ASAP Newsletter, January/February 2006

January/February, 2006

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects2

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EditorJudy Aitken

Assistant EditorJulia O’CareyCopy EditorLinda Bauer

Design/LayoutSon Praises/

Margie MitchellPhotographerFrank Spangler

Adventist Southeast AsiaProject's purpose is to support

the preaching of the everlastinggospel of Jesus Christ through

church planting and evangelismendeavors for Southeast Asian

people throughout the world. Asa privately funded, nonprofitorganization we work as asupporting ministry of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church.As an unaffiliated, independentministry, we are dependent upon

God to move people tosupport this work.

Please contact us:ASAP

PO Box 84Berrien Springs, MI 49103

Phone: 269-471-3026Fax: 269-471-3034

Email: [email protected] address:

http://www.ASAPministries.org

We would love to hear from you.(Tax-deductible contributions

may be sent with theenclosed envelope.)

Cover: This Cambodian literacy student has discovered two ofthe most powerful tools for Christian growth; her Bible andprayer. (Photo by Frank Spangler)

AdventistSoutheast

Asia Projects

AdventistSoutheast

Asia ProjectsEditor’s UpdateJudy Aitken shares how she went from a nurse to director ofAdventist Southeast Asia Projects. See how God reveals His powerwhen we pray and follow His purpose for our lives.

Purpose, Prayer, Power For the VietnameseWhy is prayer especially needed for those living in the communistcountry of Vietnam?

The Ultimate SourcePastor Isah Young reveals his deepest passion and the keys toobtaining power for his ministry.

Purpose, Prayer, Power For the KhmerPray for the Khmer people as you read why they are in need of aSavior.

Prayers of Healing In CambodiaExperience Mrs. Chanthy’s joy and awe as Jesus worked a miraclein her life.

Purpose, Prayer, Power For the ThaiRead about the “Land of the Free” where Christians can worshipopenly. Discover specific ways to pray for these precious people.

Gifts in Praise and MemoryASAP welcomes donors to give in honor of those who are dear tothem.

Purpose, Prayer, Power For the LaotiansAfter learning about this communist country, join the ASAP staff inpraying specifically for their needs.

Purpose, Prayer, Power For ASAP and North AmericanProjectsDid you know ASAP supports church planting projects among South-east Asians in North America? Read to find out whom to pray for.

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From Pests to PowerWitness the amazing power of God evident in the life of Thai laypastor, Suthee Kajonson, as he shares his personal testimony.

ASAP 3

ASAP

PrayerHave you felt the Holy Spirit prompting you

to pray for a stranger, a neighborhood, a city or acountry? This happened to me one day in 1979when my eyes caught a glimpse of a news maga-zine cover. On it I saw a starving Cambodianmother holding her emaciated child. The look ofsuffering on her face broke my heart. At thatmoment I received a strong impression to helpthese people! I prayed, “Lord, please bringphysical and spiritual healing to the Cambodianpeople suffering in this appalling genocide.” Onlya few weeks later, God miraculously threw thedoors open for me to be a bigger part of the an-swer when I was asked to work for SAWS (Sev-enth-day Adventist World Service, now calledADRA) as a nurse in the Cambodian refugeecamps on the border of Thailand. Twenty-sixyears later, although I have witnessed thousandsof Cambodians come to know Christ, there arestill millions who need to hear His life-savingmessage. We invite you to become an ASAPprayer warrior. Simply ask the Holy Spirit toimpress you what country or countries you shouldadopt and then join in earnestly seeking salva-tion for the people in that country. In this issueyou will learn more about these predominantlyBuddhist countries and the projects ASAP sup-ports so you can pray specifically for them.

PurposeAt the time I accepted that temporary volun-

teer nursing assignment, I had no idea God’spurpose for my life involved working with South-

east Asians long term. As I reflect on this amaz-ing journey, God’s purpose for me and for thisorganization is clear. We are to bring the mes-sage of salvation to these people. Whether theylived in a refugee camp, immigrated to the UnitedStates or returned to their homeland, the purposeremains the same, to bring them Jesus and thegift of salvation. Barnabas, “a good man full ofthe Holy Spirit” encouraged the believers “to con-tinue with the Lord with purpose of heart” (Acts11:23).

