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East Asia Update – March 2012

Ministry, Newsletter, Uncategorized, Work

Mar 152012

East Asian Peoples Update, March 2012

East Asian Peoples Update

march 2012

Remembering the day that changed Japan

The earth shook so violently on March 11, 2011, that it literally moved Japan’s main island 8 feet. Buildings were destroyed immediately and lives were snuffed out. But the worst was yet to come. A mountainous tsunami obliterated all that was in its path, changing the coastland as it roared deep into the inland. Thousands of lives were lost and the lives of millions more were changed forever. As the nation of 127 million people reeled, news of an impending nuclear disaster began to unfold. One year later, many in Japan are still in crisis.Download the March 2012 prayer calendar at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/japan-one-year-later/ and join in prayers for Japan.

Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/japan-one-year-later/ to read stories of devastation, hope and recovery.

A doll from a God who cares
Day after day, she helplessly watches her six-year-old granddaughter cry inconsolably, grieving the death of her mother at the hands of the tsunami that struck the east coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. The little girl begs her grandmother for a doll. She needs something to hold, something to protect, something to love in her distress. But there are no dolls, no toys at all. Little does she know that God, whose eyes roam throughout all the earth, has already taken notice of the little girl’s pain. In his compassionate love, He has already prepared to meet her need. Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/a-doll-from-a-God-who-cares/.

More stories can be found at http://asiastories.com/features/road-to-recovery/

Japan: one year later

The piles of rubble and debris are gone. The cars deposited on top of apartment buildings and ships stranded on streets by the March 11, 2011, tsunami have been carted off for recycling. The “smell of death”

has been replaced with the fragrance of fresh cut pine and construction. Hearts that were closed to the Gospel for hundreds of years are now open. Japan’s tsunami changed more than the landscape. See how Southern Baptists responded to the vast physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the Japanese. http://asiastories.com/features/road-to-recovery/

Japan: Tsunami survivor searches for comfort

She survived Japan’s tsunami. One year later, Shukuko Sasaki’s looking for comfort from the nightmares. Her husband and two distant relatives ran with her for higher ground. She’s the only one that survived. http://asiastories.com/features/road-to-recovery/?story=7790

Japan: Southern Baptist “Yellow Shirts” minister to survivors

The bright yellow shirts and vests of Southern Baptist disaster relief workers are well known in Japan. After one year of cleaning rubble, reconstructing houses, serving coffee and any other odd jobs they could find to do, doors are starting to open for the Gospel. Read how two different Japanese homeowners discover the mysterious joy behind the “yellow shirts.” http://asiastories.com/features/road-to-recovery/?story=7808

Students in focus

University cities receiving the Gospel

Three videos tell the story.

Millions of Chinese students are congregated in university cities: http://vimeo.com/.

Chinese university student Clay tells how he accepted Jesus: http://vimeo.com/.

Ten churches have adopted universities in China: http://vimeo.com/.

CIC (Christmas in China) 2012

“This has been one of the best Christmases I’ve ever experienced. It was not about the presents or decorations but about rejoicing in our Savior,” said a participant in Christmas in China 2011. Registration is already underway for CIC 2012!. Apply at http://thetask.org/cic.

Radical obedience — stories from frontline workers

They have left home and country to learn new cultures, languages and peoples. They work with East Asian Christians who have also left all to follow Him. Read their stories, share in their lessons learned and rejoice in their victories: posted at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/stories-of-sacrifice-and-obedience/ throughout March. Read some excerpts below.

Dying to live

I looked straight into their eyes and said, ‘Your methods will not work on me because I decided to die for Jesus the day I decided to follow Him.’ The prison guards were shocked and shook their heads. http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/stories-of-sacrifice-and-obedience/

Moving toward Him

But they followed God in obedience back to Japan. Soon thereafter, the horrific earthquake and tsunami struck, centered around Sendai, the place they considered “home”. It was the very city where they had raised three children and buried one, and where lifelong friends still lived and worked. http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/stories-of-sacrifice-and-obedience/

Gaining understanding

When she came to visit she said her husband had left her for another woman, hidden her son in another city, and sent her home to her parents. She said she had lost everything and just wanted to die, and then she remembered what we had told her about Jesus. http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/field-blog/stories-of-sacrifice-and-obedience/

Amazing reports from frontline workers

“God provided opportunities to go to countryside towns, and at least 350 people heard the name of Jesus who had never heard previously. There are now open doors for further contacts to be made.”"Praise God, we had 20 friends come and share the Gospel with almost 500 people, and they saw seven people pray to receive Christ!”

“Since visiting believers came to our city last June for outreach and discipleship, there have been 40 people saved and 17 baptized in three groups. Praise the Lord!”

A vital resource for you

There’s still time to order the 2012 EAPAG Prayer Calendar, available in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. The calendars are available free through the IMB Resource Center at http://imbresources.org/ or 1-800-999-3113. You can order multiple copies and only have to pay mailing. Or you can download the calendars at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/.

To change your address, profile, or to unsubscribe, please use the safe links at the bottom of this email.

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Month of devotions on prayer

General

Mar 022012

An online, daily devotional website, named Drawing Near is going to spend the month of March focusing on prayer.

God wants you to be diligent and faithful in prayer. With that goal in mind we will devote this month to a study of prayer from two texts: Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:1-19, and the disciples’ prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Both are models of majestic, effective prayer.

Won’t you join me?

Grace to You – Drawing Near.

Ten Fun Facts About Taiwan

Taiwan

Feb 282012

We saw this on another’s blog and thought we’d repost here.

