ASAP Newsletter, July/August 2006

July/August, 2006

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects2

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Cover: Ung Sreng, Cambodia Church Planter, builds a worshiproom onto the front of his small house.

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AdventistSoutheast

Asia Projects

AdventistSoutheast

Asia Projects

Director/EditorJudy Aitken

Assistant EditorJulia O’CareyCopy Editors

Jolene RoosenbergShari Pottinger

Hayli DavisDesign/Layout

Son Praises/Margie Mitchell

Adventist Southeast Asia Project'spurpose is to support the preachingof the everlasting gospel of Jesus

Christ through church planting andevangelism endeavors for

Southeast Asian people throughoutthe world. As a privately funded,

nonprofit organization we work asa supporting ministry of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church. Asan unaffiliated, independent

ministry, we are dependent uponGod to move people to

support 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.)

Director’s UpdateWhat comes to mind when you think of building God’s kingdom?Judy Aitken shares highlights that are happening today inSoutheast Asia.

In Loving Memory

Building God’s Kingdom in LaosRead Khamsay Phetchareun’s enlightening report to find out whyLaos needs churches.

Experiencing Extreme ResultsJoin Judy Aitken as she visits with a friend, Vietnamese Pastor Bui TeTuan. The progress of his ministry will have you praising the Lord!

ASAP Family ConnectionsHear what the Hwang family, ASAP family members, have to sayabout giving.

Building God’s Kingdom in CambodiaGarth Anthony, president of the Cambodia Adventist Missionshares information on the progress in Cambodia.

Taxi Driver Turned BuilderRead the inspiring story of how Cambodian church planter UngSreng finds the Lord. Be inspired!

Did You Know?Some interesting facts about churches and the building process inSoutheast Asia.

Help Build God’s Kingdom!Find out how you can join Christ’s building crew through yourprayers and support.

Five Principles - Church Planting Among Southeast AsianBuddhistsThrough research and years of experience, Scott Griswold sharesthe keys to winning Buddhist’s hearts.

Christ’s TemplesPastor Phamor shares what Newlife Farm has to do with Christ’stemple in Thailand . . . it’s life changing!

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T here are two annual events that I ea-gerly look forward to. One, calledSEEDS, takes place in my home town

of Berrien Springs, MI. The other, takes placein Asia. The focus of both these events ischurch planting. Though in different venues,those in attendance are clear in their purposeand mission: to build God’s Kingdom.

What comes to mind when you think ofbuilding God’s Kingdom? No doubt you thinkof the pastors and Bible workers who worktirelessly for this end. I would hope, also, thatyou think of yourself and recognize the roleyou play in increasing heaven’s populationthrough your prayers and support. Together,each of us is making a difference and havinga direct impact in building God’s Kingdom.

I recall a SEEDS conference where I wasone of the presenters some years ago wherethe emphasis of my seminar was on keys tosuccessful church planting. Before beginning,I brainstormed with the attendees as to whatit is that they saw as keys needed to plantchurches and give people Jesus. The re-sponses were varied. I remember looking intothe eyes of the sincere, dedicated individualssitting in our air-conditioned comfort. It wasthis same sincerity, eagerness and dedicationthat answered the same questions last monthin Cambodia (only this time I felt the sweatrunning down my back) The Lord has His

warriors on all sides of the globe, all work-ing toward the same purpose. We are Hispublic relations messengers, all driven to buildand expand the Kingdom of God.

ASAP is passionate in our commitmentto building God’s Kingdom among South-east Asians in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailandand Laos and to those who have immigratedto North America. For the past seventeenyears (seven as Refugee Projects with Ad-ventist Frontier Mission and ten years asAdventist Southeast Asia Projects) we haveworked in partnership and support of theSoutheast Asia Union and local missions asthey enter regions unreached by the gospelmessage. National pastors and workers aresent to these areas and work with outstand-ing success in reaching their people for Christand building up churches.

Hundreds of house churches have beenraised up in Vietnam, this all happening injust the past decade. Confirmed reports tellof more than 50,000 Adventist members whoworship in house churches and unconfirmedreports of more than 300,000. In Cambodiathere are now six churches, 32 companies and163 worship groups whereas there was onlyone small church when ASAP first began it’swork 17 years ago. The total number ofchurch members are 5,390. There are alsomany churches and house churches in Laos

“Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labor invain” Psalms 127:1.