PowerWith a clear purpose and the Holy Spirit’s

power unleashed through prayer, “a great manypeople were added to the Lord” in the earlychurch (Acts 11:24) and in Southeast Asia. It hasbeen exciting for all workers here in the ASAPoffice to see the results of the powerful workingof the Holy Spirit as hundreds of thousands ofprecious people have accepted Jesus as their Sav-ior and joined God’s remnant church. Read IsahYoung’s report on page 6 to see evidence of theHoly Spirit’s power at work in one of the Viet-namese house churches.

As we celebrate the ten-year anniversary ofASAP, we can truly say that the great work ofGod in Southeast Asia has just begun. There aremillions more living in darkness who are cryingout to know the true God. We invite you to joinus in praying for God to use us to fulfill His pur-pose of saving every person who will listen andaccept Him.

“While engaged in our daily work we should lift the soul to heaven in prayer. Thesesilent petitions rise like incense before the throne of grace; and the enemy is baffled. The

Christian whose heart is thus stayed upon God cannot be overcome. No evil darts candestroy his peace” (Gospel Workers, p. 254).


Population: 83,305,000Below Poverty Line: 50% of the PopulationReligions: Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, MuslimSDA Members: Less than 500SDA House Church Members: More than 23,600 baptizedSabbath Keepers: Over 370,000

IETNAMESE ARE HARD WORKING AND FAMILY ORIENTED. THEY HAVE A FASCINATING

culture and live in a lovely tropical country. Unfortunately, they are currently the secondhighest persecuted people in the world when accepting Christianity. According toJohnstone and Mandryk in Operation World, constitutional guarantees of religious free-dom are meaningless because the government is communist. Actual government policyis to control all religious groups. Persecution of Christians, especially our SDA housechurch members and leaders, along with other non-registered minority groups, contin-ues to be harsh. Yet, the message of salvation is being spread on a large scale. Twelveyears ago, when Vietnamese Pastor Isah Young began producing Peace and Happinessradio broadcasts into Vietnam, there were no SDA house churches and only a handful ofregistered SDA churches. Today the church is growing rapidly with over 300,000 Sab-bath keeping listeners and a strong team of national pastors working under Pastor Young’sleadership in an underground movement. God is blessing in a mighty way. ASAP do-nors support 250 pastors who serve throughout Vietnam. This year, the national pastorsreport that there is a tremendous increase in requests for Bibles and evangelistic materi-als. The demand for Bible studies and requests for baptisms have become much morethan they can keep up with.

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PLEASELift up Vietnam

PRAY for Pastor Isah Young and hiswife, along with his assistants, as theyproduce the SDA Peace and Happinessradio broadcasts and direct the house churchmovement. Praise the Lord that the radiosignals remain clear and this ministry contin-ues to be an effective means of outreach.

PRAY for courage and protection of nationalpastors and believers who are suffering persecution fortheir faith in God. Pray for funding to support the 250 districtpastors and their training, transportation, house church repairs,and for God to help ASAP meet the extreme demand for Biblesand evangelistic materials.

PRAY that those in central Vietnam, who recently went through a heavy hurricaneseason, will have adequate food for their families.

PRAY for God to open a way for pastors to reach over 300,000 Sabbath keepinglisteners in a closed area of the country. The security condition makes it unsuitablefor mass baptisms everywhere in Vietnam. Pastors have to take baptismal candidatesto a secluded area and baptize in small groups between 1:00-5:00 in the morningbecause it is so dangerous.

PRAY that government leaders will allow religious freedom in their country andrule fairly. Pray that the local government will treat Sabbath keeping Christians withfairness in many provinces. The Sabbath keeping Christians receive more severepersecution than other Christians. Praise the Lord for answered prayer regardinggovernment leaders in several provinces of Vietnam who stopped persecuting theSDA believers and started listening to Pastor Isah Young’s DVD sermons. It is amiraculous answer to prayer that officials in this area are not forcing the Adventistpastors and members to register their house churches.

PRAY for parents to have enough food to feed their children since over 50% ofthe people live below the poverty line.

PRAY for the 100,000 infected AIDS victims. Pray that the Vietnamesepastors will be able to reach these people with the love of Jesus.

