Lay Pastor Kong Meng lives in a primitive Hmong farming village in Laos. Each morning he wakes up early when the roosters start to crow. He opens the Word of God,

his sword, and checks in with Jesus, the Commander in Chief, because he has full knowledge that he is in the midst of a war, a battle between the forces of good and evil. He understands that as a soldier for Christ he needs to be in the best health physically, mentally and spiritually. (Three years ago he became vegetarian because of a fast growing cancerous tumor on his neck. Praise the Lord, through herbs, a plant-based diet and much prayer, the tumor disappeared!)

In the past three years, Pastor Meng experienced many spiritual victories in his walk with God and much growth in his church groups. The stories he shared with me in an interview show his willingness to drop everything and GO at God’s command.

Kong Meng shared the story of Mr. Ciea, who fought battles every night in the form of horrific nightmares. His family members often struggled with frequent illnesses. Kong Meng became acquainted with them because they live in the same village. He told Daniel Reynolds in another interview, “I hear God say, ‘GO visit this family,’ and I go many times and each time I pray for them they get better. But as soon as I leave their house, they seem to get worse than before.” One day Mr. Ciea said, “Kong Meng, I wish you would stay with us all the time because you bring peace to my mind and health to my family.” Kong Meng always prays that they will not look to him for spiritual strength, but will learn that God is the source of strength that fights every battle.

Sometimes Kong Meng travels with Mr. Ciea and his three sons to the rice fields. Because it is far away from their home, they

“The Duke of Wellington was once present where a party of Christian men were discussing the possibility of success in missionary effort among the heathen.They appealed to the duke to say whether in his judgment such efforts were likely to prove a success commensurate to the cost. The old soldier replied: “Gentlemen, what are your marching orders? Success is not the question for you to discuss. If I read your orders aright, they run thus, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Gentlemen, obey your marching orders.” Gospel Workers, page 115

Our Marching OrdersBY JULIA O’CAREY

MAY

/JU

NE

2012

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects

Go into all the world and preach the Good News.

(Mark 16:15, NLT)

Then said I, “Here am I, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)

If the followers of Christ were awake to duty, there would be thousands where there is one today, proclaiming the gospel in heathen lands. And all who could not personally engage in the work would yet sustain it with their means, their sympathy, and their prayers. Steps to Christ, p.81

DID YOU KNOW?Kong Meng is one of 42 lay

pastors ASAP supports in Laos. He cares for four groups with 107 total members. Pray that the 14

people he is preparing for baptism will be able to have a church

building soon. Please consider sponsoring him or another ASAP

lay pastor for $80 per month.

GOD’S COMMAND: GO!

sleep in a small bamboo and thatch shelter next to the fields. One night Kong Meng lay awake, listening to the night sounds. Suddenly Mr. Ciea started yelling and moaning in his sleep. Kong Meng shook Mr. Ciea awake. “I felt an evil presence near that came and harassed my body,” Mr. Ciea said shaking with fear. Kong Meng woke up the group and they all prayed for God’s angels to surround the small hut, to protect them and give them peace.

Kong Meng fell asleep and immediately started dreaming that he heard a voice in the wind say,

“’There’s a knife beside you. Use it to stab the devil that is poking you through the bamboo slats of the flooring.’ In my dream I plunged the knife down through the floor. I saw the devil run out from under my mat and the knife was still embedded in the back of his neck. I woke up abruptly and thanked Jesus for His protection.” From that day on Mr. Ciea no longer suffers from nightmares and his family live with peace and good health.

Seng Vue, a fifteen-year-old boy living 100 kilometers away from Kong Meng’s village, was losing a long-time, costly battle against the demons living in his soul. His parents heard of a group of people called the Seventh-day Adventists that might be able to help their son. After spending $10,000 on fortune tellers, shamans, temples, and hospitals, they were desperate. Though it was rainy season, Kong Meng responded to their request and God’s command to “GO.” He wrapped his “sword” up to protect it and marched over a large mountain on slippery paths in the pouring rain.