ASAP


and Thailand, some of which are results ofASAP-funded and supported pastors andBible workers. All these churches, in thesecountries have been built/established as a re-sult of the power of the Holy Spirit in an-swer to the prayers of God’s people. Truly,ASAP donors are the supporting foundationto the success for Christ that we have seen.Truly, God’s Kingdom is being built–personby person, church by church.

As I have the privilege of associating withchurch-planters in both Asia and the US, Iam continually impressed with their creative,personalized approaches to witnessing. Threeof these fascinating approaches are high-lighted in this edition of the newsletter. Oneapproach is shared with you in the form offive principles by Scott Griswold on page 18.These principles have been put into practicethroughout Southeast Asia by the nationalpastors and workers. On page 20 PastorPhamor talks about his approach to building

the Kingdom as he effectively prepares medi-cal missionaries in Thailand. You will alsolove reading about Bui Te Tuan in the high-lands of Vietnam and his creative approachto building God’s Kingdom (page 8).

Get a glimpse of how all this “building” isorganized as you read the report from GarthAnthony, the president of the Cambodia Ad-ventist Mission (p. 10 ). Also rejoice with usas Laos enters a new phase of church growthwith opportunities to finally build churches.Read all the exciting details on page 7.

Be inspired and rejoice in the Lord’s bless-ing on all our efforts to build His Kingdom.ASAP readers, donors, prayer partners andsupporters are all key to the successful effortsto build His Kingdom. Thank you for invest-ing in eternity and partnering with us to ac-complish great things through God’s Spirit.“Not by might nor by power but by My Spiritsays the Lord of host.” (Zechariah 4:6).

We extend our sincere condolences to our ASAP family that lost theirloved ones. Please know that we want to support you and will be praying foryou during this time. We send our deep sympathy and appreciation to…

Dorraine Schermerborn & Don and Jim Edelman for their gift given inmemory of Virginia Edelman.

Lois Ritchie for her gift given in memory of her husband Norton RitterRitchie.

Daniel Morikone for his gift given in memory of Orlyn Hamel in recog-nition of his service during the Vietnam War.

ASAP 5

Chan and Esther Hwang and their Family—-Members of the Central Korean SDAChurch in Auburn, Washington

ASAP 5

HORTLY AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, MY

wife and I began to think more and moreabout how we could best glorify God withHis possessions which He entrusted to

our family. We laid our all on the altar inprayer, asking God to show us how to orderour lives, possessions, time, talent and fi-nances in a way to glorify Him.

One of the first things God showed us wasthat we should down-size and become debt-free. At that time, our mortgage and secondmortgage payments were enslaving us towork long and hard. We decided to sell our5,000 square foot home and move our familyof six into a smaller but reasonably satisfac-tory home in a quiet, secluded area.

After our move, the church that we wereattending was blessed with the arrival of Pas-tor Martin Kim. One of the many excellentand memorable sermons he preached was onstewardship. It touched my wife and me in aspecial way. We decided to give more thanwe were giving, and true to His promise inMalachi 3:10, God began blessing us moreand more abundantly. We found out that we

really can not out-give the Lord!God showed us that we could stop work-

ing sixty (plus) hour weeks and instead spendmore time with Him in personal devotionsand in nurturing our four children. He showedus that we needed to divest from “invest-ments” which really were not making us anysignificant amounts of money and first investin our debt. We have found it such a blessingthat while working fewer hours we can actu-ally save quite a bit more. We will soon be-come entirely (including our mortgage) debt-free by His grace.

We have decided that we would use whatwe would pay in our current mortgage forGod’s work and to bless others while there isyet time for the salvation of souls. We are pray-ing this month that the Lord will bless us aswe help support the church planters in PhnomPenh, through ASAP. We are so grateful forwhat ASAP is doing to hasten the coming ofthe Lord. We pray that He will use ASAP in amighty way to save many, many precious soulsfor the Kingdom of God.” ASAP

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Thank you for being a vital member of the ASAP family! If you have been blessedby giving to missions through ASAP, we would love to hear about it.


by Khamsay Phetchareun

ADVENTISM WAS INTRODUCED TO THE LAO

people by Dick and Jean Hall in 1957

when they worked among the Laopeople of Luang Namtha, northern

Laos. Regrettably, after a short period of time

their work was interrupted by the IndochineseWar and the Halls had to leave the country.