Photo by Frank

Spangler


PRAYER IS POWERFUL! TO ME, IT IS ASKINGGod to fill my heart and soul with His presenceand grace. When He does, it is like a fresh, coldstream of water rushing into every cell of mybody and springing out creating a positive andrefreshing affect on everyone around me. Prayeris not an item on my agenda that is checked offwhen completed; it is a constant connection tothe ultimate source of power–God and the Holy

Spirit. Each morning as I pray, my request isthat the presence of the Lord will penetrate mylife and that Christ will be exemplified in all thatI do. God’s power is unleashed in my life eachtime I pour my heart out in prayer and listen forHis message. After my intimate encounter withGod, I know I am ready to tackle the day’swork with the joy and confidence of knowing Iam doing His will.

by Pastor Isah Young

ASAP 7

I love sharing my passion for prayer withthe radio listeners and the Vietnamese pas-tors. As I encourage the district pastors inVietnam and the assistants that work with meto saturate their lives and activities withprayer, I see strong evidence of God’s powerat work in the many answered prayers. Forexample, Van Hung, our district pastor in ahighly policed area of Vietnam, shared withhow God gave house church members powerto deal with the police. On Christmas day, agroup of heavily armed police officersstormed into the worship place midwaythrough the special church service. Thechurch members, inspired bythe Holy Spirit, continued thecelebration, singing and per-forming the story of Jesus’birth as planned. Amazingly,the police waited until the endof the program to arresttwenty-two of the members.Because of prayer and thepower of the Holy Spirit, ourmembers not only took full re-sponsibility for the program,but also consistently and boldlyshared their belief in God withthe police, despite being beatenand interrogated on two sepa-rate occasions. Van Hung says,“I thought that some of our new memberswould break down during the investigationor avoid coming to church after this hap-pened, but they stood firm and became morecommitted to the Lord!”

Although the police and members of otherChristian denominations are persecutingmany of our pastors and house church mem-

ASAP

Opposite page: Pastor Isah Young,director of Peace and Happiness radiobroadcast and leader of the house churchmovement, kneels in prayer with one of theVietnamese pastors and Judy Aitken,director of ASAP.

“I seestrong

evidencesof God’spower atwork…”

bers, the redeeming message ofsalvation is traveling faster thanI ever imagined. The pastors andI share a collective vision ofreaching all eighty-four millionpeople in Vietnam with God’slove. We daily pray and claimJesus’ promise from Acts 1:8:“But you shall receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit hascome upon you; and you shallbe witnesses to Me in Jerusa-lem and in all Judea and

Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”We are experiencing the great joy that comesfrom praying with all our hearts, souls, mindsand strength. As a result, the Lord is enablingus to accomplish His work on earth faster,so we can go home sooner.

Each prayer from you, our ASAP family ofdonors, unleashes God’s power in the lives ofthose involved in this ministry. Each dollar youplace in the envelope enables these spiritualpastors to fulfill their God-given purpose.Thank you for sharing our vision to bring allour Vietnamese friends to Christ. Thank youfor celebrating with us when we see God’spower at work in a mighty way!

Pastor Isah Young


Population: 13,607,069Below Poverty Line: 40% of the PopulationReligion: Theravada Buddhist 95%,

other 5%SDA Members: 5,648

Photo by Frank Spangler

CAMBODIA IS AMONG THE POOREST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD. THE PEOPLE HAVE SUF-fered some of the worst atrocities in human history. In an attempt to alleviate the paincaused by poverty, hunger and disease, ASAP sponsored national workers compas-sionately reach out to many Cambodians. They fervently share the gospel’s hope towhoever will listen. The Lord greatly blessed the evangelistic endeavors last year,resulting in the baptism of 2,100 people and many new churches planted. ASAP’spurpose this year is to support the Cambodia Adventist Mission in their efforts toincrease the number of national church planters and lay Bible workers as they spreadthe gospel to a larger number of people in Phnom Penh, the capital city, and severalother surrounding districts. ASAP has been asked to continue supporting literacyschools, provide evangelism materials, church buildings and humanitarian needs suchas food. Your prayers and support nurture this work through God’s power. Thank youfor your support in reaching out to Cambodia!