The Secular Media vs. Religious Liberty | NewsBusters.org

Ministry, News

Feb 092012

I just read a good article about the current administration’s war on Christianity.

“On January 20, Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services announced its perverse attempt to force Catholic schools, hospitals, and other charitable agencies to finance sterilization, abortifacients and contraceptives in their insurance plans starting in 2013. Speaking for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Dolan roared like a lion in a press statement: “In effect, the president is saying we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences.” He asserted “To force American citizens to choose between violating their consciences and forgoing their healthcare is literally unconscionable.”

East Asia Update – Feb 2012

Ministry, Newsletter, Work

Feb 082012

East Asian Peoples Update

FEBRUARY 2012

Praises from frontline
workers

“This has been a great year for the work
among the Iron Peas*: five new churches and more than 800 new
believers. Please pray that all workers will press on to the goal of
seeing that every Iron Pea has an opportunity to positively respond to
the Gospel in such a way that all will one day be gathered around God’s
throne. Pray for more and more Iron Pea believers to step up and do the
work of evangelism, discipleship and church planting.” *pseudonym for
an ethnic minority group

“Praise God, we had 20 friends from the USA come and share the Gospel
with almost 500 people and they saw 7 people pray to receive Christ.”

Tibetan people needing the
Gospel

The dust-covered Tibetan pilgrim just wants Buddha
to bless him. Leathery-skinned and gaunt-faced, he wears sheepskin
mittens on his hands and an apron and kneepads over his clothing. He
claps his hands together in front, raises them to the sky, then kneels
down to lie flat on the ground. He slowly inches his body forward until
he is prostrate. Then he stands to repeat the process. … The man
focuses intently on the prayer task before him, worrying that if he
fails in this physically daunting task, he will not earn the blessing
he is seeking.

Genuine prayer, commitment of Christian workers to learn their culture
and language, and perseverance to spread the news of God’s love will be
essential to the Gospel making major inroads into the Tibetan people
group. Read the story at China’s Tibetans and
additional Tibet features at:

Exploited women hearing the
Gospel

CHINA. The young
Chinese woman steps from a back room into the soft, pink light of the
small brothel. A middle-aged Chinese man follows a few steps behind.
Under the watchful eye of the shop’s owner, the customer hands her a
wad of bills — about $60. She nods and accepts the money. Transactions
like this take place every day in brothels throughout China, says
Belinda Baker*, a worker who shares the Gospel among commercially
exploited women in a city of 8 million people. Read the story at http://asiastories.com.

Let your heart be broken

As you step over the threshold of a Chinese
temple, you step into a world of gods, spirits, ghosts, ancestors,
mythical creatures and celestial beings. Take these temple tours and
let your heart be broken over that which breaks the heart of the
Father: Chinese Temple Tour
and East Asian Temples.

Embracing the unengaged

Attend one of these conferences to learn how to
engage an unengaged unreached people groups (UUPG). You and your church
may be God’s chosen instrument to point one of the 298 East Asian
Peoples UUPGs to salvation. Read more at Embrace a UUPG

February 11
Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston, TX
February 18 Castle
Hills Baptist Church, San Antonio, TX
March 10 Redbud
Baptist Church, Lubbock, TX
March 24 Immanuel
Baptist Church, Highland, CA
March 29 First
Baptist Church, Orlando, FL

Read the prayer profiles at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org
and commit to advocating for the salvation of an entire UUPG. Select a
profile to use as a bulletin insert and invite your entire church to
join in prayer.

Stay in the know

Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/
to read the latest stories and features. Our East Asian Peoples Twitter
and Facebook are also updated frequently. Sign on at EA Facebook EA Twitter

Pray in the know

Order your 2012 East Asian Peoples Prayer Calendar
now to guide in your prayers all year long. The free resource can be
ordered in quantities large or small at 1-800-999-3113 or online at http://imbresources.org/.
You will be asked to pay mailing charges. The calendar and additional
prayer resources can be found at East Asian Peoples.

Share with those who don’t know

Millions of East Asian people have never heard of
Jesus. Share His love on site. Explore opportunities at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/connect/.

Impressive numbers

200 million Record
number of tourists visiting Beijing in 2011, from both China and
overseas.
14,553 feet above sea level
World’s highest airport under construction in Tibet’s Nagqu county and
due to open in three years.

Just in case you missed it

Chinese-American T.Y Po joined the world’s annual
largest migration late last month to celebrate the Chinese New Year
with his aunts, uncles and cousins in Hong Kong. Read his candid posts
at http://asiastories.com

http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org

Glorious Sunshine!

General, Holiday, Music, Photos, Taiwan, Uncategorized

Feb 052012

After what seemed to be months of rain we finally had a weekend without it!
Glorious, warm, recharging, SUNSHINE!

Sunday we went on a bike ride around the area. The weather was perfect. We ate at a new (to us) place called The Magic Bagel. We had a table outside in the shade and it was wonderful.

patio

The only reason we even saw it was because it was next door to “Texas Rangers Fried Chicken

TXrangersChicken

For desert we picked up a fruit tea.

Fruit Tea

We took it to the park to enjoy before going home.

Vendor

Rain

Taiwan, Uncategorized

Feb 032012

Anybody living on the north end of the island of Taiwan is becoming very good friends with rain. I seems like it has been going nonstop for months now.
You’ve heard “When life gives you lemons, make lemonaid!” Well when Taiwan gives you rain . . . .

Happy New Year – 2012 Year of the Dragon

Holiday, Travel

Jan 272012

While we were out of the country for a meeting much of Asia celebrated Lunar New Year. We were in a night market after dinner on New Year’s night and saw the following: