what you wanted in peace and not be caught by the law or authorities?  Well this pastor told me that that is what they have do to have prayer meetings and worship services.  They all back pack into the mountains and meet together for prayer and worship.  The thought came to me how we used to do this to do ungodly things and they have to do this to pursue God and pray together. 

I have included Joe’s message to you in this post, which I have edited, so that you will be able to pray for Joe, the House Churches and Christians in Bhutan.  Please also remember they are in need of Bibles as well. 
John, I am sorry for not being able to keep in touch with you.  I had been to a very remote part of our nation, Bhutan, where there is no motor roads.  We have to walk and carry our things on horse back to get to these very remote villages where there is not electricity or internet facilities and etc.  Despite difficulties, we have begun a house cell church with 15 members. This is the first fellowship in this area of Bhutan.  Previously to our arrival no one had heard what and who Jesus is, but now more people are coming to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Please keep praying for these new believers. 

New Prayer Request From India

Thenlal Kipgen has sent you a message on Youth Quests - Christian Social Network - Teen Missions - Trips

If God Willing I will be moving into a new mission field in the eastern part of New Delhi. Please pray for me that God will prepare and open the heart of people to receive the Love of Jesus Christ.

When we work we work, but when we pray God work.
In Him
Thenlal Kipgen

Pray for the Needs of India

India is this week’s Prayer Focus, but first I wanted to share something with you.   When Becky and I were praying together in the morning last week, the Lord gave us both a vision about a strategic prayer focus plan.  We both saw a map and certain countries highlighted which we know we are to specifically focus our prayers on at this time.  These countries were India, China, Myanmar, Pakistan and Kenya.  I don’t know what the Lord is doing, but we want to be obedient.  I do know we have received many prayer requests and requests for help from these countries.  Please keep us, these countries and the pastors and missionaries there in your prayers. 

 

Following are specific prayer requests I have received from India.

 Dear Friends, Missionaries and Believers in Jesus Christ,

We started an orphanage by the vision and call of our savior and LORD Jesus Christ, James 1:27, " Pure and undefiled religion before God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world". To provide food, accommodations and education, medical needs clothes and books for the orphans, semi-orphans, poor children and rag-pickers. These children used to spend their childhood by picking rags near dust bins in the streets and habituated to all kinds of bad activities which spoil their lives. Some are orphans, and others are very poor, their parents are unable to take care of them. Along with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are very active in church, praying, singing to the LORD and regularly attending Sunday school.  With much effort and burden we are going forward with the great Mission to the Glory of the LORD. We invite all our friends in Christ to share our Vision and Mission.  Can you spend your time with our children in the homes, support and pray for us?

Sincerely,

Rev. J M

 

Greetings from India,

I am not a stranger but I am one of your brothers in Christ carrying out His last Commission and also showing the love of Jesus to the orphans, street children, poor and needy deserving children. 

I am a young man who finished my high school graduation, studied junior college and then studied three years in an Indian university and received my Bachelor of Arts Degree.  After I finished this schooling I went to USA and studied three years bachelor of Divinity at West Lenoir, School of Ministries, Lenoir, NC, USA. After finishing my studies I promptly returned to India and started my ministry independently.  God laid the burden in my heart to win my own Indian nationals and specially to evangelize children.  Now I am in India. I am sending this email from India.

When I started going round the villages to preach I happened to see so many orphan children sleeping under the trees and begging.  Some village elders requested me to feed these children.  As a trial and with compassion I brought home some children and started feeding them with a single meal per day.  I have good accommodation so I am providing free house, electricity with water.  I have very spacious buildings, which were given to me by my father.  These buildings can accommodate even hundred children.  But I have no means to feed them.  Most of these orphan children are five years to twelve years of age both boys and girls.  I started the orphanage and now there are about fifty children in my home.  Just I am providing single meal for them.  With that they are contented. 

After knowing the news that I am running an orphanage every day many orphan children from different villages are coming and requesting me to find out when they will be admitted.  I don’t have money to admit them.  Even for these children I am facing many difficulties I am trying all my level best to help as many orphans as I can.  But in India it is highly impossible for a Christian preacher to run the orphanage.  The local people are in an impression that I will change these children to Christianity.  So they don’t like to come forward to help them.  I spent several days in fasting prayer and finally I decided to request people like you for help.

I am very much interested in evangelizing to children.  Kindly help me and encourage me to win the children to Christ. 