He discovered upon entering the village that he stood on enemy territory. The chief and villagers were hostile towards Christians, yet they allowed him to visit the boy just long enough to pray for him. Two months later, Kong Meng felt impressed to return to the village and pray again for Seng Vue. The father met him on the way and announced, “The devil knew you were coming and feared you because he just left my son!” Kong Meng said, “It is God the devil fears, not me. God will free your son from the devil for good.” He felt sorry for the emaciated boy whose body revealed many battle wounds. With each visit and prayer, Seng Vue grew stronger. This amazed the entire village and even the chief. They never thought the devil would leave this boy. Now the chief tells his villagers that they can decide for themselves who they want to worship. Twenty-three people so far have been baptized in this village. They sing a song of triumph because of the power of Jesus Christ who not only won the battle for Seng Vue, but He won the war, making salvation possible for each one.

“The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly” (Zeph 1:14). “Let us be shod with the gospel shoes, ready to march at a moment’s notice” (Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 48).

Join me in praising the Lord for blessing ASAP’s recent mission trip to Southeast Asia. It truly impressed me to see how readily individuals responded to God’s call to “GO” and help train the medical missionaries in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Several months before the trip, my long-time travel partner regretfully told me she would not be able to come this year due to other responsibilities. “How could we have a medical missionary training without Dr. Mary Ann McNeilus?” I fervently asked the Lord.

While in prayer, the name of Somluck Laitipaya came to my mind. When I called to invite her she immediately agreed to join me. She was excited to go and shared that the Lord had already impressed her that He had a special work for her to do. Before my call, she told her husband not to buy a ticket for her annual trip to Thailand in January but that she would be going in mid-February, the very time that the mission trip was planned!

Byron and Carol Reynolds, their son Daniel and his friend Andrew, Khamsay Phetchareun, Pastor Phamor, Mrs. Ratri, along with Mike and Merilee Kier all readily put on their gospel shoes and marched at a moment’s notice. Praise God for the way He worked through each one.

As you read this issue of the newsletter you will be inspired by the testimonies of individuals who understand how urgent it is to obey God’s commands during these last hours of battle. May we each have willing, courageous hearts to spread the gospel through the power of Jesus.

Thoughts From:JUDY AITKENASAP DIRECTOR

Your Gifts at Work

THAILANDA team of teachers and I seek to meet the community’s need for English language learning and aim to plant a church in this town. During vespers one Friday I asked if anyone had a testimony. Job, a 12-year-old student shared, “I felt shy to speak English in school. After you taught me how to pray to God, I asked Him to help me speak English and do well in my class. Now I speak up and my grade in English class is better than before. I thank God for answering my prayer.” I get excited when I hear testimonies like this one because I was born a Buddhist and when I was Job’s age, a Christian teacher came to my village and taught me about God. RUANGWIT WAREEWARCH, SDA MUAK LEK LANGUAGE CENTER DIRECTOR

MYANMARChurch Planter Naing Soe* is now reaching out to a new tribe, the Wa people of Burma, but still continues to witness to the La Hu people. There are about 300 homes in this one village. We came to help him with evangelistic meetings that included teaching villagers how to play the guitar and sing. We gave them health messages and taught them from the Word of God. A mix of La Hu and Wa attended. Eight La Hu animists gave their lives to Jesus through baptism. We hope that the Wa people will accept Jesus in the near future. PASTOR ISAIAH HAI

W hile attending the Metro Impact Church Planting Rally in San Antonio, Texas, church planters in America heard from Tom Evans

about ASAP’s need to equip church planters in Southeast Asia with mopeds. They responded with a generous offering which provided mopeds for seventeen workers. With this mode of transportation, they have been able to widen their ministry range.

Church Planter Win Sein* from Myanmar writes, “First of all, I would like to thank God for hearing my prayer. I have been praying to have a motorbike for a couple years. I would like to thank all of the donors for providing me a vehicle to use in His work. It is a great help in visiting and helping the villagers, especially when they get sick. Today is one of the happiest days in my life. ”

PHOTO CAPTION: Win Sein (named changed for his safety) on his donated moped.

NOTES from the field:

Giving Opportunities ........................ Seized!

1. Tribal language translations of end-time $14,000 messages on DVD (Vietnam) 2. Bicycles and mopeds for National Missionaries $11,000 3. National Missionaries stipends $70,000 (more still needed yet … keep praying)

4. Funds to support the Literacy/Bible Teachers $11,100 and print My Bible First lessons

www.asapministries.orgAre you eager to adopt one of ASAP’s most urgent projects in need of funding? Go online to view ASAP’s 10 Dynamic Giving Opportunities today!