During these years the Adventists, who were

still young in faith, continued to keep theirfaith alive without spiritual leaders or church

Laos, a landlocked country, is situated inSoutheast Asia and surrounded by Thai-land, Vietnam, Cambodia, China andMyanmar. Out of 6,368, 481 millionpeople, 60 percent are Buddhists and therest adhere to Animism, mystical reli-gions, and Communist ideology. Chris-

tianity makes up 1.5 percent of the totalpopulation, with around 1,000 Adventists and

ten times as many Evangelicals.

Since then, despite restrictions and severe

persecution at times, the Seventh-day Adven-

tist Church in Laos has been growing steadily.Of the 1,000 Adventists in Laos, 700 are

in the south, 200 in central Laos, and 100 in

the north. Surprisingly, in all of Laos, the Ad-ventists only have two church buildings, one

in Vientiane and the other in the northern

province of Bokeo. It is by God’s provisionthat the Lao government recognizes these

support. During the 1990s the new govern-

ment of Laos began to give limited freedom

to practice religion. The very few Lao Ad-ventists, less than fifty in number at that time,

were able to reconnect with their brothers

and sisters from the outside world again.

churches alongside the Evangelical and

Catholic churches. Under extreme conditions,

house churches have served Christians inLaos well. However, the time has come where

Christians in Laos need to worship in church

buildings. There are several reasons for this.

Photo by Frank Spangler

ASAP 7ASAP 7

Finally, because building temples is a pri-ority for Buddhists, they do not understand

why Christians do not have churches. In this

sense, a Christian village without a church isa disgrace to the Lord in the eyes of Lao non-

believers. People often think that if Christians

do not have a church it is either because theirGod is not powerful enough to help them

build one or they are not fully committed to

their religion.As a general principle, the Lao govern-

ment does not give permission for building

churches. However, where relations betweenChristians and the local government are good,

approval is usually obtained, sometimes even

First of all, worshipping in homes raisessuspicion and runs the risk of being branded

as anti-government meetings. Christians are

legally recognized by the government if theyhave a proper place of worship. Unfortunately,

our church members in Luang Namtha, the

birth place of Adventism in Laos, do not re-ceive such recognition because their church

building was destroyed during the war. The

local government there believes that if there isno church building there are no Christians.

Secondly, the Adventists in Laos need to

construct places which focus on all aspectsof cultural and religious life. In a Buddhist

context, a Buddhist temple is not only a place

of worship, but it is also a community hallwhich serves the people’s social, as well as

religious needs. Temples serve as a school, a

meeting place, a refuge, a hostel and an emer-gency center. Even sports and other activi-

ties are conducted on the temple grounds.

People often wonder why there are so manytemples in Laos, often right next to each

other. For instance, in a small picturesque city

of Luang Prabang, the world heritage city,there are well over one hundred temples. The

fact is that each community must have at

least one temple. Each Adventistcommunity needs to have

its own ‘temple’ as

well.

Churches built in Laos rangefrom $3,000 to $30,000, depend-ing on seating capacity, materi-als, location, etc. If you feel im-pressed to help build in Laos,don’t wait another minute.

Contact ASAP today!

(Continued on page 23)

Churchbeing builtin Pakse,Laos


Experiencing Extreme Resultsby Judy Aitken, ASAP Director

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place with Bui Te Tuan. Five years ago, Buiwas a new convert who attended a trainingsession. Like the others, he was on fire forChrist, eager to do all he could to tell othersof the Jesus he had learned of while listeningto his short-wave radio. Immediately afteraccepting Christ, he began to witness to hisfriends and neighbors. Bui was a naturalleader and captivating speaker. He absolutelyglowed as he told me that he now had sev-eral worship groups, totaling 360 people inall, who had accepted Christ. These groupsmet out of different members’ homes. Hisparents also opened up their home for Bui toconduct Bible studies and prayer groups. Iaffirmed Bui and praised the Lord for thesuccess He had given him. We prayed for anumber of concerns, in particular, the num-ber of arrests he had suffered at the hands ofthe local police. Because witnessing is illegalin Vietnam, Bui had been labeled a criminaland arrested at every chance. Undaunted, Buicontinued his witnessing with more fervorthan ever. I’ll never forget his words, “I’mjust beginning. God has lots for me to do.”