Thanking you,

Sincerely, 

Kalyan

 

For more information regarding these prayer requests or to find our more about our vision please check out our Short Term Missions Programs

Pray For Our Eastern Asia Team

We have several young people in the middle of raising support for their trip to Eastern Asia with us in July.  Please pray for them to be encouraged, blessed and that the needed funds will come in.  If you have a desire to help with support for these team members please write me at info@youthquests.com

Pray For Pakistan 1

Our Missions Prayer Focus of the Week is for Pakistan,  we  have been in contact with many pastors and workers in Pakistan over the last couple of years, but there has been in influx of requests for prayer and assistance from many Christians in this country.  I have included one of the most recent letters from Pakistan for you.  Please join our missions Christian Social Network to communicate and pray for the lives of these brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Dear Brother John. I hope you are well and safe and in God hands.  Brother  I accepted  Jesus  Christ as my personal  savior and start serving him, But  before I was  this time I was very sinful and  addicted of  many bad things in  my life. God opened my eyes and showed me what is right and what is wrong.  Since  God  has chosen me from that time to now, He has  changed  me and He  made me  to be more Christ  like.

What I am going to write to you this is my personal experience since I started serving Lord.   I have done  many thing in ministry especially  with Youth Ministry and people  like I was,  because I am very  young and  serving lord and  heading up many responsibilities.  Well I have  many  Muslim friends,  I always  go to their families and I always freely talk about Jesus Christ and they  do not mind.  So  I can say that I am happy that I am a Pakistani and I was born here and I  do not feel ashamed to be a Pakistani.  But some places in Pakistan they are many pressures and many challenges for God servants. As  I told  you we have some  ministries  on location at the  bricks factories where  Christian people are  spending their lives like Israeli did when they were in Egypt.  Christian Young girls work all the day in sunshine for 150 rupee.  Our Young Christian boys are working n Muslim land lords fields.  Our Christian women’s are working in Muslim land lords homes.

This is not easy to start a gospel ministry at the brick factories, because the brick factory owners do not want the people living and working there to get any holidays or Sundays off, or they go away without his permission.

I still remember  when we started  ministry first time at the brick factories it was very dangerous for our senior pastor, A. E.,  they tried to  shout him at night time, but thank God  who saved him. I cannot forget then happen.  Christian lives are not good because they do not have good jobs, the reason why they do not have good jobs because they are not able to pay the bribery to get good job or that they are Christians.

If maybe in the future God will bring you to Pakistan to share good news of Christ I will take you to visit our ministries at the bricks factories, you will amazed to see  how peoples are living and where we are serving for our lord Jesus Christ in this modern day Egypt situation.

Brother, I  don’t have many contacts in West because I believe our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in the West appear to believe things and people in Pakistan are nonsense, but we know what God is really doing here.  I have invited limited Westerners, but they are only staying in my contact list and not come or helping us in Pakistan, but I have strong relationship with Christian churches or youth ministries who seem to be all in Asian countries.

I hope my relationship with you will last very long time. I appreciate you doing such a great work for our living and loving Lord Jesus Christ.

If you still have any questions or if you want more information regarding Pakistan and Christianity in Pakistan I am here for you. 

Holding you in prayers,

A. S.

Myanmar - 2

This week please pray for Paul W and the ministry in Myanmar.  Here is a letter from him.

I would like to introduce by myself. I am Paul W; a senior pastor of a mission I founded this since 31st of May, 2004 and now the mission will be 5 years in operation soon. We are especially doing church planting in the new areas in where there are no churches yet established and we focus the fisher community, the uneducated and unreached groups who are living along the seaside and riverside of southern Myanmar, where the cyclone, Nargis, devastated the communities..

We have a focus of five mission field:

(1) Rakhine State
(2) Ayeyawaddy Division
(3) Yangon Division
(4) Mon State
(5) Taninthayi Division  

We set up our vision to penetrate till the whole islands of Myanmar. Now there are 14 churches we have been able to plant and 250 members increased within five years of the ministries beginning. There are a lot of rural fishermen communities who never heard the gospel in the islands and coastline. They only think about to catching fish and selling it, but their heart and living style are very simple and honest. When we reached to their places they accept us with good hospitality, listened to our witnessing about Christ and they wanted to hear more about Christ. Actually they are as Buddhist, but their life is like paganism. Therefore, we do need more to penetrate them with the gospel till village to village because this has been an effective outreach and ministering style to these communities.

According my research if we can find a home or a place for a house of worship and do ministry with the Jesus film, they will easily come and change their life.  After that we will follow up them all who are converted, baptized them and following with biblical teaching of the bible story, recitation and Burmese translations so that they all may learn and read themselves. An after that we plan to train those who are sharp and have potential out of the converters as a disciples or church planters so that they might work church planting among their own peoples.

That is all about our mission plans and strategies we are continually processing toward.  Therefore we do need your involving with us in prayers in this.

Today in our church we celebrated the one year anniversary memorial service of Nargis cyclone victims in Myanmar. As soon as we started praise and worship and we sang "THE SONGS, AMAZING GRACE AND IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL" and we prayed and kept silence for a minute and when I spoke on behalf of all the members regarding how we are sad and remember the many terrible victims of this cyclone, all church members cried and I asked them all who will submit life for them who are the remained to preach the gospel,  All the members both small and great shouted together loudly, yes we will go to the places to share the gospel. 

We pray to go soon to the area in where the cyclone has victimized badly to take the gospel and crusade. Please pray for that program.

Yours in His service