We acknowledge that “every good action and every perfect gift is from God” (James 1:17). Thank you, ASAP donors, for allowing God’s good and perfect gifts to filter through your hands. Here are a few significant gifts given in the past couple months that will make a tremendous impact on the work of God in Southeast Asia.

ASAP MEDICAL MISSIONARY TRAININGThe Lord blessed the mission team in miraculous ways during five weeks of training in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Thank you for praying for us! You will be inspired as you read our Mission Trip Report online where we share exciting results from the ASAP national missionaries’ labors of love. JUDY AITKEN

www.asapministries.org Come read our Mission Trip Report!

MY “SAUL” EXPERIENCEI worked as a police officer and was a member of the communist party for seventeen years in Vietnam. My job was to arrest and interrogate Christians and confiscate their Bibles. One day when I had some down time, I picked up a Bible and started to read it. At the time, my life was a mess. I drank heavily, gambled, and ran around with other women. I suffered from asthma, probably from my smoking habit. The words I read in the Bible gave me hope for a better life so I kept reading day after day. It took one year before I decided to become a Christian.

COMPLETE TURN-AROUNDThe first thing I did as a Christian was to find the Christians I previously arrested and encouraged them to go back to worshipping God if they had stopped. The government officials I worked with sternly said, “You need to either serve the communist party or your Lord!” Fourteen months later my wife and I resigned from our government jobs and the communist party. We immediately started working for the Lord, not concerned about all the money we would no longer receive. God had given us abundant life, good health, and much more than anything money can buy.

EXCITING PROGRESS THIS PAST YEARI am humbled to be a part of God’s amazing work in one district of Vietnam. Through His mighty power, many new house churches are being planted. During the Vietnamese New Year celebration, a prime time for witnessing, I was impressed to travel 300 kilometers (186 miles) to a certain city to meet Pastor Vinh*, a district pastor from another denomination who happened to hear about Seventh-day Adventists and wanted to know more. After studying the Bible together all night and for the next two days, he accepted the Sabbath truth. It took another two months of fervent prayer and study before he and six of his house churches accepted all the Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. Pastor Vinh has started up house churches in twelve new locations with 240 new members.

*Names have been changed and photo blurred for the safety of God’s workers.

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C harles Spurgeon, an exemplar of Christian faith in action, knew how necessary it is to be armed with prayer while in the midst of

the Christian battle. He said, “Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the kingdom.” I like the way E. M. Bounds elaborates on this survival tactic in his book Weapon of Prayer:

“The progress to consummation of God’s work in this world has two basic principles: God’s ability to give and man’s ability to ask. Failure in either one is fatal to the success of God’s work on earth. God’s inability to do or to give would put an end to redemption. Man’s failure to pray would, just as surely, set a limit to the plan. But God’s ability to do and to give has never failed and cannot fail; but man’s ability to ask can fail, and often does. Therefore the slow progress which is being made toward the realization of a world won for Christ lies entirely with man’s limited asking. There is need for the entire Church of God, on the earth, to betake itself to prayer. The Church upon its knees would bring heaven upon the earth.”

Join ASAP as we march forward on our knees to spread the Gospel and make disciples throughout all of Southeast Asia!

Intercede for AsiaBY MARTIN KIM

P.S. We Love Hearing from YouP

We have a 92-year-old church member living here in Crieff, who sends ASAP donations from time to time. We visit her and she tells us that ASAP is her favorite charity. God be with you all. ROBIN AND LAMORNA FROM SCOTLAND

We couldn’t decide which area of ASAP was the neediest, so just use this donation wherever in Vietnam it’s needed most. Maranatha! IN CHRIST, ROGER AND MARGIE FROM WA

Meet Nguyen Long*, District Pastor

IN MEMORY OF:DR. JACK LEARY by Gordon and Betty Mattison • DR. PAUL ESSIG by Karen Essig • DR. WILBUR BURTON by Dr. Rollin and Dolores Bland, Eric and Amy Louise Ward, Pastor Ed and Lorle Stacey, Sharon Franks, and Mike Leasure • DR. RANDOLPH SUN by Bertha Cecilia Ortiz, Jereme I. Holiman, Roger and Martha Ahlberg, Ronald Tong • DR. ELLY ECONOMOU by A.J., Julia, and Kaila O’Carey • FRANCISCO CALMA by Allie Yamada • JOAN NEALL by Ronald Neall • LARRY WONG by Lynn M. Wong • MARY G. WOODS by JustGive.org • GRAHAM MAXWELL by Jane Barker Banta • RUSSELL DU PREEZ by Olga Du Preez • MR. JOSE AND MRS. SOL ORTUOSTE by Joselito Ortuoste • PEARL VAN METER, MY MOTHER by Betty Hunsaker