Fast forward five years. I found myselfagain sitting in conversation with Bui, now alittle older, a few smile wrinkles around hissharp eyes. I had been kept abreast of Bui’swork and had seen him a few times, howeverthis was our first opportunity to really talksince that meeting five years previous. I knewthat the during those five years, Bui had en-dured repeated arrests, interrogations andextended jail time. I could not help but think

t is always such a thrill when I am in thefield and get to see the pastors and Bible

workers in action. I love to witness their abil-ity to make the Bible come alive with appli-cations from daily Asian life. I am alwaysimpressed with how the Holy Spirit worksthrough these courageous workers who willstop at nothing to tell others of Jesus. Thefact that I have been intimately involved inmissions to Southeast Asia for over twenty-five years, has given me opportunity to seeour Asian family of God grow. I have watchedyoung boys who sat listening to their fatherspreach grow up to be outstanding pastorsthemselves. I have witnessed the transforma-tion of children who sang in refugee campchoirs grow up to become strong church lead-ers, and teenagers who accepted Christ growup to get married and have families who aredevoted Seventh-day Adventists.

Even in a shorter span of time, I have seenoutstanding change. One such instance took

ASAP 9

to myself that I was sitting in front of a real-live Paul - the same courage and the samedetermination to spread God’s Word. Aftersome initial greetings, I asked, “How arethings going? I’m eager to hear an update.”

It was with a bright smile that seemed tofill the bamboo room where we sat that Buitold me, “God has had lots for me to do.” Buicontinued to tell of how God poured out Hisblessings upon his efforts as well as those ofthe team of lay-pastors whom he worked with.“Every day we pray for the power of the HolySpirit to witness and spread the hope thatpeople can have when they believe in Jesus.Our groups of house churches meet togetherfor fasting and prayer once a week. The morewe suffer, the faster God’s work grows.”

As is his nature, Bui was too modest tovoluntarily tell me the statistics of his efforts,however when asked, he did confirm that,through God’s blessings, he is now a leaderof ten districts of house churches as well astwenty lay pastors. And the most excitingnews is that the membership of 360 from fiveyears ago has now grown to 2,056 people inabout 170 house churches.

“You are a strong worker for God,”I told Bui. Without a moment’s hesi-tation, he replied, “I am not afraidto die for Christ.” He also added,“Our members are strong believ-ers and are also willing to take therisks involved in worshipping onSabbath. We claim God’spromises, especially oneof my favorites,Philippians 4:13, ‘Ican do all thingsthrough Christ whostrengthens me.’”

As Bui and I bowed in prayer to end ourtime together, I wish to share with you. In aquiet, urgent plea, he had four desperate pe-titions for God. The first was that God wouldimpress the kind people in America to givemore Bibles and Bible lessons for the workin Vietnam. Only about 10 percent of themembers in his district own a Bible. The sec-ond was for food and water for his memberswho where severely affected by a droughtthat came to the province where he lives andalso to five of the surrounding provinces. Buialso prayed earnestly for rain to grow the ricecrops. In closing, Bui thanked the Lord forthe Peace and Happiness SDA radio broad-cast that brought him the words of God andcontinues to fortify the faith he and his mem-bers have in God.

The next time you find yourself in prayer,please remember Bui and his requests. Pleasealso add your own words of appreciation toChrist for how He continues to bless theprayers and support given by caring ASAPreaders such as yourself.

You Can Partner With a Vietnamese Pastor in AchievingExtreme Results for Christ by Sending $50/Month for Support.

ASAP

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HANKS TO A RELATIVELY YOUNG CHURCH

in Cambodia we have been able to ex-

periment freely with different ways totrain and witness. The Cambodia Adven-

tist Mission partners with ASAP to not only

keep the work organized, but to train andsupport every national worker serving the

Lord under our care.

The country has been divided into prov-inces and we have endeavored to plant a pro-

vincial center in the main city of each prov-

ince as a way to organize our efforts. Dis-trict pastors care for their members and nur-

ture the church planters who work with them.We have approximately eighty church plant-

ers, (thirty eight in Phnom Penh) who are

trained to enter new areas and plant new con-

gregations. Most of the pastor’s time is spenttraining church planters and helping them

organize their groups to witness and meet

the needs of their communities.This training, led by the administration and

pastors, requires intense preparation, prayer

and increasing costs. Yet, ASAP and we knowhow important it is to keep all national work-

ers trained so they can be most effective in

their ministry. Most of the church planters haverecently come from Buddhist and animist back-

grounds and their Bible knowledge is limited.This is why the administration and the district

by Garth Anthony

T

Church planter,Pal Sopheap,witnessing inthe slums ofPhnom Penh.