ASAP 9

PLEASELift up CambodiaPRAY that the Holy Spirit’s power be poured out on the Cambodia AdventistMission leaders along with the national workers, many of whom are supported byASAP donors.

PRAY for the many new church members that received baptism following theevangelistic meetings this year (2005) and all current members.

PRAY for the members and their neighbors affected by the terrible floodingwhich destroyed over 70% of the rice crops.

PRAY for funds needed to support ASAP’s current and new projects for 2006which includes funding for 40 church planters, 60 lay Bible workers, literacy teach-ers, Bibles, Bible lessons, hymn books, transportation, bamboo and thatch churchbuildings and humanitarian needs.

PRAY for parents to have enough food to feed their little ones in this povertystricken country.

PRAY for education regarding health safety and prevention of the Bird Flu. Prayfor those infected with HIV. Due to the large sex industry, there are 100 new HIVcases a day.

PRAY for Prime Minister Hun Sen as he leads the country amid all the govern-ment corruption and dishonesty. Pray that he will treat his people with fairness andpromulgate religious freedom, especially in the unreached areas.

PRAY for the many children who labor injobs such as recycling garbage and working insweat shops instead of going to school. Theysacrifice to help make a living for their families.


Testimony of Mrs. Chanty, written by Pastor Soum Sovanny

I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU A BEAUTIFUL TESTIMONYthat happened one year ago to Mrs. Chanthy. She was born in1960 and has four children (two sons and two daughters). Herhusband is a boat worker who carries things up and down theriver. They live in Orisey village, Kratie province in Cambodia.

Mrs. Chanthy had a big problem. After she gave birth to heryoungest child, she could not move anywhere, could not walk,

stand up, bend her body or do anything. She shut downand only slept on the bed. She wasn’t able to nurse

her baby so the family had to spend money for for-mula. Her husband tried to find doctors to help andhe purchased medicine, but her condition did notimprove. It became more and more difficult. Herfamily became more and more poor. Mrs. Chanthyseemed to loose all hope and waited for her deathtime.

One day I had heard somebody talking aboutthis woman. The next day I went to visit her ather home. I asked about her condition. Shetalked with tears dropping from her eyes. AfterI listened to her, I told her about the true Godand His power. I said that God could treat allsicknesses. I gave the important examples whenGod healed a Jewish officer’s daughter who hadjust died and also the example of the woman who

had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years(Matt 9:18-22). I told her that if she believed in

God, He could heal her. If you believe in Him, thenyour faith has made you well.

ASAP 11

Mrs. Chanthy listened carefully. She likedto hear that God loves us so much that Hehas created us. She listened to me tell herhow God made us in His image, accordingto His likeness. She listened to the story ofhow God came to the earth and died on thecross to save our sins. She lis-tened about how God has knownus so clearly from before wewere born. I told her that Godhas the power to heal if she be-lieves in Him.

Mrs. Chanthy said, “I havenever known and heard of thisJesus. Is he an American orFrench person’s God? I am aCambodian. Can I believe Him?”I was so happy to answer, “Yes,yes!” Mrs. Chanthy seemed sur-prised. She asked me to pray forher condition that God wouldhelp her improve. After weprayed, I looked at Mrs. Chanthy and sawsomething different about her. “What hap-pened?” I asked. She said, “When I closedmy eyes during prayer. I seemed to see a manwho was wearing the white clothes. He mustbe this Jesus you talk of. He was standing infront of my face and passed his hand to meto help me stand up. He spoke to me like hedid to that girl in your story. He said, “Pleasestand up and walk.”

Mrs. Chanthy told me this with tears drop-ping from her eyes. I encouraged her. And Itaught her to pray by her own self. I told her,“You pray to God in the morning, in the af-ternoon and in the evening. You pray threeor four times in a day as much as you feelyou need to.” I encouraged her to pray toGod by her own self.

“And thesesigns will

follow thosewho believe.They will layhands on thesick and theywill recover.”

Mark 16:17,18

When the elders and I visited her again,we asked her, “How is your condition? Howdo you feel?” She said, “I am better, now. Ican move, I can stand up and hold on to some-thing. I feel stronger and happy in my life. Itis like I can start living again. It is like Jesus

gave me reason to live and I feelmy body stronger.”

