Community Engagement in Southeast Asia Archives

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Poor Preschooler Needing Surgery Faces Steep Odds

January 2, 2020

A law passed last year providing health care for all people in the Philippines takes effect this month, but that will not matter to remote villagers where there are no doctors or medical facilities.

Impoverished villagers have long suffered from lack of access to health care in the Southeast Asian country.

Against this backdrop, a 4-year-old boy in Mindanao whose hernia made it too painful to play with other children didn’t realize how lucky he was.

Small Business Start-Ups Transform Lives

August 15, 2019

A young Christian woman in the Philippines whose speech impediment kept her in the shadows was devastated when her baby died before his first birthday. At any church service or gathering in an undisclosed town on the island of Mindanao, Maria Dominguez stayed back in a corner. In the past year she tried recovering from the trauma of losing her child by selling snacks in her neighborhood, a native ministry leader said. “Unfortunately, she did not have enough capital to finance her business,” he said.

Spiritual Battle Rages in Addict’s Soul

March 28, 2019

As a boy growing up in Southeast Asia, Revo* was the top student in his Sunday school class, eventually becoming a full member of his church. Then came the evil spirits. Revo said he opened the door to the evil spirits when he fell in with an unruly gang: “We reveled in drunken orgies and even offered sacrifices to evil spirits.”

How To Be Fruitful and Multiply

October 11, 2018

Before two native missionaries in the Philippines got married 15 years ago, they decided they wanted to have 12 children. “We hoped that God would grant our desires, for we really wanted to have a big family,” said Marco, who leads the ministry the couple began. Fifteen years later, they have one child, a girl. “God has given us one wonderful gift – a loving daughter who is now 13 years old,” he said.

Girl Sold into Life of Oppression Finds Freedom

August 30, 2018

Deborah was only 14 years old when her parents gave her as a wife to a man she didn’t want to marry in exchange for a horse. This practice was not uncommon in her impoverished region of the Philippines. Drug trafficking was also common, and her husband tried to overcome poverty by selling methamphetamine known as shabu.

Ukraine’s Displaced Souls Seek Relief and Recovery

May 19, 2022

Local missionaries in Europe are counseling and praying with refugees from Ukraine traumatized by the invasion of their homeland. Besides needing food and other aid, many refugees have suffered the shocks of bombing and artillery fire since Russia invaded in late February. “Pray for their mothers and grandmothers who suffer because they have lost their loved ones, or have their children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters or fathers in the war,” the leader of a local ministry said.

Refugee Mother’s Soul Warmed after Burning Bible

May 12, 2022

Like most refugees from Afghanistan, Gayana lived in a broken, drafty apartment with no means to keep out the winter cold. To keep herself and her small daughter warm, she had taken the last Bibles and other free Christian literature from a stand outside a church in the Middle East with the intention of burning them in her potbelly stove. “My house was cold, and my little girl was cold,” she said. “In the evening, I took the wood and tore off the Bible pages and threw them into the stove, and they started to burn.”

Young Muslim Faces Crisis of Faith in Arab World

May 5, 2022

Kamal had been raised to become a mosque leader in such a strict Islamic home that his religiosity alienated even other Muslims. But since seeing an online ad stating, “God loves you,” he had been reading the Bible on the internet. The university student was in crisis.

The Gospel v. Supernatural Evil in Vietnam

April 28, 2022

Two Christian women told a visiting leader of a native ministry in Vietnam that when they lay in bed at night, they suffered deep dread as they felt the devil’s power – a sensation of cold going from their feet to their heads, cold sweats and uncontrollable shaking. In a country where some tribal people walk on burning coals to demonstrate the power of supernatural evil, the women were desperate for deliverance from demonic attacks. “Please pray for us,” one of the women said. “We don’t know what this is.”

Middle East Muslims Hear God’s Voice in Dreams

April 21, 2022

In the five years that local missionaries provided aid to Syrian refugees, Zainab often asked why Christians would bother to help Muslims. In his discussions with them in a Middle Eastern country, the Muslim recently insisted the Bible was corrupted by changes over the centuries – but then he had a dream that both excited and horrified him. Having experienced Christ’s love from the local workers, Zainab was eager to tell the ministry leader about the dream.