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pastors give ample training to the church plant-ers. At these training sessions, emphasis is

placed on Bible study or doctrines. A recent

series concentrated on the firstsix chapters of Genesis where

topics such as Creation, Sab-

bath, Marriage, Origin of Sin,Great Controversy, Salvation,

etc. were covered. The training

also helps ensure that teachingmaterials are constantly passed

from the administration down to

the grassroots level.As the Holy Spirit moves,

congregations grow and the mission organizes

them as companies and then churches. Whenthey are large enough, they divide and create

more small groups. Through God’s blessing,

many groups are multiplying and meeting to-gether for Sabbath services. The structure is

kept flexible so that groups can grow at their

own pace according to the Holy Spirit’s lead-ing. As the members share Christ naturally as

a way of life and show Christ’s love, many

people are seen drawn to the churches.For the last two years there has been more

emphasis on Phnom Penh than other parts of

the country, and it has paid off! Five yearsago, we had one church and about five small

groups in the capital city. Today, we thank

God for five churches and sixty-one groupsaround the city. We feel God is leading us to-

wards having each existing group plant one

more group over the next twoyears. God willing, each of

these groups will plant one

other group by December2010. It would be such a bless-

ing to have three hundred

groups worshipping God bythe end of 2010! Please join

us in praying for this!

To accomplish this weneed a dedicated group of

workers and laity and the supplies and mate-

rials to support them in their efforts. Bibleshave doubled in price over the last few

months and now cost $10.00 each. Availabil-

ity has also become a problem due to restric-tions on how many Bibles can enter the coun-

try. We have 1,000 on order, but will have to

wait for them to come little by little.We are most grateful for the way that sup-

porters have helped Christ’s work in Cam-

bodia in the past through ASAP and we hopethat the support will continue. Thanks to your

partnership with us and God, many people

are being won to the Kingdom. As we worktogether let us take courage in the blessed

hope of Christ’s soon return.

About the Author

Bibles havedoubled in priceover the last fewmonths and now

cost $10.00each.

Garth Anthony, President of the Cambodia AdventistMission has served with his wife, Sylvia, for the past fiveyears. They come from Great Britain and weremissionaires in Pakistan before coming to Cambodia.ASAP appreciates their orgaized effort in Cambodia.


ng Sreng is a builder for the Lord. Ayear ago, ASAP sponsored Ung Srengwho immediately went to work tell-

ing others of Jesus. Today, he’s building intwo different, but related ways: He’s build-ing souls for Christ’s Kingdom which has ne-cessitated building a room onto his home toaccommodate the worship groups who cometo him for Sabbath worship and Bible study.The Lord certainly has blessed Ung Sreng’sbuilding efforts in Rokorkos Village. We be-lieve the same thing will happen in two othernearby villages, where he is conducting Biblestudies with groups of people who are eager

to know Jesus and the hope He gives.Ung Sreng smiles at the memory of the

gentle lady who sparked his interest in the“building business” for Christ. She had waveddown his motorbike taxi one day while hewas out looking for passengers. Prom Sarethwas chatty, he remembered, talking all theway to the marketplace where she asked tobe taken. She asked many questions. Are youhappy? Do you have a faith? Before he real-ized it, Ung had opened up to her and toldher that he felt discouraged because heworked from early morning until late at nighttrying to earn enough to live. He rememberedtelling her despondently, “No matter howhard I work, I never seem to have enoughmoney.” Though he tried to save money, he

was currently in debt. This discouraged himalong with the fact that his second

job had him selling hogs. Thekind woman told him

that Jesus Christ,the Savior

Taxi Driver Turned Builderby Judy Aitken

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of the world had the answer for him. Ungrecalls feeling a warmth and peace from hergracious words. Was there really a God whocared and loved him? Before hopping off hismotorbike, the woman invited Ung to churchthe following Sabbath.

“Why not?” thought Ung. So togetherwith his wife and kids, Ung entered thehumble church in the inner city of PhnomPenh. As he heard the words from the Bible,he felt a desire to learn more about Christ.After the service Prom Sareth offered him aBible and suggested he read the first twochapters in Genesis that told how God cre-ated the world in six days. In the days to fol-low he not only read the chapters in Genesis,but he continued to read many other chap-ters in the Bible. The Holy Spirit spoke tohis heart through the Bible and he believedthat God was true.