We encouraged her and in-vited her to pray with us all to-gether. After that day, she keptgaining strength and was better.Soon she could stand and do ev-erything she needed to do to carefor her family. Today she is verywell and strong and has much joy.

When Mrs. Chanthy was bap-tized, she said, “I have decidedto follow the Lord God who isJesus Christ. I’ll follow Him mywhole life. I pray to God for mywhole family, too. Today, I am liv-

ing a happy life. I deeply love Jesus. And Ipray for all sick people in hospitals or athome. May they believe in Jesus, also, be-cause He can heal and give eternal life. I knowHe did this for me.”

Opposite page: Mrs. Chanthy stands withPastor Soum Sovanny, both with thankfulhearts for God’s healing power.

About the AuthorSoum Sovanny and his wife Doung

Sovanlida have been sponsored by ASAPdonors to plant churches in Kratie Provincefor the past four years. The Lord has blessedhim to not only plant ten congregations butalso to pastor and nurture these people to be-come strong believers in God. Under his lead-ership, thirty of his members have moved outto plant churches inother provinces. Hehas many studentsstudying in his Bibleclasses, preparing forbaptism. Please prayfor him and the rest ofthe Cambodian churchplanters.

ASAP


HAILAND MEANS LAND OF THE FREE AND HAS SUCCESSFULLY RETAINED

its political freedom when surrounding countries were colonized by West-

ern powers. For many Thai, their nationality and religion are inextricably

linked. The land is in bondage to a complex web of culture, spirit appease-

ment, occult practices and Buddhism, with a social cohesiveness out of which

few have dared to deviate from. The friendly Thai people have much more

economic comfort and education then their neighboring Southeast Asian

countries, yet poor rural and tribal groups exist throughout the country. In

the last three years, the Lord opened doors for ASAP to work in the northeast

of Thailand. The lay pastors ASAP supports are making a big difference for

Christ. Yet there are millions of Thai

people who still need to hear

God’s message

of Salvation.

Population: 65,002,000Below Poverty Line: 10% of the PopulationReligions: Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christians 0.7%SDA Members: 10,190

ASAP 13

PRAY for God’s blessings on the ten ASAPsupported lay preachers and their churches innortheast Thailand.

PRAY for Pastor Khamsay Phetchareun’s evang-elism program for Mission College students.

PRAY for the leaders and pastors of theThailand Adventist Mission.

PRAY that God will open doors for ASAP to establish newevangelism projects to reach the Thai people for Christ.

PRAY for Pastor Phamor as he trains many tribal people and teaches healthevangelism to Thailand Adventist Mission pastors.

PRAY for all the efforts of missionaries inreaching Buddhists for Christ, particularly Scott andJulie Griswold and their family who operate theSeventh-day Adventist Buddhist Study Center in Thailand.

PRAY that God will lead Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to treat hispeople with fairness and continue allowing religious freedom amid govern-ment corruption and dishonesty.

PRAY for spiritual and physical healing for the oppressed. Due to thebooming sex trade, the AIDS population continues to increase, with estima-tions of over 2,000,000 infected. More than 20% of girls between the ages of11 and 17 are kidnapped and sold into prostitution.

PRAY for the Thai children. More than five million of them are involvedin child labor and over 35,000 are street children. Pray they will learn of aloving Savior who gives hope of a brighter future and secure home.

PLEASELift up Thailand


Population: 6,217,141Below Poverty Line: 40% of the PopulationReligion: Buddhist 60%, Christian 1.5%, AnimistSDA Members: 677

AOS IS A COMMUNIST COUNTRY, CURRENTLY RANKED AS

the third highest for persecution of Christians in the world.Since the 1990s, the government has become intenton the complete elimination of any Christian pres-ence in the country. There are restrictions on pub-lic evangelism, building of churches and links withforeign organizations. During the past three years,the Lord blessed the house church movement inthe Vientiane district through the leadership of Pas-tor Houmphanh Kongsengphengphet. Currentlythere are eight growing congregations with 179 mem-bers worshipping on Sabbath.