Workers Weather Dangers in War-Ravaged Burma

April 14, 2022

In war-ravaged Burma (Myanmar), violence and the pandemic complicate local ministry efforts at a time when they are most needed. A worker recently told a ministry leader that local missionaries and their families had to flee their homes. “He told me that he was one of three pastors who fled with their families to the forest and stayed at a cave, trying to run to a village where they could stay temporarily,” the leader said. “His son, who was 19 years old, was killed by the terrorists.”

Pandemic Just One of Dangers of Serving in Latin America

April 7, 2022

Infection from COVID-19 is just one risk local missionaries in Latin America face as they serve the unreached and needy. While the pandemic has increased resistance as villagers fear workers from nearby areas could bring infection, spiritual warfare and persecution are prevalent and gunfire paralyzes some towns. “Armed conflicts in the towns are a problem for the mobility and security of our missionaries,” a ministry leader in Mexico said.

Gospel Derails Planned Homicide in North Africa

March 31, 2022

Ahmed was so heavy-hearted and sullen you could see it on his face the moment you looked at him, according to the leader of the local ministry offering the program. What you couldn’t see was that, as he was receiving vocational training in North Africa, Ahmed was carrying a lethal weapon. During a time set aside for a spiritual message at the training, Ahmed heard preaching that led to him revealing why he was carrying the weapon.

Her Life Shattered, Ukrainian Refugee Turns to God

March 24, 2022

Emotionally shattered while recovering at a local ministry’s care center in southern Spain, Natasha prayed after losing the life she’d had in Ukraine’s second largest city. Leaving her husband behind to defend against the Russian invasion, she and her son had walked most of the nearly 700 miles from their home in Kharkiv to the border, and from there had made it to Spain. “When they left their city, they were only carrying what they were wearing and a backpack each, so during the journey many times they thought they were going to die of the cold,” the ministry leader said.

Some in Broken Lebanon Choose ISIS, Others Christ

March 17, 2022

With unemployment at 55 percent, runaway inflation and more than 60 percent of the population in need of aid, many people in Lebanon are in despair. COVID-19 and a collapsed economy are driving some Muslims to join the Islamic State, but others are finding joy in Christ. “Joy filled the faces and the hearts of those who were getting baptized as they worshiped the Lord and presented their testimonies,” the leader of a native ministry said.

Gospel Softens Hearts in the Middle East

March 10, 2022

“Where are you going every Sunday – have you become a Christian?” a Muslim father in the Middle East asked his teenage son. The father had noticed him leaving the house each Sunday. The boy knew that his answer would lead to punishment and possible expulsion from his home. “I knew I couldn’t deny my heavenly Father – I was aware that if I denied my heavenly Father, I would lose eternal life with Him,” he said.

Killing Leads to Transformed Village in Africa

March 3, 2022

Muslim villagers in West Africa saw a local missionary as someone who could bring shame on their families by steering relatives away from Islam. Others found his teaching laughable. Laughing or scorning, the villagers took a dim view of Christians and Christianity in a country where Islamic extremist violence against churches was on the rise. The brutal murder of the worker marked a turning point in the community attitude toward Christians.

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Poor Preschooler Needing Surgery Faces Steep Odds

Small Business Start-Ups Transform Lives

Spiritual Battle Rages in Addict’s Soul

How To Be Fruitful and Multiply

Girl Sold into Life of Oppression Finds Freedom

Ukraine’s Displaced Souls Seek Relief and Recovery

Refugee Mother’s Soul Warmed after Burning Bible

Young Muslim Faces Crisis of Faith in Arab World

The Gospel v. Supernatural Evil in Vietnam

Middle East Muslims Hear God’s Voice in Dreams

Workers Weather Dangers in War-Ravaged Burma

Pandemic Just One of Dangers of Serving in Latin America

Gospel Derails Planned Homicide in North Africa

Her Life Shattered, Ukrainian Refugee Turns to God

Some in Broken Lebanon Choose ISIS, Others Christ

Gospel Softens Hearts in the Middle East

Killing Leads to Transformed Village in Africa

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