Ung and his wife were so excited to knowabout Jesus and the amazing words they readin the Bible that they asked to be taught themeaning behind these words. Every weekthey studied with the lady who took a rideon his taxi. In March 2004 Ung made thedecision to be baptized (about six monthsafter he had begun to study the Bible). How-ever, Thida, his wife, was not ready to give

Opposite page: Cambodian church planter, UngSreng, in Rokorkos Village, with his wife, Thida.

Right: Ung Sreng and his father build a worshiproom onto the front of his small house. Twentynew believers are ready for baptism and will bejoining his church.

up her factory job where she was required towork on Sabbath. Ung Sreng prayed that hiswife would see the truth and be willing tostop working on God’s holy day. It was abouta year later that the factory laid her off be-cause of a discrepancy with her I.D. card.She took this as a sign that God was leadingher and that His will was most important.

Today, Thida and Ung happily work to-gether as a dynamic team in spreading thenews of salvation. They are effective churchbuilders, committed to sharing their new faithwith others and learning as they go. Theirpassion is to work in the western districts ofPhnom Penh. The main tool in their businessof Christian construction is God’s love. Hislove in their hearts becomes cemented intothe impressionable lives of the people He diedto save. God’s love is the foundation of theirchurch and is seen by the kind actions theydo for others. What is their job descriptionlike? Besides daily home visitations and shar-ing Jesus with those eager to learn, they alsoconduct Bible studies in two other villages,as well as their own.

“Do you miss driving your taxi?” I asked.Without missing a beat, Ung replied, “I stilltake people places, only now I give them di-rections to heaven.”

Help a Cambodian Church Planter Like Ung Sreng BuildGod’s Kingdom by Partnering as a Sponsor for $100 per month.

ASAP

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects1414 Adventist Southeast Asia Projects

ASAP 15

ASAP

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Support an ASAP national workerwho is a missionary in his or her owncountry.On-going support for 2006:

Vietnamese pastors each @ $50 per month.Total Needed: $75,000

Cambodian church planters each @ $100per month. Total Needed:$32,400

Cambodian Bible workers each @ $20 permonth. Total Needed: $6,000

Thai lay pastors each @ $75 per month.Total Needed: $4,500

Lao pastors each @ $100-$200 per month.Total Needed: $4,800

Lay Bible workers each @ $30 per month.

Total Needed: $4,500

Build a bamboo and thatch church inCambodia for $550 each.Current total need of 20 churches: $11,000

Build a wooden church in Cambodia.A wooden church costs from $2,000 to $4,000and lasts about ten years before it needs to bereplaced. Total Immediate Need for Five

Churches:$20,000

Help construct a concrete and brickchurch in Cambodia, Laos orThailand.Prices vary between $15,000-$20,000 for eachchurch. The current requests are to help buildtwo churches in Cambodia, two in Laos and onein Thailand. Approximate Need: $85,000

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Assist in purchasing land for churches tobe built on.Prices range from $10,000-$15,000, depending onthe area. Approximate Need: $75,000

Build a worship room or help withrepairs for a house church in Vietnam.The amount needed is from $600-$800 for twentyhouse churches for a total of $14,000.

Provide a motorbike so a nationalmissionary can bring the gospel toneighboring villages.Total Needed: $18,000 (40 @ $450 each)

Purchase 140 bicycles for Bible workersto use in spreading the gospel.One bicycle costs $60. Total Needed: $8,400

Fund the training of national workers toincrease their effectiveness.On-going training for lay pastors and workers bydistrict pastors in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand

and Laos. Total Needed: $25,000

Give radios, DVD players and/or sermonsets ($50 each) throughout Vietnam.Total needed: $50,000

Present Bibles to new believers inVietnam and Laos ($5 each) andCambodia ($10 each). Total Needed: $25,000

Provide Bible lessons, hymnbooks andreligious books ($5 each).Total Needed: $20,000

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Rely on the Holy Spirit for MiraclesMost Buddhists do not believe in an ultimate God who is present in the everydaylives of His people. Instead, they turn to magic and spiritualism to find help fromthe supernatural. Many new converts testify that they came to Christ because ofsome supernatural miracle in their lives. They later fall in love with the verypersonal God we serve, who is eager to hear prayers and help His people. Weshould be asking God for miracles

Focus on the Family as a WholeSoutheast Asians have strong family ties, which is why families can deter one oftheir members from becoming a Christian. Our outreach should focus on helpingfamilies with their problems. Loving Christian families can work to reach out toBuddhist families, they will be touched by a God who embraces them as part of Hisheavenly family; We should try to reach each family member instead of only one.

by Scott GriswoldChurch Planting Among Southeast Asian Buddhists

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Serve God by Serving OthersMillions of Buddhists have never encounteredGod in a real, personable way. They of tenassociate Christianity with the immorality andpolitics of the west. Christian neighbors canshow them true Christianity through daily actsof kindness. Through friendship ministry andhaving the character of Christ, our actions willhelp them discover a God of peace, joy andsalvation.