Exciting reports have come to ASAP from southern Laos. Because of an-swers to prayer, the provincial government gave permission for ASAP spon-sored Adventist pastors to work in this area under the leadership of PastorKhamsay Phetchareun, professor of religion at Mission College. In this area,ten growing congregations meet. There are 150 baptized members and 537who attend church regularly. They are in the process of building a church.

The 2006 ASAP goal for Laos is to respond to the need of support for fivepastors and thirty lay Bible workers. There is anticipation for God to openopportunities for new projects in this highly unreached area of the world.

ASAP 15

PLEASEPRAY for the national leaders and pastors of the Lao Adventist Mission.Pray that their work will honor the Lord by reaping much fruit for Christ’sKingdom.

PRAY for the SDA workers in Laos, that God will give them courage andstrength in a communist country where darkness and the worship of spirits isprevalent. Pray for revival and unity among all the SDA groups and for the

planting of new congregations.

PRAY that God sends more national workers to plantnew churches and reach out to their people in many more

areas of Laos.

PRAY for political leaders and the continued liftingof restrictions on religious freedom.

PRAY for the specific tribal groups that are Bud-dhist and unreached—Khuen, Lu, Myen, Phuan,Samtao, You, Tai He, Tai Kaleun, Tai Pao, Tai Yuan,and Viet.

PRAY for the need of support for five pastors andthirty lay Bible workers in central and southern Laos

and also in Lao villages in Cambodia. Pray also forthe need for Lao Bibles, Bible lessons, songbooks and

transportation.

PRAY for the poor who make up about 40% of the totalpopulation of the country. Support is needed to help desper-

ately poor people have clean drinking water from wells andsewing machines to assist them in making a living.

Lift up Laos


T HE ASAP STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS PRAISE THE LORD FOR THIS

organization’s growth in the past ten years. ASAP supports many projects thatall lead toward one purpose—to share Jesus’ gift of eternal life with SoutheastAsians. As Judy Aitken, the director, and nationalworkers travel and minister in dangerousterritory, God’s protection has continu-ally been with them. The natural di-sasters occurring in this world duringthe last twelve months are strong evi-dences that earth’s end is near. ASAPis increasing its staff and preparingfor even more growth as God’s com-ing fast approaches. Ministry oppor-tunities are increasing in NorthAmerica and Southeast Asia at an as-tounding rate. Through the kind sup-port of the ASAP donor family, thisorganization is able to accomplish thework according to God’s plan.

“While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we mustalso take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the Wordof God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctifiedby the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for

good” (The Desire of Ages, p. 362).

Right: ASAP board members, Drs. Ralphand Beatrice Neall and Dr. William andYvonne Dysinger, pray together.

ASAP 17

We extend our sincere condolences and prayers to our family and friends who lost theirloved ones. We also celebrate God’s miracles in the lives of our ASAP family. We send ourbest wishes to…

—Jo Ann Davis for her gift given in thanksgiving to God for the ministry of Pastor ReinholdTilstra and his wife, Connie, in the Arcata Church, California.

—Marilyn Justesen for her gift in celebration of Joe and Diane Justesen’s marriage.—Robert Doerffel, Lottie Ziprick and Edna Samarza for their gift given in loving memory of

Boyd and Elizabeth Olson, Judy Aitken’s father and mother.—Steve and Lori Nelson for their gift given in memory of Don and Loretta Plamondon.—Drs. Bud and Lois Ritter for their gift given in loving memory of Bud’s sister, Joyce

Ritchie, who passed away in June, 2005.

We rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn, as we await thecoming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

PLEASEPRAY for continued wisdom, efficiency, good communication and unity of all ASAPstaff, board members and volunteers. Pray that each person will follow God’s will in everymatter of this ministry.

PRAY for God’s special blessings on all those associated with ASAP. Praise the Lordfor the dedicated service Linda Bauer and Ken Straw gave to ASAP. They will be missed.Praise the Lord for recently sending Julia O’Carey, Shari Pottinger and Karen Wade to workwith ASAP. Praise God for all the generous members of ASAP’s donor family.

PRAY for Vietnamese church planting projects in Seattle, Washington and Orlando, Florida.

PRAY for Pastor Ko and Terri Saelee and their family as they begin to plant Hmongchurches in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

PRAY for Laotian church planting projects in Holland, Michigan; San Diego, Sacra-mento; and San Jose, California.

PRAY for Cambodian church planting projects in Loma Linda and Stockton, California;Charlotte, North Carolina; and Tacoma, Washington.

PRAY for the Cambodian radio ministry production by Pastors Sereivudh Ly and SophatSorn. Pray for adequate funding of this ministry.

PRAY for support needed for all the pastors and lay pastors in North America whoreceive stipends from ASAP that enables them to have more time to evangelize their people.Pray for funds needed for evangelism materials.

Lift up ASAP Staff & Projectsin North America


B

person has to suffer and receive salva-tion through self-denial, Jesus’ storytouched me like no other story had. Istarted believing in God from this pointon.

During the next nineteen years, Ihopped from one church to another,searching for the true church and my pur-pose in life. I grew tired of my search, soI prayed and fasted, asking God for di-rection. God impressed my wife and meto sell our house and move our family tothe province of Buriram where we bought

six acres of land. I planted many fruit treesand rose bushes. God blessed and we had abountiful harvest of fruit. Even though thisseemed like my dream retirement, I did notfeel like I was living out God’s purpose formy life, nor did I have a church family toworship with.

FINDING PURPOSEAbout four years ago at a friend’s wed-

ding, Pastor Supachai sat at the same tablewith my family. He invited me to his home tostudy some exciting new truths with him.When I went to his house I was unaware thathe had recently become a Seventh-day Ad-ventist. He led me through many texts in theBible, showing that the Ten Commandments

by Lay Pastor Suthee Kajonson Laharnsai,Burirum Province, Thailand

EFORE I BECAME A CHRISTIAN I WAS ABuddhist monk for many years. I became verygood at teaching people how to be goodBuddhists. When I was forty years old, livingin northern Thailand, I started to secretlyquestion what I was teaching. This doubt wasawakened in me by the constant talk of myblind friend about the true God who createdheaven and earth. One day, I opened the ThaiBible he gave me and my eyes fell on the storyof Jesus Christ dying to save sinners. Thisteaching touched my heart like no other storyever has. It amazed me how someone wouldsuffer in order to offer me salvation as a freegift. Unlike Buddhist teachings that say each

ASAP 19

had not been done away with and are stillimportant today, including the fourth com-mandment about keeping the seventh dayholy. I felt sorry that I had been worshippingon the wrong day for manyyears. When I started follow-ing God’s truth I felt a peace, asense of purpose and a desireto share this truth with others.I shared the Sabbath messagewith my wife and four adultchildren who embraced thetruth with me. After that wegave tithe and offerings to God.I donate a lot of my money andfruit to help the poor in my village and I thankGod for this opportunity to witness for Him.

POWERFUL ANSWERS TO PRAYERLast year the insects began eating and

destroying my fruit trees. I prayed earnestly,asking God to bless my trees so they wouldproduce. Fifteen days later God answered myprayers. The insects completely left the fruittrees and they began to produce a lot of fruitagain. Everyone knew about the insect prob-lem and thought I had no hope to save thetrees. Now all of my family and friends liketo go out to see the trees to witness what

God has done for us. When they taste thedelicious fruit, I tell them about my closefriend Jesus and how powerful He is.

I also visit with those who are sick andhaving problems in their lives.It gives me great joy to giveBible studies to people, be-cause I finally feel like I amliving the life God planned forme. Now there are aboutthirty-five people who wor-ship God in my small houseevery Sabbath day. Everyoneknows that I was, at one time,a Buddhist monk. They like to

discuss the differences between Christianityand Buddhism with me. It is my delight togive other people the joy and peace that canonly be found by living a life in Jesus.

“It amazed mehow someone

would suffer inorder to offer me

salvation as afree gift.”

ASAP

Opposite page: Pastor Suthee Kajonsonon his property in Thailand shows pest freefruit as evidence of answered prayer.

Right: Pastor Suthee Kajonson, doingwhat he loves best, preaching the Word ofGod to one of his church groups.

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Ch

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ed.

Documents

ASAP Newsletter, January/February 2006