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East Asian Peoples Update

january 2012

Moving to the edge of darkness

Major changes lie ahead for the East Asian
Peoples Affinity Group this year. As we seek to address the great
spiritual needs of the East Asian Peoples, extensive effort among the
Chinese, Korean and Japanese people, as well as among the ethnic
minority people groups of China will be ongoing. But there will also be
an even greater focus on reaching the neediest segments within these
broader groupings. Increased emphasis will also be given to partnering
with Asian Christians to complete the task of sharing God’s love with
the 1.3 billion East Asian people who still do not know Christ. Learn
more all year http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/

Start the year out right

If you haven’t yet ordered your 2012
East Asian Peoples Prayer Calendar, there is no better
time than now! Order as many free copies as you think your prayer group
or church might need and join us in praying for the 1.6 billion East
Asians all year; available at the IMB Resource Center at1-800-999-3113 or http://imbresources.org/.
You can also view or download the calendar from the Resource room on
the http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/
site.An Embracing the Ends of the Earth
conference will be held on February 4 at FBC, North Spartanburg, SC. Go
to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/embrace/
to find conference details or to learn how to embrace an unengaged
unreached people group (UUPG). Precious lives hang in the
balance.

Calendar now to participate in the East Asian Peoples
Day of Prayer and Fasting, held on the second Monday of
every month. Details can always be found at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/pray/.

Chinese New Year

The Chinese Lunar New Year is the ultimate holiday
for Chinese worldwide. In China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, it is the
one time of the year when businesses and factories close. The world’s
largest annual migration unfolds as millions return to their family
home, filling every seat on airplanes, and packing themselves into
overflowing trains, buses and cars. Red envelopes filled with cash are
exchanged and fireworks light up the night skies as families and
friends are reunited, sharing meals that include dumplings, sticky rice
and many other culinary treats.Give a giftThis year, the Chinese New Year will fall on January 23. It provides a
perfect opportunity to build friendships with Chinese people in your
community. Send a Chinese
New Year card. Read how to “get fired up” and other
suggestions at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org.

Follow a blog

Read the posts of a 20-something Chinese man from the U.S. who will
spend the Chinese New Year holiday with his extended family in Hong
Kong; available on our sister site http://AsiaStories.com/
from January 20 to 24.

New Year prayers

Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/prayer-blog/
to read Chinese New Year requests from frontline workers.Tsunami of prayer for Japan“A giant rock that sits in the middle of a field in Iwate Prefecture,
northern Japan, is now being called the ‘tsunami rock.’ The rock, 21
feet wide, 8 feet tall and weighing an estimated 140 tons, traveled 514
yard inland during the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami. Researchers are
using the rock as a benchmark to analyze the power of the tsunami. Even
more powerful than the actual tsunami though, is the tsunami of prayer
that has reached Japan during these trying times. Thank you for your
steadfastness and faithfulness on your knees before the Solid Rock.”
From a frontline worker

Friday prayers for western China

“It’s Friday, 1:20 p.m. at the Dongguan temple in western China’s
Xining (shee-ning) city. Thousands of white skullcaps bob through the
city streets and fill the mosque courtyard. … As Muslims gather
throughout China for prayers every Friday afternoon, concerned
Christians also pause to pray.”
Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/explore/muslims-in-china/.

Untimely deaths

Death against choiceEight million lives are lost every year through abortions of unborn
children. More than half of those undergoing the procedure have already
had at least one previous abortion. More than 30 years after the
implementation of China’s one-child policy, many lives are snuffed out
in the wombs of women, many of whose hearts have been numbed by the
decades-long governmental ban on “excess” children, and many whose
babies are aborted against their choice. Another 300,000 children under
the age of 5 die every year, with 36 percent of the deaths taking
places in homes where there is poor access to healthcare.Death by choice

China is still the world’s most populous nation, but about one out of
every 4,000 residents commits suicide every year. The 287,000 suicides
account for about 3.6 percent of the country’s deaths. About 75 percent
of the self-inflicted deaths occur in the countryside. Suicide is the
leading cause of death for the age group of 15 to 34, and rates as the
fifth leading death cause for the country in general.

What the numbers say

23 million —
children in China under the age of 5 living apart from parents who went
to find work in the cities
48,921 — people in
China 100 years old or older as of mid-2011
157,558 — students
from China studying in U.S. colleges and universities last year

http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org

Check out the **Taiwan in Focus section below for some really good info and a link to a short video . . .