Minister in a Holistic WayThe Bible gives us insight for dealing with every aspect ofour lives. It talks about health, about relationships, about finances, andso much more. When reaching out to Buddhists it is imperative that we reach outin every area of their lives, not just spiritually. We can provide programs dealingwith health, family and relationship problems, financial budgeting and so muchmore.

Let the Glory of God Shine ThroughBuddhists view Christianity as a foreign religion, and by becoming Christians theyfeel like they are betraying their culture. Their Christian neighbors must show themthat Christianity can be practiced without denying one’s cultural background. Theyneed to see Christians who still respect their country leaders and culture. Theyneed to hear the good news in ways that value their local beliefs, while gentlychallenging beliefs that are contrary to the Bible.

Scott Griswold has worked with Southeast Asian Buddhists inThailand and Cambodia for the past 10 years. Through hispersonal experiences with church planting and his research atthe Center for Ministry among Buddhists in Thailand, he hasdiscovered the most effective ways to reach these preciouschildren of God. He has been involved with training ASAP’snational pastors and church planters on many occasionsPlease pray for Scott Griswold and his family as they continuetheir ministry to the Southeast Asians.

About the Author

ASAP


Christ’s Temples by Phamor Phoopichitprai

Phamor Phoopichitprai stands with two health assistants in front of the NewlifeFarm, a medical missionary training center located near Maetang, Thailand.

TEN YEARS AGO THE LORD OPENED MY EYES

to see the benefits of eating a vegetar-ian, low-fat diet and following the eight lawsof health. I experienced great improvementin the condition of my heart when I followedwhat I learned. Two years ago, I felt im-pressed by God that I should share my testi-mony with others. At first I began trainingmy members in the Karen churches about ahealthy lifestyle. It was not long until mem-bers of other churches in northern Thailandheard about the blessings of health reform.

They also asked for training. Through theLord’s guidance I was able to rent a facilityto hold medical missionary or health evange-lism training. Students came for training fromthe hill-tribe and mountain areas of northernThailand.

Last year, through the help of manyfriends, we were able to build a medical mis-sionary training center called Newlife Farmon a beautiful three-acre piece of land nearChiangmai Academy in northern Thailand.Ultimately, the purpose of the center is two-

ASAP 21

fold. First and foremost is to help workersachieve healthier lives, equipping them forbetter service to God. Secondly, teachingworkers the importance of sharing the healthmessage with the compassion of Christ so asto win them over for God’s Kingdom. Thosewho complete the training leave the centerwith practical tools to share with others. Nowstudents, pastors, lay pastors, Bible workersand Christian church members come from allover Thailand, Myanmar and Laos to becomemedical missionaries.

Among the many subjects taught arehealthful nutrition and vegetarian food prepa-ration. We have already begun planting fruittrees on the property. Guests learn how togrow vegetable gardens and cultivate fruitorchards. They are taught the use of naturalremedies such as charcoal, hydrotherapy andmassage, as well as how to combine thesenatural ways of healing with prayer to curemany diseases. During the month of May, Iled a team of health professionals in twoweek-long sessions of health seminars, healthscreenings and counseling for Thailand Ad-ventist Mission pastors and workers in

Chiangmai and Ubon.Guests appreciated the variety and qual-

ity of the information they received at thetrainings. I conducted a session on biblicallessons from the book of Esther, which con-tains messages of health reform, Sabbathtruth and the three angels’ messages. One ofthe subjects that Dr. Mary Ann McNeilustaught was how to prepare for a pandemic ofavian bird flu and how to use hydrotherapyfor treatment. Judy Aitken’s presentationsemphasized the importance of followingChrist’s example of compassion and prayeras this is the foundation of the health mes-sage. Waifong Chan taught food preparationand a vegetarian cooking class. Sabestien, aChinese pain specialist, taught massage tech-niques and the use of food as medicine.