IN HONOR OF:AMELIA CRAIG, 100TH BIRTHDAY by Ben and Irene Stiles • DANIEL HOWARD by Ronald and Arlene Howard • DEE DEE’S MEGAVOICE PROJECT by Barbara Miller • ESTHER ZIMMERMAN by Donald and Ellen M. Amador • JAKE PARK AND MONICA KIM (PARK) by Chris Lee, Eric T. Mitchell, Lisa H. Do • JOHN FREY by Jeff Y. Narita, Marc-Alan Y. Iwahashi, Raymond and LeAnne Funada • REBEKAH HOWARD by Ronald and Arlene Howard

In Loving Memory and Honor

G od answered a series of prayers for the village of Adom Aron. I knew that there were no Christians there and I prayed that

I would have a chance to share Jesus with them.

Answer #1: A young man attended Tim Maddock’s SALT school then visited Adom Arun and shared his personal testimony of becoming a Christian with his cousins. His relatives were interested because they saw the change in his life. He asked me, as the church planter in the area, to visit the village with him and share more from the Bible. I eagerly went and the family welcomed me.

Answer #2: I prayed that the family would be willing to open their home up for evangelistic meetings and invite their friends and neighbors. They agreed! Each Friday and Saturday night I played the New Beginnings DVDs to sixty people. After they watched the first one, they asked to see more. After each program, people asked to borrow the DVDs to play in their homes.

Answer #3: I asked God to open the people’s hearts to accept Jesus as their Savior. After the evangelistic meeting, four people asked to be baptized and eighteen others are studying the Bible with me every day in preparation for baptism in the future.

Answer #4: I felt impressed that we should start Sabbath worship services in the home where we held the evangelistic meetings. Praise God, the family agreed for us to use their home. Those that came to the evangelistic meetings continue to come to worship and praise God on Sabbaths.

I am so happy that God hears and answers my prayers and that people have the chance to hear and respond to the Good News.

AlwaysSayingAPrayerBY SOVANDA SOUM

Visit ASAPMINISTRIES.ORG and click on “Kids With a Mission” for a great idea.

KIDS WITH A MISSION!SARA WOLF

Hi! I’m Sarah Wolf. I’m seven years old and in the fourth grade. I love to read. I grew up most of my life in Korea but last year my family moved to Gaylord, Michigan. My dad went to Korea as a missionary. I hope to be a missionary someday, too.

HEY BOOK WORMS OUT THERE! Check out how Sarah found a way to be

a missionary by doing what she loves most, READING! You and your school could do the same.

Adventist Southeast Asia Projects is fueled by mission-minded, faith-filled individuals whom God impresses. Be assured that 100% of your gift will go directly to the projects you specify. However, in the blessed event that the project you chose is fully funded, ASAP will use your gift for a similar project or where most needed to help spread the gospel and ease the suffering in Southeast Asia. Because ASAP is a §501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donations are tax-deductible.

ASI MEMBER ASAP has been a member of ASI (Adventist-layman’s Services and Industries) since 1996 and is grateful to be an ASI grant recipient.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR/DIRECTOR Judy AitkenEDITOR/ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Julia O’Carey COPY EDITORS Wayne Labins, Linda BauerDESIGN/LAYOUT Sarah Lee www.ambientlightstudios.com

ASAP BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair: Bruce Bauer, Judy Aitken, Peter Van Bemmelen, Christopher Carmen, Steven Chang, Chan Sun and Esther Hwang, Denzil McNeilus, Mary Ann McNeilus, Byron and Carol Reynolds and Trudi Starlin.

TOLL FREE 1-866-365-3541PHONE 269-471-3026FAX 269-471-3034EMAIL office@asapministries.orgWEB www.asapministries.org

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version® copyright ©1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ASAP serves people from the countries of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

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In response, we printed OUR 10 FAVORITES, VOL. 2(Ten more mission stories that will inspire you!)

CALL: 1-866-365-3541OR EMAIL: office@asapministries.orgFor a free copy to read and share with all your mission-minded friends and family!

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