East Asian Peoples Update

December 2011


Big plans for Christmas
“I knew the Father had big plans for my Christmas that would ultimately lead to His glory, yet I had no idea He would be taking me to the other side of the earth to spend it with people I had never even met.” Hundreds of university students will spend this Christmas in China. A firsthand account will be posted December 21 at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/student-blog/first-person-my-christmas-in-china.

Give to the nations this Christmas

The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering provides 57 percent of the support for the Southern Baptist missionary force of 4,952 missionaries worldwide.
This year’s goal is $175 million. Give so that others can hear of Christ’s love. Go to http://www.imb.org/.”We thank you for your sacrificial giving, and your prayer and support of us as we serve the Father here.” Worker in EA

“If not for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, I don’t think we’d have the opportunity to be here doing what we’re doing.” Worker in EA

The gift of prayer

Radical needs call for radical prayerJoin us in praying all year long for the East Asian Peoples and
encourage others to do so too. Order multiple copies of the 2012 East
Asian Peoples Prayer Calendar through the IMB Resource Center at
1-800-999-3113 or online at http://imbresources.org/. The resource is
free and is also available in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. It can be
previewed or downloaded at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/.Christmas prayer requests from frontline workers

Please ask God to lead university students who will brave the cold of Mongolia to bring the Light of Jesus to those in darkness.
Pray that local believers will have boldness to share the true meaning of Christmas.
Pray for groups of believers who will do a mass-distribution project to get the Good News message out to thousands.
Followers of Christ are inviting friends, relatives and
acquaintances to a true celebration this Christmas. Pray that the true
meaning of Christmas will be proclaimed and received.
Please lift up the Christmas outreaches by local believers as well
as visitors, asking that the Messiah will be boldly proclaimed and many
will receive Him.
Pray that this year, the multitude in this city will know that unto them a Child was born.

Go to http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/prayer-blog/christmas-prayer-requests/for more Christmas requests.

Prayer for Tibetans, Muslims and Mongolians

Download the December PEAP (Praying for the East Asian Peoples)
calendar in English or Chinese at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/pray/
and pray for specific needs among the Tibetan, Muslims and Mongolians.

What Christmas is all about

“They may be getting harder to find in America, but you can locate
people all over the world who know what Christmas is all about. They’re
in some surprising places …” Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org.

Japan in recovery

Child of PeaceMany births that took place in Japan on November 1, the day the world’s
population exceeded 7 billion, were to parents who suffered as a result
of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and ongoing nuclear crisis. Mrs.
Kawamura-san learned she was pregnant only four days before the
earthquake and there were times during her pregnancy when she was
unable to get proper nutrition. But now she holds a healthy daughter
named Nene, which means “peace”. Parents are welcoming babies as
symbols of hope and recovery. Pray that many Japanese will hear of the
birth of the Prince of Peace. http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/japan-in-crisis/.Send in the clowns
“IMB missionaries Tak and
Lana Oue say ‘heart care’ … is one of the top priorities in this
stage of disaster relief. When community leaders told them it was time
for the people to move on with their lives —to laugh and be cheered,
they knew it was time to bring the clowning ministry from Georgia.”
Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/feature/clown-ministry-boosts-healing-process-in-japan/.

**Taiwan in focus

Churches reaching outDecember is the busiest month of the year in Taiwan’s evangelical
churches, 212 of which are Baptist. Beginning in early December and
lasting through Christmas Day, outreaches are held in homes, parks,
schools and on the streets. Almost every church building will be packed
on Christmas Eve, with many of the churches winding up their
festivities in the wee hours of Christmas morning with caroling
throughout the community. Pray with Taiwan Christians that a huge
segment of its 23 million people will accept Christ this season.Idols on parade“She froze — partly because the road was blocked and she had to stop,
but mostly because she was shocked at what she saw. For 45 minutes, she
watched a parade of idols, carried on floats, proceed down a main road
in Taipei.” Read the story at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/portraits-of-an-east-asian-city-taipei-taiwan/ Visit fascinating Taipei online at http://vimeo.com/channels/245669#33505849.

Stay in Touch

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 to stay in the know! http://www.facebook.com/pages/IMB-East-Asian-Peoples/156767504344205?v=wall http://twitter.com/#!/eapeoples

Double celebration

Most of the East Asian Peoples will celebrate two New Years in
January: January 1 and the Lunar New Year that will fall on January 23,
2012. This is a great time to share Christ with your Chinese friends
and neighbors anywhere in the world. Special Chinese New Year’s
evangelistic resources will be posted on December 26 at http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/.