I thank God for the way He blessed pas-tors and their wives who attended the medi-cal missionary training. Pastor Apisith, whoattended the seminars, shared how he put thehealth message into practice. He said, “Afterseveral months of having a low-fat diet ofmostly vegetables and fruits I lost weight and

Students work in the garden at the Newlife Farm, Maetang, Thailand.

(Continued on page 22)


ASAP

lowered my cholesterol and blood pressure.I am so happy to God for the good health Ihave now and the longer life I will live. Itaught my church members how to use char-coal to heal indigestion. They used it to helptheir neighbors.”

Mrs. Sompong, a pastor’s wife atLampang Church, shared that as she workedas a colporteur, she met people who hadheadaches and pain in their muscles. Sheprayed for them and used massage therapy.Ten people experienced Christ’s healing. Fivejoined God’s church family in baptism andthe other five are studying the Bible.

The medical missionary training that I dowith others is a work that Ellen G. White en-couraged God’s people to do in the bookMedical Ministry. “We must educate, edu-cate, educate, pleasantly and intelligently. Wemust preach the truth, pray the truth, and livethe truth bringing it with its gracious, health-giving influences within the reach of thosewho know it not. As the sick are brought intotouch with the Life-giver their faculties ofmind and body will be renewed. But in orderfor this to be, they must practice self-denial,and be temperate in all things. Thus only can

they be saved from physical and spiritualdeath and restored to health” (MM 262). Ipraise the Lord for providing this trainingcenter where God’s workers can learn howto treat their bodies as Christ’s temple andhelp build Christ’s Kingdom by meetingpeople’s needs for healthier lives.

Building Christ’s Temples In ThailandContinued from page 21

Pastor Phamor (left) with students at the training center in Maetang, Thailand.

Pastor PhamorPhoopichitprai isChrist’s “generalcontractor” forthirty churches inThailand, ten com-panies and twochurches in theKaren villages. Heis also the director of Spirit of Prophecy forthe Thailand Adventist Mission. As the coor-dinator of the Newlife Farm, he helps trainworkers to become medical missionaries.

About the Author

ASAP 23ASAP 23

in writing. Taking the initia-

tive of good relations, in

early 2005 ASAP embarkedon a project of building a

church in Pakse, the regional

major city of southern Laos.This is the first Adventist

church built in this area of

the country. The provincialgovernment gave approval

of this project and a church

in another location. It is amiracle that they have placed

our church representatives at

their provincial governmentlevel on religious, social and community ad-

visory panels. Up to this day the church build-

ing in Pakse still needs funding to reachcompletion. Since the roof was put on late in

2005, our members have been worshipping

in it. English classes are also being conductedregularly in it for our youth and local resi-

dents as an evangelistic means. There is a

need for $10,000 more to complete thechurch, $5,000 to refurbish the inside and

$5,000 to build a school on the second floor.

An additional $10,000 is needed later forbuilding our regional offices on the same

piece of land.

We praise the Lord that church plantingin Laos has entered a new phase. Because

the government forbids public gatherings of

over six people without permission, our mem-bers successfully focused their witnessing

efforts on reaching immediate and extended

family members first. Paiwan Sayalat (left),leader of the Pakse group and builder of that

church, is living evidence of the “kindship”

Building God’s Kingdom In LaosContinued from page 7

evangelism method. Mr. Paiwan and familywere won over by their family members, Mr.

Bouasone and

Souksavath Volachit,who are core leaders of

the southern Adventists.

Many new church groupsare still being added

regularly. One of the ar-

eas where there is apressing need for build-

ing a church is in the

Sarawan province, wheremore than one hundred

members meet each

week. How can they pos-sibly meet under the roof

of a house? ASAP is supporting many of these

groups who pray daily for an opportunity tohave a church to call their own.

Khamsay

Phetchareun is a

Professor of Reli-gion and his wife,

Daranee, is the ad-

ministrative secre-tary for the Vice

President, college nurse and teacher at Mis-

sion College in Muak Lek, Thailand. Theyhave two children, Jeshua and Jesperin.

Khamsay serves as the coordinator of the

ASAP projects in Laos and Lao projects inCambodia. His passion is outreach and he

desires for all of Laos and Thailand to hear

the good news of Jesus Christ.

About the Author

ASAP

In Laos, worshippingin homes raises suspi-cion and runs the riskof being branded as

anti-governmentmeetings. Christiansare legally recognizedby the government ifthey have a properplace of worship.

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Documents

ASAP Newsletter, July/August 2006